CLASSES etc.
To enroll, unless otherwise noted:
Place check payable to DAOR in DAOR mailbox in Gateway.
Include name, phone/email, class title.
Place check payable to DAOR in DAOR mailbox in Gateway.
Include name, phone/email, class title.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Actors
Instructor: Rod McFadden
8 Tuesdays, March 18 to May 6
12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Fee: $ 50 for members, $ 70 for non-members
"Seven Habits of Highly Effective Actors” will consist of 12 students whose focus is acting and three students whose focus is directing, all chosen on a first come, serve basis. Auditors will participate in exercises and class discussions but would not be in scene work. Actors will be paired for work on a seven-eight minute two-person scene. Each director would be assigned two of these scenes to direct.
No memorization is required, though it will be encouraged for short scenes. Actors will be expected to have one out-of-class rehearsal each week. The focus of the work and discussion will be finding truthful responses to the text of the play and breaking old habits which may not be adding effectiveness to an actor’s portrayals.
Tuition for students in the acting class is $50 for DAOR members and $70 for non-members, which includes the DOAR membership fee. The students whose focus is acting and directing will also be charged a $5 printing fee for scripts. The class can also be audited by anyone interested in theater and the craft of acting. Tuition for auditors is $25 for DAOR members and $45 for nonmembers.
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].
For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Instructor: Rod McFadden
8 Tuesdays, March 18 to May 6
12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Fee: $ 50 for members, $ 70 for non-members
"Seven Habits of Highly Effective Actors” will consist of 12 students whose focus is acting and three students whose focus is directing, all chosen on a first come, serve basis. Auditors will participate in exercises and class discussions but would not be in scene work. Actors will be paired for work on a seven-eight minute two-person scene. Each director would be assigned two of these scenes to direct.
No memorization is required, though it will be encouraged for short scenes. Actors will be expected to have one out-of-class rehearsal each week. The focus of the work and discussion will be finding truthful responses to the text of the play and breaking old habits which may not be adding effectiveness to an actor’s portrayals.
Tuition for students in the acting class is $50 for DAOR members and $70 for non-members, which includes the DOAR membership fee. The students whose focus is acting and directing will also be charged a $5 printing fee for scripts. The class can also be audited by anyone interested in theater and the craft of acting. Tuition for auditors is $25 for DAOR members and $45 for nonmembers.
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].
For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Play Reading Group
Third Monday each month, 10:00 - 12:00
Gateway MPR #1
Facilitator: Lori Michetti
No fee
The Play Reading group welcomes actors and non-actors. If interested, just show up at a meeting. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. A new play is read at each meeting. The characters' parts are changed during the meeting so that each person has the opportunity to read aloud. Many of the plays are accessed by a link which requires that participants bring an iPhone, iPad, etc. to the meetings. Enjoyable discussions follow.
The group will read a variety of plays, some comedies, new and contemporary plays, and older plays. Members will have an opportunity to choose a play.
For further information contact Irene Krohn, [email protected]
Third Monday each month, 10:00 - 12:00
Gateway MPR #1
Facilitator: Lori Michetti
No fee
The Play Reading group welcomes actors and non-actors. If interested, just show up at a meeting. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. A new play is read at each meeting. The characters' parts are changed during the meeting so that each person has the opportunity to read aloud. Many of the plays are accessed by a link which requires that participants bring an iPhone, iPad, etc. to the meetings. Enjoyable discussions follow.
The group will read a variety of plays, some comedies, new and contemporary plays, and older plays. Members will have an opportunity to choose a play.
For further information contact Irene Krohn, [email protected]
Acting Class:
How to Build a Character
Instructor: Cynthia Wilson
Session Ended
The class will consist of hands-on, experiential exercises and practice in the art of becoming someone else with authenticity and believability. Emphasis will be on a modern version of what is known as Method Acting which is opposite of declamatory, theatrical acting. The goal will be performance the audience can believe.
After a quick review of movement for actors, voice projection and improvisation, students will dive in the subjects of sense memory, emotional memory, relaxation, concentration, justification/motivation, imaginative personalization, creating the inner character and creating the outer character.
All levels of experience are welcome
Class limited to 14 participants.
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].
For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
How to Build a Character
Instructor: Cynthia Wilson
Session Ended
The class will consist of hands-on, experiential exercises and practice in the art of becoming someone else with authenticity and believability. Emphasis will be on a modern version of what is known as Method Acting which is opposite of declamatory, theatrical acting. The goal will be performance the audience can believe.
After a quick review of movement for actors, voice projection and improvisation, students will dive in the subjects of sense memory, emotional memory, relaxation, concentration, justification/motivation, imaginative personalization, creating the inner character and creating the outer character.
All levels of experience are welcome
Class limited to 14 participants.
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].
For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
King Lear Lectures
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
As he did with his previous lectures on Hamlet and Macbeth earlier this year, Lopez-Morillas will take participants through a close encounter with this tragedy. He will demonstrate its power as a wrenching spectacle of human depravity in a bleak and indifferent cosmos; a parable of love and forgiveness; and a poem posing searching questions about who we are and about the struggle to understand what is real and essential in human existence.
Lopez-Morillas, who has played the title role in four different professional productions, will combine analysis of the play’s structure, ideas and language with generous readings of the text. The class will discuss what makes the play so viscerally emotional, and how generations of actors and directors- - from Laurence Olivier to Orson Welles to Ian McKellan and Glenda Jackson, and from Peter Brook to Grigory Kozintsev, have grappled with its unique challenges.
Julian Lopez-Morillas has performed with all the Bay Area theaters, including ACT, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater (CalShakes), San Jose Rep, the Magic Theater, the Aurora, San Jose Stage, as well as the Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, and Chicago’s Court Theater.
He directed for many years with CalShakes, and also for the Marin Theater Company, Berkeley Jewish Theater, San Jose Rep, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the American Players’ Theater in Wisconsin. He has taught acting, directing, theater history, and Shakespeare for the University of California/Berkeley, San Jose State University, Mills College, Foothill College and Solano College.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
As he did with his previous lectures on Hamlet and Macbeth earlier this year, Lopez-Morillas will take participants through a close encounter with this tragedy. He will demonstrate its power as a wrenching spectacle of human depravity in a bleak and indifferent cosmos; a parable of love and forgiveness; and a poem posing searching questions about who we are and about the struggle to understand what is real and essential in human existence.
Lopez-Morillas, who has played the title role in four different professional productions, will combine analysis of the play’s structure, ideas and language with generous readings of the text. The class will discuss what makes the play so viscerally emotional, and how generations of actors and directors- - from Laurence Olivier to Orson Welles to Ian McKellan and Glenda Jackson, and from Peter Brook to Grigory Kozintsev, have grappled with its unique challenges.
Julian Lopez-Morillas has performed with all the Bay Area theaters, including ACT, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater (CalShakes), San Jose Rep, the Magic Theater, the Aurora, San Jose Stage, as well as the Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, and Chicago’s Court Theater.
He directed for many years with CalShakes, and also for the Marin Theater Company, Berkeley Jewish Theater, San Jose Rep, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the American Players’ Theater in Wisconsin. He has taught acting, directing, theater history, and Shakespeare for the University of California/Berkeley, San Jose State University, Mills College, Foothill College and Solano College.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
So You Want to Be an Actor
Instructor: John Tranchitella
Session Ended
The class is designed for both beginners and those with some experience and want to enlarge their understanding of acting. Memorization is encouraged but not required. Tranchitella will cover several techniques of the art of acting, including those of Uta Hagen, David Mamet and his mentor Gerald Hiken. The focus will be on finding the “character” in oneself as an actor.
The course will include some improv, as will a discussion of “sense memory and emotional recall”. Tranchitella will also discuss the audition process and the rehearsal production process. The goal is to build confidence and craft.
An actor, director, writer and producer,Tranchitella has appeared in seventy theatrical productions. Most recently, he played the lead character Tommy in Connor McPherson’s critically acclaimed play, “The Night Alive”, at the Alterena Playhouse in Alameda. Locally he has worked with Masquers Theater, The Exit Theater, The Boxcar Theater, Left Coast Theater, Theater Rhinoceros, and Broadway West. He played President Kennedy in “A Remembrance” at Rossmoor. He has also performed the award-winning one-person play “My Will and MyLife” locally and in New York City.
Class is limited to 12 participants.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Checks should be made out to DAOR and are due on the first day of class.
For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Instructor: John Tranchitella
Session Ended
The class is designed for both beginners and those with some experience and want to enlarge their understanding of acting. Memorization is encouraged but not required. Tranchitella will cover several techniques of the art of acting, including those of Uta Hagen, David Mamet and his mentor Gerald Hiken. The focus will be on finding the “character” in oneself as an actor.
The course will include some improv, as will a discussion of “sense memory and emotional recall”. Tranchitella will also discuss the audition process and the rehearsal production process. The goal is to build confidence and craft.
An actor, director, writer and producer,Tranchitella has appeared in seventy theatrical productions. Most recently, he played the lead character Tommy in Connor McPherson’s critically acclaimed play, “The Night Alive”, at the Alterena Playhouse in Alameda. Locally he has worked with Masquers Theater, The Exit Theater, The Boxcar Theater, Left Coast Theater, Theater Rhinoceros, and Broadway West. He played President Kennedy in “A Remembrance” at Rossmoor. He has also performed the award-winning one-person play “My Will and MyLife” locally and in New York City.
Class is limited to 12 participants.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Checks should be made out to DAOR and are due on the first day of class.
For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Improv Workshop
Instructor: Shulie Cowen
Session Ended
With a focus on scene work, this class will help strengthen participants’ improv skills while making each other laugh! While this workshop is geared toward those with some experience in improv, all who love the art are welcome.
This class fills up quickly, so early registration is recommended.
Shulie Cowen teaches improv to kids, senior citizens, and everyone in between. After teaching at The Second City Hollywood and iO West for over 12 years, she now travels the USA and the world teaching acting and improv at festivals and schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, a former member of The Second City National Touring Company, and an original cast member of “School House Rock Live!”. Shulie studied improv at The Second City Training Center, The Annoyance Theater, and at iO Chicago with Del Close. She currently directs and performs in “Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!â” and with the improv team EST. Her acting credits include numerous guest appearances on television and in film and stage productions.
Class is limited to 20 students.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Instructor: Shulie Cowen
Session Ended
With a focus on scene work, this class will help strengthen participants’ improv skills while making each other laugh! While this workshop is geared toward those with some experience in improv, all who love the art are welcome.
This class fills up quickly, so early registration is recommended.
Shulie Cowen teaches improv to kids, senior citizens, and everyone in between. After teaching at The Second City Hollywood and iO West for over 12 years, she now travels the USA and the world teaching acting and improv at festivals and schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, a former member of The Second City National Touring Company, and an original cast member of “School House Rock Live!”. Shulie studied improv at The Second City Training Center, The Annoyance Theater, and at iO Chicago with Del Close. She currently directs and performs in “Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!â” and with the improv team EST. Her acting credits include numerous guest appearances on television and in film and stage productions.
Class is limited to 20 students.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Elements of Successful Plays
Lecturer: Rod McFadden
Session Ended
Although the classes will be aimed at playwrights, no writing will be required so that the sessions can also be of interest to actors, directors or anyone who wants to know why some plays are more engaging than others. The focus will be on shorter plays, but the concepts and techniques can also apply to longer plays.
In addition to interactive discussions of playwriting techniques, each session will include time to read short plays or scenes by students who want to submittheir own work.In-class readings will be followed by discussion of how the play applies techniques taught in the class. Sessions will cover basic building blocks of a play; elements of plot creation, dialogue and staging; and application of techniques.
McFadden began writing plays in 2009. Since then, his plays have received over 100 productions by independent theaters throughout the country. He has received awards in national playwriting competitions, and his short play, “One Monkey More or Less”, was chosen for publication in the Smith and Kraus anthology, “Best 10-minute plays of 2015”.
As an actor and director, McFadden has appeared in the DOAR Naked Stage productions of “Sylvia”, “Silent Sky”, “Proof”, and “Our Town” and has taught DOAR classes in acting,, directing, and play analysis. He has also been a guest lecturer/teacher for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Lecturer: Rod McFadden
Session Ended
Although the classes will be aimed at playwrights, no writing will be required so that the sessions can also be of interest to actors, directors or anyone who wants to know why some plays are more engaging than others. The focus will be on shorter plays, but the concepts and techniques can also apply to longer plays.
In addition to interactive discussions of playwriting techniques, each session will include time to read short plays or scenes by students who want to submittheir own work.In-class readings will be followed by discussion of how the play applies techniques taught in the class. Sessions will cover basic building blocks of a play; elements of plot creation, dialogue and staging; and application of techniques.
McFadden began writing plays in 2009. Since then, his plays have received over 100 productions by independent theaters throughout the country. He has received awards in national playwriting competitions, and his short play, “One Monkey More or Less”, was chosen for publication in the Smith and Kraus anthology, “Best 10-minute plays of 2015”.
As an actor and director, McFadden has appeared in the DOAR Naked Stage productions of “Sylvia”, “Silent Sky”, “Proof”, and “Our Town” and has taught DOAR classes in acting,, directing, and play analysis. He has also been a guest lecturer/teacher for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Macbeth Lectures
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
As he did with his lectures on Hamlet earlier this year, Lopez-Morillas will take participants through this tragedy scene by scene. He will demonstrate how the playwright uses imagery, rhythm, and sound to build an atmosphere of violence where ambition and the intrusion of the supernatural lead the characters in worlds of guilt, horror and madness. Lopez-Morillas asks all participants to read the play by the first class and invites them to watch one or two of the many, many versions on film and video.
Julian Lopez-Morillas has performed with all the Bay Area theaters, including ACT, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes), San Jose Rep, the Magic Theater, the Aurora, San Jose Stage, as well as the Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, and Chicago’s Court Theater. He directed for many years with the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival (now Cal Shakes), and also for the Marin Theater Company, Berkeley Jewish Theater, San Jose Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the American Players’ Theater in Wisconsin. He has taught acting, directing, theater history, and Shakespeare for the University of California/Berkeley, San Jose State University, Mills College, Foothill College and Solano College.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
As he did with his lectures on Hamlet earlier this year, Lopez-Morillas will take participants through this tragedy scene by scene. He will demonstrate how the playwright uses imagery, rhythm, and sound to build an atmosphere of violence where ambition and the intrusion of the supernatural lead the characters in worlds of guilt, horror and madness. Lopez-Morillas asks all participants to read the play by the first class and invites them to watch one or two of the many, many versions on film and video.
Julian Lopez-Morillas has performed with all the Bay Area theaters, including ACT, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes), San Jose Rep, the Magic Theater, the Aurora, San Jose Stage, as well as the Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, and Chicago’s Court Theater. He directed for many years with the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival (now Cal Shakes), and also for the Marin Theater Company, Berkeley Jewish Theater, San Jose Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the American Players’ Theater in Wisconsin. He has taught acting, directing, theater history, and Shakespeare for the University of California/Berkeley, San Jose State University, Mills College, Foothill College and Solano College.
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Working with a Director: Comedy Scenes
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
The workshop will focus on comic scenes from modern American and British theater. Participants will work with Lopez-Morillas, rehearsing brief scenes over the eight-week period, culminating in a presentation of work for an invited audience of family and friends. Memorization of scene material is recommended but not required. The final date of the eight sessions will be determined later because of scheduling issues.
Lopez-Morillas will draw material from diverse sources, such as Kaufman and Hart, Neil Simon, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Tom Stoppard, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers and the Monty Pythons. Participants will practice honing their scenes with a focus on clarity, pace, rhythm and the grounding of comedy acting in genuine human behavior and character.
Lopez-Morillas is a professional theater actor, director and teacher. He has performed and directed with all the major theaters in the Bay Area and across the country. He has taught acting, directing, theater history and Shakespeare at the University of California/Berkeley and at various colleges in the state.
For questions about the class or interview, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Class Full
Tuition payment check is due and payable on the first day of class.
Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended
The workshop will focus on comic scenes from modern American and British theater. Participants will work with Lopez-Morillas, rehearsing brief scenes over the eight-week period, culminating in a presentation of work for an invited audience of family and friends. Memorization of scene material is recommended but not required. The final date of the eight sessions will be determined later because of scheduling issues.
Lopez-Morillas will draw material from diverse sources, such as Kaufman and Hart, Neil Simon, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Tom Stoppard, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers and the Monty Pythons. Participants will practice honing their scenes with a focus on clarity, pace, rhythm and the grounding of comedy acting in genuine human behavior and character.
Lopez-Morillas is a professional theater actor, director and teacher. He has performed and directed with all the major theaters in the Bay Area and across the country. He has taught acting, directing, theater history and Shakespeare at the University of California/Berkeley and at various colleges in the state.
For questions about the class or interview, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Class Full
Tuition payment check is due and payable on the first day of class.
Introduction to Acting, Beginners
Instructor: Stephanie Singer
Session Ended
Introduction to Acting is intended for students new to acting with limited or no stage experience or formal training. The class will focus on script analysis, character intentions, emotional adjustments and given circumstances—a basic, one-step-at-a-time approach to understanding a character and script. Students will be asked to read assigned scripts and work with scene partners outside of class. They will then perform the scenes in a subsequent session.
Stephanie studied at the Jean Shelton Acting School in San Francisco and has performed at the Phoenix Theater and the Shelton Theater, both in San Francisco; the Town Hall in Moraga; and the Willows Theater in Concord. She has also performed with Story-Slam in Oakland and participated in comedy writing classes and sketch comedy performances with All-Out Comedy in Oakland. From 2017 to the present, Singer has been a performer and teacher/coach with Oaktown Improv. At DAOR, she taught script analysis and scene study.
Class is limited to 14 students. For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Instructor: Stephanie Singer
Session Ended
Introduction to Acting is intended for students new to acting with limited or no stage experience or formal training. The class will focus on script analysis, character intentions, emotional adjustments and given circumstances—a basic, one-step-at-a-time approach to understanding a character and script. Students will be asked to read assigned scripts and work with scene partners outside of class. They will then perform the scenes in a subsequent session.
Stephanie studied at the Jean Shelton Acting School in San Francisco and has performed at the Phoenix Theater and the Shelton Theater, both in San Francisco; the Town Hall in Moraga; and the Willows Theater in Concord. She has also performed with Story-Slam in Oakland and participated in comedy writing classes and sketch comedy performances with All-Out Comedy in Oakland. From 2017 to the present, Singer has been a performer and teacher/coach with Oaktown Improv. At DAOR, she taught script analysis and scene study.
Class is limited to 14 students. For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
So You Want to Be a Director
Instructor: Michael McGarty
Session Ended
“So You Want to Be a Director” will introduce students to the fundamentals of directing, and will cover the range of talents and responsibilities taken on by the director. These include concept creation, design, casting and working with actors to produce a satisfying experience for an audience. Participants will study techniques in script analysis, design consistency, blocking/stage pictures, and acting chemistry. No previous experience is required.
Michael McGarty has directed plays in New York/ New England community and professional theaters for 50 years. A recipient of numerous directing awards, he served as the Harvard Community Theater’s artistic director from its inception in 1990 to 2012, directing over 100 plays including four New England premieres of New York composer Jenny Giering’s work: Show, Crossing Brooklyn,Still Life, and Mistress Cycle.
Class is limited to 14. For questions about the class, email Michael: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Instructor: Michael McGarty
Session Ended
“So You Want to Be a Director” will introduce students to the fundamentals of directing, and will cover the range of talents and responsibilities taken on by the director. These include concept creation, design, casting and working with actors to produce a satisfying experience for an audience. Participants will study techniques in script analysis, design consistency, blocking/stage pictures, and acting chemistry. No previous experience is required.
Michael McGarty has directed plays in New York/ New England community and professional theaters for 50 years. A recipient of numerous directing awards, he served as the Harvard Community Theater’s artistic director from its inception in 1990 to 2012, directing over 100 plays including four New England premieres of New York composer Jenny Giering’s work: Show, Crossing Brooklyn,Still Life, and Mistress Cycle.
Class is limited to 14. For questions about the class, email Michael: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
“The knowledge that every day there is something more to learn,
something higher to reach for, something new to make for others,
makes each day infinitely precious”
- Uta Hagen -
something higher to reach for, something new to make for others,
makes each day infinitely precious”
- Uta Hagen -