School of Theatre > Classes > Youth & Teen classes
Youth / Teen classes
Our fall session of classes will begin the week of September 22, 2008. Course descriptions available below.
Fill out the registration form
youth classes
Superheroes
Grades K–1
Instructor: Erica Blue
Look up in the sky! It’s you! Let’s explore your inner Superhero! Are you ready to save the world? Well, put on your cape and let’s go! We will create superhero costumes and masks and invent worlds where your hero saves helpless creatures and entire planets from menacing forces. We will invite family and friends to watch our great feats of strength and bravery.
Erica Blue has a B.A. in Dance/Theatre and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. She founded The Raw Material Performance Ensemble in Amsterdam. For the last 10 years, she has taught and performed around the US. Her solo work has been performed at La MaMa in New York, The Cleveland Performance Art Festival and has won Best of the Fringe in San Francisco and Seattle. Now a mother of two boys, she has redoubled her enthusiasm for teaching young people to explore their imaginations.
SAT 9:30–10:30am • 9/27, 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 12/6 • $175
Acting Up
Grades 2–3
Instructor: Nancy Gold
Develop your skills of imagination, expression, spontaneity and storytelling. Become an actor! Explore character creation with masks, mime and movement. Develop your storytelling with improvisation and comedy. Use published scripts for scene study or write your own—and most of all, become your best Drama Queen or King. Create a unique performance for friends and family.
Nancy Gold is the author of Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actor’s Guide to Physical Comedy and Characters, published by Smith and Kraus. She has taught at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, A.C.T. Young Conservatory, UCLA, Foothill College and throughout the Bay Area in public and private schools. She studied with Jacques LeCoq and Ctibor Turba, and she has a Masters equivalency degree and a B.F.A. from the University of Illinois.
SAT 9:30–11am • 9/27, 10/4, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 12/6 • $175
Performance Workshop
Grades 4–5
Instructor: Marilet Martinez
Under the supervision of a play creation teacher, students will become part of an acting ensemble and create a performance piece based on popular children’s books and Greek mythology. Explore the process of bringing stories to life through movement, dialogue, music, improvisation and character work. This class will conclude with a final performance for family and friends. May be repeated.
Marilet Martinez studied theatre at the A.C.T. Young Conservatory and SF Mime Troupe, and is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts. She has performed with Teatrovision, Busbarn Theatre Company, Custom Made Theatre Company, Outlook Theatre Project, and played Romeo last summer in the Woman’s Will production of Romeo and Juliet. She has also toured and trained with Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Programs for the last four years, teaching students grades K–12 about making healthy choices.
WED 4–6pm • 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3 • $280
Performance Ensemble
Grades 6–8
Instructor: Jon Burnett and Gendell Hernández
Perform at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and learn how professional actors approach their work. This class is for committed middle-school students interested in a professional experience. In order to train and prepare students in the art of performance, this class will meet throughout the Fall and Winter sessions. The Fall session will be dedicated to skill-building and researching the world of the play, which will culminate in a workshop performance. The focus of the Winter session will be on rehearsal and performance. All students will receive highly focused and personalized direction and learn the art of pursuing objectives and playing actions. The play under consideration will focus on ensemble, challenging text and enabling the students to develop dynamic and detailed characters through movement and dance techniques such as mask, mime, Kabuki, Hip Hop, Latin and African forms. Space is limited and available by interview or invitation only.
Jon Burnett is a teacher and professional actor and has performed in Seattle, Atlanta, New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. Jon has taught theatre to students ranging from kindergarten through undergraduate college, and found inspiration, profound laughter and empathy at every level.
Gendell Hernández is the education associate at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and has taught for the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre for the past five years. He has performed at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival as well as directed Beatbox: A Raparetta for the New York Hip-Hop Theater Festival. Past credits include Around the World in 80 Days (Center Rep), Sons of Don Juan (San Jose Rep), Oil (Word for Word), Show Up (New Pickle Circus), The Gate of Heaven (The Old Globe), as well as a Critics Circle Award (fight choreography) for Romeo and Juliet at Shotgun Players.
MON & WED 4–6pm • 9/22, 9/24, 9/29, 10/1, 10/6, 10/8, 10/13, 10/15, 10/20, 10/22, 10/27, 10/29, 11/3, 11/5, 11/10, 11/12, 11/17, 11/19, 11/24, 12/3, 1/12, 1/14, 1/21, 1/26, 1/28, 2/2, 2/4, 2/9, 2/11, 2/18, 2/23, 2/25, 3/2, 3/4, 3/9, 3/11, 3/16, 3/18, 3/23, 3/25 (performances on 3/25 and 3/26) • $925
Musical Theatre (beginning)
Grades 6–9
Instructor: Rebecca Castelli
Combine your love of singing, acting and dancing in this performance-based musical theatre class. Students will learn singing technique, simple dance steps and basic acting skills before integrating the three disciplines into ensemble and small solo work. In the ensemble work, students will polish their dance and vocal skills while learning how to synchronize their movement with the rest of the group, how to give and receive focus and how to energize the body and commit fully to choices. Through improvisation and acting exercises, students will also begin the process of exploring a solo song.
Rebecca Castelli is an experienced vocal teacher, professional actress and singer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in voice and theatre and an M.F.A. in performance. Throughout her academic and professional career, Rebecca has performed leads in over 30 plays and musicals.
TUE 4–6pm • 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18, 11/25 • $280
Musical Theatre (intermediate / advanced)
Grades 6–9
Instructor: Rebecca Castelli
Start the journey towards becoming a triple threat! Through both ensemble and solo work, students will hone their singing, dancing and acting skills while learning how to integrate their abilities into a dynamic musical theatre performance. In the solo work, students will learn a thorough process for exploring and acting a solo song, including text interpretation, subtext work and strong movement choices. Emphasis will also be given to performance and audition techniques for solo songs. This class is designed for students who have prior experience with either a beginning level musical theatre class or a musical theatre production.
Rebecca Castelli is an experienced vocal teacher, professional actress and singer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in voice and theatre and an M.F.A. in performance. Throughout her academic and professional career, Rebecca has performed leads in over 30 plays and musicals.
THU 4–6pm • 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 12/4 • $280
Private Voice
Grades 6–8
Instructor: Rebecca Castelli
Learn to sing with ease and confidence, eliminating vocal pain and fatigue, while improving your range and breath control. Each session includes breathing and relaxation exercises, vocal exercises and technique and vocal coaching on songs, including how to act a song and how to prepare a musical theatre audition.
Rebecca Castelli is an experienced vocal teacher, professional actress and singer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in voice and theatre and an M.F.A. in performance. Throughout her academic and professional career, Rebecca has performed leads in over 30 plays and musicals.
TUE & THU 3–3:50pm & 6–6:50pm • $60/session
fill out the registration form
teen classes
The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre aims to provide committed high school students with the opportunity to study with professional theatre artists. Students will learn the fundamentals of professionalism, the rigors of the rehearsal process and the art of performance.
Teen Performance Lab: Shakespeare
Grades 9–12
Instructor: Deborah Eubanks
Mysticism, alchemy and magic in Shakespeare’s plays are the major themes that will be explored in this performance class. Students will create a rich and vivid piece of physical theatre by targeting the meaning of each word, by embracing Shakespeare’s rich lyrical language and by creating unique and powerful movement. We will work from Macbeth, The Tempest and Hamlet. Students will be encouraged to freely embody the actions of the weird sisters in Macbeth, the ghost of Hamlet’s father and the alchemy and antics of Prospero and Ariel in The Tempest. Every class will commence with a rigorous vocal warm up in order to facilitate vocal freedom, safely sustained projection and maximum use of individual range and resonance. There will be table work in the first week of the class in order to ensure that rhythm and meter are acknowledged along with full comprehension of texts. Space is limited and by interview only. Please call 510 647–2978 to set up an appointment.
Deborah Eubanks majored in theatre arts at Harold Pinter Studios in England. She has performed with BBC’s Hugh Stoddard, and designed and implemented workshops with Stephen Hawking’s Company at Covent Garden Arts Center in Cambridge. She has written and directed for London’s Age Exchange, created and produced two teen operettas and has been teaching and directing in the Bay Area for 16 years. She has taught at A.C.T., San Francisco Shakespeare and serves on the faculty at University of San Francisco teaching Voice for Performance.
TUE & THU 4:30–6:30pm • 9/23, 9/25, 9/30, 10/2, 10/7, 10/9, 10/14, 10/16, 10/21, 10/23, 10/28, 10/30, 11/4, 11/6, 11/11, 11/13, 11/18, 11/20, 11/25, 12/4 • $450
Audition Lab: Prepare for College and High School Auditions
Grades 9–12
Instructor: Andy Murray
To be an actor, whether it’s in high school, college or on Broadway, you will have to audition and do it well. This class covers all aspects of the audition process but focuses on the commitment to strong, imaginatively chosen actions—the basis for any great acting. Students will work on one Shakespeare and one contemporary monologue and leave fully prepared for high school and college auditions.
Andy Murray is an actor and teacher. This summer, he performed as Astrov in Uncle Vanya and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night at CalShakes. He has also acted at Berkeley Rep, A.C.T., San Jose Rep, Seattle Rep, McCarter, The Shakespeare Theater (Washington, D.C.), CenterStage (Baltimore), Kansas City Rep, Marin Theatre Company, The Magic and many others. He has taught at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre for six years and also teaches for CalShakes.
MON 4:30–6:30pm • 9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 11/24 • $280
Acting Violence: Small Sword
Ages 16 to adult
Instructor: Dave Maier
The Small Sword is the most elegant and deadly of the personal combat weapons (prior to the firearms)! Students will explore this juxtaposition of grace and violence by studying period movement in conjunction with swordplay. This course will cover the basic skills of theatrical Small Sword, stressing safety and partnership. Participants will also learn footwork, parries, thrusts, deceptions, wounds, kills and many other skills that allow them to create the illusion of violence. It will be fast-paced, fun and a good workout, too. All students will have the opportunity to rehearse and perform scenes that include stage combat, and to take a skills proficiency test for recognition as an Actor Combatant with Dueling Arts International. Full-fingered gloves are required. Class size is limited to 12.
Dave Maier is an award-winning Fight Director who choreographed fights for The Pillowman and Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell at Berkeley Rep. Other recent work includes ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore (A.C.T.), Romeo & Juliet (A.C.T.-M.F.A.), The Three Musketeers (Shotgun Players), King Lear (Cal Shakes) and Playboy of the Western World (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). He has also built fights for La Jolla Playhouse, Cutting Ball Theatre, SF Playhouse, Impact Theatre and Berkeley Opera, among others. He is an associate instructor of theatrical combat with Dueling Arts International and the outreach coordinator at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
MON 7 10pm • 11/10, 11/17, 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/15 • $260
Private Voice
Grades 9–12
Instructor: Rebecca Castelli
Learn to sing with ease and confidence, eliminating vocal pain and fatigue while improving your range and breath control. Each session includes breathing and relaxation exercises, vocal exercises and technique and vocal coaching on songs, including how to act a song and how to prepare a musical theatre audition.
Rebecca Castelli is an experienced vocal teacher, professional actress and singer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in voice and theatre and an M.F.A. in performance. Throughout her academic and professional career, Rebecca has performed leads in over 30 plays and musicals.
TUE & THU 3–3:50pm & 6–6:50pm • $60/session
fill out the registration form
scholarships
Berkeley Rep School of Theatre offers need-based scholarships for students enrolling in our youth and teen classes. For a financial aid application, please click here or call the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre at 510 647–2972.