Residencies

Just like any other artist has tools to create, so does an actor! A teaching artist will walk with you through the 3 tools of an actor: body, voice, and imagination. We will explore how to use these tools to tell a story through pantomime, gibberish, and improvisation. The workshop will include creative play activities that can be done from the comfort of your own home or classroom.

Theatre is telling a story with conflict, but how do we create the story that we want to tell? This workshop walks through the basic “story mountain” of exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution to help young thespians create their own stories to tell. 

Paddington, Peter Rabbit, The Lorax…. These are just a few examples of books that have been turned into a movie or play. In this workshop, we will choose a story and walk through the process of how to turn it into a play!

Commedia dell'Arte, or “The Skill of Comedy”, is an early style of Italian street theatre that incorporates big funny characters, improvisation, and direct audience all in one. Its influences are seen everywhere from Shakespeare to Sitcoms to Spongebob Squarepants. Join New York City playwright and Ragtag Theatre’s Artistic Director Sam LaFrage as you dive headfirst into the hilarious world of Commedia dell'Arte! Students will have a blast exploring its characters, learning its lazzi or “comedy bits,” assembling their very own Commedia troupe, and empowering each other through the art of play.

Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Color Purple…. These are just a few examples of books that have been turned into a movie or play. In this workshop, we will choose a story and walk through the process of how to turn it into a play!

In this workshop, you will navigate the history, context, and current events of Shakespeare’s time and how it impacted his writing. Led by Shakespearean professional, Cathy Brookshire, your student’s will go back in time to Shakespeare’s world.

Shakespeare is most well known for his contributions to the modern English language, though we often consider his text a separate language in and of itself. Dive into the nuances, definitions, and interpretations of Shakespeare’s language with Shakespeare professional, Cathy Brookshire. Fear Shakespeare no longer! 

Classic scenes such as Romeo and Juliet’s scene on the balcony or Macbeth’s Weird Sisters’ prophecy are so complex that we could easily spend hours discussing the meaning, language, and relationships of the characters. This workshop hopes to offer just that! Led by Shakespeare professional, Cathy Brookshire, take some time to deep dive into a classic Shakespeare scene.