Director Session Workshop | Technique & Audition Prep

Class is an audition prep, and technique for half the month. Students bring in material they choose, whether it is an audition they have coming up or material that lets us focus on elements they need to develop to improve their work in the future. By using techniques ranging from Stanislavski’s Method, Meisner, The Cohen V.O.T.E system, Suzuki or the Alexander Technique, we tackle the obstacles blocking the actor and make them better week by week.

The other 2 weeks are reserved for work on our guest for the month's material. The weeks we work on this material vary based on the guest availability. We prep the guest’s material the first week, discussing material selection, script analysis, character breakdown, and scene deconstruction. Then the guest comes to class the next week and each actor in class gets to work with the guest in what is best described as a “director’s session workshop”. The students perform 2-5 pages of prepared material with a reader from what the guest has provided. After performing, the guest gives notes, the student performs again, and then the guest and I give notes and the student performs a 3rd time. This gives students an opportunity to perform in a simulated high pressure situation in front of a guest who is established in the industry. Guests range from award winning writers and directors to up and coming writers and directors just graduating from college. The idea is that it is just as important to work with people who are at the top of the game as well as learning to work with less experienced artists who might need to improve their skills, all while developing relationships with them.