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BISHOP SEABURY ACADEMY THEATRE MISSION
Bishop Seabury Academy Theatre aims to produce challenging scripts – whether classical or modern, humorous or tragic…natural or fantastical. Through their course work and production, these students are encouraged to become articulate and powerfully expressive actors, students and human beings.
FACULTY
Doug Weaver
M.A., Theatre, Michigan State University, 1993
B.G.S., Theatre, University of Kansas, 1981
Phoenix Award for Performing Arts, 2009
Date Appointed: 2007
CURRICULUM:
7th/8th Grade: Drama
These nine-week courses emphasize public behavior, public speaking, games and play more than acting. First and foremost, students in these classes are not graded on skills/talent that they manifest entering the class. For grading purposes, focus is primarily on active participation and how they take constructive criticism and incorporate it into their revised “performances.” The primary objective in these classes is to give reclusive students a chance to practice their communication skills in a safe and supportive environment… and to offer more performance-inclined students the opportunity to strengthen their existing talents. I truly believe every student will enjoy this class.
9th Grade: Introduction To Acting
This course is essentially a class on acting fundamentals. One of the most oft heard phrases in the theatre is “all acting questions are really Acting I questions.” This course is set up to be an Acting I class. I do not assume any of my students will be professional actors, but I will teach them the art and craft of acting as if they were. We will use the writings of many of the great acting teachers; people like Stanislavsky, Boleslavsky, Strassberg, Adler and Michael Chekhov – as the basis for our work and to create a vocabulary we can use for the rest of our theatrical lives. All of this is taught with scene work as the foundation. It is a class truly intent on introducing the students to ACTING.
10th – 12th Grade: Advanced Theatre
This three year course of study is based on the three pillars of theatre production – the actor, the director and the playwright. The first year is focused on the Playwright. The second year is about the Actor. The third year covers the Director. Each year has it’s own manner of covering the subject – scene work for the actors, 10-minute plays for the playwrights and special projects for the directors.
In addition to these three main subjects, EVERY year will also include the study of other branches of the theatrical arts. Those areas included in the main study are theatre history, comedy, tragedy, theatre production and aesthetics. You really cannot study Theatrical Art without these.
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