The Scogin Method: Speaking the Speech from Shakespeare to Shaw

ShawChicago Theater Company Hosted by Chicago's Goodman Theatre presents The Scogin Method: Speaking the Speech from Shakespeare to Shaw
(Four three-hour working sessions)

The Scogin Method
Through decades as a classical actor in New York, Chicago, around the country; as a Chicago director and for twenty-five years as the Artistic Director of ShawChicago Theater Company; and believing George Bernard Shaw to be the greatest and most important playwright of the English language since Shakespeare; Robert Scogin developed a proven technique (inspired by the Shakespeare First Folio Method) for exploring, dissecting, and performing the plays of Shaw, his modern contemporaries, and other classic playwrights.

Workshop Overview
Students will be introduced to The Scogin Method. With this technique, they will explore and focus on breath support, impeccable diction, intuitive phrasing, and learn to speak Shaw’s texts with unrivaled clarity, depth, and flair. A grasp of the Scogin Method will help to set actors up for successes beyond Shaw and the classics, as this new set of tools will equip them to instinctively analyze dramatic texts and know how to “hear the tune” and “play the notes.”
Instructor: Matt Gall
Fee: $250
Dates: Saturday, January 12, 2019, 10AM–1PM
Sunday, January 13, 2019, 10AM–1PM
Saturday, January 19, 2019, 10AM–1PM
Sunday, January 20, 2019, 10AM–1PM
Location: The Goodman Theatre
170 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60601
Workshop Limit: 15

Register Now! Space is Limited. Please call 312-587-7390

Effective Management Strategies for Theatre Leaders

Friday, November 9, 9:30AM - 5:30PM
Chicago Theater Works, 1113 W. Belmont Ave.
Robbin Walker is back! This popular one-day workshop provides participants with new leadership skills they can put into action immediately. Topics will include exploring elements of highly-effective teams, understanding different behavioral styles, delivering effective feedback and resolving conflict. Robbin creates a learning environment that is energetic and highly interactive, providing you with critical skills, information and solutions based on best practices and widely-used management principles. A few examples where your enhanced skills can be applied: resolving conflicts between artists and managers; fostering influential relationships with board members; striking a balance between discipline and camaraderie.

ROBBIN WALKER has been in the training and development field for over 30 years. As a former senior training consultant for Target Stores at their Minneapolis headquarters, she trained thousands of leaders, at all levels, in areas from diversity to high-potential talent programs to all facets of leadership development. Robbin was the facilitator of the popular TCG program "Expanding the Theatre Manager's Repertoire, for 11 years." Robbin currently is a Principal Consultant/owner of the Walker Consulting Group, which she and her husband Richard created in 2008.

Experienced and new leaders, administrators and artists are encouraged to attend. Teams of up to four people are also welcome and encouraged.
This is a FREE workshop for League members, but participation is limited. Space fills up up quickly.
Click here to RSVP

"The aesthetic of transformation” by David Psalmon

“The aesthetic of transformation” by David Psalmon (Augusto Boal´s Theatre of the Oppressed Methodology) June 11th to June 16th · 10:00am to 3:00pm

Boal´s disciple and award wining director (Dublin Fringe Festival), David Psalmon, comes to Chicago for this intensive workshop that will train actors on Boal´s “Theater of the Opressed” technique focused on “Forum Theatre”.

“Forum Theatre” is a weapon for social change. It is based under the assumption that its protagonist – an oppressed individual- wishes for something that is obstructed by its antagonist – an oppressor. During its representation, the “spect-actors” (audience) are invited to go on stage and replace the protagonist. The “spect-actor” will try to create a dialogue with the antagonist and find a solution to the problem exposed in the play by proposing new ways of acting-reacting with the antagonist.

During the workshop we will explore corporeal and theatrical expressions. We will devise work by sharing personal experiences and analyzing/selecting them with the ensamble. “Image Theatre” will also be explored to learn how tableaus can be used for a devising process. Students will be introduced to “Forum Theatre” roles like the oppressed, the oppressor, the joker, the spect-actor, and learn their characteristics. We will learn Improv skills particular to this form of theatre for actors to improvise with audience members, always form the character´s ideology. A show will be devised after the workshop and performed around the city.

Contents:
-Performative and ludic games; improvisation and its rules.
-Devising scenes and texts based on “Image Theatre” and “Forum Theatre”.
-Staging the scenes and putting together a small show mediated by the “Joker”
-Public presentation of the show and “forum” of it at the Studio.
-Students interested in developing the show will have the opportunity to rehearse during one more week with the help of a Forum mediator (Joker) and perform in three different places around the city.

Limited to 10 actors.

Tuition:
$550

Payment plans:
Students can pay in 2, 4 or 6 installments.

Where: Performing Arts Studio (630 W. Webster Ave. Chicago, IL. 60614)
Info and registration: performingartsstudio.com/workshops
Scholarships available.

info@performingartsstudio.com
(773) 857-0577

Art as Activism

Stage 773 located at 1225 W. Belmont, presents an all-new, quarterly Artists Professional Development Series, beginning on Monday, April 2. Hosted by the Young Professionals Board of Stage 773, these events will be an open forum for art enthusiasts and the public alike to discuss a range of topics dealing with the theater community. Throughout the series, topics will include diversity and inclusion, educating all levels of artists in the business of art making, exploring new ways of enhancing Chicago theater, providing the tools needed to make integration the goal at Stage 773 and the community it serves, and focusing on important issues that not only affect the art community, but the entire city.

The inaugural event on Monday, April 2 will begin with a networking session in the Stage 773 lobby at 5:30 pm, followed by an open panel discussion about diversity, inclusion, and the strategies needed to create an open dialogue within the theater community. The panel will feature a selection of Chicago powerhouse artists and art professionals leading the discourse, including Daryl Brooks, Associate Director at Black Ensemble Theater; Becca Browne, Artistic Development and Group Sales Manager at Victory Gardens; Shelby Jo at The iO Theater; and more to be announced. To finish off the evening, guests will have an opportunity to further the discussion during an interactive Q&A session. Other new panelist: David Cerda Artistic Director and founder of Hell in a Handbag, and Dina Nina Martinez, nationally acclaimed standup comedian, actor and speaker.

The quarterly events are free to the public, and will take place on Monday evenings. More information is available online at www.Stage773.com, by phone 773.327.5252, and in person at the Stage 773 box office, located at 1225 W Belmont.

Stage 773 Comedy Prep School

The producers of The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and Chicago Women’s Funny Festival are proud to present the return of Comedy Prep School (CPS), a one-day festival for young comedians on May 12, 2018. It includes workshops taught by professional performers and teachers from Chicago’s world-class comedy institutions, opportunities to learn, play, and perform with 100+ fellow young comedians, and an exclusive performance by hilarious, high-caliber comedy group, Ms. Mistoffelees. CPS will focus on Advanced Improv, Comedic Song Writing, Physical Comedy, and Writing for Diverse Voices.

Individual students and groups ages 12-17 are welcome (chaperones requested for large groups). The cost of registration is $100 per student and includes all workshops, performances, lunch, and snacks.
Click Here for More Information

Tap Workshop with Highland Park Players

Intermediate/Advance Tap Workshop featuring Chicago area performer, educator, and choreographer, Annie Jo Ermel. Tuesdays, February 27, March 6, March 13, March 20, from 8:30pm – 9:30pm at West Ridge Center in Highland Park $15 per class This workshop is not cumulative, drop-ins are encouraged! Sign up today!! More info at https://www.highlandparkplayers.com/tap-workshop.php

Sketch Comedy Workshop at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

Introduction to Immersive Performance Workshop

Introduction to Immersive Performance Workshop from Sleep No More and And Then She Fell's TAYLOR MYERS
Saturday, November 25, 12PM-4PM
at Strawdog Theatre Company, 1802 W Berenice Ave, Chicago IL 60613
(Irving Park Brown Line, Damen/Ashland Buses | Limited off street parking available)

The Introduction to Immersive Performance workshop is designed to help performers and creators begin to understand a host of tactics employed to engage audience members without the separation provided by a fourth wall. Participants can expect to spend time exploring depth of touch, physical energetic manipulation/transfer, audience navigation, immersive world building, magnetism and authority, and inception/mental manipulation. We will work with group audience flow, control, and herd patterns as well as one-on-one audience engagement. Expect to move, explore, and be bold! Only 13 more spots available as of 4:00PM on 10/31.
Register at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10217870
Participants - $65 | Observers - $25

TAYLOR MYERS is a performer and director based in New York City. He fell headlong into immersive theater in 2012 and co-founded Roll The Bones Theatre Co. to design large scale immersive work at non-traditional times and places. He has performed with Punchdrunk in Sleep No More, Third Rail Projects in Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise, and also served as co-director of Paradiso, a state-of-the-art immersive escape room. Directing shows from sunrise to the witching hour, from a Bronx cemetery to a 500 year old Irish castle, his most recent work includes both an immersive experience and a feature film called Hamlet in the Golden Vale. _____________

Effective Management Strategies for Theatre Leaders with Robbin Walker

Friday, November 10, 9:30AM - 5:30 PM
Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn
Robbin Walker is back! This popular one-day workshop provides participants with new leadership skills they can put into action immediately. Topics will include exploring elements of highly-effective teams, understanding different behavioral styles, delivering effective feedback and resolving conflict. Robbin creates a learning environment that is energetic and highly interactive, providing you with critical skills, information and solutions based on best practices and widely-used management principles. A few examples where your enhanced skills can be applied: resolving conflicts between artists and managers; fostering influential relationships with board members; striking a balance between discipline and camaraderie.

ROBBIN WALKER has been in the training and development field for over 30 years. As a former senior training consultant for Target Stores at their Minneapolis headquarters, she trained thousands of leaders, at all levels, in areas from diversity to high-potential talent programs to all facets of leadership development. Robbin was the facilitator of the popular TCG program "Expanding the Theatre Manager's Repertoire, for 11 years." Robbin currently is a Principal Consultant/owner of the Walker Consulting Group, which she and her husband Richard created in 2008.

Experienced and new leaders, administrators and artists are encouraged to attend. Teams of up to four people are also welcome and encouraged. This is a FREE workshop for League members, but participation is limited. Space fills up up quickly. Please only register if you can attend the whole day. Click here to RSVP

A View from the Wings: Beyond the Documents

Saturday, October 14, 9:30AM - 5PM

The Stage Managers’ Association (SMA) is hosting a Central Region all-day conference, A View from the Wings: Beyond the Documents on Saturday, October 14th in Chicago, Illinois. The day will include panel and round table discussions with established Chicago stage managers and professional experts. The conference is an opportunity to showcase the value of an SMA membership and the highlights of working as a stage manager in and around the Windy City.

Subjects will include*:
Chicago Theatre Standards - Laura Fisher will discuss this new document (previously known as the Code of Conduct), highlighting the Stage Manager responsibilites contained within
Personal Aspects of the Job - Balancing your career and personal life; Building a Stage Management team and working in the various positions; The challenges, rewards, duties, and resources for working with store front theatres
Stage Management Challenges - a panel discussion on challenges face by Stage Management including personalities, conflict resolution, burn outs, and delegating responsibility
Practical Use of the Chicago Theatre Standards - a panel discussion for Stage Managers working on productions that contain nudity, intimacy, and/or violence
*Content subject to change

A Complimentary continental breakfast and box lunch will be provided.

Registration costs:
$15 for all current SMA Members
$30 for Non-Member Students (Includes a 1 year membership to the SMA, $10 initiation fee waived.)
$50 for all other Non-Members (Includes a 1 year membership to the SMA, $25 initiation fee waived.)
Click here to register

Train with Pig Iron Theatre in Chicago

Performers as Creators
Join Pig Iron Theatre Company member Melissa Krodman for a weekend workshop focusing on the performer as creator of original material. The workshop will highlight the methods and exercises Pig Iron uses to forge performance works that are physically articulate and rhythmically precise.

Can a work of theatre have depth and sophistication without words? Can a gesture stand in for the whole? Can an ensemble create a physical vocabulary to capture an audience's imagination? The workshop will tackle these questions in a rigorous and playful environment intended to provide adult theatre-makers with tools to strengthen a performer's ability to create new theatrical worlds.

Dates/Times:
Feb. 3, 6:00PM-9:00PM
Feb. 4, 10:00AM-4:00PM
Feb. 5, 10:00AM-4:00PM

Location:
The Den
1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60622

Cost: $150

Email workshops@pigiron.org to register or with questions.

MCA Studio: ONEOFUS workshop

Saturday, December 10 at 1-3PM
Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E. Chicago Ave
$25, or free with ticket to Beauty and the Beast
The creators of Beauty and the Beast put the experience of disability in society at the center of their work. They lead an inclusive workshop for professionals on reconfiguring collaboration, creation, and performance in theater and burlesque. Includes ASL.

More information: https://mcachicago.org/Calendar/2016/12/MCA-Studio-ONEOFUS-Workshop.

Directing & Scene Study

For any aspiring director or for actors looking to inject their craft with fresh looks at scene study. This workshop will refocus the storytelling and staging styles of classic and unique scenes into the ATL standard of relatable and audience first theatre. Consider this scene study for the director with the hope of identifying future directors for our company.
 Class session will end with a free showcase for friends & family.
Wednesdays January 18- March 1, 2017 7-9pm
 $150/student for the 7 week class
email tony@theatreatl.org for questions or to register

Effective Management Strategies for Theatre Leaders

Friday, November 4, 9AM - 5 PM 
Chicago Cultural Center, 5th Fl Millennium Park Room, 78 E. Washington Ave. 

 Robbin Walker is back by popular demand! This one day workshop will provide participants with leadership skills they will put into action immediately. Topics will include exploring elements of highly effective teams, behavioral styles, delivering effective feedback and resolving conflict. The learning environment will be highly interactive, providing you with critical skills, information and solutions based on best practices and widely-used management principles. A few examples where your enhanced skills can be applied: resolving conflicts between artists and managers; fostering influential relationships with board members; striking a balance between discipline and camaraderie.

Robbin Walker has been in the training and development field for over 30 years. As a former senior training consultant for Target Stores at their Minneapolis headquarters, she trained thousands of leaders, at all levels, in areas from diversity to high-potential talent programs to all facets of leadership development. A dynamic, personable trainer with a high-energy style, Robbin creates a highly interactive and practical learning environment. Robbin was the facilitator of the popular TCG program "Expanding the Theatre Manager's Repertoire, for 11 years." Robbin currently is a Principal Consultant/owner of the Walker Consulting Group, which she and her husband Richard created in 2008.
Experienced and new leaders, administrators and artists are encouraged to attend. Teams of up to four people are also welcome and encouraged.
This is a FREE workshop for League members, but participation will be limited. Space fills up up quickly.
Click here to RSVP.

The Training Center at Victory Gardens Returns

Victory Gardens Theater announces the return of The Training Center, with courses beginning in fall 2016. Classes in a variety of disciplines, including performance, dance and writing will be taught by celebrated local artists such as playwrights Ike Holter and Arlene Malinowski, choreographer Breon Arzell, as well as Arts Education Director Robert Cornelius, and Artistic Director Emeritus Dennis Začek. All Training Center classes will be held at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

“We’re kicking off the return of The Training Center to Victory Gardens Theater with a variety of classes led by many talented and highly experienced Chicago artists. These courses are designed to deepen and enhance the skills of local theater makers at any point in their artistic journey. With courses ranging from the fundamentals of writing a potent ten-minute play, to contemporary dance, to audition essentials and comedic writing, these are a must for all artists,” states Artistic Director Chay Yew.

For more information about The Training Center or to register for courses call 773.871.3000 or visit http://victorygardens.org/also-playing/training-center/.

Grand Stage Announces more Theatrical Skills Workshops

Join us for these educational, informative and inexpensive workshops.

Pre-registration is required. There will not be any on-site registration.

All workshops have limited space. Registering early is recommended.

Please share with students and colleagues.

To register go to  http://grandstage.com/tsw.htm and click on specific workshop for  details and registration form.

Theatrical Make-Up: "Who do you want to be?"

October 15, 2016        8:30 - 12:30   

J. Sterling Morton West HS, Berwyn, Illinois

Presenter: Corrie Marlowe, Make-up Artist, Faculty at Roosevelt  University

• Contouring and old age     

• Cuts and bruises

*Cost: Educational - $15, others: $25  

          Materials fee: $15 for required make-up kit

Registration DEADLINE: Friday, October 7

Scene Painting: The Basics

October 29, 2016               9 - 4

Oakton Comm. College, Des Plaines, Illinois

Presenters: Emily Altman, Scenic Artist

                    Jen Knott, Rosco Paint Products Manager

• Basic painting tools and techniques

• Introduction to Brick and Wood Technique

• Glazes versus Washes 

• Color mixing            

Co-sponsored with USITT Midwest Regional Section

* Cost: All participants: $35, Materials Fee: $15

* Lunch included

Registration DEADLINE: Friday, October 21.

ETC' s Ion Console Training Level 1: Essentials

November 19, 2016       9:00 - 4

Glenbrook North HS, Northbrook, Illinois

Presenter:  Spencer Lyons, Product Specialist, ETC

• The basics to get the programmer up and running

• Topics include patch, cues, groups and subs

• Console navigation and patch

• Work with cues, groups, and submasters

• Play with conventional and moving lights in a virtual environment

*Cost: Educational -  $25, Others, $35

* Lunch included

Registration DEADLINE: Friday, November 11

Show Control Possibilities

 December 3, 2016                                9:00 - 3:00

Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Presenters: Stephen Carmody, TD

                   Matt Godlewski, TD

• Learn about different programs including QLab to control

   audio, lighting, and full show control

• See how control is integrated from the simple to the complex

• Experiment with the software and system to create a

   show live from material gathered by participants during the workshop.                                             

 (Co-sponsored with USITT Midwest Regional Section)

*Cost: Educational -  $25, Others, $35

* Lunch included

Registration DEADLINE: Monday, November 28

                                   

To register go to  http://grandstage.com/tsw.htm and click on specific workshop for registration form.

           

Questions?  Contact Steve Jacobs, Director of Training Workshops

                        sjacobs@grandstage.com

Theatrical Skills Workshops from Grand Stage

New season with new offerings begin soon!

Flying Performers: "Have You Thought About…"
September 10, 2016 8:30 - 5:00 EDT
Rockford HS, Rockford, Michigan
Presenter: Tracy Nunnally, Vertigo (http://www.flyingfx.com/)
• Learn about safety, staffing and budget
• Demonstration of necessary rigs & equipment
• All to help effectively plan the flying in your production
Co-sponsored with USITT Midwest Regional Section
Cost: $10-$25 (Includes membership in Midwest Section)
Go to http://midwest.usitt.org/programs for info.and to register for this workshop
Registration DEADLINE: Friday, Sept. 2

Electricity 101: Basics for the Stage Technician and ETC's Layers of Light Presentation
September 17, 2016 9:00 - 2:00
Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Illinois
Electricity 101:
Presenter: Tom Craner, Field Service Tech, Grand Stage
• Safety first: Learn how to work with electricity
• Basic electrical math and tools for the technician
• How to work with connectors, cables, wires and plugs
• Dealing with lamps for theatrical fixtures
"Layers of Light"
Presenter: Tom Littrell, ETC Education Outreach
• Learn about LED fixtures as a tool for lighting
• How they compare with traditional fixtures on skin, costumes and scenery
• How LED fixtures are dimmed and other control aspects for the stage
*Cost: Educational - $15, others: $25 Lunch included Registration DEADLINE: Friday, September 9

To register, go to: http://www.grandstage.com/tsw.htm and fill out our registration form.

Questions? Contact Steve Jacobs, Director of Training Workshops sjacobs@grandstage.com.

Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships Program

The Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships Program is a grant where actors are given the opportunity to grow artistically and professionally in collaboration with a Theatre Communications Group (TCG) member theatre. The grant seeks to transform the relationship between actors and theatre organizations.  The program has an online application deadline on August 30th, 2016, Noon Eastern Time.

Actors are selected in two categories:
Exceptional Merit: $15,000 (with an additional $10,000 available to relieve student loan debt) supports actors who are established in their careers as working professionals with 10 years or more of professional experience. Those with less experience are still eligible to apply but must recognize that they are competing with actors who have demonstrated a sustained dedication to their careers. Funds will support actors who are evaluating the current state of their career and envisioning what their career could be as they continue to grow in their artistry.

Distinguished Achievement: $25,000 supports actors with 20 years or more of experience who have amassed a substantial body of work. Recipients are awarded grants to allow them to look for opportunities for continued growth and sustain the longevity of their careers. Recipients will use these resources to adapt to the physical changes as an actor later in their career and changes to casting. The Host Theatre will receive $7,500 to be applied to costs associated with the actor’s residency activities.

The downloadable guidelines and online application forms are our website: http://www.tcg.org/grants/fox/fox_index.cfm.

Development and Drinks

Monday, August 1, 6-8PM 
Front Bar, 1700 N. Halsted 
Join development staff from other Chicago area theatre companies for drinks and conversation and check out the brand new Front Bar at Steppenwolf! These informal gatherings encourage networking, resource-sharing, and mentorship between theatre professionals from large and small organizations. Complimentary first drink and additional food and beverages will be available for purchase. Space is limited. Complimentary parking and close to North/Clybourn Red Line.This event is FREE for League members. Click here to RSVP.

CSz Education offers Improv Training Camp

Kids 7-14 half day 8:30am-12 noon
Kids & adults (18+) full day 8:30am-3:30pm
July 18-22, Adult 1
July 25-29, Kid 1
August 1-5, Adult 2
August 8-12, Kid 2
Kids' camp split into two simultaneous sessions for ages 7-10 & 11-14; each week's curriculum different so kids can take both weeks and receive new material.
Email camp@cszchicago.com
For more information visit http://www.cszchicago.com/