"the Aristocats": Everybody Wants to Be a Cat!

I've been teaching theatre since 1996 and have produced countless shows with cast after cast. There are a few basic lessons that every new actor must learn before they are ready to audition for a play and receive a script (and I've directed this show on stage a few times). This class will cover those basic lessons but then it will go on to give students a chance to demonstrate those lessons. Students received some of the best parts of being in a live show from taking Ms. Jackson's Virtual Stage class: 
1. The excitement of auditioning
2. The creativity of creating a Character
3. The satisfaction of knowing a script
4. The fun of being part of a cast

Days 1: Creating a Character
In this class students will learn the basics of creating a character for stage. They will experiment with finding character voices, body movements and consider stories and emotions behind character motivations. It is a first step to performing on a stage. This class is all about using the voice to find a character. Experimenting with high/slow, fast/slow and accent is a good way to start. All exercises are with teacher modeling and mimic so students will feel comfortable (basically, I'm so silly that no one worries about looking silly themselves!). Next learners will learn how to use one's body to convey a character. How does this person walk? What do they do with their hands? How would they stand/sit/move, etc? I also will talk some about body consciousness on stage and basic stage manners like cheating out, not upstaging and how to always be seen. Finally, we'll talk about how we FEEL when we're a particular character and we will add a story to explain who the character is. 

Day 2: Cold reading of the script so everyone is familiar with the characters. 

Days 3: Auditioning for a part in "The Aristocats"
Students will learn how to audition for a part. They will choose their top three favorite characters, develop character voices and movements for each, memorize a few lines and perform for Ms. Jackson and the class. Depending on how many students are enrolled in class, there will be some double casting. 

Days 4-5: Rehearsing
Although we do not have a stage, we will do our best to learn as many parts as we can for stage performance. If students have space, they may move around as the characters. If they would like to put together costumes and collect props for their parts, they may. 

Day 6
We perform!