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Happy September! I'm feeling excited to start another school year which means you get a limited time offer to try one free class; but this month only! Just use code WOOLVBKTOSCHOOL25 when you enrol in any of my classes (except 1-Day) during September.
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Have you ever wondered why mimes even exist? Did you know that for hundreds of years during the middle ages, throughout Europe (when theatre was actually outlawed) mime was one of the only kinds of theatre that existed! ... But do you know why?  There is a really clever reason mime rose to such popularity for so long. Jump into our time machine and travel through the evolution of theatre with us to find out! 

Our journey begins with an introduction to the world of drama through acting and improv exercises to get the class acquainted right away. I use improv games in every class to keep them engaged and interacting. We will use those exercises to build our time machine (every class must build their own time machine) and then we set out for the Renaissance in Europe when, and where, we commence with, of course, Shakespeare! From there we travel backward through time to different nations and periods to learn the evolution of theatre and discover the differences (and striking similarities!) from myriad cultural perspectives. 

At every stop along the way we literally immerse in - using zoom's immersive view - and learn about the importance and style of the prominent performance of that time and place, its particular characteristics and its role in society. Then we spend the second half of each class trying out that style of theatre; with scripts & scene guides or improv, getting a taste for  Greek tragedy, Japanese dance drama, silent acting, breaking the fourth wall, acting with their noses and hands as in Sanskrit in India, improvising with stock characters and slapstick comedy, speaking gibberish, melodrama and much more.  etc. 

By the 10th class we will have worked our way back to today. We put away the time machine and spend the last two classes using what we have learned to create our  modern storyboard for their final improvised performance in the last class.  

***For classes that really want to turn this final improvised story into an actual script, we can add a couple of free makeup meetings as a bonus, if it works for everyone's back to school schedules.  ***

What your learner will learn in this class: 

- Why does drama as an art exist? Who started it?
-Introduction to story structure, scene structure, script formats, stage, film, plot, conflict, settings, characterization, comparing and learning the difference between stage, film, TV and social media around the world.
-How modern scenes are broken down for subtext and learning to deeply understand what is going on behind the words.
-Learners will tryout many different acting techniques from historical to modern (sensory recall, method acting, Sanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, melodramatic, pantomime etc.)
-Improvisation: using archetype characters, stock characters, creating their own character, story conflicts, stakes and resolutions 
-(Improv exercises are great for building confidence and developing better communication skills)
-When time allows students will also take turns directing each other
-How to create rehearse, and mount a short production from storyboard to the final curtain call 
-For the final script they will have their choice of genres and storyboard guides to choose from, with room to adapt it to their own choices. They will create the story and improvise the scenes and dialogue. Then I will commit what they create to the page between classes so they have a final polished script to use for their project.  
-This final project serves as their "final test." I will gently guide and assist, but the choices will be up to them.

My goals for this class are:

1) To take them on a fun, interesting and immersive journey through time. 
2) To provide lots of opportunity to get out of their seat and try different styles of performance.
2) To foster a deeper respect and admiration for other cultures.
3) To educate learners on  "foreign" elements of artistic performance by demystifying theatre traditions around the world and answering questions like: Why is that mask so creepy and scary looking? Why don't they speak when they dance?  How do they make their eyeballs so red?? Why do they move their hands like that?
4) To teach them the importance of theatre & movies and their deep connection to society.

I love teaching theatre, movies, acting, writing & improv on Outschool. I have been doing so here for over two years now. A few parents asked me to offer a more comprehensive drama program for their learner's education... and so here it is!  

I hope to introduce your learner to the thrilling world of drama history!