OVERVIEW

A variety of workshops lead by industry professionals and experts in their crafts, will be availible to the students to choose from.


FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS:


Acting: From Stage to Screen

Jennifer Clement

Actors in the profession need to move effortlessly from the theatre to film & TV roles. Today's actors can build a career by being ready to work across multiple platforms. How do you adapt the root of truthful acting from the stage to the lens of a camera? We will give you the basic tools to create great characters on camera & off and build your confidence for Film + TV auditions. You will have an opportunity to face the lens and see how your choices work.

A professional actor for over 30 years, Jennifer is currently the Head of the Acting Program at VFS- Vancouver Film School. Jennifer's more recent work includes The Day before Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life at the Arts Club Theatre and The Trespassers by Morris Panych, a Vancouver Playhouse/ Belfry co-production for which she won a Jessie award. Jennifer has worked across the country at the National Arts Centre, Globe Theatre, Dream in High Park, Alberta Theatre Projects and Theatre Calgary with favourite productions including Coward's Blithe Spirit, Stoppard's The Real Thing, Churchill's Top Girls, Shaw's Candida and Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the film and TV world, she has been on Supernatural, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, X-Files and is especially proud of the Canadian work on Fido, Waydowntown, Da Vinci's Inquest and the series My Life as a Dog. Jennifer is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School and York University.




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Blood, Bruises, Dirt…and other Make-up Effects

Mikaela Austin

Using different techniques we will have a fun session of learning various injury makeups: blood, bruises and dirt. After teaching a brief demo students will be able to learn how to colour injuries and create a character in the allotted time.

Graduated with a Diploma of Makeup for Film and Television from the Vancouver Film School- Started working at VFS as a teaching assistant right after graduating, then went on to becoming a junior instructor shortly after. She has been working on set since graduating but have recently been working in the fx shops. I have worked at Masters FX and Lindela Schminken FX Studio.




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Breaking Down A Script for Production

Allyson McGrane

Choosing a script that you love is the easy part! Once you have decided on a play that you want to create, then you need to break down the script to find out what is required for its production. Will the actors need to learn dialects or accents? Does it have multiple locations or need various levels onstage? Is it set in the past requiring costume and prop research? Are there dream sequences with otherworldly lighting? Do you need pyrotechnics to create a real fire onstage? Depending on your role in the production - director, actor, stage manager, technician, designer or producer - what you see in the script will be different. But everyone can start at the beginning and learn to watch for opportunities and hurdles inherent in every script! This workshop will review a short script and look at it from various perspectives to see the options and opportunities for all involved in making the project happen.

Allyson McGrane is a producer, creator and consultant. While in high school, she attended all four years of provincial theatre festivals before studying drama and political science at the University of Saskatchewan and then law at the University of Victoria. She has over 15 years of experience in the Vancouver arts community and has worked directly with hundreds of professional and community artists and arts organizations. Favourite theatre credits include Night of the Living Dead Live, Evil Dead: The Musical, Beggars Would Ride and Old Goriot. She was a co-founder and co-producer of Neanderthal Arts Festival, a 10-day summer theatre festival at the Cultch for three years (which continued to be produced as the Revolver Festival). In addition, she is currently a part-time instructor at the Arts & Entertainment Management program at Capilano University.




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Buffoonery: “Acting is playing”

Trilby Jeeves

In this workshop, participants will get a taste of what it's like to take themselves less seriously in order to be able to be a well-rounded actor. If, as an actor, you resist being bold, the range of your roles will be limited. We will tap into your full energy through some fun group exercises, and introduce you to your own silly bouffon. The bouffon is a valuable tool for actors to free up their performance. By encouraging “getting out of the head, into the body”, owner of Buffoonery Workshops, Trilby guides the individual to understand the actor’s job, and return to the importance and freedom of “play”. Be prepared to laugh and discover something brand new!

Trilby Jeeves is an actor, director, instructor, and writer from Vancouver. She is the only English student to be theatrically trained in her second language at “Le Conservatoire d'Art Dramatique” in Quebec City. She went on to perform and direct in both languages across Canada. As well as performing up to 40 plays, including her own one woman show, “Dusty Shoes”, she worked for 34 years off and on as a set costumer/supervisor in the theatre & film industry. Currently, she facilitates her Buffoonery Workshops for actors, and also for non-actors in the private sector or as a public workshop. Her course is part of the curriculum in the one year acting program at Vanarts, and each term the directing students at Vancouver Film School get a taste of her class. She is passionate about helping people play and realize their energetic potential for their creative work. See www.buffooneryworkshops.com for more information.




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Character Mask Exploration

Cat Main

Come and discover the fun of mask work through this introductory workshop! The history of mask will be touched on as well as its relevance to the modern actor. Participants will learn the fundamental principles of mask in a playful, experiential format. Get ready to be ridiculous! Coaching will be provided to help actors stretch their physical range and to enable them to bring their characters to life with full embodiment. No experience in necessary. Sense of humour is an asset :)

Cat Main is Arts Educator with over 10 years of teaching experience. She is a Movement Instructor in the Acting Department at the Vancouver Film School (VFS) and has taught theatre at Arts Umbrella, the Shadbolt Centre and Artspace. Cat has worked professionally as an actor with a variety of local and national companies including Theatre Replacement, Rumble Productions, PiTheatre, Realwheels, Sea Theatre, Théâtre la Seizième, Gateway Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre, Toronto's WhyNot Theatre, as well as Boca Del Lupo (Jessie nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble). She has also worked as a voice actor for cartoons, video games and radio. Cat is a graduate of Studio 58 and has an MA in Expressive Arts Therapy.




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Creating Memorable Characters

David C. Jones

Learn how to create memorable characters for your improvised and scripted acting. Find your inner Meryl Streep, Johnny Deep or Tom Hardy with the David C. Jones an actor who has been described as "the man of a thousand faces" and "a comic chameleon". Who are all the people who live inside you? When you create a persona that is not you, you tap into rich right brain thinking and unlock creativity in unexpected and exciting ways. I will also give some handouts on Expanding and Advancing story in improvised scenes that will help you know when to Break The Routine and harvest The Question Mark tree.

David C. Jones has taught workshops across the country and throughout the province. He is creative coach for performers and public speakers. As a facilitator he has designed or adapted programs to cover a wide range of topics from self-esteem and empowerment to team building. He worked for several years with YMCA International creating role-plays and popular education activities. As a teacher he works in a variety of performing arts; acting, scene study, text analysis, and improvisation. His authentic character workshops and status and body language classes to awaken the creative spirit. He is currently a teacher at the Vancouver Film School and a graduate of Studio 58. His workshops have been described by one student as a ‘combination of hilarity, gentleness and challenge’. David loves to laugh and loves to learn.




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Development in Limbo

Emma Hughes

What are the first steps in taking a character from the page to the stage? Explore scene work and character development as we analyze pieces of John Patrick Shanley's "Savage in Limbo." Delve into complex characters and interactive ensemble work in order to deepen understanding of text and character from an actor's perspective.

Emma Hughes is an alumnus of the University of Victoria’s Theatre program as well as a graduate of the Acting program at Douglas College. Emma has worked as an actor, director, and stage manager for multiple productions in Victoria and is currently a producer for workingclasstheatre, a company that produces the work of emerging artists, new Canadian works, and provide training opportunities to performers. With a heavy focus on site-specific productions, and bringing a contemporary twist to classic works, you can find Emma and workingclasstheatre producing at festivals and in theatres of all shapes and sizes, throughout Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.




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Doing the Impossible – Intro to Viewpoints

Tristan Bacon

"Actors will do, in public, what is widely considered to be impossible" - Jerzy Grotowski How does a group of actors communicate without speaking? How do you solve complex theatrical problems without taking a break to think about it? Can a group of actors create engaging, watchable work quickly and from nothing? How does a company develop a shared language?
Developed from Marie Overlie's dance experiments with the Group Theatre, Anne Bogart's Nine Physical Viewpoints provide a group of actors with a shared lens with which to interpret the biggest problems faced when creating theatre: time, space and the body. By breaking these wide categories down into nine 'viewpoints', performers develop a greater awareness of their place in the fabric of a scene or a play, and through training and shared improvisations new work can be developed quickly and repeatedly. Viewpoints also provides a training vocabulary for a company - in much the same way as a dancer has barre exercises or a pianist has scales. Viewpoints is a sounding board for an actors habits and weaknesses, and a whetstone for his/her strengths. This workshop will introduce the core concepts, take the participants through training exercises and culminate in a group improvisation.

Tristan is a Victoria based Director, performer, playwright and teaching artist. He is the founding Artistic Director at workingclasstheatre, a theatre company established in 2009 dedicated to developing the skills of emerging artists by reimagining classic stories through the contemporary lens. Directing credits include Burn This, Hedda Gabler, Savage in Limbo (workingclasstheatre) Reefer Madness (Passion and Performance), Louis and Dave (TheatreSKAM). Tristan has been directing for ten years, and acting for nearly twenty. Past favorite roles include Jacob Marley (A Christmas Carol, workingclasstheatre), Caliban (The Tempest, Sandbox Productions) and The Narrator (Sorkaboni & Musorika, Random Acts of Circus). Tristan has written many productions for workingclasstheatre including Rope of Sand (Ignite! Youth Playwriting Festival Finalist) Café Soap Operas! (Victoria Fringe Festival 2016), and 2BR02B (UFV Director's Festival). Areas of interest include acting theory, physical theatre, site-specific performance and new performance modes. Tristan runs the Theatre Program at Passion and Performance Studio in Victoria, and is a passionate advocate for small scale performing arts infrastructure, working with government agencies and NGO's to create shared artistic spaces at affordable costs to local artists.




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Foundations of Voice-over

Rhona Rees

On The Mic’s Foundations Program allows students who are completely new to voice-over to learn the basics. They will be introduced to the three main areas of voice-over, commercials, animation and narration. Through their experience of the class, they will discover where their strengths and interests lie and receive support in setting up the next steps for their voice-over career.

Rhona is a seasoned performer with more than 20 years experience behind the mic voicing commercials, animation, dubbing projects and narration. She enjoyed a busy commercial career as in Australia before moving to Vancouver in 2012. Locally, Rhona can be heard voicing commercials for American Girl, Huggies, Dr. Bernstein and Happy Planet to name a few. Rhona’s animation credits include My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, LBX, Trumpocalypse and a Hasbro series she can’t tell you about just yet! As well as voicing projects, Rhona loves to create content, and hopes to produce her own animated series some day in the not to distant future.




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In-Animate: Object Manipulation

Susan Bertoia

A hands-on workshop where you get to make simple everyday objects come to life and tell their tale. Focus, breath, precision and imagination are the tools we will explore in this exciting and totally fun workshop. You'll never be alone again when you make friends with inanimate objects!! This workshop is great for those interested in simple puppetry, mask or physical theatre. The basic techniques used in these theatrical forms are enforced when manipulating objects. No previous experience necessary, but a desire to move things around is a must!

Susan Bertoia is a Vancouver based professional theatre artist/devisor, actor, director and teacher. Her work explores poetic and pedestrian moments while her artistic leadership has been described as engaging, encouraging and disarming. She has worked with many secondary schools devising and teaching physical theatre workshops. She also builds and manipulates simple rod puppets and objects for several of her devised shows. Susan serves as an Adjudicator at Drama and Speech Arts festivals and as a Theatre Artist-in-Residence both independently and through the organization ArtStarts (BC). Training includes Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre Acting from UBC and advanced studies in commedia dell’arte and movement-based theatre from international institutions. Susan is Artistic Director/Producer and Ensemble Performer with the somewhat illusive BellaLuna Productions. Accolades include; Jessie Richardson Award (Outstanding Performance), The Gordon Armstrong Theatre Artist Award and mom to three kids!




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Introduction to Playwriting

Shawn MacDonald

This workshop will review the basic structure of the traditional play and engage the participants in scene creation exercises focused on character 'wants' and writing action. Scenes will then be shared with the group and Shawn will introduce an essential feedback model which will allow the participants to give a receive feedback on their work in a safe and supportive structure.

Shawn is a Vancouver-based theatre artist with over 25 years of professional experience. He is an award-winning actor and playwright, a director and educator. Shawn is the Instructor and Program Leader for the LEAP Playwriting Intensive for Young Writers at the Arts Club Theatre. He is also the Artistic Associate at Green Thumb Theatre where he devises original theatre creations with teenaged artists.




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Musical Theatre Auditions : THE CALLBACK

Damon Jang

You made it through the auditions, CONGRATULATIONS. Now the creative team wants to see you back for a specific role and you have to prepare sides of dialogue, songs, possibly a cold read and an advance dance call and possibly even a vocal range test. This workshop is for more advance students who want an inside track on the callback process, and practice their skills in an advanced session.

Damon is an independent performance arts instructor as well as a performer and theatre administrator. He holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts and Musical Theatre Diploma from Capilano University, has also studied at Studio 58 and attended the Banff Centre Professional Summer Musical Theatre Intensive program on an emerging vocalist scholarship. As a performer Damon has worked with companies such as: The PuSh Festival, The Fringe Festival, Theatre Under The Stars, Royal City Musical Theatre, Applause! Gateway, Firehall Arts Centre, Metro, Fighting Chance, Ghostlight, Vancouver Moving Theatre, DreamRider Shift Theatre and others. Recent credits include: Songs For A New World (Fabulist Theatre), CATS, Ragtime-In-Concert (Fighting Chance) The Threepenny Opera (Theatre In The Raw) West Side Story (TUTS). Damon is the former artist in resident at Byrne Creek Community School having directed, choreographed and or co-produced Cinderella: The Broadway Edition, Oliver! Peril On The High Seas, Peter Pan, and Flapper a tribute to the 1920s. Other show directions include: The Government Inspector (The Next Stage at Place Des Arts) A Charlie Brown Christmas (Act Out Drama) Rites of Passage (DreamRider) choreographed Susanna: an American Opera for The Vancouver Academy of Music and will be choreographing Aladdin Jr for Moving Mirror Pictures Damon is also a professional publicist and has previously worked in theatre administration for the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Fugue Theatre and Touchstone Theatre. Damon recently co-founded and is co-artistic producer of Fabulist Theatre.




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Musical Theatre Choreography

Shawna Parry

Using a lively and thrilling musical piece from a popular musical, participants will enjoy learning and perfecting choreography taught to them. Dancers and non-dancers alike, will be coached and able to adapt the choreography onto their own physiques while enjoying the class. Emphasis will be placed upon musicality, dynamics of body movement, storytelling and fun!

Shawna is a Vancouver based dancer, singer, and actor, who loves to share her passion of Musical Theatre via performing, instructing, or choreographing/directing! Favourite performance credits: West Side Story ‘Anybodys’ (Van Opera), Guys and Dolls ‘Adelaide’ (Metro), The Diary of Adam and Eve, 'Eve' (VanFringe), A Chorus Line ‘Connie’ (VIVA), helping with the creation and voice of ‘Sara’ in How To Love-The Headphone Play (Van Fringe), and the play God of Carnage ‘Annette’, which won the North Shore Theatre BC Zone Festival award (NVCP). Most recently, she toured across Canada with a live stage version of Nickelodeon’s Bubble Guppies Ready To Rock, playing “Oona”. Favourite choreography credits: A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde (Crofton School), five seasons of The Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular (RazzleDazzle), assisting Mr. Jeff Hyslop in Mrs. Claus' Kitchen (GTI Productions), and directing Honk! The Musical for The Chilliwack School of Performing Arts.




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Paper Collars

Johanna Karlen

We will be making a variety of collars in paper. Elizabethan ruffs, Victorian men's collars and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

I've been sewing since I was a small child. I attended the Los Angeles Theatre Academy majoring in Costumes. I've worked at Universal Studios, USC and Cirque du Soleil amongst others. I love the variety of sewing costumes - whether it is a Victorian corset, a wizard's cape or 1940's uniform!




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Props Building

Danica West

Come and be introduced to the Wonderful World of Theatre Props! This hands-on workshop will show you some of the tips and tricks of the Theatre Props Industry, and you'll take home a prop you made yourself.

Danica West is a Faculty Member in the Stagecraft and Event Technology Program at Douglas College. She instructs Drafting for the Stage, Scenic Painting, Properties, Introduction to CAD, Costume and Design Explorations. Danica has an MFA Theatre Design, University of British Columbia; BA, University of Waterloo, and Theatre Design, CEGEP John Abbott, Montreal. Danica was Resident Costume Designer at the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Art for over nine years, and spent four seasons working in costumes and scenic painting at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Ontario.




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Quiet, Please, I'm Creating!

Guy Fauchon

This workshop encourages students to listen to their creative voices, to encourage a trust in the quiet of creation, and to share these personal discoveries with others to build on-stage relationships. Divided into three parts, this session introduces the exploration of three relationships: the actor with self, the actor with scene partner, and the actor with audience. Led often without verbal instruction, participants are required to listen with everything but their ears.

Guy approaches theatre as an opportunity for collaborative storytelling that illuminates the soul. As a Certified Instructor of Drama, he teaches at Lowell High School and Pacific Spirit School. Directing credits include: Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol (Theatre Obscura); The Nether and How I Learned to Drive (Peninsula Productions); Sylvia (Theatre Tuscaloosa); Trust and Oleanna (Duke City Rep, Albuquerque); and (at grad school) Reckless, Transit of Venus, Winter’s Tale, and Hair, for which he was nominated Best Director for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He was also the apprentice director of Anita Rochon’s Cymbeline at Bard on the Beach in 2014. (BFA ’91, MFA ’10)




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Scenic Painting

Danica West

Come and be introduced to the Wonderful World of Scenic Painting! This workshop will introduce you to scenic painting by teaching you to create textures such as faux marble texture, woodgrain etc. No experience or special skills necessary!

Danica West is a Faculty Member in the Stagecraft and Event Technology Program at Douglas College. She instructs Drafting for the Stage, Scenic Painting, Properties, Introduction to CAD, Costume and Design Explorations. Danica has an MFA Theatre Design, University of British Columbia; BA, University of Waterloo, and Theatre Design, CEGEP John Abbott, Montreal. Danica was Resident Costume Designer at the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Art for over nine years, and spent four seasons working in costumes and scenic painting at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Ontario.




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Submission Skills – “You Had Me At Hello!”

Andy Toth

It used to be that students could easily find a community theatre show or school musical to develop their skills and get the experience outside of high school needed to build a performance resume. With more and more shows being locally produced featuring post-secondary grads, how does a teen stand out when sending in submissions to be in a show? In his work with students at Arts Umbrella and as Artistic Director of Awkward Stage Productions, Andy sees hundreds of student headshots(photos) and resumes every year. In this workshop, learn about what people look for in a headshot, how to format your resume, how to present yourself in a cover letter, and other ways to be seen and respected for what you can do for a production, before you even audition.

Andy is currently the director of the Pre-Professional Musical Theatre Troupe at Arts Umbrella, as well as the coordinator of Arts Umbrella’s new Theatre Conservatory gap-year program. Andy has directed and produced shows for Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Chilliwack Academy of Music, and industrials for companies like Yellowtail and RBC. Andy is also Artistic Director of Awkward Stage Productions: the west coast's leading youth theatre production company offering real-world production experience to young artists moving from their awkward stage to the next stage, whatever that may be,. As a performer audiences province-wide know Andy from his recent tour-de-force performance as Edna in Hairspray at Theatre Under the Stars, as Brian in Avenue Q for the Arts Club and more. Andy also has a significant voice-over career with hundreds of cartoons and commercials. Andy is also in demand as an adjudicator, workshop leader and coach for individuals and groups of professionals and community performers alike. He has been a guest speaker for auditions, courses and conferences at SFU, UBC, and Capilano University. Andy coaches privately and in small groups from his home in Vancouver.




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Vocal Aerobics

Lisa Zimmer

This Vocal workshop will guide you with tips and exercises to help improve you to become a stronger vocal performer at any level by covering the following:
● Vocal technique and warm-ups to help you produce a stronger, healthier sound
● Increase your range and power without straining
● Using the Middle/Forward voice and smoothing out vocal breaks
● Guide in Vocal style singing and how to personalize a song
● Tips on Vocal care during a show

Lisa has been singing and performing on stage since 2 years old. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is also a BCRMTA vocal teacher and member. With a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, broadway and pop, Lisa has performed as a soloist, in ensembles, choirs, musical productions & has directed a variety of musicals and theatre groups. For the last 18 years she has taught vocal workshops & teaches private vocal and piano lessons at her home studio. Lisa is her in 6th year of teaching Musical Theatre classes at CSOPA(Chilliwack School of Performing Arts)and is currently the musical director of CSOPA’s MainStage program. She has worked with several shows and the most recent ones being Annie, Shrek, The Addams Family, Mary Poppins and Little Mermaid. She counts it as a privilege to teach her students to enjoy music and strive for excellence.




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Voice for Musical Theatre: Don't Throw Away Your Shot!

Arielle Ballance

Are you young, scrappy, and hungry for all things musical theatre? In this workshop with Vancouver-based musical director Arielle Ballance, students will learn all the facets of musical theatre vocal technique, style, and presentation. And what better way to do that than with a song? By the end of the workshop, students will have learned a full piece from the Tony-award winning sensation Hamilton.

Arielle Ballance is a music director, accompanist, actor, and instructor. After graduating from the Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts program in Edmonton, she went on to work as an actor with companies including Promise Productions, Theatre Prospero, and Alberta Opera. Arielle then switched gears and has found joy in musical directing and accompanying musical theatre. Some recent accompaniment credits include Ragtime: In Concert and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Fighting Chance Productions), and Edges, Young Frankenstein, Catch Me If You Can, Big Fish (Grant MacEwan University). She is currently the musical director of Grease for The Lawyer Show (Carousel/Touchstone Theatre) as well as A Chorus Line for Fighting Chance Productions.




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What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Don Parman

This workshop is designed to get students to start looking for the safer way to work in a theatre environment. We use a humorous hands-on approach to identifying common safety issues in performance spaces. From lighting, audio and carpentry, to stage management and venue design we touch on safety issues and solutions you may never have thought of!

Don is the Industry Advisor for the Performing Arts at Actsafe. With over 20 years experience in the live event community, it was a natural fit for Don to join the Actsafe team. From lighting, audio, carpentry and rigging, Don has worked through almost every technical scenario you can imagine. This wealth of experience allows Actsafe to help with safety issues from first-hand experience.