Shakespeare  Workshop Seeking Actors

FAIRFIELD — Shakespeare Ventures, a professional theater company on the Fairfield University campus, is registering participants in its Summer Acting Workshop, a monthlong program for student actors ages 10 through 19.

The workshop will run weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm, Tuesday, July 5, through Friday, July 29, at the University’s PepsiCo Theatre.

A final “informance” showcasing the students’ new skills will take place on Saturday, July 30, at 10 am.

Now in its third year, Shakespeare Ventures’ four-week workshop provides a welcoming environment for creative thinkers who wish to explore all that theater has to offer. The program emphasizes ensemble work and encourages self-expression. Workshop activities include mask work, movement, improvisation, stage combat and scene work, all with an eye to finding the modern-day relevance of Shakespeare’s text.

Unlike a traditional performance, the “informance” allows the actors to show skills and techniques they learned during the workshop that will strengthen their understanding and enjoyment of performing and the theater itself.

Workshop staff members are all working theater artists, each with a different specialty. Education Director Heather Parady will bring her skills in improvisation and ensemble building. Doug Durlacher’s expertise includes stage combat. Danielle Liccardo is a stage movement specialist and Kathleen Mooney focuses on improvisation. Artistic Director Lynne Porter is the director of the theater program at Fairfield University.

In addition to the summer workshop, Shakespeare Ventures provides outreach programming in schools and will present its first professional production of Macbeth this summer at the PepsiCo Theatre.

Space is limited for this summer session. For more information, contact Ms Porter at 203-254-4000, ext 3406, or ShakespeareVentures@mail.Fairfield.edu.

Interested students whose schedules make them unavailable to commit to all four weeks should also call, as the workshop can sometimes work around arranged absences.