Mission File 03:2014
this issue Training Ground Mission FMCT’s Training Ground objective is to deepen its educational roots to grow artists of all ages, by contracting skilled educators in each area of theatre arts, and place a strong focus on learning through process and performance.
Contact the Training Ground Register: Online or Call Call: 701-235-6778 Website: fmcttrainingground.org Email: scott@fmct.org
Objective: Deeper Education Skilled Educators Focus on Learning
Welcome P.1 Classes P.2 Breakdown Age Groups P.3 The barnum acting studio P.4
Welcome to the Training Ground The Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre has been around for over 65 years with the mission of providing theatrical and educational opportunities to enrich and engage the greater community. Over 30 years ago Ann Vander Maten had a vision to expand FMCT’s educational programming for children, thus creating the Prairie Theatre Academy. While the Academy has taken on new names and new leaders since then, in the past seven years participation in our children’s programs has tripled. This outstanding growth has also been replicated in the number of artistic volunteers that FMCT has welcomed for auditions, production, and performances. In order to bring these two aspects of FMCT together, we are excited to announce our Training Ground Education Initiative! FMCT’s Training Ground objective is to deepen its educational roots to grow artists of all ages, by contracting skilled educators in each area of theatre arts, and place a strong focus on learning through process and performance.
Activate Your Education
“They seem to see music, dance, theater as options for them that are equal to or even better than sports” ~ Education Parent
FOOTLIGHTS Pre- K Footlights is geared to our community’s youngest learners. Through imaginative play and storytelling, students will learn the basics of theatre art. Classes are designed to develop early learning in theatre and provide an outlet for the creative mind.
DISCOVERING THEATRE GK-4 Discovering Theatre was launched as a part of our Summer Theatre Project several years ago. This program is designed for artists who are starting their journey. with Kindergarten - 4th grade learning opportunities. You will also find information regarding our June open enrollment musical program in the Discovering Theatre link.
NEXT STEP G5 - 8 Next Step is our middle school theatre program designed for students in grades 5-8. The flagship initiative for this age group is our summer musical education program in conjunction with Moorhead Community Education.
I m a g i n a t i o n Vacation For Footlights Teaching Artist Shanara Lassig Join preschool teacher and Director of It’s a Small World Preschool Shanara Lassig in our amazing imaginary adventure for your 3-5 year old! The children will enhance their development and intelligence while using their imagination to create scenery, sing and dance to music, read stories and act them out, move like animals, learn to cooperate, take turns, and work as a group. Tuition $50 Thursday April 3, 10, 17, 24, & May 1 from 4:30 to 5:15
Fairytales & You! For Discovering Theatre Teaching Artist Darren Sitz FMCT classes are a great way to meet new friends, and work with talented and well-known local artists and actors. Stretch your mind, body, and creativity by experiencing a children’s book from the character’s point of view! For six weeks, students will read a different story and then through acting, movement and imagination, they will bring that story to life and make it their own! Experience the excitement of theatre while working as part of an ensemble and exploring great children’s literature!
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Tuition $60 Mondays, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, & 12 – 4:00pm to 5:15pm
And All That Jazz Musical Theatre Dance For
Broadway Lights, Center Stage, & Legends Teaching Artist Jennifer Kapitan This class will explore the basic and intermediate dance moves needed to master a dance callback, or give you a leg up in your next musical rehearsals.You will learn footwork, counting, style, lingo, and All That Jazz! Throughout the class you will learn combinations which are repeated in many musicals and have become standard moves for most area choreographers. No dance experience required, but if you have some, you are more than welcome to kick it up in this fun, no stress dance class. Tuition $90 Monday’s April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5 & 12 from 6pm to 7:30.
SING SING SING: VOICE AND MUSICAL THEATRE
For Broadway Lights, Center Stage, & Legends Teaching Artist Angie Schultz This class will concentrate on voice and singing to get you ready for your next foray into musical theatre. Angie Schultz, a founding member of Music Theatre FargoMoorhead with a degree in vocal performance, will coach students
through various musical scene studies, including duets. Singers will learn techniques to get their voices back into shape after time off. They will also get a chance to choose, prepare, and workshop songs for auditions. By the end of this class, you will be able to break into character just as easily as you break into song. Tuition $50 Tuesdays April 8, 15, 22, 29 from 6pm to 7:30.
Shakespeare: & Chaos!
Love
For Center Stage & Legends Teaching Artist Jean Wilhelmi For students with some experience in acting but not as much as they would like with Shakespeare. Instructor Jean Wilhelmi, a longtime devotee of the Bard, will guide you through the love and chaos of Shakespeare’s world. Students will produce monologues or dialogues, delving deeply into the language, meaning, and nuances of his work. The last class will culminate in a performance for friends and family. This is a great opportunity to strengthen your acting skills and step into an exciting new challenge. Tuition $90 Wednesday’s April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
Objective: Deeper Education Skilled Educators Focus on Learning
Activate Your Education
Meditation for Actors For Center Stage & Legends
Teaching Artist Gina Sandgren Take your acting to the next level by learning a simple technique to fully integrate the rehearsal process. Meditation is a restorative practice that deeply settles the mind, thus offsetting the daily cycle of stress and invoking focus, calm and well-being. Experience firsthand how this technique, using breath awareness, can improve not only your acting, but also your walk through life. Class format will include instruction in proper breathing, gentle restorative poses to calm the body and silent meditation. No experience necessary‌.this is truly an hour of R&R that can produce the above-mentioned benefits! Tuition $50 Mondays April 14, 21, 28 & May 5 from 6pm to 7:00 pm
BOOT CAMP For Next Step, Broadway LIGHTS & Center Stage Required for all actors in the Barnum Acting Studio (see description on back page). Teaching Artist Justin Miles Barnum Sense Stress: This is a specific style of script analysis that involves determining what the operative words are in the text
BROADWAY LIGHTS G9 - 12
and how they receive emphasis. Actors will learn how to decipher these sense stress words, and apply them to characterization. Sources: A source is anything an actor can work off of that comes from outside him/herself. We go over an extensive list of potential sources, and actors are able to share their own processes with the class. Sources are important in developing character objectives, etc. Objectives/Actions: To portray a role truthfully, an actor must identify what a character wants in each scene. Understanding a character’s objectives informs every physical action an actor takes, and the way every line is spoken. Objectives can be discovered using several techniques, such as sense stress and sourcing. Character: In performing a play, character is paramount. In this class students will learn how to understand who a character is, who they are as actors portraying the character, and what the relationship is between character and audience.
Personalization: Personalization is about how actors can relate to or identify with their character. In what ways can the actor give the character a voice? Students will jump deep into the text to explore images, behavior, and thought. We must be willing to discover privacy in public. Tuition -For actors in the Studio: $25/ class; $125 all five classes -Actors who are not in the Studio: $40/class; $175 for all five classes Sundays from 3-5pm *New students must take them concurrently with the Barnum Studio class work. **Once you have taken an individual class in the Boot Camp, you may take it again when it comes up in the next cycle at no cost.
Register today at 701-235-6778 or fmcttrainingground.org
Broadway LIGHTS has made its return to FMCT through theatrical education. In 2008 we launched Broadway LIGHTS (Learning Inspires Greater Heights of Theatrical Success) with our production of Into the Woods Jr! We are excited to revive Broadway LIGHTS to bring deeper learning programs to 9-12 grade students in our region.
Center Stage Adult Center Stage is our program of greatest growth at FMCT. These classes will focus on adult learning opportunities. Over the past few years we have seen a great surge in adults coming to audition for FMCT stage productions. We are excited to launch new initiatives for adult learning. The Community Theatre was built, and continues to thrive, because each year new adult artists decide to jump into the work of theatre arts. These new Center Stage classes will provide easy access points for new and advanced artists.
legends 50+
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Legends is our program specifically designed for artists over the age of 50. Each year FMCT produces a spring production for this age group named Silver Follies. We have made these Legends classes a cornerstone of the Training Ground as we will be putting a strong focus in expanding the opportunities for learning throughout the year.
The Barnum Acting Studio At The Stage For Next Step This class, geared toward middle school students, is a great introduction to the nuts and bolts of acting, with emphases on character work and auditioning. There might be more in an actor’s creative process than you realize; this course will have you well prepared.
Contact the Training Ground Register: Online or Call Call: 701-235-6778 Website:
fmct training ground.org
333 4th Street South Fargo, ND 58103 701-235-6778 ph 701-235-2685 fax www.fmcttrainingground.org
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Learn how to walk into a room. Build material for auditions. Create characters by exploring their objectives and finding sources of inspiration. Play with language. Share ideas and build upon each other’s efforts. Perform. Students will get to work on all these aspects of acting and more through scenes, monologues, and improv—always with constant coaching and encouragement. April Session Limit 10 Tuition $100 Classes meet on Sundays - April 6, 13, 20, & 27 from 5 to 7pm
For Broadway Lights & Center Stage This is a scene study class where pairs of actors get to work on a new scene every week. The students will work together in and outside of the classroom on acting exercises and techniques, with plenty of coaching and encouragement. The course will become a safe space where students feel free to make bold choices and to challenge their own limits, allowing them to develop independence and confidence as they continue in their acting careers. While the actors will also get the opportunity to work on monologues and auditioning, the main focus of the course will be on technique. To that end, students are required to attend Barnum’s Technique Boot Camp, in which Sense Stress, Sources, Objectives/Actions, Character, and Personalization will be studied (see inside). Tuition $125 APRIL SESSIONS – Barnum Acting Studio Fridays: Mar. 28, April 4, 11, 25 from 7-10 (Limit 12) Sundays: April 6, 13, 20, &27 from 7-10 pm (limit 16)
Actors in the Friday and Sunday 7-10pm classes are required to attend a five-class BOOT CAMP. Each one is two hours in length and covers a specific area of technique. Interested parties not in the acting studio may register to attend one or all. Class information found inside The Training Ground Newsletter.