Click on a link or scroll down to see 2012 course descriptions.
Acting for the Camera
Open to students ages 14-18
July 22–August 18
Two two-week sessions
Session I July 22–Aug. 4
Course # YYCA Ø3-Ø4
Session II Aug. 5-18
Course # YYCA Ø5-Ø6
Culmination: Student Film Screening
Saturday, August 4, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 18, 10 a.m.
This two-week practical course for seasoned and beginning actors is an intensive, and fun experience both in front of and behind the camera. Students learn to experience the very intimate nature of acting on camera (versus theatre) and the demands of film and TV production on the actor.
The course begins with taping monologues that students have prepared. Archival film clips and a lecture demonstrate the differences between great theatre actors and great camera actors. The monologues are viewed.
Relaxation and imagination exercises combined with improvisation prepare the actors to shoot their scene work on camera and for the realistic acting style required by the truth and intimacy of the close up lens. Script analysis, beats, actions, character development, and other elements are worked out.
Working on a professional sound stage with state-of-the-art equipment, students learn how to operate a camera and record sound, giving them an objective perspective of the kind of acting the camera requires. The first of two scenes are shot, reviewed and discussed.
Acting for the Camera is taught in tandem with the Directing for the Camera Class. Directing students participate in acting exercises to understand the actors’ language and needs, then work with actors developing the interpretation of the scenes and character. The second week style and genre are discussed and character development is further explored. Directing Students film and edit the scenes for a final screening for family and friends. Screenings of films reflecting great acting are offered.
Students are asked to bring and open mind and an adventurous spirit!
Tuition, room and board: $2750
Lab fee: $50
Enrollment limited to 12 students.
Karina Becker
Adrienne Carter
Open to students finishing grade 8-12
August 5-18
Course # YYTH Ø5-Ø6
Two-week session
Student Performances
Friday, August 17, 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 18, 10 a.m.
Sketch performers, like the comic actors on Saturday Night Live, make it look easy, but there is a lot involved in making the public laugh. Those performers help write the material. In this two week program we will practice approaches to developing characters, creating scenarios, and presenting work that has both humor and depth. We’ll practice the tools that help make characters that can live on beyond one skit. We will also play with writing “genre pieces”, sequels, and comic adaptations. A music director will help the students in creating comic songs for their scenes and characters. The session will end with a public performance of all the comic masterpieces created over the two weeks. Learn the tools needed to generate more than a quick sketch. With these tools, you can continue to create endlessly.
Tuition, room and board: $2750
Enrollment limited to 20 students.
Leon Martell
Laurel Ollstein
Song and Dance
Open to students finishing grade 8 and beyond
July 8-21
Course # YYDS Ø1-Ø2
Two-week session
Student Performance
Friday, July 20, 8 p.m.
In this musical theatre workshop, designed for students grades 9–12 (graduating seniors may apply) with background in either musical theatre (or vocal music) and/or dance. All students will receive intensive training in voice and dance, with a final performance which will include individual solo work and full company production numbers from recent and classic Broadway shows. A major emphasis is placed on learning how to select audition material and to audition successfully. Students should come prepared to work hard, be challenged, and have a great time doing it!
A typical daily schedule is shown here (some activities alternate):
9 a.m. Dance warm-up
9:45 a.m. Jazz dance & individual voice lessons
10:45 a.m. Break
11 a.m. Tap dance (students placed by level of skill)
12 noon Lunch
1:30 p.m. Vocal Warm-up
1:45 p.m. Musical Theatre Masterclass
Individual Voice Lessons
3 p.m. Auditions for recitals
Rehearsals for final concert
Vocal Coaching as needed
4 p.m. Break
5:30 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Musical theatre repertoire
Choral rehearsal
For program information, email Joel Pressman: jpressm@pacbell.net. Students enrolling in Song and Dance are asked to submit an audition tape. Please submit a video recording (VHS or DVD) showing a performance of one or two songs from musical theatre repertoire and one letter of recommendation from a music or theatre professional (choir director, voice, dance or acting private teacher, drama coach) who knows your work. If possible, please include a sample of your dance or movement ability–individual routine, clip from a musical in which you performed (be sure to include information to identify you in any group numbers), or even dance class. Please send the video, a completed registration form, Teacher Recommendation form, the $25 application fee and the deposit to:
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program,
Song & Dance
P.O. Box 38, Idyllwild CA 92549
Please note: All videos must be received by April 1. Students will be notified of acceptance into the program by April 20, 2012. Returning Song & Dance students do not need to audition for the 2012 session.
Students should bring jazz and tap shoes, and either a black character shoe (women) or any sturdy black dress shoe. Women should bring a white blouse and black skirt (knee length), leotard and tights (at least one pair each of black and beige), and a simple knee length “rehearsal” skirt. Men should bring a white dress shirt and black pants, as well as clothes for dance class. All students should bring sheet music in their range - musical theatre repertoire-and be prepared to perform at least one song, from memory, at the start of the session. Students auditioning solo songs for the final concert might also want to bring appropriate costume for those numbers (not required).
Tuition, room and board: $2650
Enrollment limited to 35 students.
Joel D. Pressman, Director
Faculty
Summer Theatre Festival
Open to students finishing grade 8–12
July 8-28
Course # YYTF Ø1-Ø3
Three-week session
Student Performances
Fri./Sat., July 27 & 28, 8 p.m.
Programs of Study and Performance
The Theatre Arts Department offers programs of study geared for the serious high school student of theatre. It affords the student the opportunity to experience disciplined training in performance and technical theatre as exemplified in conservatory theatre training programs normally found at the college level. The summer curriculum will offer an introduction to the crafts of theatre including actor training in Scene Study, Shakespearean Text, Voice and Diction/Acting, Stage Movement, Mask work, Improvisation, Stage Combat and technical theatre training in set/costume/prop construction.
Students will be placed in classes and performances as actors or technicians based on an audition at the beginning of the three-week session. Every effort to accommodate student interests will be considered for class placement, however, casting is based on ability and enrollment in the Summer Theatre Festival does not guarantee casting in a production. All students enrolled in the summer program will participate in production in either an
acting or technical theatre capacity. Summer Theatre faculty may perform alongside students in productions.
Special workshops will be offered as staffing permits. Typical offerings from past summers include Audition Techniques, Stage Combat, Clowning Techniques, Mask Making, Dance Improvisation, Technical Theatre, Audition Techniques and Musical Theatre.
Typical Daily Schedule
Mon/Thurs. (Mornings & Afternoons, 8:30-5)
Classes, workshops, rehearsals and technical theatre production
Friday (All Day, 8:30-5)
Rehearsals and technical theatre production
Saturday (10-5)
Workshops and rehearsals
Sunday
Off
Evenings (6:30-9:30)
Rehearsals and technical theatre production as called
Performances
The Summer Theatre Festival will culminate with a production presented on the Friday and Saturday nights of the last week of the session. A One Act Modern Theatre Piece will be presented on Friday and Saturday afternoons for visiting family and friends.
Performance schedules and titles will be announced after students arrive. Workshop subjects will be announced at that time as well.
Shows under consideration: The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare. Enrollment will be limited to 25 Acting Students and 5 Technical Theatre students.
Casting
All casting will be done in Idyllwild on the first Monday of the session. Students interested in acting must be prepared to present the following:
1) Two one-minute contrasting monologues: one (1) contemporary and one (1) classical.
2) 16 bars of a simple song a capella (no accompaniment).
3) A resume and head shot (photograph-8”x10”B/W or color).
4) A Teacher Recommendation Form
For students who are unable to obtain a contemporary monologues, prepared materials are available from the Summer Registrar. Please request the audition material at the time of registration.
Tuition, room and board: $3145
Script fee: $25
Enrollment limited to 30 students.
Students are requested to stay in campus housing until the Sunday morning following the end of their session in order to assist in striking the set.
J. Barrett Cooper, Director
Faculty
Directing for the Camera
Open to students ages 14–18
July 22–August 18
Two two-week sessions
Session I July 22–Aug. 4
Course # YYCD Ø3-Ø4
Session II Aug. 5–18
Course # YYCD Ø5-Ø6
Culmination: Student Film Screening
Saturday, August 4, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 18, 10 a.m.
A jam packed, two-week course designed to inspire directors. Students will learn the role of the film director and techniques of visual storytelling. The course will cover crew responsibilities, art direction, shot selection, camera movement, lighting for visual tone, sound recording, editing and most importantly, working with actors. This class is taught in tandem with the Acting for the Camera class. After two weeks every student will direct two scenes starring two students from the Acting for the Camera class. The scene will be presented in the final screening for friends and family. Students are asked to bring their imagination!
Tuition, room and board: $2750
Lab fee: $50
Enrollment limited to 12 students.
Isaac Webb
Open to students ages 14–18
July 8-28
Course # YYFM Ø1-Ø3
Three-week session
Culmination: Student Film Screening
Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m.
Designed for high school-aged artists passionate about making films. Using our state-of-the-art sound stage, film-based lighting and grip equipment, HD digital cameras and editing suites, filmmakers will cast their films from a wide variety of actors in the Idyllwild Arts Casting Directory to make short digital films from concept through originally scored completed projects. During an intensive three-week period, the young filmmakers will learn techniques of visual storytelling leading to an understanding of the creative collaboration in filmmaking between the writer, director, cinematographer, editor and actor in creating authentic, memorable films. In the first week, participants will concentrate on story, screen writing, development, producing, camera, sound, directing and crewing skills. In the second week, up to eight films will be “greenlit” for production, and students will complete pre-production planning, cast actors, and work in several crew positions to shoot their short films. In the third week, students will edit picture and sound, score, and add visual effects. All films will be screened on the last day of classes at Idyllwild’s first-run movie theater, pending its availability. Each student will receive a DVD of the films made in class as well as a Behind-the-Scenes bonus reel. Films produced in this program have won a number of awards at major film festivals.
Tuition, room and board: $4245
Lab fee: $135
Enrollment limited to 16 students.