Acting Activities During Summer
Want to make your summer productive? Why not take acting lessons from summer acting programs? It's not just a fun way with which to spend your free time, you can also learn some skills that could turn into a real job someday. Furthermore, if you're an aspiring actor, a summer acting program can help refine your acting skills. Here's how to find the perfect program for you:
Which technique?
Before you enroll in a summer acting program, find out what acting technique is being taught. There are different types of techniques and methods in acting. The Method and the Meisner Method are just two of them. Learn about the particular method first before signing up so you'll know what to expect.
Find out about the requirements.
Summer acting programs have certain requirements, some of which depend on their curriculum. Some programs also have age limitations, so make sure to check. There are also summer acting programs that will only accept actors with previous work experience.
Ask for the location.
If the summer acting program will be held in your locality, that's good news for you. But if the program will be held someplace else, find out if it's convenient and cost effective. You could be spending a lot of money on a program unnecessarily.
Where to go for a summer acting program
Young Actors Camp
The acting program offered by this camp is intensive. Junior and senior acting students can take core classes to learn the basics of acting and then expand their skills with elective classes. Classes last from 1 to 3 weeks and are limited to film and television acting. Learning is presented in a summer camp environment, so expect to be uprooted and spend many days with fellow aspiring actors. Some classes are taught by professional actors.
California Actors Workshop
This summer camp is held on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley and is designed for students in middle school and high school. There are three acting programs being offered: Middle School Workshop, High School Workshop and Intensive Workshop. Classes in basic acting are held daily.
Before the end of the acting workshop, participants in the high school and middle school programs will do a monologue during their performance on the last night. For intensive workshop participants, however, monologues will be used as exercises during the course of the program but they will be producing a full play to complete the course.
A letter of recommendation from the participant's theater director or teacher is required for admission to the programs.