Berkeley Rep Announces Additional Fall Classes

After filling its new studios on Center Street with sold-out summer camps for local teens, Berkeley Repertory Theatre proudly announces that this extra classroom space also means more activities for students of all ages during the School of Theatre's fall session. Now, in addition to its extensive outreach to local schools, Berkeley Rep offers classes with professional teaching artists at its home on Addison Street in downtown Berkeley, at its campus on Harrison Street in West Berkeley, and at its new 13,000-square-foot facility on Center Street, which features the Osher Studio and two adjoining classrooms.

"We're thrilled to expand our already extensive offerings thanks to the Osher Studio," says Rachel Fink, who has served as director of the School of Theatre since 2001. "We hope that our spacious new classrooms will allow even more artists and arts lovers to take part in our eclectic and dynamic classes. Whether you prefer singing a show tune or slinging a broadsword, you can try out our courses for free at the Sunday Sampler that starts at 1:00 PM on September 23."

The Osher Studio recognizes the extraordinary generosity of the Bernard Osher Foundation, which donated $1 million to Berkeley Rep's 40th Anniversary Campaign to support new play development, arts education, and outreach programs. In addition to using the space for its own programs, Berkeley Rep is providing the studios at a subsidized rate to local arts groups that do not have permanent homes of their own. These partnerships are bringing new vibrancy to the center of Berkeley and continuing to transform downtown into a destination for theatre lovers.

The 10-week fall session, which begins on September 24, features the following fun activities:

· Classes for kids (preschool through grade 5) include Bollywood Jewels, Circus Skills for the Stage, Spy Adventure: Espionage 101, and two performance labs, one based on "The Pied Piper" and one focused on the Harry Potter series.

· Classes for middle-schoolers (grades 6 through 9) include two performance workshops, Glee Club: The Sound of Music and Musical Theatre Performance Ensemble: Urinetown. Improvisation and private voice lessons are also available.

· Classes for teens (grades 9 through 12) include Acting Violence: Level 1 Broadsword, Actor vs. Director: Who's the Troublemaker?, Creating Résumés and Demystifying the Interview Process, and Musical Theatre Performance Ensemble: Urinetown. The session also features an audition seminar, an improvisation class, and On-Camera Acting. Teens can arrange private voice lessons or one-on-one audition coaching as well.

· Performance classes for adults include Acting (beginning through advanced), Acting Shakespeare, Acting Violence: Level 1 Broadsword, Alexander Technique and Linklater Voice, British and Irish Dialects, and Tennessee Williams Scene Study, as well as On-Camera Acting and Voice-Over Acting. Improvisation classes are offered for beginning and intermediate performers, along with an advanced performance lab, plus special sections specifically designed for mental health practitioners and those interested in the science behind extemporaneous performance. One-on-one audition coaching is available as well.

· Other classes for adults include the Art of Auditioning, Directing, Dramaturgy, Movement: Creating Physical Language, Physical Archetypes: Embodying the Hero with a Thousand Faces, Playwriting, Promoting Yourself: Creating Résumés for Artists, Say What You Mean: Voice in the Professional World, and Solo Performance: The Art of Juggling the Truth.

The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre is committed to working with local schools and community members to reinforce arts education as a community value and an integral part of the cultural fabric. By providing access and opportunities for participation in the arts, Berkeley Rep uses theatre as a means to challenge, thrill, and galvanize what is best in the human spirit. Major support for the School of Theatre's education programs is provided by JPMorgan Chase and Target. For more information about classes at Berkeley Rep – or affordable outreach programs for local schools – call (510) 647-2972, e-mail school@berkeleyrep.org, or visit berkeleyrep.org/school.

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