self_improvement
Boosted Confidence
Build your confidence and presence by learning to command attention, project your voice, and move with purpose.
Stage Acting ClassesRichmond Hill
So you wanna be an actor, eh?!
Acting is storytelling and the study of human behaviour combined! It’s fun and interesting and experimental! Stage Acting classes encompass learning to work with scripts, language, stories, characters, intentions, and actions. We focus on things like: creating a character (mentally, physically, vocally); shaping scenes (thru-lines, arcs, rhythms, tempos); voice (clarity, projection, strength, dynamics); staging/blocking (movement, flow, placement); collaboration/trust (teamwork, building a cast, sharing connections on-stage and with your audience); listening/responding (effective partnering). All in the pursuit of telling a story in a believable way that seems real and connects with an audience.
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Communication Skills
Learn to effectively convey emotion, intentions, and ideas through the skills you learn in Stage Acting classes.
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Adaptability
Improv classes teach you how to collaborate with fellow actors and adapt on the go to different performances.
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Stage Acting Classes
All Levels Programme Overview
For students wishing to learn, develop and deliver an assured stage acting performance. There are many different types of stories to tell with so many types of characters. But as actors, how do we ‘use’ ourselves, to ‘become’ somebody else!? There are several really cool methods of acting and there’s truly no right or wrong in any acting class or methodology so it’s a ton of fun to experiment.
Through all the Levels, students build their personal and performer’s toolkit by trying new things, experimenting, and contributing their own ideas as they discover the value of their own ‘voice’. At the youngest level students learn that “once upon a time” really is the beginning, with characters, poems and stories literally jumping off the page and into ‘real life’ on stage! We engage students in a variety of structured and improvised drama ‘games’, exercises and activities, designed to bring characters and stories to life. We focus on spatial awareness, collaboration, listening and responding.
As we progress to the higher levels, we dig deeper, focus more intently on context, messaging, themes, emotional intention, character study, real-world connections and implications of the material. Students continue to think and work creatively, both independently and collaboratively, in a supportive and forward-thinking environment. At all Levels, students use a variety of materials and will also create stories and characters of their own, working towards demonstration/performances that could involve everything from tableaux to reader’s theatre, to mime and movement, improvisation and full-out scene/scriptwork and short plays.
Some prop and costume elements may also be incorporated into the mix at any level, and age-appropriate materials can run from dramatic to comedic and everything in between. At the higher levels, students take responsibility for producing and acting in a play (contemporary or classic) for their final project. They apply all of the acting skills they have learned, as they audition for, research, and rehearse their part, taking more responsibility for fully immersing themselves in their roles for these projects.
Specialist Stage Acting Programmes
Elevate Your Craft & Unveil Excellence
We offer a variety of Specialist Programmes for you to take your stage acting to the next level.
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Level 3/4/5 Actor’s Audition Prep
This programme works on a variety of audition techniques working with an array of self-chosen or assigned monologues (contemporary and classical) to help prep students for on-going auditions and self-tapes for a variety of film, tv, and live stage programmes and productions. Any student interested in applying for high school drama programmes, post-secondary drama programmes, or auditioning now for professional stage or screen opportunities, would benefit from this programme. It looks at everything from how to slate, to how to set up your own space for best results for self-tape submissions, to how to engage an audition panel quickly and transport them into your character and moment. How to create your best work and stay calm for your audition and how to leave a lasting impression. NOTE: This programme does not participate in the regular shows/events produced through OVATION!
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Level 4/5 Performance Troupe
This programme combines elements of both contemporary and classical theatre which could include Shakespeare, Ibsen, Moliere, Shaw. It is often taught in conjunction with a professional theatre company called Panoply Theatre Collective and the students often work with other professional actors. This course provides an understanding of how classical work including Shakespeare, can reach across time and affect us today - this isn’t your everyday high school English class reading Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare’s words were written to be heard, and engaged with physically and joyfully. This class teaches students how to allow their imagination to inspire the mind, body, and heart. Led by Paige Madsen, Co-Artistic Director of Panoply Theatre Collective, a Toronto-based theatre company dedicated to re-telling classical stories with a modern and inclusive perspective. Students will engage with classical and contemporary work while building skills in stage acting, movement, voice, and text analysis. Monologue technique, scene work, audition skills, and the rehearsal process are all incorporated into this class. This programme prepares students for post-secondary drama studies and performance.
NOTE: Participation in this programme could also lead to participation in the Panoply Collective Summer Programme at OVATION! Ask us for details!
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Adult Stage Acting (ages 19 yrs+)
Adult programmes at OVATION! offer a unique educational and social experience. Adults come to classes like ours for a variety of reasons. You may be looking to try something new, or to get back into something you’ve always loved but have been away from for a while. Whatever your motivation, and regardless of your current ‘level’ of expertise (or not!), taking an acting class will always…
- Boost your confidence & self-esteem
- Improve your presentation skills (oral and dynamic)
- Exercise your body, mind, and soul
- Provide joy and fulfilment!
In this class, we explore the core elements of drama. You’ll examine voice, body, movement, characterisation, speech, and thematic communication, through a variety of scene studies. When preparing for a role every actor asks 6 questions: WHO AM I? WHERE AM I? WHEN AM I? WHAT DO I WANT? WHAT IS MY OBSTACLE? HOW DO I GET WHAT I WANT? We will learn how to answer these questions, how to pursue that powerful want, and how to recognise what is stopping you, because conflicting needs and obstacles are what create Acting! We’ll examine these elements primarily from the live-stage performance perspective and then we’ll re-focus a bit to the on-screen perspective to identify and understand the similarities and differences between the two mediums. You’ll work with scenes, commercials, monologues from a variety of sources/materials. This programme wraps each semester with an in-class presentation of their work.
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Performance Troupes
Over the years OVATION! has connected with several other professional dance, acting, and musical theatre performance companies (MOTUS O dance theatre, Marky Monday, ChannukahPalooza, Judy & David, Education Arts Canada, Shadowpath Theatre, Panoply Theatre Collective, and many independent film producers). Our students have participated in many professional shows and events. As new projects arise, we reach out to current students with audition notices for these extra-special performance opportunities!
All Levels & Specialist Programmes
Performances & Notes
Level 1 Primary Page to Stage Acting – In January, these students perform an in-studio showcase demonstration for parents/families to observe, during regular class time at OVATION! Then, in late spring, these students also do a demonstration and showcase as part of the Primary Get STAGEstruck event, held either at OVATION! or at an alternate small theatre venue. Details will be announced during the season! (Additional rehearsal hours may be required for the spring demonstration - details TBA.)
Level 2 and Level 3 – these classes perform a short play/scene in the Winter Showcase; and a separate short play/scene in the spring Get STAGEstruck! show. Additional rehearsal and production hours will be required when mounting the spring show. All details will be provided.
Level 3/4/5 Actor’s Audition Prep – this programme works on a variety of audition monologues (contemporary and classical) to help prep students for on-going auditions and self-tapes for a variety of film, tv, and live stage programmes and productions.
Level 4 – this level performs a short play/scene in the Winter Showcase; a piece as an Opening Act for the Level 5/Senior play in April; and a separate short play/scene in the spring Get STAGEstruck! show. Additional rehearsal and production hours will be required when mounting the spring shows (details will be provided).
Level 5 (or Level 4/5) Performance Troupe – This programme produces a short play for performance in April. They also perform either an excerpt from their play or a separate short play/scene at the Winter Showcase in Jan. This programme combines elements of both contemporary and classical theatre which could include Shakespeare, Ibsen, Moliere, Shaw. It is often taught in conjunction with a professional theatre company called Panoply Theatre Collective and the students often work in their piece with other professional actors. This programme prepares students for post-secondary drama studies and performance.
OVATION! – chooses intelligent, sometimes challenging, thought-provoking scenes and plays for our Level 4 and 5 drama programmes. Any challenging subject matter is dealt with in a supportive and responsible educational manner. We are committed to gender-blind and colour-blind casting.
Previous or concurrent experience with the fundamental aspects of stage acting (including: voice, text analysis, expression, intention, character) is an asset and may be a requirement of admission to the higher Levels of this Programme.
Season Overview & Student Feedback
More Information On Stage Acting Classes
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Our Season runs from mid-September to the end of May with weekly classes for each programme.
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The programme Levels progress from primary through senior, introducing or enhancing the various components of the discipline and programme. Each Level covers a 3 to 4 year age range. Depending on age, experience, and when they begin with us, a student could be in the same Level for 1 to 3 seasons. Students learn how to function as both leaders and followers, experiencing the range of responsibilities and learning opportunities associated with being in a class with a variety of ages, personalities, and types of learners.
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As students progress each season and also through the Levels, they build their personal and performer’s toolkit with more in-depth advanced learning through various teaching tools, focused on skill acquisition, technical development, and practical performance application. As the Level increases, the in-studio class-time lengthens and the expectations increase with more or lengthier materials, more ‘mature’ but still age-appropriate content, and more advanced learning tools requiring increasingly more at-home preparation time between classes. The Level 3, 4 and 5 programmes may also include more shows, performances, and filming opportunities.
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Each class and student is provided with a detailed Course Curriculum Outline at the beginning of the season outlining all performance or filming requirements and specific curriculum goals, learning tools and teaching strategies: a roadmap of where and how we’ll take the class through the season! We discuss specific goals with each student, at the start, at the mid-way point, and at the end of the season so we always know what we’re working towards! And each student receives a personalised Progress Report at the end of each season celebrating their amazing achievements and growth, setting intentions for their continued development, and recommending next steps, all based on the student’s own goals and interests for their training and development.
Related Classes
Beyond Stage Acting
Explore classes related to Stage Acting to build your skills and expand your knowledge with OVATION! Performing Arts Academy.
