Advanced Acting (Grades 8-12)

For those actors who are ready to advance skills and build stronger connections to text and character. Using the advanced acting techniques students will take a deeper dive into character relationships and learn to user their impulses to create dynamic scenes.

SAT  2:10pm-4:10

$150

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WORKSHOPS & APPRENTICESHIPS
Our Teen Workshops and Apprentice Program feature process-driven learning, in a specific theatrical skill-set, with classes structured to create strong ensembles and promote a supportive and fun classroom community. Join your peers in an inclusive, safe, and creative learning environment where you will feel comfortable expressing yourself and growing as an Artist. Our Teaching Artists structure classes to minimize competition or comparison. Instead, we challenge everyone to put in the work, stretch outside their comfort zones, and be open-minded in learning new techniques. With this approach, we create strong theatre foundations, a hunger & drive for artistic development, and a network of peers & mentors to help support you in your theatre journey.

 

Theatre Learning Looks Like: 

• Exploring a variety of theatre games and exercises intended to target and refine theatrical skill-sets

• Rich collaboration – contributing, discussing, and integrating ideas into an ensemble-driven Showcase of Work

• Using research, critical analysis, and cultural context to develop and enhance the Showcase of Work 

• Director’s notes – observation, suggestion, support, and feedback to introduce and refine performance concepts

• Sharing in leadership responsibilities throughout the class

• Intentional time dedicated to group-reflection and self-reflection on artistic work

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INSTRUCTORS

 

JESS HEADINGTON (Advanced Acting)

Jess Headington (she/her) teaches Advanced Acting for grades 6-12.  Her approach is actor-centered and respectful of each student’s own lived experiences. She combines technique and passion for the craft of storytelling to guide students toward their own discoveries. Jess has a BFA in Theatre Arts from Stephens College and has been working as an actor, director, and teaching artist in Sonoma County since 2010.  During her undergraduate years, she served as Artistic Director & Dramaturge of the student-run Warehouse Theatre Company.  She spent a year with the Vienna Theatre Project in Vienna, Austria working as an actor & directing apprentice.  Jess taught scene study classes for tweens, teens, and adults at the 6th Street Playhouse School of Drama from 2014 to 2019.  Her most onstage appearances include Dancing Lessons at Cinnabar Theater, Barbecue Apocalypse at Spreckels Theater Company, and the one-woman holiday comedy The Twelve Dates of Christmas at 6th Street Playhouse.  Her recent film The Deep End won Best Comedy at the 2021 Hollyshorts Film Festival.

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GRACE KENT (Dance)

Grace Kent is a dance and movement teacher for the youth and adults. She has taught workshops in aerial silks, dance and stage presence at different studios around Sonoma County and in Ashland OR where she received her Bachelors in Theater Arts at Southern Oregon University. She is thrilled to be joining the teaching program her credits include working on Elf the Musical with the Young Actors Studio. 

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ANTHONY MARTINEZ (Singing)

Anthony Martinez is a Sonoma County-based professional actor, singer, and musician. Anthony has been with YAS since 2017 and during that time has served as Music Director and/or Director on 17 Young Actors Studio productions. Anthony trained as an actor and singer with some of the finest teachers and studios in the country, and has appeared on film, onstage, and in commercials for over 25 years. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, in addition to his work with the Young Actors Studio program Anthony also maintains a private voice and acting studio, providing individual attention to young performers in a supportive, one-on-one environment.