Steppenwolf Workshop: Aug. 2-14 (Spots Still Available!)

My dearest Blogfriends,

I was just doing research for today's blog post, and I have to say that I am so incredibly, unbelievably excited right now. So let's get started.

As I mentioned in the Year in Review post last week (which is a fabulous read, if I do say so myself), there is an exciting workshop coming up in two weeks; consider yourself cordially invited.

Because of a year-in-the-making partnership between Los Angeles-based Steppenwolf West and Arts Collective, two astonishingly talented teachers from Steppenwolf West, Alexandra Billings and Eric Hunicutt, will be leading an acting workshop right here at Howard Community College! This very blogger is going to be attending said workshop, and as I've already stated, I could not be more excited.

Can you tell I'm excited? (Ok, I'm done now. Excited.)

The workshop, using the Viewpoints and Scenic Improvisation as the primary teaching tools, will give actors of all levels of experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore their process and discover new possibilities within their work. Now you might be asking youself, sure that sounds neat Matt, but WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Well, blogfriend, first I'm going to need you to calm down. Everyone knows writing in all caps is hostile. What the previous paragraph means is that this workshop isn't meant to replace the way you work as an actor; it's more about giving a vocabulary to what you already know instinctually, and how to hone those instincts to make you a better, more honest actor.

Quote break! Says instructor Alexandra Billings:

Viewpoints is about working from the inside out and the outside in. It's about
what's possible. It's about finding your instinct and owning your power. It's
about the Imagination and the power that only you have. It's about the Truth.
Your Truth.

So how are we fortunate enough to get professional actors and instructors from the west coast to come teach a workshop here in Columbia, MD, at an affordable price? Well, after a fortuitous introduction through a mutual friend, Ms. Billings and Arts Collective Producing Artistic Director Sue Kramer met, and a workshop was set up at HCC last year (pictured right). Condensed into a couple days and focusing on the Viewpoints, a group of eleven students went on a journey to new artistic worlds with Sue and Alexandra.

Here’s a few things some of those students had to say:

“It was terrifying, but exciting. I’m able to be more in the moment with
someone, instead of going off and doing my own thing. I’m just able to share
the stage more.”

-NJ Agwuna

“[The workshop was] all about discovering things about yourself that you didn’t
necessarily know; it was like an internal awakening. It’s not one of those
things where you learn about it in class and then forget it later on. It’s
something that stays in your head.”

-Darius McKeiver

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when I met Alex she was so warm, welcoming,
fun, funny, and so very ‘there’ for all of us, that you couldn’t help but
instantly receive her in your group of closest friends. She knew how to speak to all of
us, each one in a different way, so we could understand what she was saying.”

-Grace Anastasiadis

So just imagine: if all those wonderful things could be said about a workshop that only lasted a few days, how awesome of an experience will it be to participate in a TWO-WEEK workshop with not only the raved-about Alexandra Billings, but her equally talented co-instructor Eric Hunicutt?

Quote Break! Says Mr. Hunicutt:

Playing: it's about discovery, not invention; about being engaged, not feeling
the pressure to be engaging; something we all did really well when we were 5 and
in the sandbox, yet seem to have forgotten in the years since. Improvisation is
all about recapturing that sense of freedom, play, and permission.

I think you can see why I’m so excited, blogfriends.

Now as I said, we’re about two weeks out, but as of this blog’s writing there are a few spots left. Space is limited, however, so if you are interested in signing up for the workshop, please click here for more details and to register! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call the Arts Collective offices at 410-772-4515. Use vacation time and that money you’ve saved up if necessary… I promise it will be worth it!

Until next time, blogfriends.

Looking Back on Season 15, What's Ahead

Well, hello there, Blogfriends. It's been quite some time since the last blog entry, but cut us some slack. After our incredible and groundbreaking 15th season, you may think that we've been resting on our laurels (I'll admit I don't exactly know where on my body my laurels are), but in fact we've been getting ready for our upcoming SIXTEENTH SEASON! Be sure to check the blog and website frequently over the next days and weeks, as we will have more information on season 16's can't-miss auditions, shows, workshops, and more! For now though, why don't we take a jaunty stroll down memory lane and explore our previous season, which many consider to be our best yet!

What Improv Group?!?! (W.I.G.)

Season 15 started out with HCC's only improv troupe, What Improv Group?!?! (W.I.G.), bringing the seriously funny in creative and wholly original ways. For those who need a refresher, improv is a style of theatre in which characters and scenes are created on the spot by quick-witted and hilarious actors, oftentimes with the aid of some audience interaction . What makes W.I.G. so special is that they think outside the box of your average improv show, creating their own improv styles and games. Also, there are wigs. Lots and lots of wigs. Directed by Susan G. Kramer, W.I.G.'s second year was a triumphant success, with show after show of audiences leaving the theater aching from laughter and impressed with the skills of W.I.G.'s talented cast.

Fall Production: A Chorus Line

Next up, the Arts Collective really kicked things into high gear with their spectacular fall production, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning A Chorus Line. The story of seventeen dancers trying to achieve their dreams of making it into the chorus line of a new Broadway show, A Chorus Line is all about human aspiration and what people are willing to do for their dreams and for love. Directed by Susan G. Kramer and Jenny Male, with Musical Director Keith Tittermary, A Chorus Line was a smash hit with audiences, selling out in advance almost every show in its three week run. One reviewer called the cast "talented", saying that the show, "complete with dazzling costumes, high-flying kicks, and sweet singing...will put a smile on your face".


Workshop Co-Production:

tempODYSSEY

To kick off 2010, Arts Collective partnered with HCC's very own Theatre Program for the very first time! Following the success of their first workshop production Last Train to Nibroc, the Theatre Program teamed up with Arts Collective for another workshop production, tempODYSSEY. Directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre and Helen Hayes Award-winning director Kasi Campbell, this "post-modern fairytale" chronicles the trials of a young girl who runs away from her future as a chicken-choker on a farm and winds up working as a temp for a company that builds bombs. Differing from most productions staged by AC, which hold open auditions to both current HCC students and alumni, tempODYSSEY was cast solely with current HCC students. Despite scheduling conflicts due to the Snowpocalypse, the show went on to great acclaim from audience members.

Dance Company:

Holding Change

For it's official fourth season, the Arts Collective Dance Company pulled out all the stops. Holding Change, successor to AC Dance Company performances such as audience favorites Vodoo Child and Sunshine in Blue, celebrated a myriad of dance styles from Ballet to Contemporary to Hip-Hop. For the first time in ACDC's history, HCC's Coordinator of Dance and Director of Holding Change, Renee Brozic Barger, was joined by guest choreographers Esperonto Bean, Nicole McClam, Donald McKayle, Helanius J. Wilkins, and Stephanie Yezek, with Adrienne Judson staging Mr. McKayle's choreography. Like a fine wine or Helen Mirren, ACDC just gets better with each season.

Spring Production:

Angels in America

How do you possibly cap off a season as exciting, as groundbreaking, as fantastic as our 15th season? Angels, duh. But I'm not talking Roma Downy kind of angels. I'm talking about Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning epic Angels in America. One of our most controversial and more modern pieces to date, the story revolves around a number of seemingly unrelated characters stumbling their way through life in the 80's, drawn together and pulled apart by love, AIDS, miracles, suffering, and, hopefully, redemption. Directed by Susan G. Kramer, this "gay fantasia on national themes" proved to be both an immense challenge and an outright blessing. Along with a staged production of Angels in America: Millenium Approaches--as if that weren't enough--AC hosted two very special readings of Part 2, Perestroika, as well as post-show discussions with the cast and crew. Want to know some more about what staging Angels was like? Look through our past entries for our Cast Member Blogs with some great insights into the story and the production.

Wrap Up & What's Ahead...

So, folks. That is Season 15, in a nutshell. Of course there are things that have been left out--like Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration co-sponsored with the Theatre Program, etc.--but with the number of events we do every season, a blog entry with everything would take years to read--and more importantly years for this blogger to write.

Plus, we can't dwell too much on the past when we have Season Sixteen knocking on the door. Big things are happening around the Arts Collective offices! As I said earlier, we are hard at work finalizing our 16th season; we have an AMAZING acting workshop coming up in August, led by instructors from Los Angeles-based Steppenwolf Classes West (which I will be writing about on this blog very shortly); and major changes are being done in the AC offices with regard to Prop World, Costume World, and Office World.

Of course if you haven't already, please "Like" us on Facebook...as everyone knows, if it isn't on Facebook, it isn't true. Also, please sign up for our mailing list to get the latest Arts Collective news.

We hope you're having a great summer, Blogfriends! Stay healthy and safe in this heat. Make sure to drink lots of water and check back here soon for even more from AC Bloggin! Yes, checking the AC blog is good for your health.

[Photos provided by resident AC photographer Erin Drum, with the exception of tempODYSSEY]