The Actor’s Toolkit
A Masterclass
Tools that will take your character from the page to the stage
As soon as you are cast in a role, your work begins. In order to give a stellar performance, you (the actor) must lay a strong foundation. This foundation includes line memorization, characterization, and scene work. At this masterclass, Steve Cleberg will present his trusted line memorization technique and Julia Chereson will take you through the steps of building a workable character from a script and understanding scenes beat by beat.
Space is limited to 15 seats.
Price: $85
Saturday, November 9th, 2024 10AM-3PM
10:15 to 11:00am- What’s in a Character? Chereson will instruct the group on what to look for in a script to learn about your character and then how to translate this information into a performance.
11:00 to 12:30pm- How to Memorize Lines? This session will introduce a technique for learning your lines that is systematic, efficient and invigorating. Steve Cleberg has spent over 40 years perfecting a line learning technique that combines the science of memory with the art of acting. Participants will learn how to use the power of performance, the clarity of expression and the nuance of realism in a way that makes the process of learning lines automatic. Cleberg will also share various habits and mindsets that create roadblocks to memorization and offer techniques for avoiding these pitfalls.
12:30- 1:00pm Lunch – Join Julia, Steve, and the rest of the group for lunch and take this opportunity to ask them about their valuable experience as actors. Lunch is provided for masterclass participants.
1:00 to 3:00pm- How to Perform a Scene? Dive Into a scene for the point of view of an actor who has just received their script. Use the tools you learned from the character development session as well as information about the “beats” of a script and elements of a scene to give a compelling performance.
Julia Chereson (she/her) possesses an M.F.A. in Acting from Pennsylvania State University and a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Mount Union. With a diverse background in performance, she refined her skills in Chicago at the Black Box Acting Studio, Victory Gardens Theatre, and the Second City Conservatory. Following her graduate studies, she moved to New York City, where she concentrated on on-camera performance. Chereson later became the Theatre Director and Fine Arts Coordinator at Somerset Community College. Recently, she has relocated to Austin, TX, where she has performed with Jarrott Productions and is currently directing Hand to God at Southwestern University. Additionally, she teaches TV/Film Acting at Texas State University and is preparing for her upcoming role in Unity Theatre’s production of The Trip to Bountiful. Recent credits include Home I’m Darling (Fran), Every Brilliant Thing (narrator), Waiting for the Host (Sara), Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy), and Constellations (Marianne).
Steve Cleberg (he/him) After thirty-four years in the position, Steve Cleberg retired as the Director of Theatre Arts at Somerset Community College in 2020. He has directed and acted in over one hundred plays. At SCC, his directing credits include Fiddler on the Roof, The Glass Menagerie, Children of a Lesser God, The Tempest, The Fantasticks, Crimes of the Heart, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For Flashback Theater, Cleberg appeared in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, The Lady’s Not for Burning and The Book of Will.