Modesto Flako Jimenez

Those actors rooted in the tradition of playing Shakespeare find themselves equipped with a skill set that enables them to successfully work on a wide range of texts and within an array of performance modalities. The objectives of this class are to learn to identify, personalize, and embody the structural elements of Shakespeare’s language as the primary means of bringing his characters to life. Students will study a representative arc of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as the sonnets.

Solo Performance is nothing new. This has been happening since the dawn of man, and it will continue to happen.... —Nilaja Sun

Discover the story you have to tell and own your voice, boldly enough to tell it. Unlock your creativity not only for solo performance but also for every other aspect of your creative self! This playwriting-into-performance class will first focus on the actor finding a subject matter that motivates and sustains him/her. We will discuss the actor’s strengths and weaknesses throughout the process, finding the actor’s unique voice through self-observance and self-discipline. The goal of this class is to catapult students from summary to interpretation, from regurgitation to analysis, from the simple act of seeing to the complex and bold endeavor of examination. Students are expected to actively measure relevant theoretical knowledge with critical issues pertaining to social justice and social change. Solo performance emerges out of a desire to heal. Students are invited to create their own performance piece of theatre by developing and rehearsing a script within the spring term and to have an intensive self-discovery and process. They will begin with reading and examining one-character plays. We will read the works of Spalding Grey, Anna Deavere Smith, Lemon Andersen, and many more. Then, as a class, we will discuss techniques, autobiographical subject matter, and themes. Students will create first drafts, next re-writes, and then rehearsals, culminating with a final reading and/or performance of their own work.

Those actors rooted in the tradition of playing Shakespeare find themselves equipped with a skill set that enables them to successfully work on a wide range of texts and within an array of performance modalities. The objectives of this class are to learn to identify, personalize, and embody the structural elements of Shakespeare’s language as the primary means of bringing his characters to life. Students will study a representative arc of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as the sonnets.

Solo Performance is nothing new. This has been happening since the dawn of man, and it will continue to happen.... —Nilaja Sun

Discover the story you have to tell and own your voice, boldly enough to tell it. Unlock your creativity not only for solo performance but also for every other aspect of your creative self! This playwriting-into-performance class will first focus on the actor finding a subject matter that motivates and sustains him/her. We will discuss the actor’s strengths and weaknesses throughout the process, finding the actor’s unique voice through self-observance and self-discipline. The goal of this class is to catapult students from summary to interpretation, from regurgitation to analysis, from the simple act of seeing to the complex and bold endeavor of examination. Students are expected to actively measure relevant theoretical knowledge with critical issues pertaining to social justice and social change. Solo performance emerges out of a desire to heal. Students are invited to create their own performance piece of theatre by developing and rehearsing a script within the spring term and to have an intensive self-discovery and process. They will begin with reading and examining one-character plays. We will read the works of Spalding Grey, Anna Deavere Smith, Lemon Andersen, and many more. Then, as a class, we will discuss techniques, autobiographical subject matter, and themes. Students will create first drafts, next re-writes, and then rehearsals, culminating with a final reading and/or performance of their own work.

Those actors rooted in the tradition of playing Shakespeare find themselves equipped with a skill set that enables them to successfully work on a wide range of texts and within an array of performance modalities. The objectives of this class are to learn to identify, personalize, and embody the structural elements of Shakespeare’s language as the primary means of bringing his characters to life. Students will study a representative arc of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as the sonnets.

Feuding principals from rival elementary schools. Competing Bodegas on opposite corners. William Shakespeare has been the most adapted and performed playwright in history.  For the last century, his plays have been adapted all over the world in many different shapes and forms- Cartoons, Films, Dances, endless lists. What is it that makes his work so globally accepted? Why do we love his novelas so much?  The ‘Shake on the block’ class will help demystify the immortal Bard through playwriting, adapting & performance. Students will focus on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet play and selected sonnets. We will examine the techniques and aesthetics in theater and film adaptations of the play, questioning originality and poetic license, the text, and who performs it. Students will be asked to create their own adaptations of sonnets and scenes, and then come together to collaborate to adapt our own version of Romeo and Juliet.