CharacterWorks is excited to offer new Academy classes for the 2021-2022 season!

*UPDATED 7/5*: Academy auditions for the 2021-2022 Season are due by *July 15, 2021, at midnight. Students will be notified of acceptance via email by July 23, 2021, and will have the chance to accept or decline by the opening of fall registration on August 1, 2021.

Academy Classes
Academy is year-long progam, offering application/audition-only classes that introduce more focused curriculum and training that builds throughout the year. The classes are designed to offer students additional opportunities with material that we often do not get to do on the main stage. Each summer, students have a chance to apply online and gain acceptance before our fall registration deadline.

Students will enroll for the 2021-2022 season for three sessions (fall, winter, spring) that include an extended performance at our Academy Festival at the end of the final session in spring. Payment is due at the beginning of each session. Those enrolled in Academy are eligible to audition for one of the main stage productions each session.

Below are the current Academy classes offered for 2021-2022. CWorks is planning to be back at Gayton Baptist Church on Tuesdays, and Kingsway Community Church on Thursdays. The 8-week fall session begins the week of September 7 and ends the week of November 9, 2021. If anything changes, we will notify students before registration.

Fall Session - September 7-November 9, 2021

Junior Academy returns to give young actors a year long opportunity for focused growth and training in musical theater performance. In the first two sessions, students will be introduced to essential acting and vocal techniques through improv, theater games and vocal exercises while working on a shorter full musical production. Session three will challenge the students to apply what they are learning in an extended performance of the musical at the Academy Festival. 

*UPDATED: Students need to fill out an Academy Application and send in an audition video by Thursday, July 15 at midnight. Students are asked to prepare a monologue from the list provided, and 1 minute or less of a musical theater song of their choice.

The cost for Junior Academy is $275 per session ($225 covers class tuition, plus an additional $50 fee per session for performance rights, artistic/tech team, performance space).

Instructors: Jacob Filegar and Tracia Austin 

Fall Session - September 9-November 11, 2021

Junior Academy returns to give young actors a year long opportunity for focused growth and training in acting and performing. In the first two sessions, students will be introduced to essential acting techniques through improv, theater games and exercises while working on a play. Session three will challenge the students to apply what they are learning in an extended performance of the full production at the Academy Festival. 

*UPDATED: Students are asked to fill out an Academy Application and send in an audition video of a monologue by Thursday, July 15 at midnight. 

The cost for Junior Academy is $275 per session ($225 covers class tuition, plus an additional $50 fee per session for performance rights, artistic/tech team, performance space).

Instructor: Alana Smith

Fall Session - September 9-November 11, 2021

Acting Academy will help students learn all phases of actor training including auditioning, observation, mind/voice/body relaxation, and monologue and scene study, with a focus on comedic material. Comedy is notoriously difficult to master, but in this class students will spend time learning how to apply basic acting technique to a comedic script. Through improv and exercises students will also practice altering their physical and emotional states to perform and connect with others onstage. Session three will challenge the students to apply what they are learning in an extended comedic One Act performance at the Academy Festival. 

*UPDATED: Students are asked to fill out an Academy Application and send in an audition video of a monologue by Thursday, July 15 at midnight. 

The cost for Acting Academy is $275 per session ($225 class tuition, plus an additional $50 fee per session for performance rights, artistic/tech team, performance space).

Instructor: Alana Smith

Fall Session - September 7-November 9, 2021

NEW this year! Always wanted to take chorus class, but never had time to fit it into your school schedule?  Love singing but prefer to do it in a group? Want to learn amazing literature for choral ensemble singing, as well as proper singing techniques? This is the class for you!  CWorks Academy Chorus will rehearse and perform a variety of choral standards (with some musical theater arrangements thrown in) for a fun, technical and musical year long adventure. This new class will culminate in the first ever Academy Chorus Concert during the Academy Festival! 

*UPDATED: Students are asked to fill out an Academy Application and send in an audition video of a song by Thursday, July 15 at midnight. Students should prepare a 1 minute or less musical theater song of their choice.

The cost for Junior Academy is $275 per session ($225 covers class tuition, plus an additional $50 fee per session for performance rights, artistic/tech team, performance space).

Instructor: Tracia Austin

Fall Session - September 7-November 9, 2021

This class will explore acting techniques used in musical theater.  The students will learn Stanislavski based techniques to help build believable characters, as well as song specific techniques like how to 'fill the air', what it means to be 'compelled to sing', and how to interact with their imaginary scene partner.  After working through a solo song in the fall, students will apply the acting techniques to a production of Big Fish: Small Cast Edition. 

*UPDATED: Students are asked to fill out an Academy Application and send in an audition video by Thursday, July 15 at midnight. Students are asked to prepare a monologue from the list provided, and 1 minute or less of a musical theater song of their choice.

The cost for Advanced Acting Academy is $275 per session ($225 class tuition, plus an additional $50 production fee per session or performance rights, facility, sets, props and artistic team).

Instructors: Becky McNamee and Silvia Ledon

 

• Introduce yourself at the beginning of your video. Say hi, tell us your name, and tell us what song you are singing. This is called your "slate" and is a way for the audition panel to see who you really are and what your personality is like. Say "Thank you!" at the end of your audition.
• Make sure you have good lighting. Don't perform in front of a bright exterior window. Lighting should highlight you and your face.
• Line the lens of your camera up to be level with your eyes. Don't film from above or below.
• Dress up for your audition and present your best self.
• Stand up for your audition, if possible. Don't perform seated or laying down. Standing helps energize your performance.
• Remember to perform as if you are in front of hundreds of people. When filming video auditions it is easy to make your performance smaller and more intimate, but perform like you've got a giant audience.
• Make sure the music isn't so loud that it overpowers your voice. On the video, your voice should be what comes through the loudest.
• Don't forget to act! A singing audition video serves to show both your vocal and acting abilities. Become the character you are performing as.
• Not a strong singer? Sell your talent to us through your acting!
• Is your video not perfect? That's fine - no one's is! We know recording a video audition is tough. The main thing we're looking for is to see you, your personality, and your talent.