UC Irvine CTSA
Media Contact: Megan MacDonald, Outreach Director
(949)824-8976, artsoutreach@uci.edu
ONE-OF-A-KIND APPRENTICESHIPS IN TECHNICAL THEATRE AND ACTING ALLOW HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS TO LEARN BY DOING AS PART OF THE NEW SWAN SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AT UC IRVINE’S CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
IRVINE, Calif., (February XX, 2014) – The Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) Drama Department at the University of California, Irvine offers high school and college students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to join the New Swan Shakespeare Festival as a New Swan Apprentice in acting or technical theatre.
The New Swan Shakespeare Festival is Orange County’s only professional Shakespeare festival performed outdoors in our sustainable, portable mini-Elizabethan theatre where the audience and actors inhabit the same dynamic, in-the-round space.
New Swan Apprentices in Technical Theatre are integrated into the Costume, Sound, Lighting, Scenic and Stage Management crews, learning by doing, as they get hands-on training behind the scenes and are a part of the Festival’s creative process. Working with professional designers, technicians, actors and directors, the Apprentices spend two weeks on the Festival team as part of the production, tech and rehearsal process. A few select Apprentices may be invited to join the official crew of the Festival shows, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night, providing valuable professional experience and production credits.
New Swan Apprentices in Acting prepare for the rigors of theatre auditions with coursework that may include Acting, Voice, Movement, Shakespeare, Singing and Improvisation. Apprentices get a taste of what college-level acting training is like as they acquire new classical and contemporary audition monologues, learn the basics of text analysis, dive into scene work, experience the value of honest reaction in acting, and learn how to prepare a resume and headshot.
When asked how the Apprenticeship went, one parent replied, “my daughter had a great experience in the New Swan Apprenticeship program, we’re really grateful that the opportunity was there for her!”
“There’s nothing like it!” Eli Simon, Artistic Director of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival says of the Apprenticeships. “There is nowhere else to get an opportunity like this, to be integrated into a professional Festival on a university campus and to get to work with actors, directors, designers and technicians of the caliber that we have here during the summer.”
A unique college experience with UC Irvine’s renowned Drama Department, a professional theatre Festival, Shakespeare at his best, hands-on training – Apprentices are a select group who choose to take part in an experience like none other. Visit http://outreach.arts.uci.edu/summer-academies for dates times, scholarship information, and to register. For more information contact Outreach at (949) 824-8976 or artsoutreach@uci.edu.
The New Swan Apprenticeships are a part of CTSA’s Summer Academies in the Arts. The Academies are college and career preparatory intensives for high school and middle school students to attend focused workshops in Art, Dance, Drama and Music that enhance students’ marketable skills and support career goals, self-confidence and leadership. These intensives give talented and motivated students practical and technical conservatory-style instruction in small classes taught by graduate instructors, professionals in the field and, in some cases, CTSA faculty. Students experience life as undergraduate arts majors, they may choose to stay overnight in UC Irvine residence halls and may receive credit for participating.
Courses run throughout the summer; visit http://outreach.arts.uci.edu/summer-academies for dates, times, scholarship information and to register. For more information contact Outreach at (949) 824-8976 or artsoutreach@uci.edu.
The mission of CTSA is to integrate advocacy, leadership, and education in the arts with significant social engagement and community partnerships. The School of the Arts, established in 1965 and named for Claire Trevor in 2000, is a national leader in training emerging artists who go on to electrify audiences in theatres, galleries and concert halls throughout the world. The School is home to the departments of Art, Dance, Drama and Music. CTSA provides excellent facilities to support artistic development, including six theatres, a concert hall, three art galleries, the Beall Center for Art + Technology, electronic music studios, cutting edge costume, lighting, and scenic design studios, a stage production shop, digital arts labs, and a video production studio.
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http://outreach.arts.uci.edu/summer-academies-drama