Juilliard Extension Division Spring 2025 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Drama
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Discover the transformative power of drama at Juilliard Extension. Our diverse courses delve into the artistry and craft of acting, offering dynamic opportunities for creative exploration and growth.
Craft compelling narratives for the stage and screen in our immersive playwriting and screenwriting courses. Enhance your vocal abilities and embody characters with confidence in our specialized course, Singing for the Stage. Explore the Alexander Technique to connect with your body, emotions, and the power of your voice. Join our nurturing Scene Study: Group Acting Class, suitable for actors of all levels. Receive personalized coaching and guidance as you dive into scenes and monologues, honing your acting skills and deepening your understanding of the craft.
Experience a vibrant and collaborative learning environment that encourages artistic exploration, skill development, and personal growth.
Application Information
An application is required for some drama offerings to be considered for enrollment.
Click here to apply for Writing for Performance: A Playwriting Workshop. Application deadline for playwriting: November, 2024; Dates: TBD.
Click here to apply for Scene Study: Group Acting Class or Shakespeare Intensive Group Class. Application deadline: November, 2024; Dates: TBD.
Click here to apply for Singing for the Stage. Application deadline: November, 2024; Dates: TBD.
Acting
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EVDIV 68 - Scene Study
Claire Karpen, Brian McManamon
This class is ideal for those who have had some performance experience—amateur or professional—and are eager to get back to the basics and reignite their passion, curiosity, and love of acting. We will be exploring the fundamentals by beginning with group exercises to expand our expressive tools, help us stay present and responsive, and gain the confidence to make compelling and inspired choices. Classes will then progress to text analysis and two- to three-person scene work. By the end of the semester, students will have a deeper understanding of how to get from page to stage and a reawakened love for the craft of acting. An informal, optional “open rehearsal” at the end of the semester will highlight students’ work. Prerequisites: Placement application is required unless pre-approved to enroll.
Biography: Claire Karpen is an actor, director, and teacher based in NYC. She has worked on and Off Broadway, regionally, and internationally in theatre, television, and film. Select acting credits include Sylvia (Broadway), Into the Woods (Fiasco’s production at Roundabout, McCarter, Old Globe, and the Menier in London), The Heir Apparent (CSC), Much Ado About Nothing (St. Louis Shakes), Love Life (HBOMax), New Amsterdam (NBC) and Blue Bloods (CBS). Select directing: The Woodsman (New World Stages, streaming on BroadwayHD), Bernie and Mikey… (59E59), Steel Magnolias (Virginia Theatre Festival), Moscow Moscow… (Columbia University), Trewlaney of the Wells (Juilliard). Claire trained at Brown University and The Juilliard School, and is currently guest faculty for both Juilliard’s Drama and Extension Divisions. She is also a proud member of SAG/AFTRA and a Councilor of Actors’ Equity Association. She is also a private acting and audition coach. More at www.clairekarpen.com
Biography: Brian McManamon is an actor, teacher, and acting coach based in New York City. He currently teaches Advanced Acting at Syracuse University’s Tepper Semester Program. In addition to running a private acting studio in New York City, McManamon has taught and/or directed at Juilliard School, the National Theater Institute (NTI) at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Powerhouse Theater Training Program at Vassar College, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University’s MFA Acting program and the Public Theater. From 2015 to 2018, McManamons served as artistic director of the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford. As an actor, McManamon has trained with some of the most respected acting teachers in America and abroad, including Ron Van Lieu, Evan Yionoulis, Mark Wing-Davey, Austin Pendleton, Peter Francis James, and the late John Barton. He received a BFA in Acting from Boston University, an MFA in Acting from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, and a full scholarship to attend the Midsummer in Oxford program of the British American Drama Academy (BADA) at Oxford University. McManamon is a proud member of the Actors Center Workshop Company and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
11 weeks
Mondays 6–8pm ET
February 10–April 28
&
Wednesdays 6–8pm ET
February 12–April 30
In Person Only
$935
APPLY ONLINE > -
EVDIV 69 - Advanced Scene Study
Claire Karpen, Brian McManamon
This class is for those who have taken Scene Study and are ready to keep building on that foundational work that furthers their understanding of and passion for acting. Similar to Scene Study, students will begin the semester with some short group work as a refresher of our basic tools and to build a sense of ensemble, then dive quickly into 2-3 person scenes to put those tools into practice. Students will learn how to deepen their connection to and understanding of dramatic material, stay present and responsive to their scene partners, free up their impulses and imaginations, and learn more about how to make the most of rehearsal. An informal, optional “open rehearsal” at the end of the semester will highlight the students’ work. Prerequisites: Placement application is required unless pre-approved to enroll. Students must have completed Scene Study at Juilliard Extension online or in person before the beginning of this course.
Biography: Claire Karpen is an actor, director, and teacher based in NYC. She has worked on and Off Broadway, regionally, and internationally in theatre, television, and film. Select acting credits include Sylvia (Broadway), Into the Woods (Fiasco’s production at Roundabout, McCarter, Old Globe, and the Menier in London), The Heir Apparent (CSC), Much Ado About Nothing (St. Louis Shakes), Love Life (HBOMax), New Amsterdam (NBC) and Blue Bloods (CBS). Select directing: The Woodsman (New World Stages, streaming on BroadwayHD), Bernie and Mikey… (59E59), Steel Magnolias (Virginia Theatre Festival), Moscow Moscow… (Columbia University), Trewlaney of the Wells (Juilliard). Claire trained at Brown University and The Juilliard School, and is currently guest faculty for both Juilliard’s Drama and Extension Divisions. She is also a proud member of SAG/AFTRA and a Councilor of Actors’ Equity Association. She is also a private acting and audition coach. More at www.clairekarpen.com
Biography: Brian McManamon is an actor, teacher, and acting coach based in New York City. He currently teaches Advanced Acting at Syracuse University’s Tepper Semester Program. In addition to running a private acting studio in New York City, McManamon has taught and/or directed at Juilliard School, the National Theater Institute (NTI) at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Powerhouse Theater Training Program at Vassar College, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University’s MFA Acting program and the Public Theater. From 2015 to 2018, McManamons served as artistic director of the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford. As an actor, McManamon has trained with some of the most respected acting teachers in America and abroad, including Ron Van Lieu, Evan Yionoulis, Mark Wing-Davey, Austin Pendleton, Peter Francis James, and the late John Barton. He received a BFA in Acting from Boston University, an MFA in Acting from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, and a full scholarship to attend the Midsummer in Oxford program of the British American Drama Academy (BADA) at Oxford University. McManamon is a proud member of the Actors Center Workshop Company and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
11 weeks
Mondays 8–10pm ET
February 10–April 28
&
Wednesdays 8–10pm ET
February 12–April 30
In Person Only
$935
APPLY NOW> -
EVDIV 71 - Acting Technique
Mark Olsen, Jasminn Johnson
Unlock your creative potential and discover the fundamentals of acting in our Acting Technique class. Designed for beginners and those looking to refresh their skills, this course provides a supportive and dynamic environment to explore the craft of acting.
Through a series of engaging exercises, improvisations, and scene work, participants will learn essential techniques to develop their imagination, concentration, and emotional expressiveness. The class will cover key elements such as voice and speech, movement, character development, and script analysis.
Guided by experienced instructors, students will gain confidence in their abilities, enhance their communication skills, and foster a deeper understanding of themselves and their artistry. Whether you aspire to perform on stage or simply wish to build your self-awareness and presence, this course offers a comprehensive foundation in the art of acting.
Join us and embark on a transformative journey that will enrich your creative life and equip you with valuable skills applicable both on and off the stage.
Biography: Mark Olsen was born in Denver. In addition to his undergraduate degree in Theatre from Trinity University, Olsen trained with many of the great master teachers in the mime and movement disciplines, attending studios in Paris, Los Angeles, São Paulo, and New York. Olsen completed additional specialty training in clowning with Cheryl McFadden, the Feldenkrais Method with Moshe Feldenkrais, the Alexander Technique with Troupe and Anne Matthews, and Yang Family Tai Chi with Don Ahn and Jeff Bolt.
Olsen is formerly the head of Graduate Acting at Penn State University, teacher emeritus and former secretary of the Society of American Fight Directors, and vice president of the Association for Theater Movement Educators. Olsen taught scene study and directed the industry showcase for the Columbia University Graduate Acting Program, stage movement at Carnegie Mellon University, mask performance at Sarah Lawrence College, and stage movement for New York Public Theater’s Shakespeare Lab. Olsen has appeared on Broadway and toured internationally with mime/mask ensemble Mummenschanz. Olsen has directed many professional and university productions and as a movement coordinator/fight director, his work has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in productions at the Signature Theater, the Roundabout, American Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage Company, Long Wharf, Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, New York Shakespeare Festival, and others. In 2010, he was part of the artistic team winning the Drama Desk award for his work on The Orphan’s Home Cycle. Olsen is currently the chair of the Musical Theatre Department for the New York Film Academy and is the author of three texts: The Actor With a Thousand Faces, The Golden Buddha Changing Masks, and Acting: Scene One.
Biography: Jasminn Johnson (Group 45), a Drama Division teaching fellow, is an actor and teaching artist based in New York City. Some of her recent Off-Broadway credits include King Lear (New York Classical Theatre), Blues for An Alabama Sky (Keen Company), and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare on the Sound); her TV and film credits include The Equalizer (CBS) and The Politician (Netflix). Johnson has taught throughout New York City as the former director of education for Keen Company and coached for the National August Wilson Monologue Competition, in which her student won first place at the 2020 New York citywide competition.
11 weeks
Online Section
Mondays 6–8pm ET
February 10–April 28
In Person Section
Mondays 6–8pm or 8-10pm ET
February 10–April 28
$935
APPLY ONLINE > -
EVDIV 72 - Performing Shakespeare: Group Class
Brian McManamon
A rigorous and imaginative exploration of playing Shakespeare with a focus on the relationship between the structure of verse, the intellectual argument and releasing a character’s thoughts and emotions through text. Students will experience how the form, rhythm and meaning of Shakespeare’s verse can lead the actor to find specificity, impulsivity and expressivity in their work. The class will offer tools not rules; clues not constraints. Pleasure will be taken in tipping Shakespeare off of his proverbial pedestal and discovering how these plays can live through and speak to us at this moment in time.
Biography: Brian McManamon is an actor, teacher, and acting coach based in New York City. He currently teaches Advanced Acting at Syracuse University’s Tepper Semester Program. In addition to running a private acting studio in New York City, McManamonhas taught and/or directed at Juilliard l, the National Theater Institute (NTI) at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Powerhouse Theater Training Program at Vassar College, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University’s MFA acting program and the Public Theater. From 2015 to 2018, McManamon served as artistic director of the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford. As an actor, McManamon has trained with some of the most respected acting teachers in the U.S. and abroad, including Ron Van Lieu, Evan Yionoulis, Mark Wing-Davey, Austin Pendleton, Peter Francis James, and the late John Barton. He received a BFA in acting from Boston University, an MFA in acting from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, and a full scholarship to attend the Midsummer in Oxford program of the British American Drama Academy (BADA) at Oxford University. McManamon is a proud member of the Actors Center Workshop Company and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
11 weeks
Tuesdays 7–9pm ET
February 11–April 29
In Person Only
$935
APPLY ONLINE >
Screenwriting/Playwriting
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EVDIV 67 - Writing for Performance: A Playwriting Workshop
James Anthony Tyler
If you are at ease calling yourself a writer but choke on the word “playwright,” then this workshop is for you. Designed for adventurous wordsmiths from all backgrounds, ages, and levels of experience, Writing for Performance equips participants with tips and techniques that they can use as they develop story for the stage. We will take inspiration from a selection of contemporary playwrights, practitioners, and performance artists such as Young Jean Lee, Okwui Okpokwasili, Winsome Pinnock, Hassan Abdulrazzak, Lisa Goldman, Amit Gupta, and Debbie Tucker Green, and we will experiment with exercises to unlock you when you’re blocked and help you generate rich and challenging new material. Participants will leave the workshop with a portfolio of short works, a toolbox packed with inspiring prompts, and their own set of “rules” to guide them further on their journey into performance writing. Placement application required.
Biography: James Anthony Tyler is the recipient of the third Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award, an inaugural playwright to receive a commission from Audible, and a 2016 Theatre Masters Visionary Playwrights Award recipient. He is currently a Playwrights Center Core Writer, and most recently was the recipient of The Playwrights Center’s McKnight National Residency and Commission, a member of The Fire This Time Festival’s New Works Lab Cycle 5, and a member of Circle X Theatre Company’s Evolving Playwrights Group. His plays include Some Old Black Man (Berkshire Playwrights Lab at St. James Place and 59E59 Theaters, and a University Musical Society filmed production), All We Need Is Us (Keen Company, currently streaming on all podcast platforms) hop thA A (Currently streaming on Audible), Artney Jackson (World Premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), and Dolphins and Sharks (LAByrinth Theater Company and Finborough Theatre in London). He’s a 2021/2018 MacDowell Fellow, a 2021 Hermitage Artist Resident, a 2018 Djerassi Fellow, 2018-2019 Amoralists Wright Club Playwright, 2017-2018 Nashville Rep Ingram New Works Playwright, 2016-2017 Ars Nova Play Group Resident, 2016 Working Farm Playwrights Group Resident at SPACE on Ryder Farm, 2015-2016 Playwrights’ Center’s Many Voices Fellow, 2014-2015 Dramatists Guild Fellow, and he was a member of Harlem’s Emerging Black Playwrights Group. He has a MFA in Film from Howard University and a MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University. He is also a graduate of The Juilliard School’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. For television, he was the Staff Writer for the OWN Network show “Cherish the Day” created by Ava DuVernay, and was most recently in the writers’ room for a new Apple + Drama Series starring an Academy Award winning actress, and he’s currently an Adjunct Professor at NYU and Columbia University. Upcoming 2024 play productions include Into the Side of a Hill at Flint Repertory Theatre and Some Old Black Man in London.
10 weeks
Thursdays 6–8pm ET
February 13–April 24
or
Fridays 6–8pm ET
February 14–April 25
Online Only
$700
APPLY ONLINE >
Singing/Movement Training
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EVDIV 58 - Singing for the Stage: Musical Theater, Cabaret, Jazz, and Pop
Kurt Alakulppi
Are you an actor or singer seeking to enhance your vocal performance in musical theater and other non-classical genres? Whether you’re a recent acting graduate navigating the transition to the working world, a seasoned theater actor who struggles with singing in public or at auditions, or an established singer in musical theater, cabaret, jazz, or pop looking to maintain vocal health and flexibility while gigging, this course is designed to help you incorporate reliable singing techniques into your performance and audition settings.
Through a series of “Vocal-eases” exercises, you’ll condition your muscles and vocal mechanism to respond healthfully over time, strengthen the quality of sound, extend your range, and provide a reliable basis for breath management and endurance without strain or struggle. In addition to technical issues, this course will also address mental blocks and performance anxiety, offering repertoire suggestions, anti-anxiety routines, and strategies for communicating the text while singing optimally.
Participants can expect to sing in each class, providing opportunities for peer-to-peer learning in front of a built-in audience. This course is specifically designed for professional actors who need to sing and professional singers who need to act, and requires an online application for admission. Join us to enhance your vocal performance and take your career to the next level!
This course requires an online application to be considered for admission.
13 weeks
Mondays 6–8pm ET
January 27–April 28
In Person Only
$988 plus $130 accompanist fee
APPLY ONLINE > -
EVDIV 60 - The Alexander Technique
Thomas Vasiliades
Alexander Technique is a mind-body method that brings about awareness of subconscious habits and patterns that interfere with postural support, movement, and breathing. Studying the technique prevents and transforms these habits, thereby promoting an improved use of the body while performing daily activities. People who have studied Alexander Technique have experienced relief from chronic pain and discomfort, improved breathing and voice production, and greater ease of movement. Used by actors, musicians, dancers, and athletes, the technique can benefit everyone, including those who simply wish to improve and explore themselves. This class, popular throughout Juilliard, is a hands-on approach for change in all areas of life. Students should bring their own yoga mat to each session.
10 weeks
Thursdays 6–7:30pm ET
February 13–April 24
In Person Only
$525
Drama History & Appreciation
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EVDOL 39 - Theater This Season
Shana Komitee
Designed for novices and afficionados alike, this course explores a mix of the most exciting theater happening in New York in Fall 2024 - revivals and premieres, straight plays and musicals, on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Each week, students will analyze a given production’s source texts, enjoy spirited lectures and discussions about its history and creators, and encounter video and audio footage and guest artist visits (recorded and live) that reveal a work’s deeper dimensions.
The plays/musicals surveyed include, but are not limited to: Our Town (the beloved American classic, now reborn under acclaimed director Kenny Leon); The Outsiders (2024 Tony Award for Best Musical), Yellow Face (the highly-anticipated Broadway premiere of David Henry Hwang’s semi-autobiographical comedic stunner about race); Gypsy (starring the unmissable Audra McDonald); Reconstructing (Still Working but the Devil Might Be Inside) (The TEAM’s genre-defying largest writing project to date, at BAM); Suffs (Shaina Taub’s political powerhouse, especially timely this election year); McNEAL (a meditation on the power of AI by the Pulitzer-winning visionary Ayad Akhtar); Gatz (Elevator Repair Service’s final NYC encore presentation of their legendary riff on Fitzgerald’s masterpiece); Our Class (an astonishing new look at Tadeusz Slobodzianek’s famous study of a 1940s Polish village); Bad Kreyol (the newest from theatrical heavyweight Dominique Morisseau); and many more.
Additionally, students who register for the class will be eligible to receive one complimentary ticket to the opening production of the Juilliard Drama Division 2024-2025 Season (title TBD), subject to availability. Whether you’re a longtime NYC theater goer, or newly inspired to delve into our rich local scene, come explore the magic by which an unforgettable theater event - and whole season - comes into being.
Biography: Shana Komitee has been a Juilliard faculty member since 2012. She teaches Vibrant Legacies in Theater, covering influential movements and artists in the U.S. and globally, and serves as dramaturg on Drama Division productions. Komitee is the author of the Harvard Writing Project’s A Student’s Guide to Performance Studies, essays for the Juilliard Global Ventures episode on Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, and dozens of program notes and director interviews for Juilliard mainstage productions. She received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and pursued an interdisciplinary MA/PhD at Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Performance Studies. At Harvard, she was a multi-year recipient of the university’s top teaching fellowship prize. A former New York City Urban Fellow, Komitee has also taught at Columbia University, Bard Prison Initiative, and Juilliard Extension (since 2013), and in numerous adult education programs in Boston and San Francisco. She has provided dramaturgy at theaters and museums throughout the United States, including the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Frick Art Museum, WP Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre, and the American Repertory Theatre.
10 weeks
Tuesdays 6:30–8pm ET
February 11–April 22
In Person Only
$510
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