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, Brian has taught and/or directed at The 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, Brian served as artistic director of the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford. As an actor, Brian 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 (B.A.D.A.) at Oxford University. Brian is a proud member of the Actors Center Workshop Company and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.

11 weeks

Mondays 6–8pm ET

September 30–December 16

Wednesdays 6–8pm ET

September 25–December 18 (no class on October 2)

In Person Only

$935

APPLY ONLINE >