EDUCATION AT THE BAY THEATRE

The Bay Theatre Studio, the educational wing of the Bay Theatre Company, offers a wide range of classes to suit the varied needs of students of the theater. We believe that serious theater training can be of great value in life as well as in art. The following courses are taught on a regular basis. To register, please contact our office by email at studio@baytheatre.org or phone at 410-268-1333. Scholarships are available.

SUMMER 2008 CLASSES

Courses Offered in Association with Maryland Hall
Exclusive Bay Theatre Studio Course Offerings
Bay Theatre Studio Faculty
Workshops

Courses Offered in Association with Maryland Hall

To register for any of the programs listed above, please visit www.mdhallarts.org/classes/catalog_index.asp
or call Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts at (410) 263-5544. Scholarships are available. Unless otherwise indicated, classes and workshops are held at The Bay Theatre in the West Garrett Building, 275 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401.

The Bay Theatre Studio offers a series of one-week workshops during the summer, with morning programs intended for ages 7 to 11, and afternoon sessions oriented toward 11 to 15 year olds. Each workshop culminates in a performance on The Bay Theatre stage, which parents, relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend.

Create a Play Brandon McCoy
In this exciting workshop, students will develop and perform a play of their own creation. First, they will be guided in writing an original script, then they will take on all aspects of producing their masterpiece, from designing the set, sound, props and costumes to assistant directing, stage managing, and acting. Students gain confidence and fundamental life skills as they practice team work and ensemble building. Each workshop is different, every production unique!

Session A1 Ages 7-11 M – F 6/16/08 - 6/20/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $200
Session A2 Ages 7-11 M – F 7/7/08 - 7/11/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $200
Session A3 Ages 7-11 M – F 7/21/08 - 7/25/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $200

Session P1 Ages 11-15 M – F 6/23/08 - 6/27/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $200
Session P2 Ages 11-15 M – F 7/21/08 - 7/25/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $20

Scene Study Brandon McCoy
Developing character, and following the “beats” or sections of a scene as it unfolds, are essential elements in a preparing for a play. In this workshop, students will learn the fundamentals of the actor’s craft through instructed study and preparation of a scene by a contemporary American playwright.

Session P1 Ages 11-15 M – F 6/16/08 – 6/20/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $200

Shakespeare Brandon McCoy
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines.
Learning to speak the speech is just one of the many elements of this challenging workshop. This hands-on introduction to Shakespeare will immerse students in the thrilling world of the greatest playwright in the English language. Shakespeare’s plays are full of action, and his strong characters are fun to play, with their grand gestures and imaginative ideas.

Session A1 Ages 7-11 M – F 7/14/08 – 7/18/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $200
Session P1 Ages 11-15 M – F 7/14/08 – 7/18/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $200

Stage Combat and Movement Brandon McCoy
This workshop will focus on fundamentals of illusion, and techniques of physicalizing effective stage fights. Safety, body awareness, partnerships and hand to hand combat, including slaps, punches, pulls, kicks, rolls and falls, will be covered, all in a safe, fun environment. Students will learn a choreographed stage-fighting sequence that will be incorporated into a scene. Note: Students must wear comfortable exercise clothing with closed-toe shoes.

Session A1 Ages 7-11 M – F 6/23/08 - 6/27/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $200
Session P1 Ages 11-15 M – F 7/7/08 – 7/11/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $200

Exclusive Bay Theatre Studio Course Offerings

Play Production Workshop August 4 – August 16, 2008 Brandon McCoy

This two-week long comprehensive workshop provides Bay Theatre Studio ‘graduates’ with the opportunity to utilize their learned skills in the production of a published one-act play. Students may audition for a role, or choose to work backstage as a stage manager, assistant director, or technical designer. If in the play, they will learn their lines, stage movement (blocking), character development and other acting techniques to create the world of the play. Students will collaborate to mount a fully staged production, complete with costumes, props and a set, which be performed for a live audience at The Bay Theatre on Saturday, August 16, 2008.

Prerequisite: This workshop is open to students who have successfully completed two previous Bay Theatre classes or workshops, or by permission of the instructor. Students auditioning for acting roles must demonstrate appropriate reading ability. Auditions will be held on the first day.

AM Play Ages 7-11 M - F 8/4/08 - 8/15/08 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
PM Play Ages 11-15 M - F 8/4/08 - 8/15/08 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Play Production Fee: $400 ($50 discount for additional family members)

Play production workshops will be held at The Bay Theatre in the West Garrett Building, 275 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. Click here to download registration form. To contact the instructor or for more information, please call (410) 268-1333, extension 6, or email studio@baytheatre.org.

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The Bay Theatre Faculty

All of our teachers embrace our mission of quality theater instruction. We require all Bay Theatre faculty to have a minimum of a baccalaureate degree in theatre from an accredited institution with substantial teaching experience. They also practice their craft as theater artists in the theatre community. Our current faculty is:

Allyson Tierney, Senior Faculty

Allyson received her BFA from The University Of Wisconsin-Whitewater. While doing her undergraduate studies, she spent her junior year abroad in India studying theatre, dance and directing a play for Madurai Kamaraj University. She also attended The Professional Theatre Training Program at the University of Delaware and has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Goucher College. Some of the companies Allyson has performed with are: The Bay Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and The Milwaukee Children’s Theatre Company.

Brandon McCoy, Senior Faculty

Brandon McCoy earned an MFA in acting from Catholic University, and a BFA in acting and directing from Marshall University. He joined the Bay Theatre Studio faculty in Fall 2006, and served as Summer Education Coordinator the following summer. In addition to teaching year-round at Bay Theatre, Brandon works for the Montgomery County school district, and taught theater previously at Catholic University and in Vienna, Virginia. An experienced professional actor, Brandon played Hank in Bay Theatre's production of Apocalyptic Butterflies during the 2007-2008 season, and Alan in Picnic the previous year. He is also a talented stand-up comedian and musician.

Peter Boyer, Acting Instructor

Peter holds an MFA from the University of Mississippi and a BA from the University of Virginia, and is a member of Actors' Equity Association. He has taught at the University of Mississippi, the College of William and Mary, Howard Community College, and at the Stagedoor Manor Theatre Training Program. As an actor he performed in plays and musicals in theatres across the country before settling in this area a few years ago. Locally, he has performed at Ford's Theatre, Imagination Stage, Cumberland Theatre, Wayside Theatre, Rep Stage, and the Bay Theatre. Along with acting and teaching, Peter has also worked as a director, fight choreographer, writer, and mask designer.

Amy Dawson, Acting Instructor

Amy Dawson grew up in Texas where she graduated from Angelo State University with a degree in Performing Arts under the tutelage of Academy Award Winner Karl Malden. After touring with Troupe d’ Jour Shakespeare Company, she moved to New York City and worked in independent film and television for five years on such shows as Law and Order SVU, One Life to Live and All My Children. Amy also worked in plays Off Broadway, most notably Tony Kushner’s Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. In New York, Amy studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the School for Film and Television. She now works as a performer and acting instructor in the Baltimore / Washington DC area.

Laura Plaster, Acting Instructor

Laura Plaster grew up in Wilmington, DE and studied English and drama at the University of Delaware. While at the University of DE, she performed for the Harrington Theatre Arts Company and the E-52 student theatre group. Laura won the University of Delaware's annual script-writing contest for her play, The Wild Rover. The play was the culmination of a grant she received from the University to conduct research on the Irish community in Philadelphia. Following her college education, Laura married Logan Plaster, moved to Annapolis, MD, and began working for the Maryland Shakespeare Festival as an artist-in-residence, teaching Shakespeare to middle schoolers. In 2007, Laura trained at Shakespeare & Co, a theatre in Lenox, MA, as both an actor and as an educator. She was selected by Shakespeare & Co to be a teaching artist for their 19th annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, directing high schoolers in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Brian MacDonald, Acting Instructor

Brian MacDonald is an MFA acting candidate at The Catholic University of America. He graduated Cum Laude in 2006 from the University of Evansville with a BFA in acting. He has taught theatre courses and been a Curriculum Advisor for the last three years at Exploration Summer Programs, a summer boarding school in MA. Brian MacDonald also worked for ten years with the Peanut Butter Players, a children's theatre in Boulder, Colorado, as an actor, counselor, and stage manager. He has appeared in a number of productions at The Catholic University of America and has also appeared in readings at the Kennedy Center as part of their Page-to-Stage festival.

Bret Jaspers, Acting Instructor

Bret Jaspers, a recent graduate of the MFA acting program at Brooklyn College, is currently appearing in Bay Theatre's production of Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? New York acting credits include Iphigenia in Aulis, The Tempest, Side Man, Sight Unseen, June Moon, and On the Verge, or the Geography of Yearning.

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WORKSHOPS

Bay Theatre hosts independent workshops from time to time, contingent on student participation and theatre resources. Interested parties are invited to email or call us at 410-268-1333.

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The Bay Theatre Company is a professional non-profit repertory theatre company located at 275 West Street in Annapolis, Maryland. It was founded in 2002 with a threefold mission: (1) to produce plays of superb quality and richness for audiences of diverse ages and cultures; (2) to promote theatre education for students of all ages, and (3) to provide working opportunities for theatre artists. To fulfill this mission, the Bay Theatre Company produces four to five professional productions each year, employing experienced theatre artists and Actors’ Equity professionals, as well as recent theatre school graduates. In addition, the Company offers workshops and performance opportunities for students of all ages, both independently and in association with Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.