MONDAY FEBRUARY 6th, 13th and MARCH 6th (6pm-9pm EST)

Location TBA

 

The work of Yemie Sonuga, Trish Lindstrom and Dayna Tekatch are currently lighting up the stage at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in the Toronto production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Join us in three magical classes where participants will dive into text work, character development and directing. 

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ABOUT THE CLASSES: 

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FINDING A CHARACTER'S VOICE with YEMIE SONUGA

Monday February 6th, 2023

In this class, participants will prepare a contemporary monologue (after 1900) and get 1-on-1 coaching with Sara to dig into character work. 

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APPROACHING THE WORK with TRISH LINDSTROM

Monday February 13th, 2023

In this class, participants will bring a scene/audition side that you are not entirely familiar with (1-3 pages). It's best if this side is relatively unfamiliar to you; something you DON'T have yet "memorized" as to learn the material by-heart together. 

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EVOLUTION IN DIRECTING with DAYNA TEKATCH

Monday March 6th, 2023

In this class, participants will work with Dayna on material from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and break down the material together. Dayna will also be sharing insight into her work as a resident director where participants will get an opportunity to chat about being on the other side of the table. 

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THIS CLASS IS FOR BOTH ACTORS AND DIRECTORS. Please specify which you are attending as. 

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ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS: 

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YEMIE SONUGA is a Nigerian, Canadian, and American actor, model, acting coach, and writer who is currently playing the role of Madam Hooch and understudying the roles of Hermione Granger and Delores Umbridge in the Toronto production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 

She holds a Master’s Degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has performed on stages around the globe. Broadway Tour: Disney’s The Lion King. West End: Porgy & Bess (Regents Park); The Book of Mormon (Original Cast); Ghost: the Musical (Original Cast, World Premiere, and Broadway Album); Mabel Washington in Fame: the Musical (International & Irish Tour). Canada: Jessica in Call It Love (Eclipse Theatre); Pandora in Blackout (Canadian Stage/The Musical Stage Company); The Little Prince (Theatre Calgary, World Premiere). On Screen: The Olivier Awards, Jann (CTV/Hulu), The Boys (Amazon Studios). Voice Over: Ally Lonergan in Next Stop (*her performance was recognized by IndieWire Magazine). Yemie is also Lead Talent for Headstrong Meditation by Equinox; her meditations can be heard internationally on the EQX+ App.

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TRISH LINDSTROM is thrilled to be back on stage in her hometown of Toronto where she is playing Ginny Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 

Theatre Highlights: Once (Girl; Mirvish; Dora and TO Critics’ Awards); As You Like It (Jaques; Milwaukee Rep); Summer: the Donna Summer Musical (First National Tour); Mother Night (59E59, NYC); Wedding Party (Crow’s/TIFT); Life After (The Musical Stage Company/Can Stage); Mimi (Dora Nom; Tarragon), Assassins (Dora Nom; Birdland/TIFT); Soulpepper 

Stratford Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), As You Like It (Celia); Alice Through the Looking Glass (Alice), A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Chamber Play (Titania/Hermia; Dir. Peter Sellars), The Tempest (Miranda; with Christopher Plummer), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), The Miracle Worker (Helen Keller); and five seasons with the Shaw Festival. Proud member of The Actors Center, NYC. www.trishlindstrom.com @lindstromtrish

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DAYNA TEKATCH​

For Mirvish: Come From Away (Resident Director/Toronto, Associate Director in London, U.K. and Melbourne, Australia), Blindness (Associate Director).

Elsewhere: As Director, Crazy For You (Citadel/Theatre Calgary); Stones in His Pockets (Neptune); Avenue Q (Citadel); The 39 Steps (1000 Islands/Neptune); Forever Plaid (Starvox); Oliver! (NAC). Dayna spent 9 seasons at the Stratford Festival as an actor and choreographer and was a member of the English theatre company at the National Arts Centre for 12 productions.

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FEES*: 

Participant - $75 single class / $200 series pack

Audit - $40 single class / $100 series pack (in-person or virtual)

*NEW* Payment plans are available to pay in instalments. 

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PARTICIPANT SPACE IS LIMITED. 

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*HST not included in price

Tess Benger, lead actress who played Dot in ETC's critically-acclaimed production of Sunday In The Park With George, will teach a Sondheim-themed musical theatre performance class. Each participant (up to 12) will choose their favourite 32 bars (around 1 minute) piece from Sondheim's repertoire, and Tess will coach and guide on how to delve into, prepare, examine, audition and perform Sondheim's complex characters. 

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This class is 2hrs, once a week for three weeks. Students will have the chance to work one-on-one in a group setting over ZOOM with Tess. At the end of those three weeks, students participating will have the chance to showcase their work for a surprise distinguished panel of guests who have all performed Sondheim's work. Due to the nature of this format, performance spaces are EXTREMELY LIMITED. 

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PERFORMANCE SPACE IS LIMITED. AUDITORS WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE Q&A. 

Have you ever dreamed of working at Stratford? Want to know what it takes? This is the class for you. 

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Denise Fergusson and Stephen Woodjetts have over 95 years of experience between the two and we are offering this exclusive masterclass series to prepare your audition for the world-renowned Stratford Festival and similar repertory companies. Participants will have the choice to prepare as if they are auditioning for the musicals and/or the plays. Students will work in depth one-on-one with Denise and Stephen on their songs and monologues and receive feedback on their resumes and audition etiquette. 

 

This is truly a unique opportunity as both of them have been in the room rehearsing and auditioning, in front and behind the table for Canada's top theatrical institution. 

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The final class will be attended by Alexis Gordon, Chilina Kennedy and Andrew Seok, experience a mock audition, receive individualized feedback and participate in a Q&A. 

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In order to work in depth with each participant, performance space is limited to 10 participants and will be selected by their resumes. However, both Denise and Stephen feel that one learns just as much if not more by watching and as such there are an unlimited number of slots to audit the class. Register today!

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PERFORMANCE SPACE IS LIMITED. AUDITORS WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE Q&A. 

Want to know what it is like working & auditioning for The Shaw Festival?

 

Join the lovely team of Fiona Byrne and Alexis Gordon, as we break down your Shaw, or period piece (1), PLUS your traditional or contemporary musical theatre piece (1), to help keep your actor’s muscles in shape - stay inspired! - for auditioning again sometime soon for the Festival! Beautiful bonus? The brilliant SHAW FESTIVAL Staff members Rob Kempson and Rachel O'Brien as well as other surprise guests will attend the final class to give you individualized feedback. 

 

* Workshop Audition Requirements based loosely on Shaw’s Audition announcement:

• Pick ONE from: a monologue from any period before WW2 (please, no Shakespeare!) OR a monologue from a piece inspired by/based in the time GBS was alive

• And pick ONE from: 2 contrasting songs, preferably an up tempo and a ballad. At least 1 song should be a traditional musical theatrepiece – i.e. Gershwin, Cole Porter, Coward, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, etc. The second song need not be traditional musical theatre – it need not even be a musical theatre song – it should be a piece that shows your strengths and your vocal range. Please note: we may only hear one song.

• We will be working in a group in front of the other actors/auditors!

 

 

*Need inspiration for a monologue? Upon signing up, you may request advice on period-appropriate monologue pieces! OR, don’t sing much? No problem! So many plays nowadays have singing in them, musicals or not. Upon signing up, you may request guidance in finding a simple, traditional or folk song for an audition!

 

Sign up to come play or audit with us! Stay inspired, stay playful!

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PERFORMANCE SPACE IS LIMITED. UNLIMITED AUDITORS.