Fourth Semester Courses

Note:  Dance and Movement:  Students dance 9 hours per week.  Hours per course vary per rotation.  If a student completes all 4 semester of study, an additional 3 credits may be added for Dance and Movement.

For information on transferring courses as college credit, please visit the College Credit page on our website.

FOURTH SEMESTER COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Acting IV

The second semester begins with a Style Workshop. Lessons learned are combined with dialect work and applied to scenes from Shaw, Wilde and Coward. Students will then work on a final scene from the language- and metaphor-rich worlds of Shakespeare.

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Musical Scene Study II

The second semester includes current trends in musical theatre (e.g., Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, In The Heights, American Idiot). The year-long Musical Scene Study class is where students put it all together.

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Voice and Speech IV: Cold Reading

This course helps the actors refine their acting audition skills through exploring a variety of materials commonly used at auditions.  Work on this material is designed to aid students when auditioning for plays, musicals, agency offices, theater seasons, summer stock auditions, independent films, Actor's Connection, etc.  Actors are empowered to make smart, strong, informed acting choices in an audition, callback or industry meeting.

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Voice and Speech IV: Monologues

In this course, the actors learn how to approach the monologue audition, including how to select appropriate and effective pieces.  They develop two monologues—one dramatic and one comedic—appropriate for successfully auditioning for plays, musicals, agency offices, theater seasons, summer stock auditions, independent and student films, and The Actors' Network.

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Dance and Movement IV

In this final semester of study, there is a greater emphasis on the style/expression and presence of each individual as well as a continuation of high technical expectation of the student. Exercises and dance combinations become progressively more advanced stylistically and technically.  Dance courses and goals in the 4th Semester focus on fine tuning the goals and work done in the first 3 semesters.

• applying acting technique
• storytelling
• physical presence
• style/expression according to choreographer and period

Additional workshops may include Mock Auditions, Body Building, Make-up and partnering work (i.e. Latin Styles).

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Vocal Coaching

A Vocal Coach helps students refine their audition material including building the acting journey in the song, preparing appropriate cuts, choosing the best key, and arranging the cut for varied styles. Students meet with their
Vocal Coach weekly (12 hours total)
during the semester. 

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Audition Technique

In this semester, students refine and polish audition material explored in the first semester.  Mock auditions allow students to practice the skills introduced in the first semester.  The audition course divides into two segments:  Traditional material and Pop-Rock material.  Work sessions in each genre are conducted so students can polish full songs, as well as 16-bar and 8-bar cuts.  Mock auditions with industry professionals enable the students to present the material for feedback.

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Business of Musical Theatre

This course gives students advanced business information to prepare them as savvy, self-employed performers.  During this course, students will identify:

• Types of musical theatre auditions and appropriate material for those auditions
• Types and type casting in musical theatre auditions
• Important players they will encounter at auditions
• Benefits of signing with an agent or manager
• Production contracts
• Unions: rules and regulations
• Business strategies to market themselves before and after auditions
• Networking strategies

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FOURTH SEMESTER PRODUCTION PROJECTS

Pop-Rock Project

This course teaches the student how to present Pop-Rock material in a performance.  The material performed will showcase their type, demonstrate storytelling skills, utilize a physical score, and develop personalization in all
material.  Rehearsals include individual work on solo material as well as ensemble work.

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Mainstage Musical

The production strengthens the artist's facility as a full collaborator by participating in the rehearsal process and public performance of a Book Musical with an ensemble of fellow actors. The focus will be on integrating and augmenting the actor's technique and skill levels. A Book Musical from the cannon of musical theatre will be selected (examples: Into the Woods, The Boyfriend, Grand Hotel, State Fair, Urinetown, The Boys From Syracuse, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, Pippin, The Wild Party, etc.).

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