Guthrie Theater

Registration for the Guthrie Winter Session has begun! Develop skills and talents that you can bring anywhere. Even if you’ve taken a class with us before, there’s something for everyone at the Guthrie! You can receive multiweek class updates by e-mailing Education Manager Lily Shaw.    

2009/2010 Winter Multi-week Classes:

Please e-mail or call 612.225.6172 now to register for your favorite class!

Stage Combat for Teens - Saturdays, January 30 to February 20 (four weeks)
Beginning Voiceover - Tuesdays, February 23 to March 16 (four weeks)
Beginning Acting - Wednesdays, February 17 to March 10 (four weeks)
Beginning Acting II - Wednesdays, January 6 to February 10 (six weeks) *NEW CLASS*
Intermediate Voiceover - Wednesdays, March 17 to May 5 (eight weeks)
Intermediate Acting - Tuesdays, March 9 to April 27 (eight weeks)
Intermediate Acting II: Scene Study - Wednesdays, January 6 to February 24 (eight weeks) and Wednesdays, March 17 to May 5 (eight weeks)

Stage Combat for Teens - 4 weeks

No pre-requisite required / no experience necessary
Ages: 14-17
Capacity: 16 students
Dates: Saturdays - January 30 to February 20
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Class Fee: $100

Are you interested in Punches, Parries and Pummeling? This four week workshop designed specifically for teens and led by Combat Instructor and Fight Choreographer Carin Bratlie gives participants a hands on chance to develop your combatant skills.  No experience? No problem!  We'll start with the basics and have you crafting safe and realistic fight sequences in no time.

Teaching Artist:
Carin Bratlie is a freelance director, acting instructor, and fight choreographer. With an extensive background in fencing, martial arts, and dance, Carin brings a unique artistic perspective to her fight choreography, and believes that storytelling is an essential part of realistic and safe fight work.

Beginning Voiceover - 4 weeks

No pre-requisite required
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Tuesdays - February 23 to March 16
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Class Fee: $140

Have you ever been curious about the world of radio and broadcast? Discover your vocal range and explore the necessary skills required to deliver words with power and persuasion. Learn from an expert the basics of reading commercial copy, microphone technique and wrap up with an opportunity to record in the Guthrie sound studio.  

Teaching Artist:  
Jim Cada has been the Guthrie's Voiceover instructor for the past three years. He has worked nationally in radio, television and industrial voiceovers for over 30 years. Twin Cities stage acting credits include roles at the Guthrie Theater: Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream (tour) and Great Expectations; Chanhassen Dinner Theatre: The Music Man, I Ought To Be In Pictures and The Sound of Music; Children's Theatre: Mr. A's Amazing Maze Plays; Park Square Theatre: You Can't Take It With You and Sherlock Holmes-The Final Adventure; Mixed Blood Theater: JoAnn and Bleacher Bums; Old Log Theater: The Odd Couple, Arsenic and Old Lace, Unnecessary Farce, The Foreigner and Run For Your Wife. Representative film acting credits include roles in North Country, The Straight Story, Sweet Land, Iron Will, A Serious Man, Grumpier Old Men, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Untamed Heart and Factotum.

Beginning Acting - 4 weeks

No pre-requisite required / No experience necessary
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Wednesdays - February 17 to March 10
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $100

If you've never tried acting or are looking to explore your natural talents this class is perfect for you. Come play, exercise your imagination and get in the moment. No experience necessary!

Teaching Artist:
Matthew Vaky has been teaching at the Guthrie for 20 years. He acted in The Screens, Candide, The Winter's Tale, A Christmas Carol, The Good Hope, The Duchess of Malfi and Volpone at the Guthrie, as well as directing a stage reading of his play The Letter A at the Guthrie Lab. He has acted, directed and written for many theaters in the Twin Cities including The Illusion, Mixed Blood, SteppingStone Theatre, The Playwrights' Center, Bryant Lake Bowl and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. He is currently teaching at El Colegio Charter School.

Beginning Acting II - 6 weeks *NEW CLASS

Pre-requisite: Completion of Beginning Acting at the Guthrie Theater or equivalent
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Wednesdays - January 6 to February 10
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $150

If you were bitten by the acting bug in the Beginning Acting class, this next level is perfect for you. Continue to build your imagination, focus your concentration and hone your listening skills to delve into the introductory world of character and text.  

Teaching Artist:
Matthew Vaky has been teaching at the Guthrie for 20 years. He acted in The Screens, Candide, The Winter's Tale, A Christmas Carol, The Good Hope, The Duchess of Malfi and Volpone at the Guthrie, as well as directing a stage reading of his play The Letter A at the Guthrie Lab. He has acted, directed and written for many theaters in the Twin Cities including The Illusion, Mixed Blood, SteppingStone Theatre, The Playwrights' Center, Bryant Lake Bowl and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. He is currently teaching at El Colegio Charter School.

Intermediate Acting - 8 weeks

Pre-requisite: Completion of Beginning Acting II at the Guthrie Theater or equivalent
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Tuesdays - March 9 to April 27
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $200

This class is a perfect follow-up course to the Guthrie's Beginning Acting II.  Jump into the "how-to's" of scene study, character development and script analysis.

Teaching Artist: 
Candace Barrett is the former executive director of the Children's Museum of Los Angeles and most recently the director of Mythica: The Center for World Mythology in St. Paul, Minn. She has held many positions in the arts world including director of the Young Conservatory at the American Conservatory Theater; founder and director of The Academy of Theater and Media Arts; associate professor of theater at Southern Methodist University; adjunct professor of theater at the University of Southern California; and assistant professor of acting and directing at San Francisco State University. She has been a member of the acting companies of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the American Conservatory Theater among others. Candace has also directed award-winning productions for the Reader's Theatre Project, University of Southern California and the American Conservatory Theater. She is currently a consultant and lead teaching artist with the Guthrie's Education Department.

Intermediate Acting II: Scene Study - 8 Weeks

Pre-requisite: Intermediate Acting at the Guthrie Theater or equivalent.
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Session 1:  Wednesdays - January 6 to February 24 
Session 2:  Wednesdays - March 17 to May 5
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $200

This class will build on skills and techniques introduced and developed in the Intermediate Acting class. Scene work will include modern and contemporary plays as well as various period works including Shakespeare. From time to time Guest Teaching Artists will be invited to teach a class as student interest and demands of specific scene work emerges. 

Teaching Artist: 
Candace Barrett is the former executive director of the Children's Museum of Los Angeles and most recently the director of Mythica: The Center for World Mythology in St. Paul, Minn. She has held many positions in the arts world including director of the Young Conservatory at the American Conservatory Theater; founder and director of The Academy of Theater and Media Arts; associate professor of theater at Southern Methodist University; adjunct professor of theater at the University of Southern California; and assistant professor of acting and directing at San Francisco State University. She has been a member of the acting companies of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the American Conservatory Theater among others. Candace has also directed award-winning productions for the Reader's Theatre Project, University of Southern California and the American Conservatory Theater. She is currently a consultant and lead teaching artist with the Guthrie's Education Department.

Intermediate Voice Over - 8 weeks

Pre-requisite: Beginning Voiceover at the Guthrie Theater
Ages: 18+
Capacity: 12 students
Dates: Wednesdays - March 17 to May 5
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $240

Focus on "finding your voice" and handling fear and anxiety, script analysis, audition etiquette and basic voiceover marketing. You will leave with awesome tips on CD demo packaging ideas, setting your rates and industry smarts.

Teaching Artist: 
Jim Cada has been the Guthrie's Voiceover instructor for the past three years. He has worked nationally in radio, television and industrial voiceovers for over 30 years. Twin Cities stage acting credits include roles at the Guthrie Theater: Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream (tour) and Great Expectations; Chanhassen Dinner Theatre: The Music Man, I Ought To Be In Pictures and The Sound of Music; Children's Theatre: Mr. A's Amazing Maze Plays; Park Square Theatre: You Can't Take It With You and Sherlock Holmes-The Final Adventure; Mixed Blood Theater: JoAnn and Bleacher Bums; Old Log Theater: The Odd Couple, Arsenic and Old Lace, Unnecessary Farce, The Foreigner and Run For Your Wife. Representative film acting credits include roles in North Country, The Straight Story, Sweet Land, Iron Will, A Serious Man, Grumpier Old Men, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Untamed Heart and Factotum. 

Here’s what our class participants have to say: 

"He told us we are all creative geniuses.  That point has really helped me to open up my imagination and the sharing of my ideas."   

"The instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful." 

“Performing a scene multiple times gave me a great opportunity to learn how a variety of people viewed my work, and to learn how they felt about decisions and changes I made week after week.”

“I found myself seeing the world differently throughout the week--with more curiosity and insight.”