Adult Classes & Workshops
Explore, create and collaborate … online!
Our virtual classes for adults ages 18 and up are designed for all interests and skill levels. If you’re looking to build on your previous stage experience, dabble in theater just for fun or improve your communication skills at work, we’ve got just the thing.
For the health and safety of our students, staff and teaching artists during the COVID-19 crisis, we have transitioned our classes to a virtual format.
Scholarships are available for all educational programming, and you can apply here. Questions? View our adult classes FAQs or email classes@guthrietheater.org.
We will add more virtual classes throughout the season, so check back often!
Three ways to get creative
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Introductory classes are ideal for all experience levels and feature performance-style classes as well as offerings designed to support personal and professional growth.
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Intermediate classes offer follow-up classes to our introductory offerings to help you grow your creative toolkit.
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Advanced classes offer next-level training for professional actors and performers.
NOTE: Our multilevel acting classes are designed to build a foundation in voice, physicality and process. The prerequisites listed will help guide you through a holistic training to expand your craft.
Introductory classes
YOGA
Far from just a self-care trend, yoga is a great way to connect to your breath, check in with your body and get grounded. Maintaining a regular yoga or meditation practice is just one of the many ways we can nurture our minds and bodies as artists and creative people. All levels are welcome, no matter your past experience or level of flexibility.
Insider tip: Drop in for one session or attend all three!
- Dates: Monday, December 7 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $20 per class
- Instructor: Vie Boheme
Vie Boheme (she/her) is a Motown native who blossomed creatively in Pittsburgh and was refined in Minneapolis. As a multimodal artist, dancer, singer and choreographer, she brings an athletic agility to her vocal performance by singing and dancing in unison, eliminating the boundary between the visual and audio experience. She is a former vocal artist, choreographer and co-creative director for Stokley Williams (the frontman of Mint Condition gone solo), a former dance artist with Camille A. Brown & Dancers and TU Dance, and a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (Top 25 to Watch, Dance Magazine, 2012). She has choreographed and performed with The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guthrie Theater and The Moving Company as well as choreographed for Children’s Theatre Company. Vie Boheme trained at Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts and The Ailey School. Over the course of her career, she has performed works by Kyle Abraham, Gregory Dolbashian, Dwight Rhoden, Uri Sands, Darrell Grand Moultrie and Sidra Bell. She is also a soul, funk and jazz vocalist who has opened for international acts such as Little Dragon, Bilal and J*Davey. Vie Boheme was a recent speaker for TEDxMinneapolis (“Is Performing Art Worth the Struggle?”) and also works as a Vinyasa yoga instructor with her own signature teaching philosophy, CoreKinetics Yoga, a rigorous yoga practice that is the basis for her performance experience. Her personal motto is: “Knowing who you are is half the battle. Learning to trust yourself is the real challenge.”
SLAY!
Feel sexy, fierce and powerful while learning fun choreography, grooving to music and dancing your way to empowerment. This class creates an open environment to get your cardio up, move your body and challenge yourself. Strip away fears and perfectionism while learning how to get out of your own way so you have no choice but to slay. No dance experience necessary. Capacity: 30 participants.
Insider tip: Registration is ongoing, so drop in at any time!
Fall
- Dates: Wednesdays, October 7 – December 9 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: Pay as able ($20 per class is recommended)
- Instructor: Brian Bose (watch his TEDx Talk)
Winter
- Dates: Mondays, January 11 – April 26 | 6:30–8 p.m. (no class on the first Monday of each month)
- Class Fee: Pay as able ($20 per class is recommended)
- Instructor: Brian Bose (watch his TEDx Talk)
Registration link coming soon.
Brian Bose (he/him) is a professional AEA actor/singer/dancer, rapper, choreographer, director, emcee and international teaching artist named one of the Faces to Watch in Arts by the San Diego Union-Tribune. He received a double B.A. in Theatre and Dance from the University of California, San Diego, and he trained at the British American Drama Academy, Steppenwolf West and CSULA Academy of the Dramatic Arts. He has acted in and choreographed productions at the Ordway, Children’s Theatre Company, Ten Thousand Things, Mixed Blood Theatre and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, and he taught dance internationally with the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective in Germany from 2014 to 2017. In Minneapolis, he is a teaching artist for Upstream Arts and the Guthrie Theater. Learn more at www.brianbose.com.
ACTING: THEATER BASICS
Through a variety of theater exercises, you’ll explore the fundamentals of acting and create a foundation for continued training in improvising, building a theater vocabulary, performing in front of an audience and approaching text. All experience levels welcome. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: Our intermediate Creating a Character class is a great follow up to Theater Basics. We also recommend building your vocal foundation with Voice and Speech for the Actor, which will meet the prerequisite for many of our intermediate classes.
- Dates: Sundays, January 31 – February 21 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $185
- Instructor: Laura Esping
Registration link coming soon.
PLAYWRITING I: ON THE SCENE
Have you ever imagined characters and been inspired to bring them to life on the page? What does it take to write an engaging scene and captivate an audience? Discover the key ingredients of a great drama or comedy, and use this six-week class as a building block toward creating your own masterpiece. No prerequisite. Capacity: 10 participants.
Insider tip: Whether you are starting from scratch or have a play in progress, this class will help you take your work where you want it to go. Our intermediate Playwriting II class is a great follow up that can help you further sharpen your skills.
- Dates: Mondays, February 8 – March 15 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $225
- Instructor: Josh Tobiessen
Registration link coming soon.
ACTING: IMPROV
We all miss seeing live shows at our favorite local theaters, but improv is alive and well online. From timing and games to on-the-spot character creation, this anything-can-happen class will have you feeling spontaneous and confident onstage before you can say, “Yes, and!” No prerequisite. Capacity: 10 participants.
- Dates: Sundays, March 14 – April 4 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $225
- Instructor: Gretchen Grunzke
Registration link coming soon.
THEATER GAMES
Creative play is a fun way to break the ice, bring a group together and warm up the mind, body and voice. Led by local actor Sun Mee Chomet, each highly engaging session will teach you how to use theater games to make the most of your time in rehearsal, class and beyond.
Insider tip: Drop in for one session or attend all three!
- Dates: Monday, December 14 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $20 per class
- Instructor: Sun Mee Chomet
Sun Mee Chomet (she/her) is an actor, dancer, director and playwright. She has been seen onstage at the Guthrie in Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Harvey, King Lear, Othello, The Burial at Thebes, Macbeth, Tony Kushner’s world premiere of The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide … , The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Naomi Iizuka’s world premiere of After a Hundred Years. She also served as Assistant Director for The Great Leap and the award-winning Disgraced at the Guthrie. She is determined to keep the community buoyed virtually with joyful art during challenging times. Her personal motto: “Do what you’re most afraid of for all the right reasons.”
VOICEOVER I
Are you curious about the world of radio and broadcasting? Discover your vocal range and explore the necessary skills required to deliver the copy, impress the client and sell the product. Learn the basics of choosing the right piece, reading commercial copy and more. All experience levels welcome. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: We also offer Voiceover II so you can build on your skills.
- Dates: Tuesdays, February 16 – March 9 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $200
- Instructor: Jim Cada
Registration link coming soon.
Jim Cada (he/him) is an actor and voiceover artist who has recorded local, regional and national commercials for radio, TV and the web since 1976. He has performed in more than 20 feature films, recorded audiobooks, done narration work and voiced cartoons for Nickelodeon and Disney.
ACTING: VOICE AND SPEECH FOR THE ACTOR
Learn the basic principles of voice and speech, including breath, resonance, range, articulation, projection, phrasing, expression and release of excessive tension. Through assigned readings, experiential exercises, class discussions and practical application of skills, you’ll build a strong foundation of vocal practice. This is a prerequisite for several intermediate classes. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: Building a strong vocal foundation is a necessary step for actors. Continue your vocal training with our intermediate The Actor’s Voice class.
- Dates: Sundays, January 31 – February 21 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $185
- Instructor: Mira Kehoe
Registration link coming soon.
PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Our bodies, faces and voices tell stories about who we are, communicating verbally and nonverbally in ways we don’t even realize. It’s time to take control of your story! Learn specific verbal and nonverbal skills that give you the confidence to be your best self and respond in authentic, spontaneous and mindful ways. This practical class covers interviewing, presentation skills, meeting management and networking. No prerequisite. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: This class is ideal for business professionals or individuals who want to boost their networking and presentation skills.
- Dates: Wednesdays, February 17 – March 10 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $200
- Instructors: Michelle Hutchison and Jim Robinson
Registration link coming soon.
Intermediate classes
ACTING: THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
Developed more than 120 years ago, the Alexander Technique has been used as a powerful tool for actors to integrate voice, speech and movement. At its heart is the conviction that we are perfectly designed to express an impulse with honesty. Through this psychophysical tool for body, breath and imagination, actors learn how to release habitual tension and instead bring freedom, poise and presence to their performance. This experiential class focuses on the technique’s principles and the art of self-direction using warm-up, monologue and partnering work, all designed to help you be comfortable in your own skin and create onstage intensity without tension. Prerequisite: Voice and Speech for the Actor, Theater Basics or equivalent experience. Capacity: 12 participants.
- Dates: Sundays, February 28 – March 21 | 2:30–4:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $185
- Instructor: Eli Sibley
Registration link coming soon.
WORKSHOP: THE SELF-TAPE
Led by Jennifer Liestman, the Guthrie’s Resident Casting Director, and LJ Johnson, Associate Casting Director at Lynn Blumenthal Casting, this two-day workshop will teach you how to do an on-camera audition for both plays and film/commercial work. Learn everything from creating the right setup for an audition space to getting feedback on a personal audition. Prerequisite: Theater Basics or equivalent experience. Capacity: 12 participants.
What to prepare: Before the workshop, you will be asked to prepare a recording of one monologue, song, dance or scene (only choose one) no longer than 120 seconds, plus another recording with commercial sides you will be provided in advance. Videos will be viewed together as a class and critiqued by the instructor for the benefit of all participants. Recordings are not required but recommended for each participant to get the most out of the class.
- Dates: Sundays, March 14 and 21 | 4–6 p.m.
- Workshop Fee: $100
- Instructors: Jennifer Liestman and LJ Johnson
Registration link coming soon.
WORKSHOP: HEIGHTENED TEXT FOR THE ACTOR
Whether you’re speaking the Queen’s English or performing text from a classic Greek tragedy, this one-day workshop will teach you how to enunciate and communicate clearly onstage. Through the techniques of meter, rhythm and alliteration, you’ll learn how to bring power to your characters through speech. Prerequisite: Voice and Speech for the Actor or equivalent experience. Capacity: 12.
- Date: Sunday, April 18 | Noon – 3 p.m.
- Workshop Fee: $90
- Instructor: Jill Walmsley Zager
Registration link coming soon.
ACTING: CREATING A CHARACTER
Strengthen your imagination, focus your concentration and hone your listening skills by delving into the creation of original and scripted characters. Building on the skills and concepts introduced in Theater Basics, this class will explore a variety of approaches for character development and empower actors to find their unique approach to character work. Prerequisite: Theater Basics or equivalent experience. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: This class is a great follow up to Theater Basics. Continue adding to your toolkit with our Heightened Text and Self-tape workshops, The Actor’s Voice or Studio Intensive: Scene Study class.
- Dates: Sundays, March 7 – April 11 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $225
- Instructor: Laura Esping
Registration link coming soon.
Michelle Hutchison (she/her) is a professional actor of stage, screen and television. She has appeared at local theaters including the Guthrie Theater, History Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Theater Latté Da, Playwrights’ Center, Thirst Theater, Park Square Theatre, Actors Theater of Minnesota, CSz and Brave New Workshop. In Los Angeles, she appeared in the LA Weekly-nominated comedy The Bad Seed and Cabin Pressure at Hudson Theatres. She can be seen in films such as Fargo, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Into Temptation, Factotum, Thin Ice, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Nobody, Herman, The Midnight Swim and The Public Domain, and she played the recurring character of Candy Coombs in the Netflix series “Lady Dynamite.” Hutchison is the owner of Skilled Expressions, which operates a successful on-camera training school for actors, media talent and corporate training. Additionally, she served as an Adjunct Professor for The Art of Film Acting at Augsburg and Concordia Universities. She was an assistant casting director for several films, including Disney’s Ice Princess and Sky High, Superbad, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, It’s Complicated, The Bad News Bears and more. As a writer and producer, Hutchison created 12 episodes for the nationally syndicated “Passport to Design” show on the Travel Channel while writing and appearing in corporate live theater productions for companies such as General Mills, Pillsbury, Mrs. Meyers, American Express, Wells Fargo, Ameriprise and Schwan’s. She holds a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Minnesota and believes that acting is about revealing, not concealing.
Laura Esping (she/her) is passionate about passing on skills she has learned and practiced to not only help students experience their talents in acting but to enhance their general well-being. She believes it’s good to jump around and play together, even if it’s on Zoom! Her personal mottos are “Bit by bit,” “Breathe” and “What can I offer?”
VOICEOVER II
Serious about pursuing voiceover work? Learn about audition etiquette, copy analysis, handling anxiety and self-promotion from leading players in the industry. This class culminates with the opportunity to rehearse and record in the Guthrie’s recording studio. Previous guest speakers have included Mike Stalcar, Engineer, Audio Ruckus Recording Studio; Holly Collison, Vocal Coach; and Kate Lawrence, Voiceover Talent Agent, Moore Creative. Prerequisite: Voiceover I or equivalent experience. Capacity: 12 participants.
Insider tip: New to voiceover work? Start with our introductory Voiceover I class.
- Dates: Tuesdays, March 16 – April 20 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $285
- Instructors: Jim Cada and guests
Registration link coming soon.
Advanced classes
THE ACTORS WORKOUT
This ongoing scene study class for working actors is led by Nathan Keepers. Entrance is by audition only.
NOTE: This class is postponed until 2021. To be notified when auditioning resumes, email classes@guthrietheater.org.
ACTING: STUDIO INTENSIVE SCENE STUDY
Focus on the ways in which a character can be discovered, developed and played in this studio intensive. Considering your individual goals and drawing on acting techniques created by great theater instructors throughout history, you’ll work intensively on a scene with one partner for eight weeks. The class will conclude with a virtual showing for invited family and friends. Rehearsal outside of class is recommended. Prerequisite: Introductory and intermediate acting classes, including a voice class such as Theater Basics, Voice and Speech for the Actor or Creating a Character. Capacity: 12 participants.
- Dates: Sundays, February 28 – April 4 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: $300
- Instructor: H. Adam Harris
Registration link coming soon.
Classes for Native community members
To build cohorts of community-minded artists and theatermakers, it is essential to provide places to practice and learn the fundamentals of the craft. In our on-going collaboration with Twin Cities' Native artists, the Guthrie will offer free eight-week classes in acting and playwriting for Native community members who wish to grow their theater and storytelling skills.
ON-CAMERA INTENSIVE FOR INDIGENOUS PERFORMERS
Supported by Arts Access funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board, we welcome Native performers of all backgrounds and experiences to attend a free eight-session workshop that will explore on-camera acting from a Native perspective. Depending on the interests of the group, participants will learn how to audition via self-tapes, read sides, make artistic choices, participate in virtual callbacks and scene work, perform monologues and engage in detailed discussions about contracts, finding and keeping management and more. This workshop aims to answer questions around acting professionally for commercials, films and the stage, all in an environment created by, for and with Native voices. All experience levels welcome. No prerequisite. Age range: High school or older. Capacity: 14 participants.
- Dates: Monday – Thursday, December 7–17 | Time TBA
- Class Fee: Free
- Instructor: Ernest Briggs (White Earth Band of Chippewa)
Ernest Briggs (White Earth Band of Chippewa) is an actor, producer and educator who currently serves as Artistic Director of the Turtle Theater Collective, a local Native American theater company. He received his M.F.A. in Theater from the University of Florida. Briggs is an Indigenous artist who has been working professionally for more than 12 years in Minnesota, Florida and California.
PLAYWRITING FOR INDIGENOUS WRITERS
Supported by Arts Access funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board, we welcome Native writers of all backgrounds and experiences to attend a free eight-week exploration of playwriting from a Native perspective. Depending on the interests of the group, participants will dig into structure, dialogue, monologues, character development, plot and style, all in an environment created for and with Native voices. All experience levels welcome. No prerequisite. Age range: High school or older. Capacity: 15 participants.
- Dates: Thursdays, October 1 – November 19 | 5:30–7:30 p.m.
- Class Fee: Free
- Instructors: Marisa Carr (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) and Morgan Holmes
This class is currently at capacity. To join the waitlist, send your name, email and phone number to rebeccan@guthriethetaer.org.
Marisa Carr (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) is a playwright who recently transplanted to Chicago after a decade in the Twin Cities. Her work has been presented or produced at Milwaukee Rep, Guthrie Theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, Playwrights’ Center, Intermedia Arts, The University of Iowa’s M.F.A. program and Pangea World Theater. Selected recent awards and honors include the Scratchpad Series at the Playwrights’ Realm (2019–2020), Page 73 Finalist (2019–2020), American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Award Finalist (2020), Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist (2019), McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting Finalist (2019), Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship Finalist (2019), Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship Semi-Finalist (2019), Berkeley Rep Ground Floor Residency (2018) and Forward Flux Productions’ Three New American Plays Commission (2018). Carr is also co-founder and former Artistic Director of Turtle Theater Collective, a Twin Cities-based theater company committed to producing high-quality, contemporary work that explores Native experiences and subverts expectations about how and when Native artists can create theater. She is Turtle Mountain Ojibwe from the Turtle clan.
Morgan Holmes is a playwright, dramaturg and all-around theatermaker in the Twin Cities. She was the 2019–2020 Many Voices Mentee at the Playwrights’ Center and a 2019 New Works Residency Artist at the Center for Performing Arts. Recent dramaturgy credits include Floyd’s at the Guthrie Theater; Redwood at the Jungle Theater; Diesel Heart at the History Theatre; and The Rocky Horror Show and Marie and Rosetta at Park Square Theatre. Holmes has also directed new works with Playwright Cabal and Raw Sugar. As a writer, she is most interested in identity, ritual, intimacy and internet culture, which she explores as co-producer of Perspectives Theater Company.
ACTING FOR INDIGENOUS PERFORMERS: SECTION 1
Supported by Arts Access funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board, we welcome Native performers of all backgrounds and experiences to attend a free eight-week exploration of acting from a Native perspective. Depending on the interests of the group, participants will dig into scene work, monologues, warmups and community building, all in an environment created by, for and with Native voices. All experience levels welcome. No prerequisite. Age range: High school or older. Capacity: 14 participants.
- Dates: Saturdays, October 3 – November 21 | 4–6 p.m.
- Class Fee: Free
- Instructor: Ernest Briggs (White Earth Band of Chippewa)
For more infomation email rebeccan@guthriethetaer.org.
Ernest Briggs (White Earth Band of Chippewa) is an actor, producer and educator who currently serves as Artistic Director of the Turtle Theater Collective, a local Native American theater company. He received his M.F.A. in Theater from the University of Florida. Briggs is an Indigenous artist who has been working professionally for more than 12 years in Minnesota, Florida and California.
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