Welcome to Second Saturday Seminars
information page!
On the second Saturday of each month Denton Community Theatre hosts a seminar for interested adults covering a theatre related topic. We are fortunate to have many talented and skilled performers and technicians willing to share their knowledge. Past topics have included stage movement, set painting, producing, stage mangement, vocal training for speaking and singing, and many more.
Where: Campus Theatre 214 W. Hickory, Denton, TX
Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Cost: FREE!
For additional information, please call 940-382-7014 ext. 3, Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm. Or drop us an e-mail at thedctteam@campustheatre.com.
*We do ask that participants call or email in advance so that adequate materials will be available.
The atmosphere is informal with question and answer time built into each seminar. Many sessions include hands on opportunities for participants as well.
Coming up:
February 11 AND March 10--We will repeat January's Seminar to read and evaluate more new scripts!
January 14, 2012--Julie Brinker, DCT Outreach Director, will lead a workshop on Reading and Evaluating New Scripts. Ms. Brinker, who most recently adapted and directed DCT’s production of Macbeth, also teaches as an adjunct for the Drama department at North Central Texas College, Corinth. She holds an MFA in Theatre, and is the national-award-winning playwright of Rachel’s Night, a play for family audiences. She is coordinating the adjudication process of DCT’s new Method and Madness Playwriting Competition and Festival; participants from this workshop will be trained to adjudicate scripts for the competition, if they wish.
Past topics have included:
December 10, 2011--Improv for Beginners led by Kyla Welch. Improvisation, or performing spontaneously, is considered to be a crucial aspect of performer training today, working on basic skills like listening, concentration, confidence, and performing instinctively and spontaneously. Through exercises and games, performers learn to act and react in the moment, deepening their ability to behave believably in imaginary circumstances on stage or screen. No previous experience required--just come ready have fun!
November 12, 2011--The Shakespeare Authorship Mystery led by DCT Outreach Director and NCTC Drama Instructor Julie Brinker. Have you seen Anonymous? Want to learn more about this literary mystery? Have an opinion and want to debate it? Come join us for a lively discussion about this 400 year old puzzle!
October 8, 2011 -- Demonstration and participation in making Life Casts (full head masks) with Betsy Deiterman. These will be used in DCT's upcoming production of Macbeth. See how very scary props are created! Wear old clothes if you plan to participate--the process will be goopy and fairly messy--but fun. Space is limited in the area where we will be working, so please RSVP to thedctteam@campustheatre.com or call (940) 382-7014 x3 to reserve a spot.
September 10, 2011--Welcome back from summer vacation! Kyla Welch, DCT Marketing Director, will present a Season Overview for the 2011-2012 productions. She'll bring door prizes!
June 11, 2011--Warming Up for a Hot Performance. Julie Brinker, DCT Outreach Director, will lead a workshop on warming up the face, body, and voice for a better performance. Ms. Brinker holds an MFA in Theatre and has taught Acting, Voice and Diction, and other performance classes at NCTC, Corinth, Collin College, The University of New Hampshire, and Illinois State University. She has also directed for DCT and NCTC, and is currently directing and performing in DCT's touring story theatre troupe, RoadShow. This workshop will be held at the Campus Theatre, 214 E. Hickory.
May 14, 2011--The Anatomy of a Production. This features a special performance of Stone Parchment Saber, a
one-act play by Jason Aaron Goldberg, and a talkback afterwards with the cast
about the production process. This special seminar will be conducted at DCT's Black
Box--note the change from our usual Campus location!
The Black Box is located just down the street from the Campus at 318 E.
April 9,
2011--Stage Makeup: Basics and Age.
March 12, 2011--Extreme Style! An acting/movement workshop for working in period and style, including curtseys and bows, "making a leg," greetings, fan language, and work on a raked set. Ladies, please try to wear or bring a rehearsal skirt (ankle-length, preferably). Character shoes for women (with a slight not not stiletto heel) and boots for men will help you get the most realistic practice out of this workshop.
February 12, 2011--DCT veteran Brad Speck will present a seminar on basic lighting entitled “In the Spotlight.” Mr. Speck most recently co-directed Drood at DCT, and has, for 40 years, played as a director, designer, and performer in professional and amateur theatrical productions from coast to coast. Recent credits with DCT include; Director of Cyrano de Bergerac; M*A*S*H; The Compleat Works of Wllm. Shkspr. (Abridged) and Romeo and Juliet, Lighting Designer for Plaza Suite, Cyrano, Sweet Charity and The Nerd and the roles of Grandfather in Ragtime and M. Loyal in Tartuffe.
January 8, 2012-- Julie Brinker, DCT Outreach Director, on "Best Foot Forward!: The Basics of Blocking and Stage Notation." The workshop will cover what directors hope their actors already know (but so many don’t!), including cheating out, easy rules for stage compositions and stances, and quick abbreviations for writing stage blocking in scripts. Ms. Brinker teaches Acting, Voice and Diction, Theater Appreciation, and Film Appreciation at North Central Texas College and Collin County Community College, and has most recently directed Dracula for DCT and Steel Magnolias for NCTC.
December 11--Kyla Welch will lead a workshop on finding and making stage props. Ms. Welch has served as Props Mistress for many DCT productions, including 1776, The Nerd, and Waiting in the Wings. This seminar is particularly geared for beginners interested in learning how to make, find, and (rarely!) buy props for stage productions.
November 13--DCT Volunteer of the Year Betsy Deiterman will be leading a workshop on Volunteer Opportunities at the Campus and the Black Box. Whether you have one night or six weeks of time available, the theatre has a place for you!
October 9--Local theatre legend Bill Kirkley will lead a workshop on Improvisation. Mr. Kirkley most recently directed The Producers and Don’t Dress for Dinner at DCT, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Company, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change for Music Theatre of Denton. He last performed in DCT’s The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged, and is also a published playwright. Improvisation, or performing spontaneously, is considered to be a crucial aspect of performer training today, working on basic skills like listening, concentration, confidence, and performing instinctively and spontaneously. Through exercises and games, performers learn to act and react in the moment, deepening their ability to behave believably in imaginary circumstances on stage or screen.
August 14--DCT 2010-11 Season Overview with Julie Brinker. Learn all about the plays and musicals coming up this year. Special guests have been invited--stay tuned for more info!
June 12--Open Call! DCT legend Dennis Welch will lead a hands-on, how-to workshop about auditioning for plays, including cold-reading and improv tips!
May 8--In-house workshop for House Managers. Sorry, this will be a closed event for Campus Theatre staff only.
April 10, 2010 - "Opening the Black Box" Take 2! We'll meet at the Campus at 1 pm and hope that the weather holds!
March 13, 2010 - In-house Staff Seminar. Sorry, this will be a closed event only for Campus Theatre staff.
February 13, 2010 - NOTE--Due to circumstances beyond our control, this seminar is CANCELED! We will re-schedule for a Second Saturday when the weather is more conducive to a walk around our new venue-to-be!--Mike Barrow, DCT Managing Director, will host “Opening the Black Box,” which will present plans and news about DCT's second-venue-in-progress. If you've been wondering what all the fuss is about, this is the place to learn everything about the new facility down Hickory Street from the Campus Theatre. Frequent questions like: “Just what is a black box?”; “What will you do with it?”; “Who will get to use it?”; “When will it open?”; and “How can I book it?” will be addressed.
January 9, 2010 - Christopher Redden, DCT and MTD sound "guru" will present "Can You Hear Me Now?" This overview for operating the DCT sound board will be a great introduction to anyone interested in volunteering for this very important but overlooked crew position, as well as a fantastic brush-up for anyone who hasn't operated it in a while. The Sound Board Operator gets to watch every show from the Tech Booth--and also gets to sit down!
December 12, 2009 - Lucinda Breeding, Denton Record-Chronicle Arts Editor, will lead "Media Whack-a-Mole," a public relations workshop for non-profits on how to get publicity from local papers, and the basics of how to put together a press kit. This is going to be a GREAT seminar for all local theater, music, and other arts groups in the North Texas area!
November 14, 2009 - SarahAnn Sutter will present “Costume Parade,” a basic overview on the process of costuming a theatrical production and on vintage and historic dress. Ms. Sutter is an accomplished costumer and performer, who designed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for DCT in 2007, Oklahoma for DCT in 2003, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change for MTD in 2008, Cendrillon [Cinderella] for UNT Opera Theatre in 2003, and The Marriage of Figaro for UNT Opera Theatre in 2004. She was also the assistant costumer for Suor Angelica for UNT Opera Theatre in 2002 and Annie Get Your Gun for DCT in 2002.
October 10, 2009 - Helen Dewey Reikofski will lead a master class/workshop on "Prepare for Power: speaking & singing in public." She will address technique and interpretation for actors, singers, teachers, and anyone who must use his/her voice professionally. Ms. Reikofski is an accomplished actor/singer (having appeared with Lyric Stage, Kitchen Dog Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, and the Dallas Opera, among other organizations), director, and vocal coach. She is currently finishing her Doctor of Music Arts in vocal performance at UNT; she also holds a Master of Music degree from Texas Tech and an MA in Drama from TWU. She directed Forever Plaid for Denton Community Theatre; co-directed Damn Yankees , and was the vocal coach for Waiting in the Wings. She has taught workshops all over the US and abroad. She won the DCT Josh award for acting in Camelot and was nominated for the Kennedy Center/ACTF and Irene Ryan award for both Waiting for the Parade and Twelfth Night . Ms. Reikofski is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the American Guild of Musical Artists.
September 12 - Mike Strecher, Campus Theatre Facilities Services Director, and the designer and/or technical director for such shows as Beauty and the Beast , Man of La Mancha , The Mousetrap , The Sound of Music , and Arsenic and Old Lace , will conduct a workshop on “Mod(ular) Design—Getting the Maximum for the Minimum.” Developed for small theaters with small budgets, it will focus on how to standardize design pieces so that they can be easily stored and reused.
August 8 - Julie Brinker, DCT Outreach Director, on "Best Foot Forward!: The Basics of Blocking and Stage Notation." Ms. Brinker teaches Acting, Voice and Diction, Theater Appreciation, and Film Appreciation at North Central Texas College and Collin County Community College, and has most recently directed Dracula for DCT and Steel Magnolias for NCTC.
July 11 - Kyla Welch, Props Mistress Extraordinaire, will cover finding, making, and shopping for props. This is a great way to volunteer at DCT in a limited, backstage, and very creative way!
June 13 - ***Ronald Ribman*** on "A Life in the Theater"! Ronald Ribman is the award-winning poet and playwright of Harry, Noon and Night and Journey of the Fifth Horse, both of which starred Dustin Hoffman, The Ceremony of Innocence, The Poison Tree (which starred Cleavon Little), Cold Storage, and many other critically-acclaimed plays and screenplays. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award, won the Obie and Dramatists Guild awards, and was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. This will be a fascinating seminar!
May 9
Topic: 3 great opportunities on the same day! DCT will be hosting the Texas Non-profit Theatres Quad II Workshops and Networking meeting on Saturday, May 9, from 1-6 pm, and we are very pleased to announce that these workshops will be open to the general public, as well . The afternoon will commence with a tour of the Campus facility from 1-1:45; followed by a workshop on “Special Events and Fundraisers” from 2-3:45, and finishing with “How to Be a GREAT Board Member” from 4-5:45. Participants can attend one, two, or all of these free events.