Education Unlimited - academic summer camps and pre-college summer programs

The High School California Actors Workshop focuses on teaching the professional acting techniques that translates onto both stage and screen. Over the course of 20 days, students participate in a morning core course and choose from a variety of specialized afternoon electives. Students showcase their work in an extraordinary final performance, which includes monologue work and ensemble short scenes.

Admission Requirements Eligible students must be entering 9th-12th grade in order to attend the High School session of the California Actors Workshop. Students must demonstrate passion for acting and theater by having taken drama classes or planning to during high school. Students are required to submit a 250 word Personal Statement that explains their interest in acting and desire to attend the program.

Core Curriculum The core curriculum for the Actors Workshop is an acting class that focuses on combining creative intuition with concrete technical skills. Following Stanislavski, students learn to tap into emotional truth while exploring how mental and physical techniques can nurture unconscious inspiration. Each morning, students will practice exercises that help them vocally project, physically tell stories, and emotionally and intellectually connect to characters. Both morning acting classes and afternoon rehearsals help students understand the basic building blocks of realistic acting such as playing objectives (what the character wants), obstacles (what stands in the way), and tactics (how the character tries to get around those obstacles to accomplish her objectives).

Electives Elective offerings vary each year and depend on the specialty of the acting faculty. Possible offerings include:

Solo Performance: Learn to research, write, direct, and perform a one-person show.

Musical Theater: Some emotions and ideas can only be expressed in song. If you have dreams of Broadway, this elective can help you sing, dance, and learn the skills you need to explore the exciting world of musical theater.

Stand-up Comedy: If you’ve always wanted to be in front of the microphone, here’s your chance. Learn comic timing, observational humor, and how to interact with an audience when you’re talking directly to them.

The World is a Stage Unlike other arts camps that are situated in isolated locations, the California Actors Workshop believes that one of the most important components of training for aspiring performers is to see as much professional theater as possible. For this reason, participants visit Bay Area theaters to observe hit shows and small productions. Recently attended productions include Jersey Boys, The Lion King, Rent, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Students will often participate in a post-performance Q & A with actors and directors, during which they will have the opportunity to ask about techniques, artistic direction, and the life of an artist. In the classroom, instructors specifically draw on the material viewed at visited theaters. For the California Actors Workshop, the world is not only a stage but also a classroom.

“Drama-Free” Recreation Even though the students and faculty live and breathe passion for the theater, the California Actors Workshop Students balances acting classes with daily “drama-free” recreation. Students participate in a wide array of games, sports, and arts and crafts. In the evening, they come together for movie nights and special events that recall a traditional camp environment but with the added bonus of accessing the opportunities available on a college campus.

"This program helps you to find yourself in acting and solidify your fears and aspirations as an actor!” -Sam LeComte, 2008 CAW Camper

"The most important thing that I learned at camp was that theater is universal. It can be used on and off of stage. Acting is the exploration of human beings and a study of human emotions.” -Shannon Dawson, 2008 CAW Camper

"My instructor did an excellent job in directing us and offering suggestions.” -Alyssa Mar, 2007 CAW Camper

“The program went beyond my expectations. I took the idea of a production too lightly and expected the camp to be good, but it was excellent.” -Hana Song 2006 CAW Camper<