Flashback Theater Co. (FbTC) presents The Actor’s Toolkit Masterclass. The newest offering from FbTC’s Professional Training Ground, this masterclass gives actors of all ages the tools they need to bring their character from the page to the stage. This event will take place on Saturday, November 9th, 2024 at FbTC’s administrative offices in downtown Somerset and is limited to 15 participants. The workshop will be led by master theater artists Steve Cleberg and Julia Chereson. The price of admission for each participant is $85, which includes a provided lunch.

 

As soon as an actor is cast in a role, their work begins. In order to give a stellar performance, actors need to lay a steady foundation of line memorization, scene scoring, and character choices. In the world of acting there are hundreds of different theories and approaches to the work of bringing a character from page to stage, and the best way to begin developing your own process is to learn from a master artist or two. In this masterclass, Steve Cleberg will present a line memorization technique he has developed over the past 40 years of working as a theater educator. Texas Actress Julia Chereson will walk participants through the steps of using scene scoring to discover a character’s motivation in any given scene, helping bring characters to life not just with language, but with desire and action.

The schedule of the workshop will be as follows:

Saturday, November 9th, 2024
  • 10:15 to 11:00am- What’s in a Character? Chereson will instruct the group on what to look for in a script to learn about your character and then how to translate this information into a performance. 
  • 11:00 to 12:30pm- How to Memorize Lines? This session will introduce a technique for learning your lines that is systematic, efficient and invigorating. Steve Cleberg has spent over 40 years perfecting a line learning technique that combines the science of memory with the art of acting. Participants will learn how to use the power of performance, the clarity of expression and the nuance of realism in a way that makes the process of learning lines automatic. Cleberg will also share various habits and mindsets that create roadblocks to memorization and offer techniques for avoiding these pitfalls.
  • 12:30- 1:00pm Lunch – Join Julia, Steve, and the rest of the group for lunch and take this opportunity to ask them about their valuable experience as actors. Lunch is provided for masterclass participants.
  • 1:00 to 3:00pm- How to Perform a Scene? Dive Into a scene for the point of view of an actor who has just received their script. Use the tools you learned from the character development session as well as information about the “beats” of a script and elements of a scene to give a compelling performance.

 

About the Artists 

 

Julia Chereson (she/her) possesses an M.F.A. in Acting from Pennsylvania State University and a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Mount Union. With a diverse background in performance, she refined her skills in Chicago at the Black Box Acting Studio, Victory Gardens Theatre, and the Second City Conservatory. Following her graduate studies, she moved to New York City, where she concentrated on on-camera performance. Chereson later became the Theatre Director and Fine Arts Coordinator at Somerset Community College. Recently, she has relocated to Austin, TX, where she has performed with Jarrott Productions and is currently directing Hand to God at Southwestern University. Additionally, she teaches TV/Film Acting at Texas State University and is preparing for her upcoming role in Unity Theatre’s production of The Trip to Bountiful. Recent credits include Home I’m Darling (Fran), Every Brilliant Thing (narrator), Waiting for the Host (Sara), Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy), and Constellations (Marianne).

Steve Cleberg (he/him) After thirty-four years in the position, Steve Cleberg retired as the Director of Theatre Arts at Somerset Community College in 2020. He has directed and acted in over one hundred plays. At SCC, his directing credits include Fiddler on the Roof, The Glass Menagerie, Children of a Lesser God, The Tempest, The Fantasticks, Crimes of the Heart, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For Flashback Theater, Cleberg appeared in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, The Lady’s Not for Burning and The Book of Will.

 

What is the Professional Training Ground?

The Professional Training Ground is designed to strengthen the work of our local performing artists. At Flashback Theater Co, we believe that theater education is a lifelong pursuit, and our artists thrive when given the opportunity to continually develop their skills and technique. When our artists get better, our productions get better, and those who started as beginners are able to take on new roles as teachers and leaders, creating a thriving artistic community. In the Masterclass series, accomplished artists with both regional and national credits bring their knowledge to FbTC to focus on learning one specific skill or technique in theater arts.

To reserve your spot in The Actor’s Toolkit Masterclass, please visit https://www.flashbacktheater.co/education/masterclass/ . The price of the class is $85 per person, which includes a provided lunch. The workshop will take place at Flashback’s administrative offices downtown at 209A East Mount Vernon St.

The Actor’s Toolkit
A Masterclass
Tools that will take your character from the page to the stage

As soon as you are cast in a role, your work begins. In order to give a stellar performance, you (the actor) must lay a strong foundation. This foundation includes line memorization, characterization, and scene work. At this masterclass, Steve Cleberg will present his trusted line memorization technique and Julia Chereson will take you through the steps of building a workable character from a script and understanding scenes beat by beat. 

Space is limited to 15 seats. 

Price: $85