The Senior Ensemble | Grades 9-12
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Senior Ensemble is an advanced theatre training program for Grades 9 – 12. The program runs for a concentrated five weeks, February 5th to March 7th, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 6pm – 9pm. Students are required to have extensive previous theatre training and experience.
This year we are very excited to have Elizabeth Saunders directing the program. Elizabeth is a professional actor/director/artist-educator with over 25 years of experience. She holds a BFA Honours in Acting from the University of Alberta, as well having further training in voice, improv, and movement. Elizabeth has performed in major theatres throughout Canada including The Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, Tarragon, Factory Theatre, Citadel, and YPT, and has numerous credits in theatre, film, television and voice. We are also very fortunate to have specialized sessions led by our Resident Artist Educators.
In the program this year, we will be working with a play by Anton Chekhov (to be decided). Working with text that addresses the human spirit and condition, the participants will explore the question of how personal history and circumstance affects interpretation. We will focus on investigating, rehearsing and performing a scene or scenes, as well as developing short original pieces based on the themes of the original text. We will look at such questions as: how does a character’s background affect the telling of their tale; how does an actor’s life experience affect the performance of this character; and, how can you take one piece of text and perform it from multiple perspectives? Comprehensive, roll-up-your-sleeves actor work! While rehearsing the text, participants will bring to life their own creative voice.
The presentation is open to the public and will be presented on March 7th at 7:30 pm. There is no audition for the Senior Ensemble, however, prior to registration, we ask that you contact Liz Pounsett, Drama School Director, to discuss your application. Call now to avoid disappointment!
Interested students are asked to fill out and send the application and release forms with a cover letter and resume to:
The Ensemble Application
165 Front St., E.
Toronto, ON M5A 3Z4
| Scholarships for the Drama School and The SeniorEnsemble are funded in part by a generous donation from Ada Slaight. |
Drama school inquiries
Tel: 416.862.2222
