Spring Youth Classes
Class Spotlight
NEW PROGRAM for 7th-9th graders! Empowering Girls’ Voices: Exploring Song with Susan Payne-O’Brien
Quick Look
Join us for a class where we encourage girls to sing loud and proud! Master Piven teacher and accomplished opera director Susan Payne-O’Brien will coach girl-identifying students to share their voices confidently while exploring signature Piven performance tools: theatre games, improvisation, and story theatre. Class will culminate with a never-before-seen devised musical theatre piece created by the ensemble.
Spring Only!
Mondays •4:30-6:00pm $455
NEW PROGRAM! High School Solo Performance and Writing Workshop
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“What are the stories we hold in our bodies? Why must we tell them now?” During this month-long course, artist and activist Kira Silverstein will invite students to answer these questions through writing and solo performance. Students will strengthen their individual artistic voices as they shape their personal stories into performance pieces. Through writing exercises and improvisation training, this workshop will empower students to tell both personal and external stories in a special Open Workshop performance for family, friends, and the wider community.
Wednesdays • 4:30-7:30pm • 4 weeks only, February 27-March 20. Special Open Workshop Performance at 7:30pm on March 20.
$275
3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Intro to Piven
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Perfect for the young student who wants to begin exploring theatre arts in a fun and supportive environment! Students stretch their creative muscles through theatre games while they begin to discover the art of storytelling and improvisation. This class provides the perfect introduction to the Piven training technique!
Tuesdays or Thursdays • 4:30-5:30pm $265
4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Theatre Games and Story Theatre
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Come play with us! Students learn vital acting skills while learning to build ensemble, explore improvisation, and adapt and perform stories. Open to new and returning students who wish to unlock their creative impulses and find new ways to share their voices.
Saturdays • 12-1:30pm $355
4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Advanced Story Theatre and Improvisation
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Building on the skills developed in Theatre Games and Story Theatre, returning advanced students take the Piven method to the next level. Students develop essential acting skills—being part of an ensemble, listening, and responding to other people’s energy—in a challenging and supportive environment. Students explore everything from folk tales and myths to original improvised stories while learning how to work within an ensemble of actors.
For returning students only. By instructor recommendation.
Saturdays • 12:30-2:00pm $355
Improvisation and Scene Study for 6th, 7th & 8th Grade
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In this scene study focused class, students use the fun and impulsive play of improvisation to create lively characters and realistic relationships. Students rehearse scenes from contemporary plays under the expert direction of their Piven teaching artist. Open to new and returning students, and perfect for those who wish to learn how Piven’s training can heighten their performances in school, community, and professional plays.
Saturdays • 9:00-10:30am $355
6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Improv, Story, and Scene
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Students learn about improvisation ensembles, story theatre, and scene study in this class that explores all that the Piven Technique has to offer. Students will practice using improvisation as a tool in scene rehearsals. They will also apply their knowledge of theatre games to Story Theatre, Piven’s signature performance form. Open to new and returning students, especially those who are interested in learning about the techniques employed by Piven’s professional-level youth ensembles.
Tuesdays or Thursdays • 4:30-6:00pm/ $355
NEW PROGRAM for 7th-9th graders! Empowering Girls’ Voices: Exploring Song with Susan Payne-O’Brien
Quick Look
Join us for a class where we encourage girls to sing loud and proud! Master Piven teacher and accomplished opera director Susan Payne-O’Brien will coach girl-identifying students to share their voices confidently while exploring signature Piven performance tools: theatre games, improvisation, and story theatre. Class will culminate with a never-before-seen devised musical theatre piece created by the ensemble.
Spring Only!
Mondays •4:30-6:00pm $455
“It has become clear to me that what the Pivens teach has as much to do with human development as it does with preparation for a life in the theatre. I am not a teacher. I am merely a father of five who has watched his children, and many other children, now adults, grow under the extraordinary values given them, in part, through their Piven Theatre Workshop experiences.”
Dick Cusack
NEW PROGRAM for 7th-9th graders! Empowering Girls’ Voices: Exploring Song with Susan Payne-O’Brien
Quick Look
Join us for a class where we encourage girls to sing loud and proud! Master Piven teacher and accomplished opera director Susan Payne-O’Brien will coach girl-identifying students to share their voices confidently while exploring signature Piven performance tools: theatre games, improvisation, and story theatre. Class will culminate with a never-before-seen devised musical theatre piece created by the ensemble.
Spring Only!
Mondays •4:30-6:00pm $455
On-Camera Technique for High Schoolers
Quick Look
Gain valuable experience in front of the camera! Learn how to apply the spontaneity and lively play of the Piven Technique to the world of acting and auditioning for film and television.
Saturdays • 2:00-5:00pm • 6 weeks only, March 16-April 27 $325
YPC Directors’ Institute
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Join us for this exciting opportunity to work with members of the Young People’s Company, Piven’s professional youth ensemble for students in grades 10-12, to workshop brand new story theatre adaptations. This directing and collaborating-focused program is an invaluable learning opportunity for any aspiring theatre artist, where students will have the chance to work side-by-side to generate and workshop new material—some of which may be further developed for the YPC 2019 show! High school students who have enrolled in 3 out of the 5 available high school classes or completed at least one session of High School Performance Lab are eligible to participate in Directors’ Institute.
Rehearsals: Saturdays, April 20-May 25, 2:00-5:00pm
Open Workshop: May 25, 5:00pm
Cost: $355
NEW PROGRAM! High School Solo Performance and Writing Workshop
Quick Look
“What are the stories we hold in our bodies? Why must we tell them now?” During this month-long course, artist and activist Kira Silverstein will invite students to answer these questions through writing and solo performance. Students will strengthen their individual artistic voices as they shape their personal stories into performance pieces. Through writing exercises and improvisation training, this workshop will empower students to tell both personal and external stories in a special Open Workshop performance for family, friends, and the wider community.
Wednesdays • 4:30-7:30pm • 4 weeks only, February 27-March 20. Special Open Workshop Performance at 7:30pm on March 20.
$275
High School Intermediate/Advanced Scene Study Intensive
Quick Look
Explore improvisation as a tool for the actor! This is a great class for high school students new to Piven and for experienced actors who want to expand their improv skills. Students use games to build ensemble and explore improvisation, while also learning to apply the Piven Technique to scene work to bring spontaneity, deeper relationships, and realistic characterization to scenes from contemporary plays.
Saturdays• 2:00pm-5:00pm• 6 weeks only, February 2 – March 9 $325
While no actor is ever “done” with training, our performance classes invite students who have exhibited an excellent understanding of the Piven Technique to create works that move from the classroom to the Piven stage. These classes are something that our students aspire to, and often take several years to attain. Invitations to performance ensembles are mailed throughout the summer session.
Performance Project (7th, 8th & 9th Grade)
Quick Look
Performance Project is comprised of Piven’s most advanced students in 7th – 9th grade. Students in this performance troupe study with us for several years before being invited into the ensemble, so they are already well-versed in the Piven Technique and are building the skills necessary to move on to more advanced coursework at the Workshop. Performance Project company members undertake an intensive 9-month training program focused on improvisation, ensemble-building, and crafting Story Theatre adaptations of myths, folktales, fairy tales, and modern short stories. Every winter, Performance Project presents a week-long festival of world premiere adaptations for Piven students as well as the wider community.
By invitation only
Performances February 11-February 16
Advanced Performance Ensemble
Quick Look
Students in grades seven and eight who have been recommended by their Piven instructor for this advanced program have the opportunity to build work that moves from the classroom to the Piven stage. Under the guidance of their senior instructors, students work within their ensemble over the course of twelve weeks to adapt stories into original performance pieces. This invitation-only class will culminate in a performance for families and friends exploring the work students have done over the session. Admission is by invitation only.
Saturdays • 9am – 11am
Spring Final Performance: Saturday, April 27 at 10am $375
High School Performance Lab
Quick Look
This advanced, performance-oriented program is an intensive experience for actors in grades nine through twelve. Meeting for ten weeks, this class explores the full Piven canon, blending improvisation, theatre games, scene study, adaptation, and directing opportunities within a three-hour intensive class. At the end of the program, students perform the work they’ve explored on the Piven stage for family, friends, and the wider Piven community! This class is open only to high school students and admission is by invitation only.
Spring: Saturdays • 10:30am – 1:30pm 10 weeks only, February 2 – April 13
Spring Final Performance: Saturday, April 13th at 2:00pm $395