Summer Performance Program 2019

Our professional Summer Acting Training Programs are designed to give promising actors a realistic taste of the business. Whether you are still in high school, studying acting in college or already working in the industry, our goal is to give you the training you need to move closer to your dream.

We now offer two different professional training programs:

  • For 16 and over, we offer two sessions of summer intensive training programs with the option of student housing.

  • We now offer a day program designed for local NYC students ages 14-15. Each program provides instruction based on the students’ experience.

Courses meet from 9 am to 6 pm, five days a week. Class size is limited to maximize individual time and attention.

Send us a video audition and win scholarships to the summer training programs!

  • For Film & TV, film yourself performing a 1-minute monologue (you can do this with your phone)

  • For Musical Theater, film yourself performing 32 bars of any musical theater song

Send the videos to documents@nycda.edu with your name and the name of the program in the subject line. We will contact you within 4 business days to let you know if you have won a summer scholarship.

Summer Film & TV Acting Training

We’ve been teaching on-camera technique for a long time, and we know how important it is for actors to face the camera without fear. This rigorous four-week program includes training for both screen and stage. Students are assigned classes based on their experience level and are taught by a dedicated, professional faculty of working actors and directors. In these short—but unforgettable—weeks, you’ll get real-world insights directly from NYC agents, casting directors, managers, directors and actors—while earning up to six transferable college credits in the process.

Technique Level

Available to students 14+. Technique Level classes let beginning performers explore the physical, emotional, and vocal techniques necessary for an energized, focused, creative on-camera performance.

ACT112 – Acting Technique

An introduction to the ideas of Stanislavski and the foundation of acting through script analysis, monologues, exercises, and scene work.

1.0 Credit

COM110 – Commercial Basics

Acting in commercials is a very specialized and very lucrative skill. This course helps students understand their own particular ranges, and the basics of working with on-camera copy and improvisation.

1.0 Credit

DAN114 – Stage Combat / Actor’s Movement

A foundational course in body awareness combined with a survey of the basic principles and safety factors of unarmed stage combat. The course includes exercises in balance, simulated strikes, and reactions.

1.0 Credit

FIL110 – Film & TV Basics

An introduction to the basics of screen acting, including insight into the audition process, how to break down a scene, and the exploration of basic acting technique.

1.0 Credit

IMP110 – Improvisation

An introduction to improvisational techniques for on-camera performance. Students engage in group scenes, two-person exercises, and solo work, emphasizing spontaneity, listening, committing to choices, agreement, and group dynamics.

1.0 Credit

SPE110 – Voice I

An exploration of techniques for projecting responsive and flexible sound, and developing clear speech and articulation. Exercises cover posture, articulation, resonance, and the connection between breath and sound.

1.0 Credit

 

Performance Level

Available to students age 16+. Performance Level offers more experienced actors a challenging workout as they make the transition from stage to screen. The curriculum emphasizes on-camera technique in both single- and multi-camera performance.

COM201 – Commercial Course

Students will develop their acting skills specifically geared for television commercials. Students will leave understanding the clear distinction between “commercial acting” and “acting in commercials”

1 Credit

DAN224 – Stage Combat II/Michael Chekhov Technique

Experience the basics of on-camera fighting as well as the basic terminology and safety rules of the set. Become familiar with the specific demands on the actor in film and television, as opposed to theater-based combat. Explore how to reveal character through combat that moves the story forward. Gain a better understanding of the nature of fighting on camera from audition to final edit.

1 Credit

FIL212 – Scene Study

Learn the craft required, both artistically and technically to act on-camera. Students will analyze scenes, practice acting in different sized shots, learn how to deal with on-set challenges, and be able to arrive fully prepared without any rehearsal.

2 Credits

SPE211 – Voice-Over/Microphone Technique

Students will work in front of a microphone using copy from television and radio voice-overs. Practice animation, narration, and industrial voice-over work.

1 Credit

AUD210 – Auditioning for the Camera

Students will learn how to successfully audition on-camera, using scenes from television scripts and screenplays. Discussions will cover callbacks, interviews, and evolving media such as self-taping and auditioning on Skype.

1 Credit

 

Summer Musical Theater Program

Available to students 14+. Our musical theater four-week intensive is designed to train students in the three components of musical theater performance: voice, dance and acting. With an emphasis on preparing the musical theater audition, the coursework is designed to challenge students at all levels. Courses include Dance and Movement, Vocal Technique, Acting, Musical Theater Scene Study and Audition Seminar: Song Performance and Monologues.

DAN240 – Dance and Movement

In this course students will explore an array of dance styles by executing choreography from a selection of ensemble numbers from a variety of musicals. Students, from the complete beginner to the advanced dancer will be challenged.

1 Credit

SPE241 – Vocal Technique

An exploration of techniques for building a healthy and flexible singing voice. Exercises cover posture, breathing, vowels, vocal registers (chest versus head), and how to adapt one’s approach within a variety of styles from classic Broadway to rock musicals.

1 Credit

ACT242 – Acting

An introduction to the ideas of Stanislavski and the foundation of acting through script analysis, exercises, and scene work.

1 Credit

FIL243 – Musical Theater Scene Study

Students will be cast in scenes from well-known and forgotten musicals. Each will be staged with all dialogue, blocking, and music. Periodically, students will be immersed in a film lab of historical and recent excerpts in order to become well acquainted with the musical theater canon and its most influential performers.

1 Credit

AUD244 – Audition Seminar: Song Performance and Monologues

Auditioning is an art in itself with challenges that are often misunderstood. This course helps students learn how to choose suitable monologues, make appropriate 16 & 32 bar cuts of songs, and effectively present themselves at any musical theater audition. On Mondays and Wednesday students will learn how to act a song and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we will workshop monologues.

2 Credits