Workshops & Intensives
Michael Howard Studios uses brilliant specialists to help actors
engage in new approaches and go deeper into what they already practice
Surrounding our core instructors are brilliant specialists. Throughout the year these immensely gifted and experienced trainers conduct workshops that concentrate on particular aspects of the actor's craft: voice, body, emotional resilience, heightened text, song, on-camera, audition, etc. The specialist Workshops and Intensives help our actors focus on broader approaches that are new to them, or practice elements of their craft they already have, but want to take to a deeper level or expertise.
Workshops tend to run over the course of a specified number of weeks at a consistent day and time. Intensives are more compact, using an immersive approach to get a large amount of instruction into a shorter period of time. We invite you to join us for whatever style of learning works for your schedule and needs.
Dynamic Approaches for Young Actors
The powerhouse team of Angela Pietropinto and Ian Kevin Scott lead this 6-week workshop designed for the passionate up-and-coming actors in their formative years. Angela and Ian have been working together for years, both professionally in the industry, as well as in the classroom. They bring a warm and exciting atmosphere to the studio, creating a space wherein young artists can take the risks to discover their own talents, and hone them into skills to be used as they enter the professional field. This is the greatest kind of creative space to provide the invaluable intergenerational passing on of the traditions in the creative field of acting. Angela and Ian use improvisation, somatic and vocal exercises, and teach the fundamental skills of text analysis and dynamic choice-making that are essential to propel a young actor into the professional world of acting. This is the most fun you'll have learning how to be a working actor!
$525
Class size limited
Ross Meyerson Intensive
Join multi-nominated and Emmy Award-winning casting director Ross Meyerson for a full day acting and audition intensive. This course will feel like a trip to the acting gym: you'll strengthen your understanding of scene dynamics and your ability to process notes and translate them quickly. By working with Ross individually and observing him coach other actors, you'll learn vital creative and practical techniques to build confidence and make your performance stand out from the crowd. Most importantly, you will leave this weekend better equipped to enter the professional world and to win jobs in TV, film, and theatre.
$475
Class size limited
New Actors Workshop aka, Take the Leap!
This six-week workshop that meets once a week serves as an introduction to the study of acting. Michael Colby Jones has taught at every level in some of the best university programs in the country, so he is uniquely qualified to guide new actors. MCJ helps turn passion and curiosity into a process and technique to infuse all that new actors are into the characters they want to portray. What is acting? Is there such a thing as talent? If so, how can it be utilized? How do great actors bring such depth to the characters they portray? How do you break down a script? How do you work with other actors? These and many other questions are answered in this workshop, which can then launch you into a scene study class to continue your artistic journey.
Saturdays 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, June 3 - July 8
$525
Class size limited
The Art & The Business
Three time Emmy Award winning actor and MHS Instructor Cady McClain has put together a full compendium of "what works and what doesn't" in an actor's career, based on 45 years as a professional actor doing everything right and making a ton of mistakes so you don't have to! Discouragement does not have to be the daily life of an actor when there is so much you can do to move towards your dreams. This 3 hour intensive will give you a solid framework to help you get out of your own way and achieve your full potential. Topics covered include: organization, prep, auditioning, doing the job, keeping the job, transitioning, focus, attitude, relationships, and strategy.
$350
Class size limited
Butoh for The Actor
Ian Wen has studied with generational leaders in the Butoh movement in Japan, and around the world. Emerging in Japan in the 1960s, Butoh ("dance of darkness") transformed into a global phenomenon. Butoh uses the body as a field for corporal investigation and spiritual journey, leading to deep, visceral, authentic expression.
By letting the body "talk" we embark on an experiential journey of creating, examining, and moving energy. Workshop members dive into universal archetypes, sculpt time and space, and harness the power inherent in words and images. Train how to transform physically and energetically, and learn to trust your body's unique sense of wisdom and expression. As a result, a deeper quality of performer presence, spontaneity, narrative, and exchange is realized. Join us for this transformative and illuminating journey!
Saturday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, June 3rd
$425
Class size limited
The Actor's Animal Body with Ian Wen
This highly sought-after workshop aims to explore one's true, instinctual, animal nature. While animal work typically consists of largely imitative efforts towards altering physicality, we will aim to go deeper, working intensively with a personal animal totem to recover your wild, authentic performer's body. Work begins by organically selecting a personal animal. Research on anatomy, diet, behavior, environment, and more provides the means to faithfully approximate and embody the animal. Special emphasis will focus on the senses your animal relies on to navigate its perceivable universe. Experience your animal in relationship with other animals in the room or choose a more solitary path of inquiry. Subjective considerations including how your animal is represented in mythology or literature will also be incorporated. In the end, we explore how you can manifest your animal, instinctively and dynamically, in movement, voice, and text.
$425
Class size limited
Acting for Film and Television
This popular intensive guides actors through the casting process as well as what happens before and after auditioning for on-camera roles. Actors work on-camera in every class with sides from television, studio and independent films, including scripts from The Americans, The Beguiled, Billions, The Blacklist, Blindspot, Blue Bloods, Bull, Call Me By Your Name, Chicago Fire, Downsizing, The Good Wife, High Maintenance, The Hollars, Homeland, I, Tonya, Jessica Jones, L&O:SVU, Ladybird, La La Land, Leave No Trace, Lincoln, Logan, Madam Secretary, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Meddler, Orange Is The New Black, Person of Interest, Silence, Unforgettable, White Collar, 20th Century Women, and several NEW pilots. This intensive also covers the business of acting, how to get an agent and manager, finding the right headshot and more!
3 Day event: August 4 - August 6
$645
Class size limited
Musical Theater Workshop (EJY’s MTW)
In this 1 day Intensive, Broadway veteran Eric Jordan Young, best known for his Original Cast featured roles in the Broadway productions of Ragtime, Chicago, and Seussical, as well as his self-created solo tour de force show, Sammy & Me, concentrates on vocalists and their ability to tell a story through song. Eric works one-on-one in front of peers with a selected group of individuals and coaches them on interpretation, style, execution, vocal technique, stamina, and character integration. How do you build a character and make your storytelling consistent with vocal, physical, and intentional authority to make it repeatable? Performers bring in a fully prepared song of their choice to work on. Accompanist provided. You can leave this event ready to book your next audition!
$425
Class size limited
Long-Form Improv Workshop
This six-week workshop will utilize improvisational scene work, group games, and basic long-form structures to help students make spontaneous decisions and feel comfortable performing without a script. Students will also practice vital aspects of improvisational performance such as openings, time dashes, and basic Harold skills, all under the expert guidance of veteran teacher, Armando Diaz. A graduate of Second City in Chicago, Armando has taught several students who have gone on to write and perform on The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
$450
Class size limited
Shoot Your Own Short Film: A Practical Guide for Actors
Taught by Greg Chwerchak, this workshop is a crash course in filmmaking, specially tailored to actors - from the most flattering lenses, lights, and angles to in-depth discussions of what material best attracts festivals, viral audiences, and promotes your acting career. This workshop tackles the Do's and Don'ts of shooting your own material. Whether it's scenes for your reel, a spec commercial, or a short film to screen at film festivals, we will address all the nuances that go into a successful DIY shoot. This course gives you the tools to be proactive and create your own work, from concept to final cut.
June 24th & 25th, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
$450
Class size limited