Best Acting Classes In East Bay
Pan Theater
2135 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612
(415) 724-2433
www.pantheater.com
Price: $225, $195 - if you register one week before start date
If you love stand-up comedy or improvisation, be sure to try out Theater Games improv classes at the cast-run Pan Theater in Oakland, and maybe soon you'll be the next comedian everyone is talking about. Laughter is great medicine, so have fun while learning how to do improv and meeting new friends. Theater Games courses run on Monday and Sunday nights and sessions span four weeks.
Film Acting Bay Area
Ex'pression College For Digital Arts
6601 Shellmound St.
Emeryville, CA 94608
(877) 663-4561
www.filmactingbayarea.com
Price: $170 - $400
Have you always wanted to be on the silver screen? Classes at Film Acting Bay Area can help make your dream come true. The program offers beginning to advanced classes, a young actors program for tweens and teens, and the opportunity to earn a certificate in film acting. If you're just getting started in acting, the Intro to Film Acting class is ongoing and can be joined anytime. In case you don't go straight to Hollywoood, Film Acting Bay Area provides a great Business of Acting class to help actors become more marketable and discover hidden markets for their talents.
Acting and Being
www.actingandbeing.com
Price: Email Gayna for estimates at classes@actingandbeing.com
Perhaps you're looking for a more personal approach. Why not try classes and workshops with Gayna, an actor and acting coach at her studio in Berkeley? Gayna has over 20 years of performance experience and her time spent living and working in London helps her teach British dialect courses to help students pin down that hard-to-replicate British accent. The Acting and Being beginners workshop runs monthly and includes voice, movement, play-reading, and improv. Gayna also offers advanced ongoing weekly classes for actors looking for more development. If you are interested in classes with Gayna, please contact her through her website.
Related: Best Places For Film Geeks and Film Buffs In San Francisco
Berkeley Repertory Theatre School of Theatre
2025 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 647-2972
www.berkeleyrep.org/school/adult_classes.asp
Price: $75 - $500
Maybe TV and the silver screen are not your cup of tea and you want to take a more traditional approach to theater. Then look to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. The Berkeley Rep is one of the Bay Area's most respected theatre companies, hosting a variety of creative and ambitious programming. Berkeley Rep also runs a School of Theatre, offering classes for kids and adults. Adult courses include beginning and intermediate acting using the Stanislavki technique as well as focused courses on comedy, Shakespeare, and voice-over acting. In addition, you can learn theatre combat, on-camera techniques, physical comedy and the Alexander Technique. Fall classes begin September 17, 2012.
Made Up Theatre
3392 Seldon Court
Fremont, CA 94539
(510) 573-3633
www.madeuptheatre.com
Price: $150
For another option in improv classes, look to the south end of the East Bay. The Made Up Theatre troupe hosts weekly improv shows incorporating audience participation from its home base in Fremont, CA. The members, vets of the Comedy Sportz group in San Jose, only opened their doors in early 2011, but have received great reviews. If you would like to get in on the Improv action, the Made Up Theatre group also hosts classes in beginning, intermediate, and advanced improv. A free intro night is offered the week before each eight-week session begins. Eight week improv courses start at only $150.
Related: Best Summertime Theater Activities For Kids In San Francisco
Laura Tarwater-Scharp is a freelance writer, editor and historian. Originally from the Midwest, she has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over a decade. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
