Acting

The Acting Option allows you to explore and discover who you are and what moves and affects you – what makes you who you are –while you also discover new lives and worlds through actively participating in the performance experience. You will be introduced to the basics of the Stanislavski System, from intention play to scene scoring to character creation to playing moment-to-moment. You will be able to practice your art through a wide variety of scene and monologue work spanning improvisation, new playwrights, Shakespeare, and even Musical Theatre. You will also work on expanding your acting technique through classes that focus specifically on the physical and vocal demands of the art form. And you will do all this in small classes with caring but demanding faculty who are always willing to give you the extra attention a dedicated actor needs. You will be able to put your class work to the test through live performance – and with the performance of plays by Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Aeschylus, newly created student written and directed works, as well as musicals to name just a small sampling – you will be exposed to every kind of theatre imaginable. Through this performance experience you will discover the importance of ensemble as you and your classmates create new worlds.

In addition, our partnership with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival means that you have the opportunity to participate in the Irene Ryan Performance Scholarship Competition on the regional and national levels every year. Also, master classes for actors are frequently presented by the professional performers who come to Keene State as part of the Redfern Arts Center subscription series, as well as by alumni of our program who have gone on to either further study (in graduate schools across the U.S., as well as in the School at Steppenwolf in Chicago and the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City) or professional employment.

For more information, please go to Keene State College Department of Theatre and Dance Catalog.