REACT

Renaissance Actor’s Collaborative at Theatre 166

The Renaissance Theatre is pleased to announce the launch of their new actor’s training center at Theatre 166. REACT—Renaissance Actor’s Collaborative at Theatre 166 will begin offering classes in early January, 2022. Conceived by Director/Instructor Scott Smith, MFA, the goal of REACT is to provide professional training in the craft of acting to performers of all experience levels, to guide and support artists in the development of their individual creative processes, and to establish enrichment for community members interested in exploring the performing arts. Each course will consist of two 3 hour-class sessions per week for 5 weeks. The first session, beginning January 8th, 2022, will concentrate on acting theory skill-sessions with demonstrations, discussions, and some physical application of theory. The second, starting in March, will be a studio session focusing on physical and practical application of theory. Each five-week session will culminate in a workshop performance. Further course offerings include Advanced Scene Study, and Introduction to Shakespeare, and also culminate in performance workshops.

Conservatory students will also be eligible to audition for the Ren’s summer touring production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, staged and adapted by Smith.

"The Craft of Acting must rely on the work of an active imagination,” notes Smith. “My classes are, in essence, advanced imagination training. This training hones performance instincts and creates deeper possibilities for character development."

The classes are designed for actors ages 17 and up, and the fee for the five-week session is $90. Gift certificates are available. These classes make a wonderful gift for the aspiring actor in your life. For more information and to enroll, please visit the Renaissance website Rentickets.org.

About the Instructor: Scott Smith

Scott Smith earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from West Virginia University in 2002, where he studied under alumni of The American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco. His training includes in-depth script analysis, extensive application of modern acting theory, and a comprehensive focus on Shakespeare for performance. Scott has over 20 years of professional experience, acting and directing, in regional theatre. As an actor, his roles run the gamut, from Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot to Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages. As a director, he has tackled simple, heartfelt elegies like Always, Patsy Cline and complex human dramas like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Scott honed his skills as a member of A Crew of Patches Theatre Company in Chicago, travelling to area schools in a grueling repertory of Shakespeare’s works—the toughest plays for the toughest audiences. Currently, Scott teaches Theatre and English at North Central State College, and he has appeared in several Renaissance productions, including Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, Assassins, White Christmas, Titanic, and Little Shop of Horrors. Scott’s teaching philosophy emphasizes a continual “Re-investment in Craft,” the idea that an artist approaches any new project with a fresh commitment to a creative process, one which embraces curiosity, experimentation, and imagination.