BATH

As part of its ongoing initiative to grow the theatre community in the Midcoast, Studio Theater of Bath presents an exciting new workshop, “Everything You Need to Know About Acting for the Theater From Soup to Nuts (Mostly Nuts) in Three Easy Lessons” on July 14, 21 and 28.

Workshop exercises will cover entrances, exits, walking, talking, laughing, crying, dying and eating — yes, eating — on stage.

“Eating onstage may seem simple, but in fact it’s incredibly challenging,” said workshop leader Howard Waxman, a Bathbased stage director.

The workshop is driven by three guiding principles:

1. Take it to the end of the line. Follow whatever you are doing to its natural and ultimate conclusion.

2. It’s easier to dial down than to dial up. “As a director, I want to tell actors to tone down they’re doing rather than pushing them to get bigger,” said Waxman.

3. If it’s not fun, why bother? “This principle is one we all try to follow in life,” Waxman said. “Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to do. That’s why we have acting workshops, so we do get a chance to live that way.”

In the first week of the workshop, actors will be assigned a brief monologue, which they will develop over the following two sessions, building the character just as they would in the rehearsal process. While walk-ins will be welcomed for all sessions, STB strongly recommends attendance at all three, as this gives actors the opportunity to build on the learning experience from week to week.

The workshop is intended in part to encourage actors to try out for Studio Theatre of Bath’s Fall production of Alfred Jarry’s classic French absurdist comedy “Ubu Roi.” As one STB board member put it, “Before there was Monty Python, there was King Ubu.” Auditions for that show will be held in early August and the STB production is slated for late October at the Winter Street Center.

“Everything You Need to Know About Acting for the Theater From Soup to Nuts (Mostly Nuts) in Three Easy Lessons” focuses on the craft of stage acting rather than the naturalistic style of acting typical of movies and TV.

“We’ll be working on being ‘bigger than life’,” said Waxman. “In my experience, that’s how you discover just how big life really is.”

For more information, contact Howard Waxman at (207) 504-7020.