A hands-on course that teaches performers how to create high-quality headshots, self-tapes, and promotional images using only their smartphones. In today’s industry, actors constantly need updated photos and self-tape material—for auditions, casting calls, social media presence, and personal branding. This class is designed to give you practical tools you can apply immediately, without needing professional equipment. You will learn: how to use your phone’s camera like a pro; lighting techniques for indoor and outdoor shoots; how to take strong, flattering headshots; self-tape setup, framing, background & sound; editing tips for clean, polished photos; and how to create promotional & social media content that stands out. You will experience live demos and hands-on practice with small props and lighting tools, and you'll receive a downloadable guide with key takeaways.

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• Prerequisite: Open to all.

Over the course of this five-session workshop, Voice Over Director Theresa Buchheister will run you through a gauntlet of voiceover auditions, from cartoons to audiobooks to audio dramas to video games to commercials! So, even if you cannot attend all 5 weeks, you will get a workout! This workshop is open to those with VO experience looking to sharpen their audition skills, as well as to performers who are new to VO looking for an introduction to the craft. Theresa Buchheister has directed hundreds of audiobooks, cartoons and video games, including Cartoon Network’s Pokémon XYZ, Nickelodeon’s The Winx Club, and David Byrne’s audiobook How Music Works. As a performer, they have narrated countless audiobooks and textbooks, and voiced cartoon characters on Pokémon, The Winx Club, Milly, and many more.

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• Registration Prerequisite: Open to all.

The Playwright and the Actor: Anton Chekhov and his Nephew Michael Chekhov. This class explores transformation through the creation of Chekhovian characters using Michael Chekhov’s psycho-physical approach from To the Actor. Students will work with monologues from Anton Chekhov’s plays and short stories, expanding their repertoire with classical material. Training includes movement-based warm-ups and techniques such as Loyd Williamson’s Physical Process of Acting, Eight RASA Emotions, and the Six Viewpoints, helping actors develop physical freedom, expressive range, and deeper connection to inner life and ensemble work. We will also explore Chekhov’s tools for character and atmosphere—personal atmospheres, centers, imaginary body, and archetypes—leading to psychological gesture and transformation. Period style will be incorporated through movement, manners, costume, and character conditions to ground the work in its historical context.

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• Registration Prerequisite: Open to all.

Singing Voice 2 is for you if you have some foundation in singing technique, having developed a connection of the voice to the breath, a practiced and heightened listening ability, a sense of phrasing and an ability to practice on your own. Class work will continue to develop singing technique and musicianship, with exercises to support the development of vocal control, flexibility and range. You will be asked to treat the song lyric as text not unlike that of a script, toward the goal of memorized presentation and interpretation of the song. (Accompanist provided.)

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• Registration Prerequisite: Open to Singing Level 2 and up. New to HB? Audition or submit online for level placement.

Open to everyone, from first-time writers to experienced playwrights who want to go back to the basics. This class will introduce a variety of dramatic tools in order to build a strong sense of craft. Assignments, written as scenes, will explore elements such as character, relationship, time, place, structure, plot, story, and language.

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• Prerequisite: Open to all.

This class is for actors who have begun to establish reliable technique and amass a serious résumé. We will continue to hone technique through exercises and we will concern ourselves with the power of rhythm, of silence, of synchronicity, and the random wellsprings that open when the actor is 100% present in the moment. You will receive a link to register for this class upon acceptance of your application. 

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• Registration Prerequisite: Application required. Apply online.

When the actor believes, we believe. The child’s natural instinct for play is the foundation of the actor’s process. Using the game of make believe to get into the “shoes” of the character, we begin to play with the possibilities that game invites in us. In order to believe I am the character, I must begin to learn all I can about who “I” am in the role: what surrounds and affects me, what I know, where I have been and where I am going; what I want, and what I do to get it or to make it happen. We use improvisation to awaken and explore creative impulses. Theatre games and exercises expand imagination, awareness, concentration, expressivity, and help build skills of communication, cooperation, and collaboration. Through text work designed for the young performer, we make strong, specific, meaningful connection to the language and circumstances of the play, bringing the author’s words to life. Through acting, young people gain compassionate insight about themselves and about the world around them; gain poise and confidence; develop problem-solving skills; and engage with peers and mentors in a joyful, collaborative process.

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• Prerequiste: Open to All (ages 9-13)

An introduction to the process of preparing and rehearsing a scripted text. Using Uta Hagen’s six steps as a guide, you will work to find authentic inner connection to the character’s details and circumstances and to choose truthful, effective and lively actions. A commitment to rehearse with partners outside of class is required.

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• Prerequisite: Open to all.
• Offered in two 5-week parts. Sign up for either part individually, or both for a full 10 week experience!