FIRST MONDAY MASTERS SERIES
WHERE: Two River Theater, 21 Bridge Ave., Red Bank
Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, announces this year’s initial lineup for its popular First Monday Masters series of master classes led by artists affiliated with Two River Theater’s recent productions and current season.
Some master classes are for high-school students, some for adults, and some are for mixed ages. Teachers can use the classes for professional development, and will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the evening. All of the classes are taught by actors, directors, playwrights and designers affiliated with the theater’s season. Classes take place in locations throughout the Two River Theater arts complex, on Monday evenings from 6pm-8pm.
To reserve a spot, visit www.tworivertheater.org or call 732.345.1400.
The schedule of First Monday Masters for 2018/19 is as follows:
October 1 – Kids in Show Business: Q&A with agent Nancy Carson and the star of Pamela’s First Musical, Sarah McKinley Austin, and her mom!
For young people and adults, limited to 30 participants
6-8:00pm, $20 per person
Do you have dreams of acting on stage? As a parent, have you wondered how your child can juggle preparing material, going to auditions, rehearsing and school work? You’ve got questions? They’ve got answers! Nancy Carson—owner of the Carson-Adler Agency, whose former clients include Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Donald Faison, Lea Michele, and Cynthia Nixon—is internationally respected for high-quality representation of young performers. An expert in her field, Nancy has been interviewed often on international television and is sought after as a speaker at industry seminars throughout the U.S. She is on the Children’s Committees of the Actors Fund and Actors’ Equity, and is the author of Raising a Star, published by St. Martin’s Press. Nancy’s client Sarah McKinley Austin has toured the country playing the title role in Matilda the Musical and Ivanka in Once, and plays the title role in Two River Theater’s production of Pamela’s First Musical.
November 5 – Costume Design with Karen Perry
For adults and high school students, limited to 16 participants
6-8:00pm, $40 per person
Karen Perry is one of Two River’s favorite costume designers, and an incredibly engaging teacher. Karen previously designed August Wilson’s Jitney, Two Trains Running and Seven Guitars here, as well as Lives of Reason, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, Guadalupe in the Guest Room, Third and Trouble in Mind. This season, she will design King Hedley II and Oo-Bla-Dee. She has also designed costumes for Encores!, Dallas Theater Center, Second Stage, Signature Theatre, Goodman, and The Public Theater, to name just a few. Karen will walk the class through the costume design process from the page to the stage by discussing her work on new musicals and classic plays. This workshop will take place in Two River Theater’s Costume Shop!
December 3 – Adapting Shakespeare with Sara Holdren
For adults and high school students, limited to 16 participants
6-8:00pm, $40 per person
Back by popular demand! Sara Holdren, a director and teacher, is the Artistic Director/co-founder of Tiltyard theater company and lead theater critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com. This season, Sara is adapting and directing Two River’s A Little Shakespeare: Macbeth, after making her TRT debut with The Comedy of Errors last season. This master class is for anyone interested in how directors and designers approach producing Shakespeare for modern audiences. As a student from Sara’s last First Monday Masters class said, “You were right. Sara is a rock star—insightful, validating, artistically and creatively empowering.”
January 7, 2019 – The Physical Comedy and Clowning of Noises Off
For adults and high school students, limited to 16 participants
6-8:00pm, $40 per person
Michael Frayn’s Noises Off belongs on any list of the funniest plays ever written. Screwball antics, sight gags, pratfalls, misplaced props, slamming doors and flying sardines all combine in this celebrated, flawless farce-within-a-farce. A member of this production’s cast or creative team will teach a clowning workshop that will showcase how artists can combine their skills with language with their gifts for physical comedy.
February 4 – Everybody Sing! with Elliot Roth
For everyone ages 10 and up
6-8:00pm, $10 per person
We all know that February is a cold, dark month. There’s no better way to kick it off than by singing a joyful song on the Rechnitz Theater stage! In this participatory master class, multi-talented Elliot Roth will teach new arrangement of an unlikely mashup with lots of harmonies. Hailed by the New York Times for his “silky smooth voice”, Elliott is the Musical Director for Two River’s Summer Intensives program. A Masters graduate of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music jazz arts program, he has Broadway (Our Sinatra and A Christmas Carol) and Off-Broadway credits, and currently teaches voice, rock/pop audition technique and jazz/soul recording arts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY. Come join the fun!
March 4 – Stage Combat with UnkleDave’s Fight-House
For adults and high school students, limited to 16 participants,
6-8:00pm, $40 per person
Violence on stage has to look realistic while remaining completely safe for all involved. Founded by David Anzuelo, Unkle-Dave’s Fight-House is the stage combat team behind TRT’s productions of El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom, Be More Chill, Seven Guitars, A Raisin in the Sun and this season’s upcoming production of King Hedley II. Combining his training as an actor, director, and martial artist, Anzuelo brings a unique approach to both fight-choreography and sexual content stage violence. His core team consists of Jesse Geguzis, Sean Griffin and Gerry Rodriguez. These amazing fight-directors/stage-combat teachers will discuss—and demonstrate—how violence fits into storytelling on stage.
Sponsorship
Two River Theater is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Monmouth University, The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Riverview Medical Center, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Springpoint Senior Living Foundation at The Atrium at Navesink Harbor, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Jorgensen Foundation, US Trust, Wells Fargo, William T. Morris Foundation, Kessler Foundation, Investors Foundation, The John Ben Snow Foundation, VNA Health Group, Brookdale Community College, and many other generous foundations, corporations and individuals.
