Dates: July 8 – August 9, 2024
Duration: 5 Weeks, 30 Hours of Class per Week.
Tuition: $3250
Audition Required
Early Bird Application Deadline: February 15, 2024
Application Deadline: March 15, 2024
“The actor that masters Anton Chekhov masters all of modern realism. Chekhov is perhaps the greatest author in understanding of human beings. I would say he is my favorite author…and an entirely new system of performance had to be worked out because of him.” – Stella Adler
In accordance with Stella Adler’s words, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting has created an advanced-level summer intensive which endeavors to illuminate modern realism through the lens of its greatest practitioner. Anton Chekhov offers plays with roots as deep as Sophocles and branches that reach to Beckett, Williams, August Wilson and beyond. His plays are deeply human offering the world a mirror in which we can see our deepest selves. He offers true substance to the studio’s central claim that “growth as an actor and growth as a human being are synonymous.”
At the core of this intensive is the Chekhov Scene Study class taught by acclaimed acting coach and director Bruce Katzman. A student of Stella Adler for five years and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, Bruce has taught workshops on the plays of Anton Chekhov in Oxford, Denmark, Buenos Aires, New York City (Circle Rep Theatre School, Stella Adler Studio, the Actors Center), Yale School of Drama, Princeton, Williams College and the University of Scranton. Bruce was an originator of the Chekhov Intensive here at the Stella Adler Studio with Earle Gister in the late 1990s.
This course offers an in-depth look at Chekhov’s major plays (Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard), with an emphasis on Script Analysis, determining Objectives, and playing Actions. The mystery of Chekhov’s genius is revealed through a layer-by-layer exploration of Character Relationships and the Given Circumstances, and by the peeling away of extraneous, self-oriented acting impulses. The actor’s work becomes pure and simple and direct.
Yale Professor of Directing, David Chambers, will bring the final phase of Stanislavski’s life’s work, featuring improvisations called études, to the Chekhov Intensive. Additional courses in Voice & Speech, Movement and On-Camera Acting will supplement these classes. Offered in the summer only, this is a five-week, 30-hour per week intensive designed for the advanced actor.
Classes per Week
Chekhov Scene Study with Bruce Katzman
Analysis Through Action with David Chambers
Modern Realism for the Camera
Voice and Speech
Movement
Guest Master Class
2023 Master Classes TBA
2022 Master Classes Included:
Sam Gold (Tony Winning Director)
Annette Bening (Film & Broadway Veteran)
Stephen McKinley Henderson (Film & Broadway Veteran)
Bruce Norris (Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright)
*subject to change pending availability
Admission Information
Admission to the Chekhov Intensive is by interview and audition. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
Student visas for international study are not available for this program at this time. Applicants must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
Applicant must submit the following:
- A completed Online Application Form
- Headshot (Photo) and Resume
- A $50 non-refundable application fee (payable to Stella Adler Studio of Acting)
The audition should consist of one contemporary or realism based monologue (such as Chekhov) no longer than 90 seconds in length. Zoom Interviews and Video Auditions are acceptable. After the interview and audition have taken place, applicants will be formally notified by email regarding their acceptance in the program.
COVID-19 Policy: Please visit the studio’s Health & Safety page for the latest updates, policies and list of measures the studio has taken to protect the community against COVID-19.
