The Phase Eight School: Classes for 2020
JaMario Stills founded Phase Eight as both a company and a school. In summer of 2020, he and Associate Artistic Director Kelby Siddons re-engaged the Company's passion for training by offering a series of remote classes to students in the Northeast Florida community and beyond.
Now, in December through the new year, classes and workshop events continue online with an enrollment of 3-8 learners that meet weekly via Zoom. Enrollment fees are tax-deductible donations to Phase Eight Theater, Inc. that compensate the instructors and support the company's mission.
Scroll down to learn more about our offerings. Any course with an "Enroll Now" button will begin classes within the month. Do the below classes interest you? Do you have a different skill or topic to suggest? We are hoping to offer these and more classes this and next year. Sign up for updates or email us about your specific goals and interests!
Now, in December through the new year, classes and workshop events continue online with an enrollment of 3-8 learners that meet weekly via Zoom. Enrollment fees are tax-deductible donations to Phase Eight Theater, Inc. that compensate the instructors and support the company's mission.
Scroll down to learn more about our offerings. Any course with an "Enroll Now" button will begin classes within the month. Do the below classes interest you? Do you have a different skill or topic to suggest? We are hoping to offer these and more classes this and next year. Sign up for updates or email us about your specific goals and interests!
Currently Offered for Winter 2020
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An Actor Stays Prepared (JaMario Stills)
Tu/Th 6-9 pm starting December 15; $20/hour for up to 8 participants Our most popular and recurrent offering returns to beat the winter blues and start the New Year right in community, creation, and constant evolution with fellow performers. JaMario Stills' insights and experiences producing, directing, and acting on national stages and at the Brown University MFA program are sure to challenge and encourage actors of every experience level. |
Playwrights' Workshop (Kelby Siddons)
Friday, December 18 at 6-9:30 pm; $20/session for up to 8 participants Playwrights who have completed "Wrighting a Play" or comparable experience gather to support one another in a one-off event or series. Participate in a Paula Vogel-style "Bake Off" with other playwrights and pool your resources to set some New Years' Resolutions for your 'wrighting life. |
Courses by Specialization
Note: some of these are past offerings; most have upcoming sections available. Click through or scroll down to find out which courses have a "Enroll Now" button.
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for Actors
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for Directors & Technicians
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for Writers
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Course Descriptions by Title
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An Actor Stays Prepared
Theory, Technique, and Style for Performers with Founding Artistic Director JaMario Stills What elements are essential to character? What motivates compelling action in performance? How can the actor retain access and openness to vulnerability while serving a role safely and reliably? How do actors, collaborators, and audience function most effectively in relation to each other? In this course, we'll familiarize ourselves with and critique common approaches to these questions in pursuit of the best outcome for the individual performer. Past Sessions: June 15 - July 11, 2020, Tu/Th 6-8 pm; July 14 - August 13, 2020, Tu-Th 6-8 pm Upcoming Sessions: December 15-January 7, Tu/Th 6-8 pm |
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Playwrights' Workshop
Prerequisite: 'Wrighting' a Play, Instructor Approval with Managing Director Kelby Siddons This course was requested by those that have completed 'Wrighting a Play' and want to continue putting their new vocabulary and skills to use. These class meetings center on the participants' writing workshopped using the Liz Lerman Critical Response Method. Weekly, your instructor provides reading recommendation, coaching toward submission to upcoming competitions, and/or writing prompts. Your instructors' personal reading and critique of up to 15 pages of work is included in your weekly tuition. Upcoming Sessions: Playwrights' Winter Bake-Off, Friday Dec. 18 6-9:30 pm Participate in a Paula Vogel-style "Bake-Off" with fellow playwrights and receive feedback from your instructor on up to 15 pages of your choosing--from the Bake-Off script or another selection. |
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Shakespearean Performance
Formal, Naturalistic, and First Folio Approaches to the Bard with Associate Artistic Director Kelby Siddons Of course ,16th century plays are daunting on their own (early modern English verse, archaic vocabulary and allusions, lack of clarity in stage directions...) But over centuries, directors and actors have confronted these texts with their own expectations and theories, creating a complex and too-often esoteric tradition of performance. In this course for actors and directors alike, we'll explore several approaches and theories toward Shakespeare based on its performance history and best practices for producing grounded, accessible, rich Shakespeare performances for contemporary audiences. Past Sessions: June 15 - July 11, 2020, W 6-8 pm Upcoming Sessions: stay tuned; click below to express interest |
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'Wrighting' a Play
Putting Structure, Voice, and Stakes to Work with Associate Artistic Director Kelby Siddons 'Playwright' is commonly misspelled because the history of the word is forgotten. Playwrights don't just write the words that suggest the play--they were originally understood to be the builders of plays the way shipwrights were builders of boats. With this perspective in mind, we'll examine the writing habits and builders' tools we can use to craft a play, starting with ten-minute works as microcosms of a traditional 20th-century two-act structure. Past Sessions: June 15 - July 11, 2020, M 6-8 pm; July 27 - August 17, 2020, M 6-8 pm |
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MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS |
JaMario Stills trained at Julliard as an actor and is currently earning his MFA in Directing from Brown University. He has performed on regional stages around the United States, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and he has directed for many Jacksonville theaters (Mothers and Sons at Players by the Sea; The Miracle Worker and The Mousetrap at Theater Jacksonville). For thoughts on his performance philosophies, check out his ACTIV8 seminar session.
Kelby Siddons interned at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and trained with esteemed director David Bell, who served as an advisor for her honors thesis production of As You Like It at Northwestern University. She was a cast member and collaborator for Phase Eight's production of Love's Labours Lost and directed Macbeth at ABET. Kelby trained with and assisted playwright Laura Schellhardt at Northwestern University. Kelby has worked in community and professional theater as a playwright, dramaturg, director, and actor. To preview the insights you can expect from class, check out her ACTIV8 seminar session or this interview.