Career Development

Presented by Brenna McDonough,

This workshop will include exercises designed to help you make very quick choices for on the spot or self-tape auditions. Your participation will fuel the workshop with your imagination and sense of adventure. The ideas presented will include commercial, corporate and film improv situations.

This is a safe acting zone.

Brenna McDonough has been a full time professional actor and proud member of SAG-AFTRA since 1973. She started her career in Chicago and studied with Paul Sills at Second City. She continues to study improv with Mario Baldessari in WDC. Her studio On-Camera Training is 22 years old and is dedicated to serving the on-camera acting community of DMV. She has taught her on-camera classes at NYU, UMD and is a faculty member of Theatre Lab and Shakespeare Theatre.

 

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Presented by Ty Ford      

Ty Ford provides clues for deciphering a script to bring the writer's voice to life.  He also points out some of the simple mechanics that help make you sound like you know what you are talking about.

 

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Presented by Kathryn Klvana

Learn how to use the equipment in the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory Room to self-tape an audition. We now have a Canon HD video camera with a shotgun mic and lav mic, and good lighting and background to help you look your best. Kathryn Klvana will explain how to reserve the room, use the video camera, edit your audition and upload it via WeTransfer while you are there. Be prepared next time you are asked to submit a taped audition!

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Presented by Lance Lewman

With hundreds of national narrations to his credit, Lance Lewman, known for National Geographic's top rated series, Taboo, Maryland Public Television's popular series Outdoors Maryland, and countless WGBH Nova programs, will guide you through the "dos" and "don'ts" of narration recording, from mic technique to making that elusive connection to the listener that keeps clients coming back for more.

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Presented by Mary Naden

Alexander Technique is a psychophysical process of postural and movement re-education that frees your body and voice to work to its best capacity with the least amount of strain and tension. It’s taught in all major acting schools and conservatories to promote comfort and ease in performance.

In this introductory class, participants will learn the basic thinking and procedures of the Technique, and take away a small practice they can use at home. All are welcome whether you’ve never tried Alexander Technique or you need to revisit it for a tune-up!

Mary Naden, M.F.A. Acting and A.T.I. certified, began her teaching career as a Linklater Voice coach. Over time, she realized the important relationship between Alexander and voice, and trained for three years at the Philadelphia School for the Alexander Technique, then furthered her studies with John Nicholls of ATNYC and other esteemed teachers. She teaches Alexander in the Benjamin Rome School of Music, Drama and Art at Catholic University, and is also the staff teacher at the GW Center for Integrative Medicine. She maintains a lively private practice at her studio in Takoma Park, and can sometimes be found playing bass and singing in Big Hillbilly Bluegrass. www.performancealexandertechnique.com

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Presented by Towanda Underdue

Towanda Underdue is an award winning performer and voice actor and has appeared on national TV shows such as CBS' Bull, HBO's HUNG, The Corner, and the upcoming mini series Night Shift, which she booked using her smartphone to self submit. Learn the basics of recording, editing and submitting your audition using your smartphone.

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Presented by Vanessa Meadows

​Do you struggle to learn lines?  In this workshop, you'll come away with a unique variety of memorization strategies that will not only help you learn your lines more efficiently, but will also guide you to your character faster, help you become more self-aware, increase your confidence and make auditions more fun!  After all, acting is supposed to be enjoyable!

An actress, instructor and speaker, Vanessa Meadows has been acting and performing for over 25 years. Throughout her career she has been involved in over 50 productions on both the stage and screen, and has taught musical theater (Syracuse Children's Theater), been a casting assistant on an award-winning film (TRI), produced and much more.

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Presented by Bill Ratner

In this workshop, the versatile Bill Ratner will give you his take on working with promo and trailer copy. Bill is one of America’s most-heard voices on movie trailers, TV promos, documentaries, commercials, games & cartoons. We are thrilled that he will teach this workshop for our conservatory again, connecting with us via Zoom from his booth in Los Angeles. Participants will take part in the Bethesda office.

Bill is the original voice of “Flint” on G.I. Joe, Robot Chicken and Family Guy. He is an eight-time winner of The Moth Storytelling SLAMs. His stories are featured on National Public Radio. He serves on the Advisory Board of SAG-AFTRA Foundation/Don La Fontaine Voiceover Lab.

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Presented by James Lewis

Learn what it takes to become a voice actor in this workshop, presented by James Lewis. The workshop will cover demo creation and formatting, voiceovers as a business, marketing, branding, casting sites and more. James Lewis is eager to share his extensive knowledge and experience of the voiceover industry with the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory.

Lewis is an award-winning SAG-AFTRA performer and has appeared on national TV shows such as HBO's The Wire, Fox’s America's Most Wanted, The I.D. channel’s Evil Twins and has been seen in hundreds of commercials including national spots for Ricola, CarMax, Airhead’s Bites Candy, Medicare, Rolaids and many more. As a voice actor, Lewis has recorded over 600 audiobooks and voiced characters for both Marvel and DC Comics as well as video games such as Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls and Street Hoops. Lewis is the Executive Producer for Talktime Voiceovers a voiceover demo production company that also provides coaching and training. Talktime has worked with and produced demos for many of the leading talents in the DMV.

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Presented by Keith Flippen

This one-hour workshop will cover ways you can obtain editable copies of your work that have aired on television, appeared in film, or been made available through streaming services so that you can keep your demo reel and online casting profiles up to date. The discussion will focus on companies that provide these services as well as how to use available technology to secure your work on your own.

Keith Flippen has been a film/TV actor for 28 years and a SAG member since 1997. He is also owner and chief instructor of Meisner Technique and Camera Acting at The Actors’ Place in Norfolk, VA, graduate of VA Tech, former student at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre Center and the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music, and Film, and former US Administrator of the Russian-American Theatre in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Minsk.

**Please note that this workshop is a webinar**

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