More Info
More On Our Approach
The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles regards Shakespeare performance as the greatest, most demanding challenge an actor can accept.
Our training focuses on classical skill building and inspiring greater self understanding.
We believe self-understanding and an appreciation for the timeless, universal truths captured in Shakespeare’s plays leads to nurturing an awareness of the responsibility and role of an artist.
Our faculty are working professional storytellers. They are equally committed to enriching the lives of those whom they teach and all those touched by whom they teach.
Admission
The Summer Shakespeare Youth Intensive enrollment is based upon an audition and a follow-up interview. We are looking for young actors with talent and potential to be future artists and leaders. College counselors and professional theater training program recruiters share that these are important qualities that they look for in students they accept.
Our goal is for every student actor to complete the Intensive with new skills and perspectives that help them feel confident in their next steps as a young professional.
The Intensive program schedule is rigorous. The work week is Monday-Saturday and each day begins at 10am and ends at 7pm.
It sets a high bar and the expectation that student actors will approach the work as young professionals, and also have the most fun they have ever experienced creating a great play.
The Curriculum
This training occurs within the context of a radical post-pandemic upheaval in the contemporary American theater. Yet, telling classic stories in ways that are urgent, vital, and surprising must begin with the time-tested practices necessary to illuminate Shakespeare’s texts. As a pianist must learn to play the scales, so must young actors learn core practices that underpin all performance.
Verse: Fundamental to our curriculum is the understanding and appreciation of the vibrancy of Shakespeare’s language. Students will work on scansion, active paraphrasing, syntax, etymology, and diction. They will learn to build a character using language as the point of departure.
Acting and Voice: Building on text study, our acting sessions also focus on using the voice to make authentic connections with scene partners. Using the maxim, “acting is being truthful in imaginary circumstances,” students will learn to use their voices as a powerful storytelling tool.
Physical Theater Technique: To tell Shakespeare’s stories, learning the language of the body is paramount. Students will take classes in a variety of approaches: clowning, mask, acrobatics, dance, and combat to hone their physical abilities.
Ensemble: This aspect of the work focuses on deepening young actors’ abilities to listen and respond authentically to each other and the audience in the moment. Taking a cue from Shakespeare’s work—plays written for full daylight with no scene changes or barriers between actors and the audience—students will learn to be responsive to the conditions in which they are working.
Devising: Students will create their own adaptation of a Shakespeare play. Using the text as a blueprint, actors will create the physical world of the play, write music, design costumes, adapt text, and tell the version of the story that is most alive for them as young people in 2025.
Masterclasses and Career Development: Students will have the opportunity for one-on-one coaching sessions with working artists who will help support their work on audition monologues for college and professional work. Students will also have the opportunity to book professional headshots and to glean feedback on their resumes.
A Typical Day in Week 1:
10-10:30—check-in and physical warm ups
10:30-11:00—ensemble-building
11:00-12:10—Workshop: movement, clown, or physical theater
12:10—break
12:20-1:30—Workshop: acting, voice, or devising
1:30-2:30—lunch
2:30-3:00—script work
3:00-7:00—rehearsal
7:00—released
A Typical Day in Week 2:
10-10:30—check-in and physical warm ups
10:30-11:00—ensemble-building
11:00-12:10—Workshop: movement, clown, or physical theater
12:10—break
12:20-1:30—Workshop: acting, voice, or devising
1:30-2:30—lunch
2:30-3:30—audition technique/monologue work/one-one sessions with industry professionals
3:40-7:00—rehearsal/dress rehearsal
7:00—released
Saturday, July 19:
10-10:30—check-in and physical warm ups
10:30-11:00—ensemble-building
11:00-1:30—Final Dress
1:30-2:30—lunch
2:30—half hour call
3:00-4:15—performance 1
4:15-5:15—dinner break
5:15—reset
5:30—half hour
6:00-7:15—performance 2
7:15—celebration!
More On Our Location
We are currently renovating our theater into a brand new state of the art “Storybox”—complete with a media studio and a lab for youth work (read more about our new building here), set to be open in time for our 2026 Intensive. This summer, we are proud to partner with The Bloc in Downtown LA. We’ll transform a storefront into our own Storybox. Students will have easy access to amenities, like Starbucks and restaurants for breaks and lunch.
How to Apply
Dates and Deadlines
Applications will be accepted until June 15. However, due to the unique nature of ensemble creation, space is limited, so we recommend getting your application in early.
We will contact you for an interview within a week of submitting your application. Acceptances will be offered based on the strength of your application, your audition, and your interview.
If you are offered a spot, we will let you know by May 15th.
Any applications received between May 15th and June 15th will be considered on a rolling basis, if space is available. You may be placed on a waitlist.
Once you are accepted, a non-refundable deposit of $500 to hold your spot is due within one week.
Any students placed on the waitlist will be notified of acceptance between June 1 and June 15. Your spot will be guaranteed once we receive your deposit.
Application Details
The application contains some short answer questions to help us get to know you better. Try to keep your answers around 100 words.
If you have a resume already, feel free to upload it. A formal resume is not required—a list of performance experience is fine.
A video audition is required (see guidelines below).
After we receive your application, we will contact you for an interview.
Audition Self-Tape Guidelines
Please film horizontally in a quiet space.
Please include a 1-minute introduction of yourself. Tell us who you are and some of the things that are most important to you. There's no "right way" to do this, but if you want to think of it as sharing the things you find most interesting about yourself, that might be a good guideline. Be yourself, be authentic :)
Once you finish your intro, you’ll do any monologue of your choice from any play (it doesn’t have to be Shakespeare). It should be memorized and about 90 seconds long.
If you are a musical theater person or a singer of any genre, you may also include a song (should be no longer than 60 seconds). If you play an instrument, we encourage you to include it in your video.
FAQs
Is experience necessary?
Experience in Shakespeare is not necessary, but previous experience as a performer in any genre is. This is an advanced training program that requires some knowledge of a rehearsal process and theater classes. In the future, we hope to offer a similar program for students of all abilities.
Do I have to do a Shakespeare monologue for the audition?
No—we just want to see who you are as a performer. You can do anything—even a song if you are a musical theater person.
Is there an application fee?
There is not. If accepted into the program, a non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Payment in full will be due by June 1.
Do you offer refunds if I can't attend?
Your $500 deposit is non-refundable, but a partial refund of $1000 of your balance will be issued if you cancel more than a week in advance, and $800 if you cancel within a week of the start of the program.
Is lunch provided?
No. Students should bring lunches or plan on eating at one of The Bloc’s many meal options.
Is there parking?
Yes. There is a garage on site.
Is the space accessible?
Yes. There is an escalator from the street if students are dropped off and if driving, elevators from the parking deck to our space.
Is the neighborhood safe?
The Bloc is well-staffed with security and students will be accompanied by our staff any time they are entering and leaving campus.
More questions? Please email education@shakespearecenter.org