South Dakota Acting: Your AWOL - Basic Lessons and Resources for Aspiring Actors and Actresses

SOUTH DAKOTA ACTING CAMPS & CLASSES

Camps and classes for South Dakota kids, teens, and adults that have a special focus on acting in the theatre. Many of these South Dakota acting education programs also focus on singing, dancing and music. Most programs present a performance on the last day of classes. Most of the camps are day camps, but some are residential.

Contact each individual organization via their website for updated program date, place, and registration information.

Black Hills Playhouse
Custer, SD area

Meet new friends, explore the world of performing arts, make memories for a lifetime

BHP Jr. Camps encourage creativity and exploration while providing campers the opportunity to see the world through the diverse lens of the performing arts. Our camps are the perfect choice for families seeking a safe, inclusive, and creative camp, with dynamic programs designed to meet students wherever they are in their arts journey.

A week-long, sleep-away camp in the beautiful Black Hills! Campers learn and build upon foundational theatre concepts to hone their skills under the guidance of industry professionals. Campers will spend the week singing, dancing, and rehearsing. At the end of the week, the campers will put on a stellar production for friends and family.

Along the way, campers will enjoy the beauty of nature, the bonds of lifelong friendships, and an unplugged summer camp experience! In addition to learning and performing a full musical revue in just one week, the group will take a day trip to the Black Hills Playhouse to meet theatre professionals and watch a performance. (Meals, housing, professional instruction, BHP ticket, t-shirt and more are included in the camp tuition fee.)

Website: https://www.blackhillsplayhouse.com

Dakota Academy of Performing Arts
Sioux Falls, SD area

The Dakota Academy of Performing Arts (DAPA) is a program designed to inspire young theatre students in the Sioux Falls area to practice perfect, play hard and perform better than they ever thought they could.

DAPA is designed for students who desire a creative, challenging atmosphere with direct instruction and ensemble learning. With a team of theatre professionals mentoring and teaching for DAPA, students are motivated to perform with passion, dedication and excellence. Students prepare to give professional-level theatre performances in the community throughout the year.

There are many ways to get involved with The Dakota Academy of Performing Arts!

We would love for you to join us if you are:

Between the ages of 6-18 with an interest in theatre
Seeking a positive social network that builds confidence and self-esteem
Fully dedicated to practice and rehearsals each week
Looking to not only meet expectations but exceed them
Ready to work and play hard in a fun, creative environment<\/i>

Website: https://www.washingtonpavilion.org/education/dakota-academy-performing-arts

Matthews Opera House and Arts Center
Spearfish, SD area

The arts are for everyone and everyone is an artist. As the cultural hub of Spearfish, the Matthews creates outstanding arts collaborations and experiences in our community.

The Matthews creates meaningful artistic experiences for area youth to engage their imaginations, increase critical thinking skills, and foster emotional intelligence.

Nearly 50 students in grades 2-12 experience the passion of theatre each summer through the Matthews’ free children’s theater program, the Froelich Young Actors Guild. Split into two age groups, children practice, prepare, and perform in two culminating productions. From acting to costumes to set construction, children experience every facet of theater while spending several weeks inside the historic Matthews Opera House.

The Froelich Young Actors Guild theater camp is ready for all the drama! The camp offers two age-appropriate sessions: 7th – 12th grade; and, 2nd – 6th grade. Each group meets Monday through Friday.

Select your child’s group based on the grade they will be entering.

Website: https://www.matthewsopera.com/education-and-programs/

The Premiere Playhouse
Sioux Falls, SD area

The Premiere Playhouse offers a variety of acting classes throughout the year. See the websitte for what is currently being offered.

The Premiere Playhouse camps consist of auditions, theatre games, developing theatre skills, new friendships, and final performances! Auditions take place the first day of a camp so every kid signed up will be a part of the show. These camps are fun-filled learning experiences for all kids who are interested in being apart of theatre and having fun!

The Premiere PlayhouseThe Premiere Playhouse is a Penguin Project Chapter. The Penguin Project produces theatrical productions for children age 10 – 25 with All Abilities. What is unique about this specific design, is that all roles are filled by young, differently-abled thespians (Artists). Each young thespian in the cast will be paired up with a dedicated peer (Mentor) of similar age.

Website: https://thepremiereplayhouse.com

Aberdeen Community Theatre
Aberdeen, SD area

Our organization is dedicated to providing affordable opportunities for youth ages six to seventeen to get involved in the theater arts and share their common interests. Not only do we offer seminars, workshops, camps, and classes, but we also provide "final project" performance opportunities and productions to showcase the talent and hard work of our young participants. We are committed to presenting quality, family-oriented live theater that celebrates life, promotes individual growth, and fosters cooperative teamwork. Our goal is to provide a safe, friendly, and functional environment that inspires high self-esteem, self-confidence, and a sense of self-worth and accomplishment in our youth. Join us at YPT and discover a lifelong love for the theater!

YPT provides anyone with financial need a scholarship to any YPT activity. No one will be turned away because of personal or financial circumstances.

Website: https://www.aberdeencommunitytheatre.com/ypt

Rapid City Arts Council - Emerging Performing Artists Program
Rapid City, SD area

The Emerging Performing Artists (EPA) program provides up-and-coming artists with a variety of opportunities to perform, reach local audiences and find support. Each session includes a performance opportunity and a workshop or studio session. Sessions center on musical performance but are open to other forms of artistic performance. The performance opportunity will be open for the public to watch bringing these sessions to life.

Throughout the season, Emerging Performers will be invited to special one-time opportunities to engage with touring artists and special guests at the Dahl Arts Center. Stay tuned for invitations to meet & greets, workshops and more! These opportunities are by invitation only to EPA program attendees.

Website: https://www.rapidcityartscouncil.org/emerging-artists.html

Black Hills Community Theatre
Rapid City, SD area

Cherry Street is a program for students ages 11-14 and is intended to teach young theatre artists to love and appreciate the art form of live theatrical performance through fundamental techniques, and unique challenges. Students begin with five weeks of classes, with instruction in everything from creating characters, to proper auditioning techniques. The next five weeks of rehearsal transition to working within in a fully produced show, that allows the students to showcase all they’ve learned throughout the program.

Cherry Street Jr. is a program for students ages 8-10 and is intended to teach young theatre artists to love and appreciate the art form of live theatrical performance through fundamental techniques, and introductory approaches. Students begin with five weeks of classes, teaching them everything from creating characters, to proper auditioning techniques. The next five weeks of the program transition into rehearsals, where students will only be called on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. until tech week. During tech week, students will attend Monday – Thursday from 4-6 p.m.. where they will be involved in the fully produced show, allowing them to showcase all they’ve learned throughout the program.

Website: https://www.bhct.org

RESOURCES

Of course a website cannot tell you all the information you need to know about preparing yourself to be an actor: unions, contracts, agents, casting, auditions, and the myriads of other things actors should learn about the acting business.

Below are a number of resources that will help you learn about such things to get you on the right road to becoming a successful actor.

From Craft to Career: A Casting Director's Guide for the Actor
by Merri Sugarman & Tracy Moss

Practical, positive and uplifting, the advice in this book is designed to lead to the best outcomes possible for you, the actor, making the transition from craft to career. The reader is given insight into the various types of casting directors across the industry and how that practical knowledge can benefit you and increase your chance of success. While providing an in-depth insight into the role of the casting director, this book explains the j...More

Act ALIVE: The Essential Guide to Igniting and Sustaining Your Working Actor Career
by Andi Matheny

Finally - a modern acting method that cuts to the chase of what actors really need to unleash their acting genius! The groundbreaking Act ALIVE approach, with exercises ranging from pragmatic to deeply personal, will give you the tools to quickly bring your skills to the next level, from audition to set. Actor and acting coach Andi Matheny, who has helped launch hundreds of actors on their journey from pupil to professional, writes in an entertai...More

The Actor's Hustle: A Step by Step Guide to Getting Your Foot in the Door in TV and Film and How to Get Paid from Your Craft
by Shana Solomon & Carlington Neil

The Actor's Hustle is a book designed to help Actors on all levels reach their career goals and start booking quality film & TV roles that will help them quit their day jobs and build powerful relationships in the entertainment industry and grow. This easy read is loaded with Shana Solomon's hilarious, in your face tell it like it is personality as she shares her wild experiences jam-packed with lessons of how she went from a girl in the Bronx wo...More

The Art of Auditioning, Second Edition: Techniques for Television
by Rob Decina

Casting director Rob Decina highlights the difference between the craft of acting and the business of auditioning, and how those two worlds meet in television. Included are proven-effective preparation techniques, such as breaking down a scene, making specific choices, finding the acting moments with thoughts and feelings, and much more. Also included is advice on how to navigate the various steps of auditioning for series regular, guest star, an...More

Acting in Musical Theatre: A Comprehensive Course
by Joe Deer & Rocco Dal Vera

Acting in Musical Theatre remains the only complete course in approaching a role in a musical. It covers fundamental skills for novice actors, practical insights for professionals, and even tips to help veteran musical performers refine their craft.Acting in Musical Theatre's chapters divide into easy-to-reference units, each containing group and solo exercises, making it the definitive textbook for students and practitioners alike...More

Acting the Song: Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre
by Tracey Moore & Allison Bergman

Acting the Song offers a contemporary, integrated approach to singing in musicals that results in better-trained, smarter performers everyone wants to work with. In this new, thoroughly updated edition of the paperback, directors and teachers of musical theater will find guidance in developing and leading musical theater elements, classroom workshops, and the world of professional auditions and performances. Subjects for both versions cover: Sing...More

Drama for Teen Actors
by Christine McClure

Christine McClure has more than thirty years of experience coaching actors one-on-one, on set, and in group classes. Her students have appeared in major features and television series and have worked with Oscar-winning directors Steven Soderbergh, Stanley Kubrick, Sofia Coppola, the Coen brothers, and more. Now Christine puts that experience to work for you by sharing her techniques and giving you a literal front-row seat in her dramatic acting c...More

Respect for Acting: Expanded Version
by Uta Hagen with Haskel Frankel

Since its original publication in 1973, Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting has remained a durable classic and a must-read for all students of acting. As an acting instructor at the Herbert Berghof Studio, Hagen helped to develop the talents of world-class actors like Robert DeNiro, Matthew Broderick, Gene Wilder, Amanda Peet, Austin Pendleton, Whoopi Goldberg, and more. In this book, Hagen offers an indispensable acc...More

The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit: Revised Edition
by Bella Merlin

A revised and updated edition of Bella Merlin's essential guide to Stanislavsky. The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit collects together for the first time the terms and ideas developed by Stanislavsky throughout his career. It is organised into three sections: Actor-Training, Rehearsal Processes and Performance Practices. Key terms are explained and defined as they naturally occur in this process. They are illustrat...More

Breaking Down Your Script: A Step-By-Step Guide for the Actor
by Laura Wayth

This clear, concise and practical guide provides actors with a structured and effective method for breaking down and understanding a performance script. It offers a flexible approach that works with plays from any period or genre, with television and film scripts, and even when preparing for your audition. Inside, you'll find the tools you need for every step of the process, from making sense of the whole script, to breaking it down scene by scen...More

Back to the Body: Infusing Physical Life into Characters in Theatre and Film
By Jean-Louis Rodrigue & Scott Weintraub

Back to the Body: Infusing Physical Life into Characters in Theatre and Film guides you to experience and use your body and its energy as a basic point of departure for performance and expression. You will learn to apply your entire self in acting, with your voice, body, mind, and emotion. This integrated training is designed to combine all these elements of yourself with your material, the environment, and other...More

Activated Script Analysis: An Integrative Approach to Play Analysis Through Creative Expression and Devised Theatre
by Elizabeth Brendel Horn

Activated Script Analysis engages theatre students in traditional formative script analysis through a fusion of devised theatre and various modes of creative expression, dispelling the notion of script analysis as an isolated pen-to-paper task and reimagining it as a captivating and collaborative process. This book uses diverse, contemporary plays to model the script analysis process for each of four Theatrical Elements: Given Circumstances; Character; Setting; and Structure...More

Running a Successful Voiceover Business
by Joshua Alexander

In this "beginner-friendly guide to a voiceover business", notable voice talent, author and blogger Joshua Alexander provides comprehensive and personally-based guidance on the proper formation and operation of a successful business in voiceovers. Leaning heavily into his own operations that have led him to become one of the most frequently-booked voice talent in the industry today, this book is sure to provide you the inspiration and knowledge y...More

The Voice Over Startup Guide: How to Land Your First VO Job
by Chris Agos

Voice over actor Chris Agos walks you through the most effective ways to earn money in today's professional voice over industry, and more importantly, how to keep your career rolling. You'll gain a clearly-defined map of the industry that will open up opportunities you'd never have thought possible. What's more, we've included sample scripts and audio tracks of every important voice over style, so you can hear how the professionals do it...More

The Monster in Theatre History: This Thing of Darkness
by Michael Chemers

Monsters are fragmentary, uncertain, frightening creatures. What happens when they enter the realm of the theatre? The Monster in Theatre History explores the cultural genealogies of monsters as they appear in the recorded history of Western theatre. From the Ancient Greeks to the most cutting-edge new media, Michael Chemers focuses on a series of 'key' monsters, including Frankenstein's creature, werewolves, ghosts, and vampires, to reconsider what monsters in performance might mean to those who witness them....More

An Actor's Guide--Making It in New York City, Third Edition: Everything a Working Actor Needs to Survive and Succeed in the Big Apple
by Glenn Alterman

A Step-by-Step Guide for the Actor Pursuing a Career in New York. A great deal has changed in the industry in the last decade. In this new, third edition of An Actor's Guide--Making It in New York City, Glenn Alterman provides everything actors need to know. You'll discover the ten things that it takes to make it as a successful actor in the city, how to support yourself, where and how to start your life as a New York actor, understanding and marketing "your brand," the best acting schools and conservatories, effective ways to contact agents and casting directors, and more. The author, a successful working actor, also shares many insider tips...More