Posts Tagged ‘acting’

Animation Vacation—a day camp for children ages 10-15—kicks off a five-day program in Marstons Mills, MA today. But put away your hiking boots and bug repellent, kids; this isn’t your typical day camp. Rather than dodge ball games and arts-and-crafts sessions, campers are immersed in a curriculum of screenwriting, editing, claymation and special effects projects. Welcome to summer vacation in high definition.

This camp is just one of several programs organized by Kid Filmmakers—a year-round, traveling film academy based in Rhode Island for children in grades 1-12. The organization’s freelance staff of film industry professionals aims to introduce the arts of acting, film criticism, film scoring, videography, lighting, and costuming to “kid filmmakers.” Boasting experience at entertainment authorities like MGM Pictures, Dreamworks, and the Discovery Channel, staffers ensure an authentic film education.

While medicine and law have traditionally proven to be secure career fields, daily progress in burgeoning Hollywood East confirms that there’s a new industry in town. All “kidding” aside, Kid Filmmakers seems like a shotgun start to a strong appreciation for—if not a “reel-world” career in—film and filmmaking.

Van McLeod, New Hampshire Commissioner of Cultural Resources, echoed these sentiments in the July 26 edition of Foster’s Daily Democrat: “Maybe one of these kids will develop the newest thing in communications technology and make millions, be the next Alfred Hitchcock or even make movies, but either way, this camp should help them find their passion.”

For more information regarding program start dates and booking, visit www.kidfilmmakers.com.

Located right outside of the city and virtually next to the Charles River, the College of Fine Arts (CFA) School of Theatre at Boston University offers many opportunities for aspiring actors to attain their big-screen dreams.

The School of Theatre offers undergraduate degrees in Acting, Theatre Arts, Design, Production, and Stage Management as well as Collaborative degrees and Minor options. In addition to these fields of study, the School of Theatre offers students two study abroad programs in London as well as numerous professional affiliations with the Boston University Playwrights’ Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Huntington Theatre Company (Boston University’s professional theatre-in-residence).

With about 240 undergraduates and 30 graduate students each academic year, the school produces six large productions each year, as well as 35 to 40 project workshops specific to the student’s field of study. The full-time faculty of the School of Theatre is comprised of over 30 qualified men and women and periodically features guest artists and part-time performance and technical trainers.

In order to better assist in the transition from academic to professional life, the School of Theatre began the Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP), whose mission statement, in short, is to facilitate interaction between both local and national professionals in the field of performing arts and theatre students. The program does this by hosting artistic festivals, theatre performances, interview sessions, and many other activities that allow students to interact more personally with professionals in the field. BCAP’s most recent programs were the InCite Arts Festival in New York City held from March 3^rd -10^th and the performance of “I Am My Own Wife,” hosted in one of the College of Fine Arts theatres from April 22^nd -May 10^th.

The students in the School of Theatre have also formed their own performance groups, open to the rest of the Boston University community. Performance organizations such as On Broadway that focuses on musical theatre and the Shakespeare Society, which performs Shakespearean plays or adaptations of the classics, are provided funding by the Student Activities Office and often produce their own performances each semester.

The School of Theatre is not only a good resource for performance training, the numerous actors and producers that have graduated from the school (or, in some cases, not graduated) provide street credibility for students who are interested in the long-term goal of getting a job. Famous Boston University alumni include: Jason Alexander, Craig Bierko, John Cazale, Michael Chiklis, Geena Davis, Emily Deschanel, Olympia Dukakis, Faye Dunaway, Bruce Feirstein, Connie Fletcher, Nina Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Andrew Kriesberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Julianne Moore, and Howard Stern, among the few.