CLASSES | ACTING | Level 1 | Late Spring

New to the Planet Ant Training Center?

You’ve come to the right place!

Acting 1 is where you will begin your journey within Planet Ant’s Acting program. Each session of this six-week course will build on the last as you begin learn new concepts and techniques. This course is intended to hone the skills, trust, and the confidence that every actor should always have in their personal toolbox.

Each level of Stage Acting Fundamentals builds on the previous one and culminates in a full stage production of an established work.

No experience required.

WINTER SEMESTER | A LL ACTING CLASSES

Starting the week of [Tuesday] April 30th

6 weeks | No holidays

LEVELS

• Level 1 | Tues | Chuck Reynolds
• Level 2 | Not offered this term
• Level 3 | Not offered this term

Acting Overview

• Level 1: The Monologue - This course's intent focuses solely on the strength and power of how a single monologue can capture the audience, change the atmosphere in the auditorium, and tap into the essence of emotion and spirit of character study.
• Level 2: The Scene - The focal point here is pairing two actors in a single scene. As we move through this level the actors will gain trust and confidence within themselves and most importantly, each other.
• Level 3: The Advanced Scene - Like level 2 this will focus on scene study. The amount of players will increase, as will the length of the scenes. The intention is to increase the connection and camaraderie within the group to prepare for levels 4 and 5.
• Levels 4 & 5: The Play - Over the span of these two levels we will take what has been covered previously and incorporate those skills into a performance of a scripted one-act play. We will also touch on other aspects of production i.e. Stage managing, the understudy, etc.

Chuck Reynolds

Chuck Reynolds has been acting, producing and directing professional theater in the greater Detroit area for the past 25 years. He co-founded The Abreact Theatre (2000-2015) and was the Artistic Director for 12 seasons. During that time The Abreact received numerous accolades and was not only well known throughout Michigan for it’s freedom of choice and grassroots style, but also nationally recognized as well. Chuck studied at the University of Toledo, University of Detroit, Mercy (Athens, Greece) and received his B.A. from Wayne State University.

Click below for our most recent version

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Planet Ant's regularly updated student handbook offers students a central location for all the information you need to know about our classes, policies, and more.

As the Planet Ant Training Center continues to grow and evolve, we recognize the need to improve our communication and scheduling so that students, instructors, and staff have all of the tools and information that they need to find success within our classes and workshops. To aid this effort of improvement, we are changing a few policies and procedures:

IMPORTANT

We're adjusting the timeline for our pricing. To ensure that instructors and students have the time and information that they need to be prepared for their class, we are asking that students register for classes at least a full week before their class begins. This will allow for more efficient scheduling of class space and better communication from our staff and instructors. To aide in this effort, we are implementing a new pricing structure:

• Normal Class Pricing $210 (valid more than one week before class begins)
• Last Week Pricing $240 (valid for the week leading up to class)
• Late Pricing $250 (Valid for the week that classes start and beyond)

We want your feedback. At the conclusion of each semester, all students will be asked to fill out a digital form about their experience within the Planet Ant Training Center. This anonymous form will help us to understand what we're doing well and where we can improve. If you decide not to continue within the Planet Ant Training Center, we would love to know why.

We're implementing new minimum student numbers and cancellation options. If a class does not get enough sign-ups to move forward, we still want you to have the opportunity to continue your education within the Planet Ant Training Center! In the event of a class cancellation, interested students will be permitted to join and retake the next closest lower level class for only $50. (i.e if after your Advanced 1 semester your Advanced 2 doesn't have enough returning students to continue, you would be welcome to join the incoming Advanced 1 for $50)

We genuinely appreciate your understanding and continued support. Your participation not only enriches your own journey but also helps us maintain the high standards that define The Planet Ant Training Center. Thank you for being a part of our community.

• The email you use to sign up for class is our way of contacting you.
• Make sure planetant.com email doesn't go to spam.
• All students will be emailed their detailed class information. (Saturday before class start)
• Student & teacher emails will be added to a Planet Ant google calendar event.

Classes and instructors may communicate via the google calendar event email list.

Your email also serves as your proof of purchase and identity for class attendance.

If you need an alternate email attached to your registration please email mike@planetant.com as soon as possible. You will need to message each term.

Class Payment

All class purchases are confirmed with your email address by your instructor on the first day of class. Classes for the current term are taken off sale the Saturday after the term begins. If you need to make a special arrangement for payment please let us know.

Safety Statement

The Planet Ant Training Center provides the highest quality instruction possible while fostering a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for students from all backgrounds and identities. It is important to us to offer a supportive space where everyone can be free and safe to explore, learn, and grow as an artist. All are welcome in the Planet Ant Training Center. Please let us know if you require any special accommodations or have any questions regarding accessibility.

Prerequisites

All students must be 18 or older; “Intermediate” and “Advanced” classes require completion of the previous class level for eligibility; classes reoccur on the same day and time each week; classes may have “off” weeks, due to instructor discretion, holidays, or programming conflicts, that will be made up in the weeks immediately following the semester; any discounted early registration rates end one week before the last week of sign up. Class times, locations, and instructors are subject to change- if this is the case, reasonable notice will be provided. registration must be completed prior to the class start date; registration costs are non-refundable after the start of the semester; payment plans may be available upon request.

Planet Ant Theatre, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization; donations in support of our mission to provide vital resources to artists are always accepted.

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A short note from your Training Center Director

I used to find it absolutely terrifying to stand in front of a crowd and talk. In high school, I auditioned for my first play shaking so severely that my voice couldn’t even read the words on the page. I used to avoid eye contact with people so that I wouldn’t have to have a conversation. I was severely shy.

Despite my fear, I always loved the idea of being an actor and doing comedy. My dad used to rent a reel-to-reel projector and show us Laurel and Hardy on the living room wall. We’d scan the TV to see if we could determine if a commercial was actually a deft SCTV satirical parody or just the Canadian broadcasting reality. I made gods in my head of Phil Hartman and Tim Medows watching SNL.

In my early 20s hanging out with my friends, I felt relaxed. Those moments of laughing, doing characters, and bits filled me with longing at the thought of creating the type of comedy that Mr. Show or Kids in the Hall did. Unfortunately, what seemed amazing in my head the night before was reshaped as I let my own fear and anxiety stop me before I even started.

Here are a couple of things I really want you to know.

I want you to know that we provide a safe space for a diverse community of artists. People from all backgrounds, types, sizes, and identities are not only safe but celebrated here.

I want you to have excellent teachers, community, tools, know-how, confidence, and everything that it takes to create professional-level art on a stage or video and make it something an audience not only understands but genuinely enjoys.

As the director of our training center, I want you to know how amazing it feels to create something new with your own voice, even if you're not painfully shy.

Mike McGettigan

Training Center Director, Planet Ant Theatre

Bio

For over 25 years McGettigan has worked in improv, theatre, sketch comedy, video, and as a playwright. He has won numerous awards for his outstanding work in multiple fields, and taught and has been lucky enough to have learned from some of the all time greats of the international improv community.

After numerous shows at Planet Ant he became a member of the Planet Ant Board in 2006. Years later after the purchase of it's expanded location McGettigan was overjoyed to be offered the position of Training Center Director in 2017.

McGettigan feels that his personal journey has informed him of how difficult it is for people to allow themselves creative expression and how important the skills contained within the arts are. Empathy, creativity, compassion, and more are not only vital to the arts but are also vital to being a good human being. His unique arts-centric viewpoint and his passion for creativity and mentorship have him working every day towards letting the world know that Detroit arts are world-class.

Contact

Contact Issues with any of Planet Ant’s classes, workshops, or any of our student offerings can be directed to the Training Center Director, Mike McGettigan at mike@planetant.com

The Planet Ant Training Center also offers applied improv and theatrical corporate instruction/performance at your place of business. Click here to learn more about our exciting offerings for your business, group or professional team.