Programming the Fall

It’s hard to believe that Bruce & I are planning our fall courses already. And yet we’ve been working away on scheduling for the last month. Of course, scheduling is a bit of a nightmare — we must juggle the needs of the child and youth, the adult and the Conservatory programming. There are only so many hours in which the studios are available and we are sometimes in competition for the space.
But great thing about planning is that we can really review what it is we are doing artistically. It is a time to get excited about the creative possibilities.
I’ve been mulling over the Trinity program. Trinity is a bit of an anomaly for most people. Yet we are the only school east of Toronto to offer this programming. It is based on a syllabus that is offered in 80 countries, and which has been enormously successful in teaching people how to work with language on stage.
So this year, as I write up my course descriptions, I want to find a way to celebrate the uniqueness of this program. The students who are doing the Trinity program are learning about poetry (understanding the differences between lyric and narrative poems); about the use of pace, phrasing, emphasis, intonation; they are learning literary references; how to develop character; how to do a cold read, to mime, to do an improvisation based on a character. The diploma level of the program (ATCL) is considered (in the UK and USA) to be the equivalent of an undergraduate degree.
No other school in Ottawa is offering this kind of rigorous approach to acting training and education. Yes, we are exploring and encouraging creativity. But we are also teaching craft. Learning a craft involves discipline, hard work and commitment.The Trinity program gives us a chance to meet international standards and it is exciting to see our students do so well. It is a thrill that OSSD does this work. It is one of the truly unique parts of our programming.