Warming Up Your Cold Readings

4:00–5:00 P.M. – 4th Floor, Class C
The True Secret To Getting Cast! Without Excellent Cold-Reading Skills You’ll Flop At Auditions. Don’t Fear: This Focus Session Will Prepare You to Impress Casting Directors.

Distinguished acting teachers show you how to get the essence of a scene or monologue in a few minutes. Randomly chosen audience members will be given the opportunity to read provided scenes and receive feedback. Moderated by David Sheward, Executive Editor, Back Stage.

Speakers
-- Karen Kolhaas, Director-Filmmaker,Teacher-Author
-- Deena Levy, Acting Teacher, Deena Levy Theatre Studio

SPEAKER BIOS

Karen Kohlhaas, Director, Author, Filmmaker, and Teacher
Karen Kohlhaas is a founding member of New York's Atlantic Theater Company, where she recently directed "The Collection" and "A Kind of Alaska" by Harold Pinter (named in the lists of top 10 theater in 2010 of The New York Times, New York magazine, and the New York Daily News).

She recently directed "Carnival Round the Central Figure" by Diana Amsterdam at IRT Theater and directed actress-comedienne Judy Gold in the Drama Desk Award–nominated and GLAAD Media Award–winning one-woman show "25 Questions for a Jewish Mother" by Kate Moira Ryan and Judy Gold, which ran Off-Broadway for six months at the St. Luke's Theatre.

At Atlantic, she also directed the Off-Broadway world premiere of "Body Awareness" by Annie Baker. Other Off-Broadway and regional productions include Harold Pinter's "The Hothouse" (Atlantic); Keith Reddin's "Synergy" (Alley Theatre, world premiere) and "Frame 312" (Atlantic); David Mamet's "Boston Marriage" (Public Theater, New York premiere) and "The Water Engine" (Atlantic); three productions of "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein" in New York and Sydney, Australia (world premiere); and Kate Moira Ryan's "OTMA" (U.S. premiere). She has also directed for Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New Dramatists, and many others.

Karen is the author of "How to Choose a Monologue for Any Audition," "The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors" (foreword by David Mamet), and "The Monologue Audition Teacher's Manual," and the director-writer-producer of "The Monologue Audition Video" (DVD). Her website www.monologueaudition.com features articles and resources for auditioning actors.

She is a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School and teaches her own classes in monologue, cold reading, advanced scene study, and directing.

Deena Levy, Master Teacher, Deena Levy Theatre Studio
Deena Levy, originally from Toronto, Canada, graduated from the Experimental Theatre Wing, NYU. She is master teacher at Deena Levy Theatre Studio, where she has been teaching and directing actors for 23 years.

Through a revolutionary whole-person approach, she integrates her four-part process (imagination) with Meisner (intelligence), Grotowski (guts), and a touch of Method (see the essay "The Technique of Process," published in Back Stage's Craft column in 2009, on BackStage.com).

Her scene study classes are designed to give the student the opportunity to investigate the full gamut of being human through her techniques and the scenes that she chooses. Her goal is to develop a confident, crafted, and passionate artist who knows how to act. The studio offers a wide range of weekend workshops, courses, and performance showcases.

Deena was chosen over dozens of other acting teachers to be the subject of a documentary, "Actors Transformation: The Work of Deena Levy and Her Students," which aired in multiple venues. She brings her acting workshops to Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Toronto, where she was made an honorary fellow at York University.

She currently leads workshops for advertising agencies and is expanding her practices for businesses seeking greater individual expressiveness and professional relaxation.

MODERATOR

David Sheward, Executive Editor, Back Stage
David Sheward is the New York executive editor and theater critic for Back Stage, the weekly publication for actors. He is also the author of "Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott," published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books; "It's a Hit: The Back Stage Book of Broadway's Longest-Running Hits" and "The Big Book of Show Business Awards."

For seven years, he was the president of the Drama Desk, the organization of New York–based theater critics, editors, and reporters that presents the annual Drama Desk Awards, honoring both Broadway and Off-Broadway in all of their multiple categories.

For 10 years, he appeared regularly on NY1 News' On Stage program as contributing correspondent, and he is a member of the New York Drama Critics' Circle.