IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU: A One-Person Show Intensive

Are you an actor or a comedian yearning for your 15 minutes of fame? A solo-show could help launch your career and get you the attention that you deserve. But you’re not the type that does anything half-assed, you want your show to have stories so hysterical and moving, your audience is putty in your hands. Have no fear! Actor and writer Antonio Sacre will help you wow them on the stage. In this two-day intensive, you'll learn how to transform personal experiences into compelling stories that everyone can relate to. We’ll experiment with the different flavors of one-person shows (storytelling or dialogue) and do fun, improvisational writing exercises that will make it easy to mine your life for entertaining stories and engaging characters. Antonio will even share his secrets for making your show come to fruition. By the end of class, you’ll have written the beginnings of your show and have the chance to perform it at Writing Pad! Soon, Off Broadway will be calling!

	Instructor: Antonio Sacre Tuesday, June 4 and 11, 2013 (2 Tues. eve.'s, optional rehearsal and performance) 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Cost: $180 (Includes snacks and tea) Location: Writing Pad West

About Antonio Sacre:

Antonio Sacre is an internationally touring, award-winning solo performance artist based in Los Angeles. A two-time Best In Fringe Festival winner at the New York International Fringe Theater Festival, Antonio has created eight solo shows, performing them to critical and popular acclaim at the New York International Fringe Festival, PS 122 and PS NBC in New York City; the San Francisco Fringe Theater Festival in San Francisco; the HBO Workspace, The Comedy Central Workspace, the Knitting Factory, Edgefest, and Area 51 in Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rhinoceros Theater Festival in Chicago; the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian in Washington DC; and various festivals internationally. He also won both the 2012 and 2011 United Solo Award for Best Storyteller Off-Broadway. His solo show "The Next Best Thing" was nominated for an LA Weekly Theater Award and chosen as one of their Top 10 L.A. Theater Experiences in 2011. The Village Voice calls Sacre “Remarkable . . . a serious artist” and Backstage says Sacre is “powerful, hilariously honest . . . the man is an out and out genius.” His shows have garnered numerous Critics’ Choices in San Francisco, LA, New York, and Chicago. In addition, Antonio is a member of The Solo Collective. He is also an award-winning author. Abrams Books for Young Readers have published two of his picture books: “La Noche Buena, A Christmas Story” and “A Mango in the Hand, A Story Told Through Proverbs” (2011) which were both chosen for inclusion in the prestigious California Readers Book Collections for School Libraries. His retelling of the story “The Barking Mouse” was published as a picture book by Albert Whitman and Company in March 2003. Antonio’s new short story collection “My Name Is Cool” (Familius, 2013), humorous tales inspired by Antonio’s Cuban and Irish-American heritage, will be released this summer. “My Name Is Cool” is a multi-chapter read-aloud for children that both adults and children will love. He earned a BA in English from Boston College and an MA in Theater Arts from Northwestern University.

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Story Time Plus: A Performed Essay Workshop (5 Wk)

Performance essays are all the rage, and in this five-week class, master storyteller Brian Finkelstein will teach you how to be a yarn-spinning pro. You'll do fun, improvised storytelling drills, learn about the structure of performance essays, and explore ways to use your pieces to boost your writing career. Brian will show you how to transform relationships gone bad, family feuds, and life’s minutia into two riveting five-minute pieces. He’ll even teach you how to expose your narrator’s flaws while also persuading the audience to root for you. By the end of the class, you'll have written two submission-ready essays, and you’ll even get to test your material by reading one of them at our very own venue: Writing Pad!

	Instructor: Brian Finkelstein June 10, 24, July 15, 22, 29 (5 Mon. p.m.'s, 1 performance) 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Cost: $395 (includes snacks and tea and performance) Location: Writing Pad East

About Brian Finkelstein:
Brian Finkelstein is a regular performer at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as the host of the LA Moth Story-slams. He has performed his solo shows in a variety of venues from the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen to the 2012 Summer Nights Festival in Perth, Australia. He's also an Emmy-nominated writer for his work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Currently his screenplay, Good Grief is being produced by 72 Productions and he's touring with The Moth.

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