CSC Apprentice Program

We encourage interested applicants to thoroughly review all five tabs listed on this page for detailed program information. You are also invited to join us for a Zoom Info Session at one of the following times.

Friday, April 11, 2025: Noon EST

Zoom Info Sessions typically last 30-40 minutes with the last ten minutes reserved for interested applicants to ask questions. RSVP to one of the above times by emailing apprentice@commshakes.org to receive the zoom link OR to request a recording of a previous session. Lastly, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at apprentice@commshakes.org for any questions about the 2025 Apprentice Program. Thank you for your interest in our program!

Nettie Chickering

Nettie Chickering as Emilia in 2024’s “The Winter’s Tale”. PC: Nile Scott Studios.

“Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Apprentice Program finally made Shakespeare work for me! I found my own voice and point of view by learning how to work with the text.  My App Co. experience gave me the confidence to breakdown a text on my own, walk confidently into an audition and rehearsals, and find command, specificity and physicality in my work. After CSC’s Apprentice Program, I had the pleasure of working with CSC2 on A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, and on the Boston Common for Much Ado About Nothing. I was able to share the insights I had learned during the App Co as a coach, and apply it to my own work in rehearsal rooms. This experience was the best of both worlds. This summer, I had the privilege of joining the Equity Company of The Winter’s Tale on the Boston Common. This was a full circle moment which I am incredibly proud of. I am grateful to CSC for giving me a foundation for Shakespeare and a natural ease with the text. 

I highly recommend Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Apprenticeship Program for anyone who is looking to gain confidence and command of the language. Whether you are new to Shakespeare or experienced and looking for more training, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s App Co is worth its weight in gold! If you are looking to make Shakespeare feel natural and fun for yourself and the audience, look no further! “

– Nettie Chickering (Apprentice 2020, CSC2 2022, Equity Co 2024)

Clara Hevia

Clara Hevia and Joshua Olumide as Perdita and Florizel in 2024’s “The Winter’s Tale”. PC: Nile Scott Studios

“Apprenticing at CSC was one of the best experiences of my life as a young actor. From class to monologue coaching to scene study to rehearsal, there were ENDLESS opportunities to take on these characters and play, and I loved being connected to all tiers of the company, from the early-career actors in CSC2 all the way up to the pros rehearsing for the Common show. I entered the program both intrigued and slightly intimidated by Shakespeare, and by the end I had fallen in love with what it is to dig into this material. I was repeatedly impressed not only by the warmth of the CSC staff, but also by the thoughtfulness, dedication, and generosity of the apprentice cohort they’d brought together — our learning space was always a compassionate, empowering environment in which to take risks. I can’t stress that word “empowering” enough, because I think that was the greatest gift the Apprentice Program gave me — the push I needed to take ownership of my artistry, to be brave, and to be less afraid of making mistakes! These are the things that allow you to be a generous collaborator every time you step onstage. I walked away at the end of the summer with a practical toolbox for taking on classical text, a stronger, more specific sense of my process, and increased confidence in myself — all things I carry with me now wherever I go. “

– Clara Hevia (Apprentice 2019)

Bryce Mathieu

Bryce Mathieu as Richard in “Richard II”. PC: Nile Scott Studios.

“Stepping into Shakespeare felt like leaping into the unknown—uncharted territory that I knew I had to conquer to truly grow. The CSC Apprentice Program became my compass, turning my zero experience into a deep unrelenting necessity to conquer his work. Through transformative text classes with Bryn, the unwavering guidance of Victoria, Jess, Brendan, Lauren, and Tom, and the incredible generosity of my peers, I discovered not just tools, but a profound confidence in my craft. Playing Richard in Richard II was like unraveling a 9th-dimensional puzzle—daunting, yet exhilarating, and utterly life-changing. To anyone who’s on the edge: throw yourself into this with every fiber of your being, and I promise you’ll emerge not just ready for Shakespeare, but ready to redefine the limits of your creativity.”

– Bryce Mathieu (Apprentice 2024)

The Apprentice Program is designed as a fully-immersive training program that allows students to experience the professional theatre and the beautiful city of Boston.

Apprentices are involved in multiple aspects of our company, and no two weeks’ schedules are exactly alike! In the program’s first half you will attend daily sessions of classes or rehearsals. Your schedule will be Sunday through Friday 9am-6pm with Saturdays off through July 13, as well as Juneteenth and the July 4th holiday (July 4-5).

The week of July 13 as we move into performances for both the Apprentice and Equity companies, our day off will shift to Monday and the other six days will be split between rehearsals for ARC performances, scene study, workshops, and work on Boston Common for the Audience Ambassador Workstudy participants. In the final weeks of the program, we will tech and present our ARC performances at the Modern Theatre in downtown Boston, and our classes and training will culminate in presentations of monologues, movement and voice projects, and scene work.

The Apprentice Program’s schedule is a rigorous one, but highly rewarding for students who are committed to their training. Although it is intended to be a full-time commitment, CSC still offers some flexibility for outside work for those students who choose to do so. A calendar of guaranteed days and hours off will be available during the spring, but please use the above as a general guide.

Shakespeare’s Text

The class focuses on textual conventions used in Shakespeare’s plays, including unlocking the clues in the rhythm & meter, punctuation, and rhetoric, with a strong focus on speaking Shakespeare’s language for maximum clarity and connection within the body. This work (drawn from Cicely Berry, Giles Block, Laban, and others) will help students to see these conventions not as rules that dictate how Shakespeare should be performed, but rather as opportunities for experimentation and play.

Voice Class

Following Kristin Linklater’s method of  “Freeing the Natural Voice,” students are guided through a progression of exercises designed to free, strengthen, and develop their whole vocal range. The majority of classroom focus explores physical awareness, breath, resonance, and the connection of voice to emotional and imaginative impulse. This observational and experiential coursework addresses vocal health, building a reliable and personal warm-up, and applications of voice work to Shakespeare’s text.

Movement Class

Students are guided through a series of movement explorations, designed to develop their actor’s imagination through the body. The focus of classwork explores improvisational movement, dance, character exploration, and freeing tensions in the body. This class culminates in a group movement work-in-progress presentation.

Individualized Coaching and Additional Training

Apprentices will also receive individual monologue coaching from members of CSC2 (CSC’s emerging artist program) and other CSC professional acting alumni as part of a cross-mentorship program, and scene coaching from the program’s teaching staff, to sharpen scene study, self-staging, and text analysis skills.

In addition, Apprentices will engage in the Company Conversation series, meeting with members of the Free Shakespeare on the Common company to discuss their artistic process for the summer’s production as well as larger career questions.

Interspersed during the program, guest teachers and artists will share their work and expertise in short workshop opportunities. These offerings are unique each year, but past topics have included: clowning, actor self-care, improvisation, musical theater, auditioning for the camera, stage combat, voice over, and yoga for the actor.

More Faculty/Staff Bios for 2025 Coming Soon!

Bryn Boice

Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education & Training for CSC

Shakespeare’s Text Instructor

ARC Performance Director

Bryn (she/her) is an award-winning director, actor, educator and producer. Recent directing work includes: Gloria (Gloucester Stage); The Sound Inside (Speakeasy Stage); The Half Life of Marie Curie (The Nora Company at Central Square); Admissions by Joshua Harmon (The Gamm Theatre, Providence); The Children by Lucy Kirkwood (Speakeasy Stage); an all-female production of Julius Caesar for Actors’ Shakespeare Project. For CSC: Universe Rushing Apart: Blue Kettle & Here We Go by Caryl Churchill (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Direction, Large Theatre).  For CSC2, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2022) and Romeo & Juliet (2023). Bryn serves as the text coach for Free Shakespeare on the Common. New York and Regional credits as actor and/or director include work with Asolo Repertory Company, Boston Playwrights’ Theater, InProximity Theatre Company, Theatre Row, Monomoy Theatre, Caroline’s on Broadway, and Manhattan Theatre Club. Bryn holds an MFA in Directing from Boston University and an MFA in Acting from the Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (FSU). She does private acting, voice, and public speaking coaching, and as a visiting Professor at Salem State University, she taught Acting III, Voice for Performance, Applied Movement, Directing I, Dialects, and Dramatic Theory & Criticism, among others. Proud member of Actor’s Equity Association since 2002.

Victoria Townsend

Associate Director of Education and Training and Artistic Programs Manager for CSC

Victoria (she/her) is a Boston-based director, teaching-artist and occasional performer who has been working with CSC since 2011.  Directing Credits: For CSC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), As You Like It (2022) and several Boston Theater Marathon pieces; Emerging Playwright’s Festival (Wheelock Family Theater), Cosi Fan Tutte (New England Conservatory’s UGOS Program), The Memorandum (Flat Earth Theater). Assistant Directing Credits: Fear and Misery in the Third Reich, Kiss me Kate, Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare and Leadership (CSC) and L’Egisto (NEC/UGOS). She has also served as a teaching-artist for Watertown Children’s Theater and Live Arts Education. A Massachusetts native, Victoria currently resides in Woburn and is a graduate of Saint Michael’s College in Vermont with degrees in Theatre and English Literature and holds a certificate in Social Impact Management and Leadership from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice & Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. 

Lauren A. Cook

Education and Artistic Associate, Apprentice Program Faculty

Lauren  (she/her) is a Boston-based stage director, intimacy choreographer, and voice teacher. Intimacy direction and staging credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Apprentice Repertory Company, MassOpera’s immersive La Traviata, The 39 Steps with Greater Boston Stage Company, Queens with Moonbox Productions (winner of the BroadwayWorld Boston “Best New Play” award), and the world premiere of Nighttown with Lowell House Opera at Harvard University (winner of the 2023 American Prize in composition), as well as a number of educational workshops and lectures. A former faculty member of the Holden Voice Program at Harvard University, she holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and continues to teach both actors and singers in voice, speech, and dramatic interpretation. Her writing on consent-based and ethical performing arts teaching is featured in Trauma and the Voice: A Guide for Singers, Teachers, and Other Practitioners, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2023.

Brendan O’Neill

Apprentice Program Faculty

Brendan O’Neill (he/him) takes great pride in having coached CSC Apprentices over the past two seasons, infusing his two decades of experience as a Los Angeles-based versatile writer, editor, script doctor, acting coach, and actor. Brendan currently is a visiting associate professor in Salem State University’s Theatre and Speech Communication department. In addition to his university role, Brendan is dedicated to teaching Oral Communication for Social Justice in the Lynn Public Schools system. Contributing to the local community, he shares his passion for effective communication and activism with students. Returning to the New England theatre scene after a significant hiatus, Brendan recently appeared as John Heminges in Hub Theatre Company’s production of “The Book of Will,” marking a comeback to his hometown roots. Brendan’s literary work extends across various film genres, with multiple scripts in various stages of development. He also has an upcoming release of his debut novel, Whatever Happened to Austin Wellington?—a dark, funny exploration of his favorite theme: dim-witted criminals.

Jess Meyer

Apprentice Program Faculty, Fight/Intimacy Director

Jess (they/them) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist who is passionate about the power of storytelling and the importance of accessibility in the arts. Their work with CSC began the summer of 2022 as the HandShakes Program Associate and assistant director for Bryn Boice’s Apprentice Program production of Romeo and Juliet. Jess also worked as the Fight and Intimacy Director for the CSC2 2023 production of Romeo and Juliet. They are a producer for site-specific play company Plays in Place which develops new plays in collaboration with historical organizations in the Greater Boston area. Previous theatrical credits: Lyric Stage’s Preludes (Assistant Director), On Paying Attention (Director), Monster in the Sky (Director), Kill the Dogs Knock Them Over (Director), Unpacking (Director); Fresh Ink’s Revolutionary Spirits (Jones); Plays in Place’s Nothing But Victory (Jennie Loitman); Boston Playwrights’ Theater and Providence Fringe Festival’s Silvertone (Director); CentaStage and YASPLZ LLC’s Edinburgh Fringe Noir Hamlet (Assistant Stage Manager / 5th Business); Emerson Stage’s Amanuensis (Assistant Director), Men on Boats (Hawkins); and Mercutio Troupe’s Girl in the Machine (Assistant Director). Beyond Boston, Jess’ work has been seen in fringe festivals from Providence, Rhode Island to Edinburgh, Scotland. They have a BFA in Theatre and Performance from Emerson College and an American Sign Language Interpreter Certificate from Northern Essex. For more information about Jess, check out their website: jess-of-all-trades.com

Taavon Gamble

Movement Teacher

Taavon Gamble is a New England based director, choreographer, actor, and educator. He’s a resident artist at Trinity Repertory Theatre Company and is part of the physical theater faculty in Brown/Trinity Rep’s MFA program. Select Credits – Off-Broadway: Director/Choreographer, Upside Down, AMT Theater; Choreographer, Pericles, Classic Stage/Fiasco Theater. Directing/Choreography: La Cage aux Folles, Trinity Rep; Boulevard of Bold Dreams, Greater Boston Stage Company; The Little Mermaid, Reagle Music Theatre; Ain’t Misbehavin’, Peach State Summer Theatre; Pippin, Jean’s Playhouse; Seussical, Pittsburgh Playhouse; A Chorus Line, Arundel Barn Playhouse. Choreography: A Christmas Carol (2019, 2021), Trinity Rep; The Prom (Elliot Norton- Best Choreography nomination), A Strange Loop, Speakeasy Stage; Legally Blonde, Moonbox Productions; Alice By Heart, Something Rotten!; Boston Conservatory, Emma, Actors’ Shakespeare Project; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Gamm Theatre; The Color Purple (NY regional premiere), Hair, WPPAC; Airness, University of California Santa Barbara; Kiss of the Spider Woman, Brown University; West Side Story, Chicago, Bigfork Summer Theatre. Next, Taavon directs the Off-Broadway premiere of the new musical Upside Down opening March 2025.

Tom Giordano

Voice Teacher

(he/him) is an actor, teacher and director based in Boston. He is on the faculties of Emerson College, Shakespeare & Company, and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, specializing in teaching Voice and Shakespeare.  He is a Designated Linklater Teacher and a certified teacher of Colaianni Speech, a non-prescriptive approach to speech training.  His training as an actor at the Shakespeare & Company January Intensive was the springboard to receiving his MFA from Columbia University, where he trained extensively with Kristin Linklater.  Additionally, he has worked in the Education program at Shakespeare & Company, Classic Stage Company, Letter of Marque Theater, the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble, and Columbia Business School. In his spare time, he works as a software engineer in Cambridge.

Additional Performance Opportunities:

In addition to the ARC performances, there are several other key performance opportunities throughout the summer:

• Monologue Recital: this works-in-progress showing is the early highlight of the program, and takes place after all of the text classes and monologue coachings.
• Scene Recital: performed at the end of the program. Scene partners are posted just after casting, giving the faculty a chance to help students get to know others outside their ARC cast, and allows Apprentices to choose material that might be different than their monologue work or primary role.
• Movement and Voice project showings: These work-in-progress performances offer a glimpse into each Voice and Movement group’s creativity and collaboration. 

Mainstage Understudy Opportunities:

Some Apprentices will be eligible to be considered for understudy opportunities for our small and ensemble roles  in Shakespeare on the Common. Understudy assignments are NOT guaranteed for all participants due to the number of slots available.  Understudy duties include: attending specific main stage rehearsals, possibly standing in during select rehearsals, and being prepared to perform should an actor be unable for any reason. All Apprentices will be provided opportunities to observe some SOTC rehearsal during the course of the summer regardless of understudy or workstudy assignment. 

Front of House: Audience Ambassador Workstudy

Tuition Credit: $950

Time Commitment: Approximately 63 hours

Positions Available: 20

Description: 

The Audience Ambassador Work Study is our largest work study opportunity with the greatest integration with our professional production of Free Shakespeare on the Common. Audience Ambassadors will serve as front of house staff for approximately half of our performances on the Boston Common (approximately eight-ten shows, typically alternating with nights of their own performances). Because of CSC’s unique and free performance model, our large audiences tend to arrive between two and three hours before the curtain goes up, offering us a wonderful opportunity to engage with them on a deeper level than most theater companies can. Audience Ambassador duties will include: ushering, surveying, chair rentals, concession/merchandise sales, and site setup/breakdown. Ambassadors will receive robust training in CSC’s practices including best inclusion practices from our accessibility staff to help keep our show accessible to audience members of all abilities, particularly during our special ASL and Audio Described performances. There may also be opportunities for direct work with our access service providers. Work on the Common typically begins around 4:30PM and lasts until 11:00-11:30pm, depending on the day.

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-audience-ambassador-work-study-application/

Marketing: Social Media Workstudy

Tuition Credit: $400

Time Commitment: Approximately 26 hours

Positions Available: 1

Description: 

Using short-form video and graphic design content this position will be a personality; taking our followers on the Apprentice’s journey, introducing them through regularly-posted content, and promoting the ARC performances. They will also work with the Marketing Department on the lobby display at the Modern Theatre. The Social Media Workstudy Apprentice reports to and works directly with CSC’s Marketing and Communication Manager. 

This position will require a few pre-program meetings, which may be by phone/Zoom for a non-local candidate, and between 2-4 hours of work (equivalent to ~three posts) per week outside of the program’s regular schedule. Interested candidates should have strong social media skills. Familiarity with video creation and editing is required.

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-apprentice-program-social-media-work-study-application/

Marketing: Apprentice Experience Workstudy

Tuition Credit: $400

Time Commitment: Approximately 26 hours

Positions Available: 1

Document through photos and videos each stage of the Apprentice Program, from coursework to auditions to production and beyond. This should include interviews with Apprentices and staff. In the final weeks of the program, this position will compile, edit, and create a 2-5 minute documentary video (example above) for our wrap-up day, and for posting on our website and social media. Responsible for archiving all content. The Apprentice Experience Workstudy reports to and works directly with CSC’s Marketing and Communication Manager.

This position will require a few pre-program meetings, which may be by phone/Zoom for a non-local candidate, and between 2-4 hours of work per week outside of the program’s regular schedule. Interested candidates should have strong social media skills. Familiarity with video creation and editing is required.

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-apprentice-program-apprentice-experience-work-study-application/

Production Workstudy

Tuition Credit: non-driver: $200, driver: $300

Time Commitment: Approximately 10 hours

Positions Available: 3 non driver, 1 driver

Assist our Apprentice Program Production Manager with load-in and load-out of ARC performances at Suffolk’s Modern Theatre. 

Load-in: must be able to lift platforms, work together to provide assistance moving these pieces into the truck from our storage space and into the theatre, assist with putting the platform system together with direction from PM or other CSC staff. 

Load-out: must be able to assist with taking platform system apart with direction from PM, lift platforms, work together to provide assistance moving these pieces into the truck from the theatre and back into its place in our storage space, and other load-in duties as needed with direction from PM and CSC staff. 

For the driving position, applicants must have a valid driver’s license and are comfortable driving an 18’ U-haul type truck in city conditions. 

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-apprentice-program-production-work-study-application/

Costume Workstudy

Tuition Credit: $250 or $500 depending on structure (see below)

Time Commitment: Approximately 16 or 33 hours depending on structure (see below)

Positions Available: 1 or 2 depending on structure (see below)

Costume Workstudy will assist either one or both ARC costume designers with fittings (i.e. taking notes, photos, and organizing them for the directors), as well as general light sewing, alterations and/or finishings, and dressing room/wardrobe set-up, depending on the candidate’s particular experience. The Costume Design Workstudy will report to the individual costume designer(s) (with additional instruction from the PM, if needed, during tech). This work study may be offered as one role on each show (approximately 16 hours of work for $250 tuition credit) or combined both shows (approximately 33 hours of work for $500 tuition credit) depending on experience and need.

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-apprentice-program-costume-workstudy-application/

Need Based Financial Aid

This year, we are able to offer a limited amount of need-based financial assistance. If you are interested in requesting aid, please submit the below application at the same time as your other materials. Final deadline to request aid is April 8th but decisions will be made on a rolling basis while supplies last.

Application: https://commshakes.org/2025-apprentice-financial-aid-application/

Spark Scholarship for BIPOC Actors

The deadline for 2025 Spark Scholarship applications and nominations has passed. Please check back next year!

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is actively seeking nominations for CSC’s Spark Scholarship for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) actors. Receipt of a Spark Scholarship includes full tuition to the 2024 Apprentice Program and requires participation in the duties of the Audience Ambassador Workstudy (see above). This year we have one full-tuition scholarships available for BIPOC actors with a desire to study Shakespeare and an artistic curiosity for classical acting training. Please note housing assistance is not included with a Spark Scholarship, 

Carmia Imani

2022 Apprentice Alum and Spark Scholarship Recipient

Carmia Imani (Marina) in Pericles, Apprentice 2022. Photo by Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots

“This summer I was a part of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Apprentice Program as a Spark Scholar… From the program, I learned that there was no longer a need to sacrifice a part of myself in order to fit into Shakespeare’s plays. I began to reclaim the characters as authentically my own: developing them by using the technique I was taught, blended with the nuances of being a black woman speaking and bringing life to the language and work.”

Audition Requirements:

In addition to your other application materials, we require an audition to consider you for the Apprentice Program. We ask interested applicants to submit a video audition (via Vimeo or YouTube as a link viewable to all) to apprentice@commshakes.org that includes the following:

• One Shakespeare monologue (preferably in verse), 2 min or under
• One contemporary monologue, 2 min or under

For both your monologue selections, we encourage you to pick pieces you love that you think showcase your uniqueness best. For your Shakespeare piece especially, we are very open to performers of any gender playing any role and encourage you to free yourself of any limitations regarding your perceived “type” or other things you may have been told. We do encourage you to think about age/life-experience of the character (for example, most Apprentices are not yet ready to play King Lear) and if race is central to the character (Othello, for example) please consider if that role is appropriate for your identity. If you have any questions about the audition requirement, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at apprentice@commshakes.org. 

In addition, CSC will be participating in a number of open call auditions this year. If you plan to audition at one of these opportunities, please reach out to us so we can keep an eye out for you. Should you perform a Shakespeare piece at one of these auditions, you do not need to submit an additional audition video to us. If you are performing another piece, we will ask for an additional video audition of your Shakespeare piece only:

• KCACTFs
• URTAs
• Boston Area Theatre Auditions

Deadline Information:

Apprentice acceptance decisions are made on a rolling basis. We will close applications as soon as we have filled our company, but no later than April 28th, 2025. We encourage all interested applications to apply as soon as possible in our application cycle to take best advantage of our aid and work study opportunities. These resources become more limited throughout the spring as acceptances are made. If you would like to receive an Early Bird Discount of $200 off of your total tuition price or if you are applying for a SPARK scholarship, please apply no later than March 17, 2025.

Additional Deadlines:

If you intend to apply for financial aid or work study, please apply no later than April 16, 2025. These resources will be disbursed on a rolling basis with both aid and workstudy opportunities being dispersed before the end of our application window. 

You will be notified of our acceptance decision within two to three weeks, once we have received ALL of the above materials. Please be sure to submit all of your materials at the same time.

We consider a variety of factors when selecting members of our Apprentice Company.  First and foremost, we are looking for actors who have demonstrated a serious commitment to the study of acting and are interested in pursuing theatre arts as a career.

Apprentices must be 18 years of age and have completed at least one year of undergraduate (or equivalent) training, OR have similar pre-professional/professional experience. While there is no age limit on the program, the majority of Apprentices fall between 18-26 years of age. Actors of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to audition.

We are equipped to respond to accessibility-related accommodation requests. If you have questions, please get in touch with us at apprentice@commshakes.org.

Our program is built on the three founding principles of our company:

Access

Actors are a part of CSC’s community engagement with our diverse audiences, whether through the opportunities provided by our Apprentice Rep Company (or ARC) performances, Audience Ambassador Workstudy on Boston Common, or engaging with our other access programs like HandShakes.  Sometimes this engagement takes the form of performance and sometimes it is apparent through conversation and service. We believe that each of these are useful tools for the artist who strives to make theatre, and Shakespeare in particular, accessible for all.

Excellence

We look for actors who demonstrate a strong work ethic and show promise as positive and reliable collaborators with their peers and faculty. Actors should have enough training/experience to be challenged but not lost in our advanced classes. We look for those who are willing to work at a professional pace, coming prepared to every class and rehearsal, and who will set personal goals for their own work. We think of excellence in terms of process, not just product.

Education

Thinking critically about how Shakespeare and classical acting training fits into their overall acting training–either as a new practice or building on previous skills–is important. We look for actors who can articulate specific professional goals and use the resources at CSC (including connections with CSC2 and the professional company) to fit into these plans. Actors who listen and share their learning process with each other are a key element in making the Apprentice Program a valuable and worthwhile experience.

One of the exciting elements of the CSC Apprentice Program is that we start the process off with our rigorous Shakespeare’s text class, so that whether you are new to Shakespeare or have studied his work extensively, there is always a great deal to learn. The text class, taught by our lead teacher, Bryn Boice, is designed to break down the basics first, and build or rebuild skills when it comes to parsing the language. We then work on using all of these unlocked textual treasures to help us embody the work and create nuanced characters.

At CSC, we don’t believe in bullying actors or treating people disrespectfully to ‘get a good performance’–and we don’t hire people who think this way. Our ethos of care and joy in the work runs through the whole program. We seek to help Apprentices discover their agency in the rehearsal room and the joy of moving from process into performance.