Acting Classes in Chicago, IL

Here we will give you the interpretive tools you’ll need to put all your Meisner training into practice in the real world. You will learn how to read a script with the precision and dexterity of a surgeon, discover how to make active choices that work for you, and unlock your ability to personalize the given circumstances of the plays you work on....

Every performer should know that acting for the stage and acting for the camera are two entirely different skills, and in order to succeed in this business, it's vital to master both. That's why we're proud to offer this exciting class that will focus on the art of on-camera acting for film and television. It helps you to act truthfully from your core...

Berlin's Sexiest Clown is coming back to Chicago and offering a very special workshop to all. Dotti will be teaching clowning techniques that can be used to enhance any style of burlesque performance.  In this workshop we will work through individual performers comedy burlesque aspirations and goals. The workshop will cover topics such as:...

Adult classes are taught in a positive and encouraging environment for beginners, returners, and professionals. Adult classes are open to drop-in students.

Musical Theater is a dance class focused on choreography from Broadway musicals, and integrates many styles of jazz as well as acting. Recommended for dancers and performers at Beginning/Intermediate level in ballet and jazz.

Musical Theater is a dance class focused on choreography from Broadway musicals, and integrates many styles of jazz as well as acting. Recommended for dancers and performers at Beginning/Intermediate level in ballet and jazz.

Fun, Cooperative & Inspiring! Learn Art history and terminology while practicing important skills. Imagine making fun art all day. Never more than 12 students per teacher means individual attention from professional teaching/artists. Note: BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch & Water Bottle)

Apply your Piven training to advanced-level scene work. The Scene Study Extension provides advanced and returning students with the opportunity to polish scene work for performance. Led by an expert instructor, students will work in pairs to build the world of their scene and then present their final performances to the community in an Open Workshop...

Learn how Piven’s signature improvisation style can take your monologue to the next level and rehearse and perfect your audition technique in a supportive environment! Cover all of the steps of a theatrical audition process, including the ins and outs of resumes and headshots, monologue selection and rehearsal, the first round of auditions, and...

Sanford Meisner said that, ‘acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.’ In this intensive, we will work on the first half of that statement: living truthfully. Working through a series of innovative, step-by-step improvisational exercises we will train you to be thoroughly responsive, emotionally alive, spontaneous...

Acting is an emotional art form, yet as Meisner told us, ‘acting is not emoting.’ So how do we deepen our emotional life without becoming indulgent, self-conscious actors? How do we meet the emotional demands of the script without faking anything? Intensive 3 has the answers. You will be guided through a series of exercises specifically designed...

Are you interested in getting into a theater class, shaking off the dust, and activating your creativity?  This class allows students to discover the Piven Technique by learning theatre games and improvisation in a fun, supportive, ensemble-based environment. Perfect for all students looking to discover and re-discover our work!

Piven Theatre Workshop has been devising new literary adaptations since our inception over forty years ago. In this class, we will give our adult students the opportunity to experience the creative energy of an ensemble-driven, text-based devising process. Through six weeks of group improvisation exercises and text exploration, students will adapt...

In this class, students prepare and rehearse scenes from contemporary plays and utilize improvisation and games to deepen characters and relationships.  Students explore how Piven uses the impulsiveness of improvisation during the rehearsal process, while being restrained by and respectful of a script. Best for students who have taken Improvisation,...

The Expressive Body: A Two-day Alexander Technique Intensive for Actors It’s easy to get tense and clench up your body when you perform. Tension creeps in when we’re nervous, self conscious, or afraid of not being enough. Imagine the most beautiful nights sky the world has ever seen-but its covered by a layer of thick, gray clouds. It doesn’t...