Welcome to Denver School of the Arts, Theatre Department

MISSION

DSA Theatre endeavors to provide students with a middle/high school theatre arts program that examines theatre as a creative and multidisciplinary art form. In middle school students begin to experience the multiple facets theatre training affords as well as exposure to various theatrical genres and styles. In high school, we offer a program of study geared for the serious high school student of theatre. Students experience disciplined, challenging training as exemplified in conservatory theatre training programs normally found at the college level. 

The program emphasizes individual growth and personal discovery as well as an ensemble approach to acting. Our objective is to prepare each student to continue her or his career or educational goals in the theatre, be it in college, university, conservatory, acting school, or an apprenticeship program. However, by creating good work habits, study skills, and cooperative learning experiences, the student is better prepared to establish a career in any field of endeavor. Theatre students graduate not only as trained actors, but critical thinkers, arts leaders and advocates for the theatre arts.

Students study theatre history, acting techniques, directing, playwrighting, movement, voice, and a variety of related topics.  Students attend professional live theatre and learn to critique and evaluate the rehearsal/performance process through both written and oral analysis and discussion. Because we strive to give students as much one-on-one attention as possible, we hire a variety of guest artists throughout the school year to help teach, direct, and coach our students.

The entire curriculum is prescribed and requires a serious commitment. The student-actors do not decide which areas of theatre they wish to study. We teach the student what they NEED to know to succeed - not only in theatre, but in life - not just what they want to know to perform.

Our program includes two extracurricular high school main stage productions, an eighth grade studio production, an all- school musical every other year, and numerous other opportunities for students to perform their curricular work in a public forum for family and friends. The Studio Series production opportunities include two Intermediate class plays that rotate between classical and contemporary shows, the Junior class original work show “Too Much Light”, Advanced One Act Play festival, and the Senior class project.

We teach students - to paraphrase Stanislavski - to love the ART in themselves, not THEMSELVES in the art. We teach acting not "play acting," honesty/TRUTH not "performance," and to enjoy the process, not only the product.

DIFFERENT LEVELS

Beginning Majors, 6th-8th Grades: Explore Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre, study pantomime, explore units on basic stage combat, puppetry, mime, intro to video production, claymation, voice care and voice overs, and have an intro to technical theatre elements.

Intermediate Majors, 9th-10th Grades: focus on dialect training and intensive voice work, stage combat/ improv, technical elements in set design, costume design, and props, intro to directing, class plays, introduction to Stanislavski,and explore units in acting for film, dance, musical theatre, exploring genres, cold readings and audition techniques.

Advanced Majors, 11th-12th Grades: College research projects, monologue Book collection/cold reading workshops, continuation of acting methods--more intense study of Stanislavski, introduction to Meisner, Adler, Hagen, explore children's Theatre with a touring production, in depth Directing/Scene work, as well as Dialect/stage combat/movement/voice units, film projects, and class productions.