In the Elizabethan era, theatre companies had “apprentices”, or young performers who were training for the profession by working directly with a certain company.  In keeping with that same tradition, Original Practice Shakespeare Festival trains four actors each summer in our apprenticeship program.  OPS Fest seeks to provide its apprentices with a unique and valuable opportunity few other companies can provide.  We are one of the only companies in the world practicing an authentic Elizabethan performance style so finding a similar  opportunity in the northwest area is not possible.  By the end of the summer as an OPS Fest apprentice, it is our goal that you will have gained:

You will learn how Elizabethan-era actors were able to create engaging and exciting performances with no direction, save for their own text and cue lines.  These skills will then be put into practice as you perform in the OPS Fest style.  

For many, Shakespeare's language is often foreign and confusing and causes undue frustration for all levels of actors.  In learning the original practice method, you will discover how to "decode" Shakespeare's dialogue.  In addition, you will be exposed to a wide variety of plays, both in performance and play group settings.   

OPS Fest is a professional company and, as such, we employ a group of talented and professional actors each summer in roughly 20 performances.  As an apprentice, you will have the opportunity to perform in leading and supporting roles in half of the shows throughout the season along side these actors.  These performances are great learning opportunities and your fellow actors are an important resource for your success in the program.

Working with a professional theatre company, you will gain important experience that is incomparable to that offered by a school program.  Real world, hands-on involvement with a professional company prepares you for life after school and looks great on both performance and professional resumes.     

As an OPS Fest apprentice, you will represent the company in a number of different situations.  You will have several opportunities to discuss the company with potential audience members in various Portland neighborhoods.  On your non-performance days, you will often be stationed at the information/concession table where you will meet a variety of audience members with various questions and comments.  The skills you will gain acting as an OPS Fest ambassador are both unique and applicable to several different employment arenas.   

OPS Fest company members are involved in a wide variety of different projects in the Portland theatre community.  The connections you make during your time as an apprentice could lead to other opportunities later on.  Plus, we're really awesome and fun to be around...!

-Are you a theatre enthusiast between the ages of 16 and 22? Or a current student?
-Are you hoping to start a career in theatre?
-Are you looking for a summer acting program to add to your resume?
-Do you live in the Portland area?  Or have somewhere to stay in the Portland area?
-Are you excited about Shakespeare and the opportunity to learn a completely unique acting style?

2010:
Hailey Bachrach
Galatea Swart
Ilana Walder-Biesanz

2011:
Amy Hakanson
Shawna Nordman
Jacob Orr
Matthew Sunderland

As an apprentice, you are expected to:

-Devote an average of 25 hours per week to the company during the months of June, July, and August.

-Attend every performance. Apprentices are guaranteed a 50/50 split in performance time. That is, you will perform in half of the shows, and run "tech" (man the concessions table, film the performance, etc.) at the other half of the shows.

-Complete audience recruitment work. This may include hanging up posters in businesses and talking to the general public in performance parks.  Each apprentice will generally have 2 publicity shifts per week at an average of 4 hours per shift.

-Attend all apprentice education/work days. These days will consist of time spent doing extra work for the company including organizing show materials, costume laundry, concession inventory/shopping, etc. In addition, there will also be a class attached to each of these days with each class focusing on one important performance technique. These days will typically happen once every 2 weeks and will last around 3-4 hours.

-Performance preparation. As with all actors in the company, some time must be spent on your own preparing for performance. This work includes creating your scroll, memorizing your lines, and gathering props and costumes for your characters. You will also have a text session with the director at the start of the season to go over your line and character interpretation.

If you would like to be considered for the Original Practice Shakespeare Festival's Apprentice Program, please send a headshot, resume of theatre experience and program application to:

clara@opsfest.org
ATTN: Apprentice Casting

We will accept applications up through April 15th 2012.