SAIL: Summer Acting Intensive Lab

Now Accepting Applications until March 3, 2025

A Special Summer at Marin Shakespeare Company

Step into the ultimate creative lab with Marin Shakespeare Company’s 2025 Summer Acting Intensive Lab. These two transformative 9-week experiences are designed for aspiring actors 18+ to immerse themselves in mentorship, training, and performance while reimagining what it means to tell classic stories today. It’s not just about honoring Shakespeare—it’s about playing with the classics, challenging their boundaries, and discovering how these stories can serve today’s world.

Two Tracks, One Mission:

SAIL is centered around Marin Shakespeare Company’s two outdoor productions:

Midsummer Track: May 13 – July 13
A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Adapted and directed by Bridgette Loriaux, whose inventive storytelling is rooted in cultural inclusion and bold artistic vision.

• Training/ Showcase Rehearsal Schedule: 1:30-4 Wednesdays-Fridays
• Mainstage Rehearsal Dates/Times: May 13 – June 5, Tuesdays-Fridays 4:00, weekend daytimes
• Tech Rehearsal Dates/Times: June 6 – 13
• Performance Dates/Times: June 14 – July 13 (5-week run)
• SAIL Showcase: Saturday, July 12 at 2:00 PM

The Tempest Track: July 15 – September 14
The Tempest — Directed by M. Graham Smith, a nationally renowned artist celebrated for his fresh, transformative interpretations of classic texts.

• Training/ Showcase Rehearsal Schedule: 1:30-4 Wednesdays-Fridays
• Mainstage Rehearsal Dates/Times: July 15 – August 7, Tuesdays- Fridays after 4, weekend daytime
• Tech Rehearsal Dates/Times: August 8 – 15, afternoon to evening
• Performance Dates/Times: August 16 -September 14 (5 week run)
• SAIL Showcase: Saturday September 13 at 2:00PM

Do these dates conflict with the end of your semester or the beginning of your next? If so, please reach out with your schedule to education@marinshakespeare.org to explore accommodations.

The Summer Acting Intensive Lab is facilitated by Marin Shakespeare Company’s staff and an extraordinary ensemble of Bay Area teaching artists. Together, they will create a vibrant space for experimentation, collaboration, and the discovery of new possibilities within these iconic works. Participants will also be an essential part of the professional productions as members of the ensemble, 

What You’ll Experience:

• Cast in a Professional Production: Take the stage in one of Marin Shakespeare Company’s flagship summer productions, working in a professional rehearsal process and performing at the Forest Meadows Amphitheatre.
• Paired with a Mentor: Weekly one-on-one meetings with a cast mentor will provide a unique opportunity to reflect on your growth, gain insights into the rehearsal process, and receive advice about building a life in the theater.
• Immersive Weekly Training Sessions: These sessions are at the heart of the lab experience, offering:
  • Monologue and scene work, culminating in a showcase.
  • Specialized workshops with guest artists in fight choreography, intimacy direction, voice, and text.
  • Practical tools and exercises designed to unlock creative potential.
• Access to Artistic Leadership: Engage directly with Marin Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director, Jon Tracy, in weekly lab sessions, where you’ll explore Shakespeare’s relevance today, experiment with storytelling techniques, and connect with the deeper themes of the work.
• Participate in a Public Showcase Event: Share your progress and talents in a dynamic showcase that celebrates your artistic growth and highlights the training you’ve received throughout the intensive.

Instructors: Jon Tracy (MSC Artistic Director) Elana Kepner (MSC Education Director, Fitzmaurice Voicework Certified Assistant Teacher), MSC Artistic Associates, Summer Company Members

See a Sample Schedule of a typical SAIL rehearsal week

Details:

Cost: $1600 (scholarships available). Housing is not provided.
Locations:

• Primary Rehearsal Space: 514 Fourth St., San Rafael
• Performance Venue: Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, San Rafael

Why Join This Lab?

Marin Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare Lab is not just about training—it’s about play. It’s about taking risks, asking bold questions, and engaging in meaningful artistic exploration. In this creative laboratory, you’ll collaborate with visionary artists, grapple with timeless texts, and shape them for the world we live in today.

Come to play. Come to discover. Come to create.

How to Apply & Audition:

Application Deadline: For best consideration, apply by Monday, January 27. Applications submitted after this date will be considered on a rolling basis.

For your submission, please prepare the following:

• A PDF cover letter (1 page or less) highlighting your training and career goals, how SAIL aligns with these goals, and the personal qualities you feel make you a good fit for the program. Also, highlight anything else you feel is relevant which is not represented elsewhere in your submission.

• A video of no more than 4 minutes which includes:
  • An introduction! Tell us anything you’d like us to know about yourself that you feel is pertinent.
  • One Shakespeare monologue.  We are excited to see your work with the text.  Monologues from A Midsummer Night’s Dream or The Tempest are welcome!
  • 30 seconds of an a capella song, any style.
  • (Optional but recommended) SAIL applicants (especially those who would like to be considered for the Midsummer track), are strongly encouraged to include 32 counts of movement or dance or a physical theatre or contemporary dance work sample/clip along with your audition application.

Please upload your audition video to a hosting service such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Dropbox, and use the following form to submit the video link and your cover letter:

Questions? email Education Director, Elana Kepner: education@marinshakespeare.org