the coop [\‘küp\] offers both small private classes and individual coaching for teens and adults.

Individual Coaching

the coop offers coaching for all acting needs. Adrian has coached individuals who are preparing to audition not only for productions, but also for performing arts institutions and colleges. Coaching is not limited to monologues, but can also include scene work with partners.

Classes

** The goal of all the classes is to encourage the actor to take risks and to let go of his/her fear and apprehension in order to experience the joy of acting freely and fully.

Scene Study I / Script Analysis: An introduction to working on scenes. In this class we work on breaking down not only the scene, but the script as a whole. What questions does one ask when reading a play? How do you discover and develop a character? What are the objectives? What are the relationships? The goal is to have the actor asking as many questions as possible so that he/she can experience the scene fully.

Scene Study II: Students have the choice of bringing in scenes that they would like to work on or having scenes assigned. Each week students will perform and discuss their work. Students will look further into how to prepare and develop characters. What are one's actions and objectives?

Monologues: This class concentrates on how to choose the right monologue for you as an individual. Students will find monologues that show off their traits as an actor. Once monologues are chosen he/she will begin to develop them into creative and strong audition pieces.

Auditioning: This class focuses on preparing for various types of auditions. Monologue vs. a cold reading. What is a cold reading and how does one approach it? How can one prepare for an audition? What does one do while waiting to be seen at the audition? Each week students will practice auditioning. The goal is to be comfortable, not intimidated by the audition process, and to acquire the tools necessary to get the part.

Adrian Wattenmaker has worked extensively in both theatre and film for over 15 years. Currently, he is director of the Sierra Tahoe Institute for film and theatre. Adrian is former director of the acting program at the New York Film Academy and is co-founder of Free Space Theatre, a student run ensemble at Towson University where undergraduate and graduate students are able to learn from each other and visiting professionals. As a member of Cooper Square Workshop in it's heyday, Adrian contributed to Off-Broadway productions of Requiem For a Heavyweight, Columbus: In the Age of Gold, and the award winning production of Sam Shepard's Seduced. He has worked at LAByrinth Theater Co.,HB Playwrights Foundation, Baltimore Theatre Project and CENTERSTAGE, where he was an associate dramaturg and assistant director for David SchweizerÕs critically acclaimed production of Crumbs From the Table of Joy (chosen by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best theatre productions of 2006). Directing credits include Tales, This Is Our Youth and Miss Julie. Other theatre credits include The Author's Voice, The Rock Garden, The Normal Heart with Tony Award winner John Glover, New York,The Speed Queen and The American Clock directed by Austin Pendleton. Film credits include The Butcher and the Housewife, Pinero, Delivery Method, Channel Surfing, and Brooklyn Reprieve. Television credits include Daring Capers, Law & Order and SNL. Adrian has worked for Studio USA/Universal, NBC, Greg Stump Productions/Delamo Films, Setton Sun Productions, Four Act Films, and SRTV. He has taught acting and filmmaking at the University of Nevada-Reno, School of Cinema and Performing Arts (SOCAPA), Life Academy High School for Film and Music, and the William Alexander Middle School. Adrian attended William Esper Studio, Actors Movement Studio, HB Studio, and received a BA in Theatre Arts from Towson University. He is a member of Actors' Equity Association and AFTRA.

Former students have gone on to attend Juilliard, NYU, UCLA, Emerson and more.

The origins of a name - the coop

the coop [ pronounce \‘küp\ ] pays homage to Cooper Square Workshop, where Adrian began honing his theatre skills. It also stems from one of his favorite scenes by Sam Shepard titled Gary Cooper, or the Landscape. Lastly, as the coop continues to grow, more instructors with their individual areas of focus will be offering classes - a co-op of actors teaching.

For questions and further information, please contact me.

awattenmaker@gmail.com / 917-741-0931

...We see that great landscape in our dreams. It haunts us.

So it's the landscape that grabs you more than the characters?

Yes. That vast background.

So in Sweden, when you are watching an American western, you're all staring at the background? Is that it?

I suppose. It's so evocative to us. All that space. Sweden is very close.

So it doesn't matter who's in the western - it could be John Wayne or Jerry Lewis - because everyone's really captured by the landscape?

Well, we love the actors too, of course.

Who's your favorite?

Mine, personally?

Yes. Do you have a favorite?

I guess I would have to say Gary Cooper.

The Coop!

Oh, yes. He personified something, I think.

What was that?

Excuse me?

That he "personified."

Oh, I don't know. That wonderful mixture of shyness - how do you say it? - vulnerability, I suppose, and yet strong at the same time. It's very western. Women love that.

- From Sam Shepard's Gary Cooper, or the Landscape
Published in his collection of tales, Cruising Paradise