ACTING CLASS IN SPANISH OFFERED: CINNABAR THEATER TARGETS GROWING LATINO POPULATION

Published on March 17, 2006

© 2006- The Press Democrat

BYLINE:    JANET PARMER

FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

PAGE: P2

As the region's Latino population grows, the Cinnabar Theater is responding to shifting demographics by offering an acting class in Spanish.

The new program is targeted at youngsters ages 12 and older but will be open to young adults as well, Cinnabar Theater's Sheri Miller said.

The class, which begins April 10, is meant for native Spanish speakers who want to learn acting fundamentals. Michael Navarra of San Rafael will be teaching. No prior theater experience is needed.

Navarra, 33, was born in Madrid and raised in the United States. He plans to instruct primarily in Spanish.

``I haven't heard of anything like this,'' said Navarra, who has taught acting at the college level and works as a professional actor in the Bay Area.

``This is for people whose Eng-lish isn't strong yet and want to take acting,'' he said. ``If you speak English, there are a million classes.''

Miller said the curriculum will be similar to traditional acting classes. There will be a final presentation for families but not a full-blown theatrical production.

``The focus will be on learning without the pressure of a product at the end. It brings the opportunity to explore a lot more,'' she said.

``With the high percentage of Spanish speakers, we wanted these kids to have an artistic outlet, too,'' Miller said.

Navarra will start the class with trust and improvisational exercises to help develop sensory awareness and build on spontaneity and creativity.

Students will create scenes, immerse themselves in characters and study and perform from written text.

``Depending on the students, we may move into monologues. I want to begin slowly and be a trusting teacher. People can be very vulnerable in acting,'' Navarra said.

``The whole idea is to get actors to open up to their senses and how they're feeling and have a heightened sense of awareness,'' he said.

The Cinnabar bilingual drama class can accommodate students with different levels of experience, said Navarra, and once he assesses pupils' comfort with acting, he'll tailor the curriculum to meet their needs.

``No matter how much experience you have, you can still gain from exercises and practices,'' he said.

Navarra plans to use a variety of scripts excerpts, and will consider those written originally in Spanish, although he said the content is more important than the language in which it was written.

Navarra taught beginning acting at the University of Washington, where he received a master's in fine arts in acting. He has a bachelor's degree in drama from UC Irvine.

He also taught acting for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.

He's currently onstage in Berkeley in a production of ``Shadow Crossing,'' which is produced by Central Works.

Navarra has performed with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare at Stinson, Sierra Shakespeare Festival and in a Shakespeare festival in Florence, Italy.

He has been in Traveling Jewish Theater, Word for Word, Bus Barn Stage Company and Z Space Studio performances.

Navarra also has been in several Pacific Alliance Stage Company productions in Rohnert Park, including roles as Chris in ``All My Sons,'' Stanley in ``A Streetcar Named Desire,'' and Hal in ``Proof.''

This will be Navarra's first time teaching in Spanish. He grew up in a household in which Spanish, his mother's native language, was spoken, and visits Spain often, where he has 11 aunts and uncles.

``My goal is to do theater I find challenging and thought-provoking, and to teach. I like to do both,'' he said.

Miller said if the class is successful, the theater could expand the program to different age groups. She added the class is not meant for people who are trying to learn Spanish.

You can reach Correspondent Janet Parmer at 782-9130 or jhparmer@comcast.net.

PHOTO: 1 by MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat, 2005
Mug: Michael Navarra

Shannon Veon Kase, left, and Michael Navarra star in ``Dr. Fritz or The Forces of Light'' from the Pacific Alliance Stage Company's ``The `Ives' Have It.'' Navarra will teach an acting class in Spanish at Cinnabar Theater.

Infobox: LATINO TALENT

What: Acting class, conducted in Spanish

When: Nine weeks starting April 10 on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m.

Cost: The tuition is $175, and scholarships are available.

Info: Cinnabar Theater

at 763-8920 or www.cinnabartheater.org

Keywords: THEATER EDUCATION LATINO AGATE

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