Visionbox is a professional actors’ studio offering professional training and producing new intermedia work in Denver’s Santa Fe Art District. Visionbox provides training and support to young and adult actors and maintains three completely interconnected programs: the Visionbox Studio, Ensemble, and Productions.
Contents
Classes are offered throughout the year on character development, behavior, objectives, actions and language. Subjects frequently offered include Chekhov and American Realism. All acting classes are taught by Executive Artistic Director Jennifer McCray Rincón.
Every summer, Visionbox holds Adult and Youth Conservatories. The Youth Conservatory, "The Visionbox Conservatory Preparation Intensive", is specifically geared towards young actors between the ages of 11 and early-20s.
Ensemble
The Visionbox Ensemble is a group of actors and artists who meet 2-4 times a month throughout the year to study and share work in an open class format. Membership is by audition only and members are committed to improving their craft. Members also received reduced rates on classes and receive preference in casting.
Productions
Visionbox Productions is committed to engaging Denver audiences in a dialogue about the “essential moral and social preoccupations of our time.” (Harold Clurman) Visionbox Productions is an extension of Visionbox’s training program and creates new work in a ‘low-friction’ style developed by Visionbox. ‘Low-friction’ refers to a style that focuses on the essential relationship between the audience, actor, and text. The ‘low-friction’ style is very minimalistic. In addition to special projects, Visionbox also regularly presents ‘Open Rehearsals’ to showcase the work from each class. All ‘Open Rehearsals’ are free of charge to the public. Some of Visionbox Productions’ past projects include: the Solo Shakespeare Festival, My Two Sisters, and The Othello Project.
Solo Shakespeare Festival
Individual Visionbox Ensemble Members chose one character from Shakespeare’s canon with whom they identify. The actor then must tell the story of the character by selecting text from the play they have chosen. The text can be supplemented with other material from many sources including novels, other plays, poetry, music, non-fiction, or personal writings. The purpose of these projects is to explore the complexity and universality of Shakespeare’s characters through personalization.
My Two Sisters
My Two Sisters is a two persona adaptation of Checkhov’s Three Sisters. The piece is about 35 minutes long and can be performed anywhere with two chairs. There is original piano music composed and performed by Paul Carlson live or recorded. The adaptation tells the story of Irina, the youngest of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, as she returns to the family home on her 80th birthday. Irina looks back as she tries to understand the meaning of the events that shaped her life. An unrequited love, regret, guilt, and intense longing combine in memory in this evocative, romantic, and emotional retelling of Chekhov’s play.
The Othello Project
The Othello Project is an original 'low-friction' adaptation of Othello. The production combines Shakespeare’s text and characters with contemporary scenes of domestic violence. Following every performance there will be a talk back with members of the Crime Victims Advisory Council, a unit of the Victim Services Network, part of the Denver District Attorney’s Office, other domestic violence advocacy groups, and the cast and creators of the project.