Hollywood-bound Prospects May Take Acting Classes In Redwood City

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Brave enough to go into acting?

Then, Dragon Theatre would like to accommodate the penchant for breaking into show business with a specialty workshop and acting classes.

Wannabe actors or even stunt doubles may learn how to sling a sword like "Game of Thrones." The National Stage Armory is partnering with the Redwood City-based theater in hosting a stage combat workshop with Michael Daw scheduled for Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a lunch break included. The workshop culminates with a choreographed filmed mass battle.

The Dragon Theater located at 2120 Broadway St. is also putting on acting classes by an experienced instructor on Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. starting Sept. 11, with a final showcase slated for Nov. 2 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The tuition for Neva Hutchinson's class is $150.

Hutchinson will teach class participants technique and presentation speaking skills with improvisational exercises. A short history from six specific playwrights will also be given, with work on one scene or monologue to be featured in front of an invited audience.

Hutchinson has acted, directed and taught in New York, Maine and the San Francisco Bay Area in over 60 theater productions. She's worked with Francis Ford Coppola, Lee Sankowich, Kevin Malony and Libby Appel. In film, she's worked with Jon Voight and Will Smith. Baseball fans may recognize her as the dry cleaner in a Buster Posey's Toyota commercial. She recently appeared at the Phoenix Theater in San Francisco in "By the Waters of Babylon" by Robert Schenkkan, and "Raptured," a play that she wrote.

She was trained in New York by Wynn Handman at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In San Francisco, she's studied with Jean Shelton and Richard Seyd. Her "Scene Study Acting Class" is open to newcomers and veterans alike. Class size is limited, with scholarships available.

More information about her may be found at www.nevahutchinson.com.