Dates

15 weeks of Online classes

September 26, 2023 – January 19, 2024

Classes will take place Monday-Friday

In-Person Week: September 26 – 29, 2023 in the NYC Area

Eligibility

ArtsBridge GapYear is open to:

• High school graduates taking a year off before applying or reapplying for college admission
• College students on leave who intend to either return to or reapply for college programs

How to Apply

Admission to the program is by video audition and interview.

Applications are now open.

Priority application deadline is June 15, 2023, with rolling admissions after.

Artistic Curriculum

ArtsBridge GapYear is designed with a core focus on acting training. Musical theater students looking for rigorous actor training are encouraged to apply as well. All students will be immersed in highly specialized training including:

• The Meisner Technique
• Storytelling & Text Analysis
• Voice & Speech
• Movement
• Artists as Activists
• Monologue Class
• Musical Theater
• Private Monologue Coaching
• Private Voice lessons (available for musical theater students who would like to substitute voice lessons for monologue coachings)
• Master Classes & Workshops with rotating guest faculty

Weekly Schedule

The schedule below is based on previous years (2023 final schedule TBA). Enrolled students will receive final, detailed schedules in advance of the program. Curriculum & course hours will be very similar for 2023.

Monday

• 10:00 – 11:00am EST, Movement, Ronni Stewart
• 1:00 – 3:30pm EST, The Meisner Technique, Kevin Kittle

Tuesday

• 10:00am – 11:00am EST, Storytelling & Text Analysis, Jasmine Carmichael
• 11:15am – 12:15pm EST, Monologue Class, Julie Boyd OR Musical Theater, Gary Kline (alternating weekly)

Wednesday

• 10:00 – 11:00am EST, Movement, Ronni Stewart
• 1:00 – 3:30pm EST, The Meisner Technique, Kevin Kittle

Thursday

• 11:00am – 12:00pm EST, Artists as Activists, Neal Gupta
• 1:00 – 3:00pm EST, Voice & Speech, Julie Foh

Friday

• 1:00 – 3:30pm EST, The Meisner Technique, Kevin Kittle

College Admission Curriculum

ArtsBridge GapYear students who are pursuing college admission will be supported and guided by ArtsBridge college admission experts. The college admission curriculum will include:

• Twice monthly, small group admissions seminars covering a wide range of topics related to college admission.
• Access to the My ArtsBridge portal, ArtsBridge’s online college guide that allows students to keep track of their college list, audition requirements, deadlines, application status, and other pertinent college information all in one place.

Faculty

▶ Julie Boyd, The New School, Fordham University, Queens College/CUNY

Julie Boyd is an accomplished Actor, Educator, Director and Coach based in New York City. She has decades of experience at the highest levels of University training programs and is the Director of the Fordham Summer Musical Theatre Workshop. New York acting credits include "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (Roundabout/PBS) directed by Jerry Zaks, and "Noises Off" (Broadway) directed by Michael Blakemore. Regional theatre includes productions at Long Wharf, the McCarter, the Kennedy Center, Williamstown, the Goodman, and the Guthrie. Boyd also works extensively in film and television. She received her BFA from the University of Utah and her MFA from Yale Drama School. Her in-depth knowledge of acting and training sets her apart as one of the best in the business whether she is teaching, directing or acting. Her gentle approach, coupled with her rigorous work ethic are her hallmarks of excellence.

▶ Jasmine Carmichael, Actress, Director, Teacher

Jasmine Carmichael (she/her) obtained her BFA from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. A Meisner trained actress, she made her debut starring as Juliet in the indie feature Romeo and Juliet in Harlem opposite Harry Lennix and Aunjanue Ellis. She is best known for her portrayal of the alluring con artist Gina in Amazon's Sneaky Pete. Jasmine has also guest-starred in multiple TV shows, including The Equalizer, Blue Bloods, Chicago P.D. and Law & Order:SVU. Recent film credits include Real Talk, I Am Mortal and Measure of Revenge. Regional acting credits include the IRNE award winning production of Milk Like Sugar (Huntington Theatre Company) and the world premiere of Jazz, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah. Jasmine's work as an actress, director and teaching artist is grounded in her desire to empower others and foster empathy through art.

▶ Neal Gupta, Actor, Director, Devised Theater Specialist

Neal Gupta [he/him] is a NYC based director, actor, cultural worker, & activist. Directing credits include 26 by Ang Bey (The Strides Collective) & When We Dead Awaken (The Gallery Players). Associate Directing credits include the upcoming, Running by Danny Pudi (East West Players/Hypokrit) & Bollywood Kitchen (Geffen Playhouse). Assistant Directing: A Small Fire, starring Bebe Neuwirth, (Philadelphia Theatre Co), Tear a Root from the Earth (BRIC & New Ohio). Neal served on the panel for the 2021 Terrence McNally Playwriting Award and is a part of the SDC Observership Program. Neal will begin teaching a course in devising at the BFA Acting Program at Rutgers University in the Fall where he will also direct a devised piece in the Spring. Training: BFA Acting, Rutgers University, Mason Gross. Shakespeare’s Globe. Interlochen Arts Academy.

▶ Julie Foh, Yale University

Julie Foh is a CT-based voice, text, and dialect teacher and coach. She holds an MFA in Voice and Speech from the American Repertory Theater’s Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. She has coached projects for Marvel, Play On Shakespeare, Irish Repertory Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, McCarter Theatre Center, Westport Country Playhouse, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, BEDLAM, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Tectonic Theater Project, NY Stage & Film, Second Stage, New Georges, A.R.T., The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, American Players Theatre, and others. She has taught at UConn, Penn State, Rutgers, A.R.T., Harvard University, the Moscow Art Theatre School, Webster University, the National Theater Institute, University of the Arts Helsinki, the Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Larry Singer Studios Summer Conservatory, and The Performing Arts Project. Additionally, she has taught workshops internationally in Montreal, Dublin, and Singapore. She also holds a BA in Theater Studies from Duke University and is an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and a Master Teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork. She is co-author of the book, Experiencing Speech: A Skills-Based, Panlingual Approach to Actor Training.

▶ Kevin Kittle, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts

Kevin Kittle has worked as Joseph Chaikin’s assistant director and with Arthur Miller and Sam Shepard for the Signature Theater Company. He has directed numerous productions and readings in such New York City theaters as The John Houseman, The Neighborhood Playhouse, Theater Row Theaters, Ensemble Studio Theater, HERE, Sullivan Street Playhouse, and The Irish Repertory Theatre, as well as regionally. His most recent productions include Bitter Greens at 59E59, Hot Season at The Sheen Center for Strange Sun Theater, Blood Potato at the Clurman and In God’s Hat at Playwrights Horizons Peter Jay Sharp Theater for Apothecary Theatre Company, and Beyond the Pale (nominated for Best Director and Best Production at the 1^st Irish Theatre Festival). At the Greenwich Street Theatre, he directed the world premiere of Jamie Linley’s Dirty Works (critical acclaim in NYC and at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and Philip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney, both as resident director of Stiff Upper Lip. Other credits include: Watching and Waiting at The Judith Anderson, The House of Yes at The Currican, and Life During Wartime (2001 Off-Off Broadway Review Award for Outstanding Production) with Inertia Productions as their resident director. As co-developer and dramaturge-director, Kevin has worked on This is the How, with Rhett Rossi at The Playroom Theater, David Dannenfelser’s When Words Fail… at The NY International Fringe Festival (the script of which is published in Plays and Playwrights, Vol. One), and Peter Handy’s East of the Sun and West of the Moon, which was a finalist in the Samuel French One Act Festival and is published by Samuel French. His Los Angeles production of Chet Whell’s Economic Subterfuge was nominated for an LA Weekly Award. Kevin served as Associate Head of Acting and the Director of Performance Ensemble at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University until 2020.

▶ Gary Kline, Assistant Head of Acting/Musical Theater, Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama

Gary Kline is Professor and Assistant Head of Acting and Musical Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University. He has taught private singing and music theatre courses such as Cabaret and Acting A Song for Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious School of Drama since 1990, where he currently oversees the Vocal Curriculum. He is the artistic director of ArtsBridge Summer Musical Theater. In demand as a teacher, Gary has taught Master Classes at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia, the Torggler Vocal Institute at Newport University, the Flying Swan Program at Wesleyan University, The Broadway Theatre Project at FSU, The Performing Arts Project at Wake Forest, and Perry-Mansfield Arts Camp in Colorado. Gary has taught some of the most highly-skilled Broadway Performers at CMU, including Tony-winners Christian Borle (Peter and Starcatcher) and Patina Miller (Sister Act/Pippin), as well as Patrick Wilson (The Full Monty), Chris Hoch (Beauty and the Beast), Kirsten Bracken (Follies), Megan Hilty (Wicked), Kyle Beltran (In the Heights), Bradley Dean (Spamelot), Renee Goldsberry (Color Purple) Donna Lynne Champlin (Sweeney Todd) and dozens more. Regionally, Gary has appeared in leading roles in Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Night Music, 1776, The Civil War, Man of La Mancha, Secret Garden, The Laramie Project, and Fiddler.  He’s also sung with the Pittsburgh Opera and soloed twice with the Pittsburgh Pops under the direction of Marvin Hamlisch. Gary is a graduate of the Dana School of Music (YSU) and the CMU School of Music.  He has studied Acting at Stanford U. with Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, and Ann Jackson, as well as with Johanna Merlin and Victor Garber in NY.  His CD “Lucky” includes duets with friends Billy Porter, Patrick Wilson, Sally Mayes, and song legend Margaret Whiting.  Gary is a member of Phi Mu Alpha, Actor’s Equity, and NATS.  He is thrilled to be working with Halley and the great faculty and students at ArtsBridge!

▶ Ronni Stewart, SUNY Purchase

Ronni Stewart has taught internationally and nationally for many years. She has previously co chaired the acting training program at SUNY Purchase College with Dean Irby for more than a decade and is now a happy member of the faculty teaching movement to the first and fourth year actors. Ronni's teachings use a variety of methods, including the chakra system as a tool to find energy centers in the body that can be used for character transformation and highlight the differences between you and the character/the character and you. Through movement you create the ability to repave neural pathways that connect your emotional and physical bodies.

Guest Faculty

The guest faculty below are from previous terms.

• Kyla Garcia
• Mark Hairston, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Deb Jackel, The William Esper Studio
• Kathleen McNenny, The Juilliard School
• Tasha Milkman & Regan Sims, Broken Box Mime Theater
• Eli Pauley
• Kelsey Rainwater, Yale School of Drama
• Scott Zigler, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Tuition & Fees

• Application Fee: $75
• Tuition: $20,000
• Need-based application fee waivers are available. Need-based financial aid for tuition is also available. If you’re interested and have questions please contact us.