Acting Showcase
William B. Davis - Founding Director, Actor & Instructor
Before becoming "Cancer Man" on the hit TV series The X-Files, William Davis had a long career as a teacher, director and actor. He has been the Director of Canada's two leading acting schools: the National Theatre School and the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School. He was the founding Artistic Director of Festival Lennoxville in Quebec, Director of the Dundee Repertory Theatre in Scotland and Assistant Director at the National Theatre of Great Britain.
Mr. Davis has directed over 100 professional productions at major theatres in Britain and Canada. He founded the William Davis Centre for Actors' Study in 1989, which now offers its highly regarded curriculum at VanArts, where he now also sits on the Board of Advisors.
For more information, see also:
www.williambdavis.com
William B. Davis at IMDB
Intro to Acting
(prerequisite for all other part-time Acting courses)
Designed for folks with little or no previous acting experience, this 10 week course introduces the key elements of the acting process in a friendly and supportive environment.
Students explore their playful side by bringing characters in scripts to life. Imagination, script interpretation, improvisation, voice, movement and acting exercises are all used. Monologues and scenes from modern plays and scripts are assigned.
About the Instructor: Julie Howgate
From Winnipeg to London to Vancouver, Julie Howgate has trained, performed and taught in theatre, TV and film for well over a decade. Expert at teaching beginning actors, she has introduced over 500 students at the Centre to the thrill of acting. European credits include Brookside (BBC), Soul Survivor (Trisquare), and French National commercial "Orange". North American credits include Hallowe'en 8, The Gut Girls , US national "Got Milk" commercials and character voice work for Da Vinci's Inquest . Julie just made her directorial debut with Alan Ball's Five Women Wearing the Same Dress for Kindred Spirits. She brings with her the eclectic background and positive attitude needed to facilitate true acting.
Audits of current running courses always welcome. Contact us for arrangement.
Prerequisites: none
Duration: 10 weeks (10 classes)
Schedule (varies by start date):
Wednesday evenings 7:00pm - 10:30pm (Feb 8th, April 18th)
Thursday evenings 7:00pm - 10:30pm (March 1st)
Cost: $550
Call for Applicants to Acting Program
January 20th, 2012This just in!!! VanArts is calling out for aspiring actors to take advantage of our $1000 scholarship offer for our 9-month full-time Acting for Film & Television diploma program starting March 12, 2012.
Begin your application process here >>
Here is an overview of the program and our students & staff in action:
More information: Overview Curriculum Faculty News
Contact us today to find out more!
Don Adams
Donald Adams was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied at the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School before beginning a thirty-plus year stage career, with engagements at the Stratford Festival, Second City, Tarragon Theatre, Bard on the Beach, and Touchstone Theatre, among many others. Over the years, he has worked with such luminaries as Bette Davis, Tennessee Williams, George C. Scott, and William Hurt. Don is also co-founder of The Shakespeare Centre, established in 2004 to provide ongoing Shakespearean training to Vancouver actors.
Bill Pozzobon
Bill Pozzobon has been acting and teaching for over 20 years, having performed with the Vancouver Theatresports League, Number 14 at the Axis Mime Theatre, Blackdog Theatre in Toronto, and performing with comedic actor Ryan Stiles at Upfront Theatre in Bellingham, WA. He has taught at the Shadboldt Center for the Arts, Carnegie Community Centre, and Simon Fraser University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1991.
Acting Graduate Plays Lead Role in New Web Series
January 11th, 2012
Georgie Daburas, a graduate from the William Davis Centre for Actors' Study at VanArts, is featured in the lead role (with additional credit as a co-producer) of a new local web series called Hitman 101, which consists of 12 episodes currently continuing their release online. VanArts acting graduate Jacob Wolpert is also featured with a role in the series.
Since graduation, Georgie Daburas has been actively involved in several local productions for film, television and theater. He also continues to lend support to current students at VanArts, in the areas of acting, voices & reference for animation, and visual effects. One of our visual effects graduates, Pranjal Verma, was recruited to contribute some effects work to Hitman 101, through his connection of previously working with Georgie.
(Visit Georgie Daburas online at www.gdaburas.com.)
Hitman 101 is created & directed by Scott Staven, who had this to say about our graduates working on the show: "Georgie was not known to us before auditioning, and was cast based on his acting talents and look. It was only after casting him did the production realize how awesome a human being he was and how above and beyond nailing the role on screen he aided in the production of the film. He earned the co-producer credit and was very integral to the project's completion. I think it's a testament to the work ethic VanArts teaches and the Hitman 101 team is grateful VanArts is producing professional actors who are driven. Also Pranjal Verma, who is doing all our visual fx on his own, is another great VanArts product who time and again is saving our butts in post production fixing all our mistakes and adding in elements that raise the production value. Not only driven and talented, Pranjal is also a pleasure to work with. Thank you!"
To view episodes and learn more about Hitman101, visit www.badguyfilms.com/hitman101.
Here is the teaser trailer:
VanArts Photography Dept. Produces Video for Project Limelight
January 6th, 2012
VanArts is very proud to have recently contributed our skills and resources to help promote Project Limelight Society, a new organization that has developed an artistic community program for youth living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Their vision is to support kids as they pursue their passion and education in the performing arts.
Project Limelight was founded by sisters Donalda Weaver and Maureen Webb (pictured above, left to right, with Board Member Carmen Amos), who each have substantial experience as Casting Directors for our local film & theatre industries. Maureen has been connected with our Acting Department through the William Davis Centre for many years, and through this connection she was introduced to key members of our Digital Photography department: Program Director Christa LeCraw, Studio Manager Jeff Bell, and DSLR Video Instructor Scott Hastings. These three joined forces to direct and produce promotional videos for Project Limelight in our professional top-floor studio space overlooking the Vancouver skyline.
A top-notch line-up of actors, musicians, politicians, and various professionals across many industries were brought into the studio to be filmed for this project, including Vancouver Park Board Chair Constance Barnes, legendary folk-singer Valdy and his daughter, actress Chelah Horsdal (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Supernatural) Sweatshop Union hip-hop artist Kyprios, D.O.A's Joe Keithley, and actors Cory Monteith (Glee, Final Destination 3), Kacey Rohl (V, Red Riding Hood), and William Davis Centre at VanArts alumnus Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica, The Bridge), along with many others.
Here is one of the videos that was produced by our VanArts team:
We also produced a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, with cinematography by Andy Matheson, a part-time student from our DSLR Video Production course.
Huge thanks to everyone who made this production possible!
Read more about Project Limelight, see more videos, and offer your support to them by visiting http://www.projectlimelightsociety.org/
Part-Time Courses 2012
January 3rd, 2012If your New Year's Resolution for 2012 is to learn some new skills or explore the arts, VanArts presents its annual part-time courses throughout the year which typically meet once a week in evenings or weekends.
For a list of courses, click on any of the following links by category:
Click on any course to learn dates, times and costs. We hope to welcome you into our part-time courses in 2012!
Questions? Contact us at 604-682-2787 x104
VanArts' Grad Survey shows High Placement Rate
December 16th, 2011VanArts is proud to share our most recent survey of graduate and placement statistics, with very promising results for our grads finding work relevant to their field of study. Surveys were conducted six months after our last two graduating classes, and the average job placement rate was 88%!
According to school president Alan Phillips, "This high placement data speaks volumes about what a great job VanArts is doing at offering first class, industry-relevant education."
