You should be prepared to spend $400-600 on books and supplies for the 1st year of training. This is just an estimate, but is fairly reflective of most students’ experience. Please try to find your books and supplies before your arrival (and as cheaply as possible). Supplies are limited here in Santa Maria.
Below please find a list of some of the supplies and books with which you will need to arrive for the training.
CLOTHING
a. All Classes
Bring plenty of sturdy athletic clothing and shoes, sweatpants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and clothing in which you are free to move without completely obscuring the line of the body. Ideally, clothing should be fairly neutral – simple, logo free, relatively without pattern – so as not to distract the eye or concentration from the work. We want to be watching you, not your clothes. (Please note: Blue jeans and Levi’s are not acceptable for classes in which you are actively on your feet moving and/or involved in physical activity. Also, low-rise pants and cropped tops, which leave the midriff bear, are not appropriate for studio work. Please wear clothing in the studio that covers your torso without obscuring the bodyline.) Also, whatever is needed to keep hair out of your eyes and off your face.
b. Rehearsal clothing (class and production)
Women should have a calf-length, smooth-flowing skirt, a blouse with long sleeves and a button collar, a lightweight jacket or sweater, medium-height heels (dance character shoes are fine), and a shorter skirt or dress for class and rehearsal work.
Men should have at least one sport coat or suit jacket, a pair of hard-soled shoes (not boots), dark socks, slacks (dark or earth-toned), a long-sleeve dress shirt, a vest, and a necktie.
All students should have kneepads, a brimmed hat, and gloves. In addition, the following items may be useful for rehearsal work–shawls, scarves, and eyeglasses. (Note: Rehearsal clothing need only be thrift-store quality and price.)
c. Ballet
Ballet shoes are required. Be sure they are of good quality and to have them fit by a reputable sales person if you haven’t worn them before. Black tights, dance belts, solid color or white tee shirts are required for men; leotards and tights for women. Some athletic wear (shorts worn over tights, knees must be visible) and dance skirts are suitable for ballet class, but they must move easily, not in any way inhibit your movement and conform to the line of the body.
d. Movement
Movement clothes, athletic shoes (walking/jogging).
e. Production and Ushering Assignments
Each student may assigned a run crew positions during the two years and is required to have long black pants with belt loops, a sturdy black belt, several long sleeved black shirts, black socks, and black, sturdy shoes. Students also usher for Student Matinee performances and should have dark dress shoes, black pants or skirt and a white dress shirt or blouse.
A dance or gym bag to carry clothing and books will be essential. You’ll need to think ahead, plan, come prepared each day, and be ready to carry a lot of clothing and supplies with you.
SUPPLIES
a. Singing Techniques and Musical Theatre Ensemble
- portable digital recorder – to record music for classroom work and production rehearsals. A smart phone will work.
- 3-ring, loose-leaf notebook exclusively for music
- highlighter pen
b. Movement class
- notebook, large towel and yoga mat for floor work
c. Make-up seminar/production work
- Ben Nye make-up kit; Ben Nye manufacturer. If you already own a complete make-up kit you need not purchase another or get this particular brand. This is a recommendation for those who do not already own their own theatrical make-up kit. All actors are responsible for providing their own make-up for productions unless specialty make-up is required, then the company provides it.
d. Voice/Speech
- A yoga mat will be needed.
e. Acting
f. The usual supply of notebooks, pens and pencils, and journal-writing equipment.
BOOKS
Acting Class
Actions, The Actor’s Thesaurus, Caldarone & Lloyd-Williams, NHB, ISBN 854596748
A Challenge for the Actor, Uta Hagen, Scribner, ISBN 0684190400
An Actor Prepares, Constantin Stanislavski, Routledge ISBN 0878309837
Waiting for Lefty and Other Plays, Clifford Odets, Grove Press, ISBN 0802132200
William Inge – Four Plays, Grove Press, ISBN 080213209X
Six Plays by Lillian Hellman, Vintage Books, ISBN 0394741129
Arthur Miller: Collected Plays 1944-1961, The Library of America, ISBN 193108291X
Tennessee Williams, Plays 1937-1955, The Library of America, ISBN 1883011868
Tennessee Williams, Plays 1957-1980, The Library of America, ISBN 1883011876
Eugene O’Neill: Plays 1932-1943, The Library of America, ISBN 094045050X
Shakespeare
You will need a complete works of Shakespeare. If you don’t already own one, or all the plays in single editions, we strongly recommend:
The Riverside Shakespeare (collected works; various editors); Houghton-Mifflin,
Shakespeare Lexicons (Alexander Schmidt)
If funds are tight and two Shakespeare lexicons (even used copies) are a financial challenge, PCPA has PDF copies that can be made available.
Please request the PDF after the start of the school year.
Actors’ Lab
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey ISBN-10: 0679778314
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield ISBN-10: 1936891026
Non-required/supplemental class reading list is:
The Actor and the Target
Text in Action
The Lucid Body: a Guide for the Physical Actor
Voice and Speech
Every Day Voice Care by Joanna Cazden; Amazon lists both of these numbers:
ISBN-10: 1458443183 and ISBN-13: 978-1458443182
Text Analysis
A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, ISBN# 0-679-75533-0.
(It must be this volume of the play.)
SUMMER READING
Please read and become very familiar with the following texts by your arrival in preparation for the first week of work:
- PCPA Student Handbook
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry*
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare*
*A Raisin in the Sun and Hamlet are required reading for you.
If you’re looking for some other summer reading, some faculty favorites include (in no particular order):
None of these are required reading, just some enjoyable and edifying suggestions from the faculty.
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
- The Empty Space by Peter Brook
- Acting Power by Robert Cohen
- Zen and the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
- Audition by Michael Shurtleff
- The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
- Acting, the First Six Lessons by Richard Boleslavsky
- Metamorphosis by Ovid
- Living History a History of the Theatre (Wilson/Goldfarb) – any edition is fine
- Towards a Poor Theatre (Jerzy Grotowski)
And all the plays you can get your hands on…
