WHY TAKE A CITIZEN CHANGE WORKSHOP?

Our workshops provide an exhilarating way to explore Your Voice. What you learn on stage will transfer to any medium. From acting to singing to dance to painting to the written word. The treasures you discover will help you dive deep, open new insights and communicate in the only way an Artist is truly effective: Your own unique voice.

When it comes to auditioning, whether it's your first or your gazillianth, our workshops will help you crack that moment wide open. And when you get the job - you'll be able to give the director as many choices as they need because you'll have access to your unlimited potential. Best of all, you'll have fun doing it.

WHAT'S A WORKSHOP LIKE?

You'll be improvising in four emotional states: Joy, Sadness, Fear and Anger. You're words and movement will be accompanied by live music and you'll play in full costume and make-up! Improvisation happens in monologue and scene format all with the support of Master Teaching Artists, Brian and Gina Powell. You'll leave your old habits behind, let go and allow the truth of the moment to unfold with a confidence you've never felt before. Our goal is to release your last threads of self-consciousness- leaving only the free artist and the unlimited possibilities of the present moment.

LIVE MUSIC?

That's right! Live music accompaniment thrusts your improv process into the present moment, accentuating the underlying emotions you're discovering. Whether you hear the beat of Brian Powell on the conga drum or a cacophony of sound from our Musical Director, Jef Bek, You will experience the urgency of Live Music. With Jef, you're bound to hear drums, piano, harmonica, whistles, tamborines... The list goes on. We've seen him take off the front of a piano and find sounds you've never heard before.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING?

Bring as much stuff, from clothes to wigs to shoes, and everything in between, for the class to share. Workshops are held in full make up and costume, so actors can transform themselves into their own creation every class. Makeup is provided.

SCHOOLS , COMMUNITY CENTERS, ORGANIZATIONS

Custom workshops can be designed for during and after school workshops. Week-long Workshops culminate in an Original Play performance by the students accompanied by Live Music.

Citizen Change Theatre can also be hired to perform Language of the Heart for your community.

THEATRE & DANCE COMPANIES, ONE PERSON SHOWS

We recommend custom workshops for actors developing One Person Shows or Original Plays. For theatre, dance or clown companies working on new projects you will find the workshops invaluable in bringing your cast and show together.

REVIEWS!

"I’ve known and worked with Brian since 1988, when he was a founding member of my theatre company, New Crime Productions. We spent hundreds of hours on stage. Some highlights of Brian’s range include a singing bearded lady, a giant bear and one of my favorites, a lounge singer named Dr. Coppertop whose singing version of “Live and Let Die” shall perhaps never be forgotten. When Brian came west I hired him as my Head of Operations and later as my Head of Development. He also appeared in two of my films. I know Brian to be a passionate and talented theatre artist, a wonderful teacher and a friend. It is my pleasure to recommend Brian." John Cusack, Award winner Actor, Writer, Producer and Director

“Brian is an amazing teacher and a terrific writer that is able to distill material in a way that makes learning fun for the student, while still getting the information to 'take' in a meaningful way.” Peter Murrieta, Emmy Award winning writer. Owner, Bang Comedy Theater

"Brian is the kind of director we all want to work with. As an actor, he has the ability and depth of dynamics to go from gentle poignancy to intense frothing frenzy all the while maintaining complete sincerity. As a director/teacher, he combines his decades of experience, his wisdom of all styles of theatricality and his gregarious ability to instantly find the actor's unique inner qualities and inspire everyone around him to gleefully elevate their performance. Jump at the opportunity to work with him. He will release your true potential and connect you to inner emotional places that you didn't know existed." Jef Bek, Composer/Director/Theatre Artist

“Brian Powell is a teacher who understands the language of an Actor. He’s kind & encouraging, and able to distill ideas into an “active” choice for the Actor. I’ve been to NYU, studied with Stella Adler, Alfred Molina & The Groundlings and he’s pushed me to places I’ve never gotten to before. He is a coach and a teacher; a director and an actor. He understands that the body needs to be connected to the brain, that they work in tandem on stage. He encourages a mixture of instinct and technique. He is a gifted artist who I will continue to work with.” Cricket Leigh, Actor/Playwright/Singer

"Working with Brian Powell is a sheer joy! His energy, intensity and a sense of play opened up doors into my own, surprisingly new, potentials as an actor. Brian's passion for dignity revealed to me the importance of vulnerability and centeredness on stage, on camera, and most importantly, in life." Olya Petrakova Brown, Artistic Director - Artel Theatre

“Brian has a way of working with his students that is gentle and supportive - there's magic in that which brings out the absolute best in all who have the good fortune to work with him.” Catherine Allison Actor/Clown/Drama Teacher, DramaBees

"Brian Powell is not just a wonderful acting coach, his level of intuition and compassion inspire me to take chances and create in ways no other acting coach has or could! Brian you’re amazing! Thank you!" Hope Taylor - Actor

You're in good hands.

Together Brian Powell and Gina Rose Powell have taught Master Classes and developed original plays and characters for:

Los Angeles Theatre Companies Clowns with Swords, Artel's Schkapf & The Actor's Gang. Amnesty International and The Program for Torture Victims, At Risk children at The HeArt Project and Arts Expand, Peigan/Piikani Blackfoot Nation Youth, CARS: California Arts Resources, UCLA, University of Maryland, Alfred University NY, University of Wisconsin, University of Colorado, Vanderbilt University, University of Kansas, University of Michigan.