Workshop Dates: Thursday, September 21st, 2023
Time: 7:30pm-9:30pm CDT
Instructors: Jaina Alexander & April Sigman-Marx
Location: Online via Zoom
Sliding Scale Pricing: $30-$50
Learn more about our pricing structure
Please contact us with any questions
FULL NEED-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS now available to this workshop! Apply HERE.
The tools we use in performance are like a muscle. They need to be sharpened and honed so they can be available for our use, how and when we need them. The only way to achieve this is by cultivating a daily practice that feeds and inspires your work. But, unlike musicians or dancers, other performers are not taught to how to build and sustain a personal artistic practice, making it difficult to integrate this habit into our lives leaving us with questions such as: where to begin, what to work on when not engaged in a specific project, and how to incorporate practice into daily life? In this 2 hour workshop, we will touch on all manner of practice from warm up to cool down, adapting on days when work is not possible, develop a personal self care plan that prioritize boundaries & rest, and how to sustain a long-term artistic practice.
Everyone is welcome, especially those who wish to turn their practice into a form of self-care
Meet the Instructors
Jaina Alexander (she/her) is a singer, actor, educator, dog mom and a Founding Artistic Director of Thumbprint Studios Chicago. A multi-genre artist, Jaina has sung with theatres, opera companies, and choirs all around the Midwest, at award-winning cabaret and jazz clubs, and with The Rolling Stones. Her work as an educator focuses on vocal confidence and flexibility to allow for bold and brave artistic choices. Select projects include: The Secret Garden (Lily, Guest Artist Residency with Cloud County Community College & Manchester Theatres), Chicago Premiere of Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom (Ensemble, South Shore Opera Company), The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin (Chorus, a multimedia benefit for Holocaust survivors with The Defiant Requiem Foundation). She is also a proud member of Estill Voice (EMT-C), MICHA, VASTA, and Lola Bard Productions.
April Sigman-Marx (she/her) is an actor, director, writer, educator, cat mom and a Founding Artistic Director of Thumbprint Studios Chicago. Specializing in new work development, April has created/written, directed, produced and performed in several original solo shows, web series, films and plays--Many of which focus on social justice issues. Select projects include: Rover the Bear (playwright/ director, Cal Rep. Affinity Series), Sheepdog world premiere (assistant director to Leah C Gardiner, South Coast Rep.), Fefu and Her Friends a virtual staged reading (Assistant Director to Stacy Stoltz, Seasons of Concern), Permed (playwright/ director/ performer, Tower Theatre & Uptown Theatre), Making Up History world premiere (performed Julia, DC Fringe Festival), Open Door (performed Lead, Feature Film, Sapling Pictures), Pathways (creator/ performer- currently in development).