Overview
The Theatre program at the California State Summer School for the Arts offers intensive and challenging theater training for students who are serious about exploring the craft of acting and the possibilities of entertainment and storytelling in a rapidly changing artistic landscape.
Students will be working with professionals from all corners of the industry. The core classes will be: Acting Studio, Voice & Speech (using your voice correctly and accents & dialects), Movement (stage combat and movement basics), Acting for Camera, and Improvisation.
Students will be able to choose electives from the following classes: Comedy performance, Shakespeare & classics, Mask & Clown, Devised work, Voice Over, Audition Technique, as well as a few acting masterclasses run by industry professionals. We will also be hosting a number of actors, writers, directors, and designers to talk to and work with our students.
Classes will have four blocks during the day: two classes before lunch and two after. Evenings are reserved for performances, talks, masterclasses, and rehearsal time. Saturdays will have a slight adjustment.
Students currently enrolled in grades 8 through 12 are eligible to apply. (CSSSA is open to students entering grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 next fall 2026. CSSSA is also open to students who are graduating from high school in the spring of 2026. You can still do the program the summer after graduation.)
More information about curriculum and faculty for the 2026 session will be announced soon – stay tuned!
Theater Curriculum
Acting Studio
Students will learn and refine the building blocks of good performance with monologues (both on stage and on camera), scene work, and various exercises to develop the actors’ instruments: voice, body, and mind.
Voice & Speech
Students will learn how to best use their voice by learning how to use volume, diction, resonance, and intention to present various texts to their full effectiveness.
Movement
Movement classes will cover various skills and techniques including stage combat (both armed and unarmed), stylistic and period movement, physical comedy, and other techniques.
Acting For Camera
Acting for Camera will center on performing in front of the camera and how the basics of acting need to be adapted and finessed to be effective for the screen big, small, and smaller.
Improvisation
All actors need to live in the moment and understand spontaneity, and the Improvisation class will be vital in every aspect of performance from comedy to drama and from feature films to commercials.
Program Instructors
Jeremy Guskin
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Jeremy Guskin brings a wealth of experience as a theater professional and educator. He was born and raised in New York City, has two Masters degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia. Jeremy has been an arts educator for over 20 years at LACHSA (the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts), Burbank High School, and currently runs the Theatre Department at AGLA (Aveson Global Leadership Academy). He was also the co-creator and star of an educational program entitled Shakesperience, which has both educated and entertained more than 100,000 students across Southern California. He has also been a steadily working actor for over 25 years with credits that include Just Add Magic, Henry Danger/Dangerforce, Young Sheldon, The Rookie, Alias, Art School Confidential, and many others.
