WESTBROOK, ME: Acorn Productions today announced plans for a new low-cost series of acting workshops for actors of all levels of ability. These one-night workshops will take throughout the month of February and offer the local community a great way to get to meet Acorn's faculty and experience the company's new facility in the Dana Warp Mill. Workshops will be held Wednesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and feature topics such as Auditioning and Eccentric Performing (with Avner the Eccentric). A complete list of the workshop titles with a brief description appears below. Each workshop cost only $25 for a three-hour session and if students register for three workshops, they receive a fourth one at no additional cost. More information (including a registration form) can be found on Acorn's website www.acorn-productions.org,  or interested students can also call Acorn at (207) 854-0065.

Acorn Productions moved into their new studio space in September and has gradually been expanding the company's educational offerings. The current winter semester of acting classes will end in mid-March, with a new series of classes for kids, teens and adults beginning the week of March 19th. Acorn's faculty includes some well-known local actors and directors, and the company is pleased to welcome internationally-renowned performer Avner Eisenberg as a guest instructor this winter. Also joining the faculty is Rachel Flehinger, who has been offering classes in the Portland area for several years with her company "Stop, Drop and Role." Other educational programs offered by Acorn include a two-actor, one-hour touring version of "Macbeth," currently performing in Southern Maine high schools.

CALENDAR OF ACTING WORKSHOPS

INTRO TO ACTING
Thursday, Feb. 8 and Wednesday, Feb. 21
Taught by Keith Anctil (2/8) and Rachel Flehinger (2/21)
A beginner's overview of the acting process.

AUDITIONING
Thursday, Feb. 8
Taught by Michael Levine
Instruction on how to choose and present and effective monologue.

ECCENTIC PERFORMING
Thursday, Feb. 15
Taught by Avner Eisenberg
An intriguing workshop that provides participants a firm grounding in physical comedy techniques..

VOICE
Thursday, Feb. 22
Taught by Michael Howard
Exercises to expand an actor's awareness of the workings of their vocal mechanism.

IMPROV JAM
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Taught by Rachel Flehinger
A chance for actors to hone their technique in this unique art form

COLD READINGS
Thursday, March 1
Taught by Michael Levine
Instruction and practice with this common auditioning tool.

Time: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Cost: $25 (4 for $75)
Location: Acorn Studios, Dana Warp Mill, 90 Bridge St. in Westbrook
For more info or to register: call 854-0065 or visit www.acorn-productions.org

FACULTY BIOS

KEITH ANCTIL has been seen on stages from Boothbay to Boston, from Machias to Manhattan and points in between. He has been acting and teaching K-12 theater professionally in Maine for eight years. When he's not performing, Keith can be found at Wescott Jr. High in Westbrook where he is a special educator and founder of the Wescott Theater Company.

AVNER EISENBERG earned a BA in theatre from the University of Washington in 1971. He studied in Paris with Jacques Lecoq, and is probably best known for his endearing portrayal of The Jewel, the scene-stealing holy man, in The Jewel of the Nile, co-starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. He was also featured in the film Brenda Starr and the television series' Webster and Mathnet. Avner's one-man show, Avner the Eccentric, was a hit of the 1984-1985 Broadway season and has been touring internationally since that time.

RACHEL FLEHINGER has been teaching for 11 years, first in New York City and now Maine. her students can be seen on film, Broadway and stage throughout the country. She has studied at the George Washington University, Brooklyn College, The Michael Howard Studio with Larry Singer, as well as privately.

MICHAEL HOWARD has worked extensively both on stage and as a director and acting teacher in Maine and New York City. He holds M.F.A. degrees from Brooklyn College and Southwest Texas State University. His teachers include F. Murray Abraham, Uta Hagen, Kristen Linklater, and Spalding Gray.

MICHAEL LEVINE has been teaching acting in Portland for the past ten years. Mike is a graduate of M.I.T. where he studied playwrighting with A.R. Gurney and acting with Kristen Linklater and Shakespeare and Company. He is the co-founder of the Oak Street Theatre and Acorn Productions, for whom he has directed many productions.