Inspirations | Creative Courses in Nanaimo, BC – Harbour City Theatre Alliance

What's your Inspriation?

Creative Exploration Programs for Arts, Culture & Leisure

Make Learning Fun

What is Inspirations?

Inspirations is new education program brought to you by the Harbour City Theatre Alliance Society. We offer students of all ages a variety of arts, culture and leisure courses facilitated by artists and experts dedicated to sharing their passions with you in person and online.

How does Inspirations work?

Check out our courses and facilitators below.
Choose which course matches your own inspirations and passions.
Choose your method of instruction between In-Person, Online Instruction, Hybrid (Rotate between in-person and online), and Observation-only.
Register and pay online through Brown Paper Tickets.
Receive a confirmation email with all the pertinent class supply lists, and further information about your preferred method of instruction.
Join the facilitator at the prescribed course day and time.
Review each lesson online as often as you like until 2 weeks after your official course end date.

Our Instructors

Inspirations is lead by a passionate team of instructors

When Dean co-founded Schmooze Productions with his wife Diane in 1999, he dreamed of producing theatrical opportunities for local artists. Now, 20 years later, he finds himself surrounded with incredible directors, designers, crew, musicians and performers.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Jennifer is delighted to have found roots on Vancouver Island. After graduating with a degree in Drama and Vocal Performance from Queen’s University, she enjoyed working as a theatre manager, actress and feature singer for several cruise lines.

Talk about your experience in 1 short paragraph.

Jessica was born and raised on Vancouver Island. As a kid she grew up dancing and after graduation she attended Arts Umbrella Dance Company in Vancouver for two years working with various dance artists and traveling in the USA and Europe.

Local artist and educator, Caroline Morrison, trained as an artist and fashion designer at The London College of Fashion Art & Design in 1973-76, and she continued her art education for many years following graduation and her move to Canada in 1977.

Ashlee holds a dual degree in music performance and comparative literature from Indiana University, and enjoys sharing her love of the performing arts with youth theatre and music ensembles on Vancouver Island.

COURSE LIST

Acting Up!

This 8-week class is designed for the beginning / amateur teen or adult actor, and will teach you the fundamentals of the craft. The class features quick and powerful ways to make your performance more natural and spontaneous. No experience is necessary. A great start for the beginning actor!

facilitator: Dean Chadwick

8 weeks

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Discovering Broadway Dance

This course will be offered as an 8-week subscription. It would appropriate for new performers as well as experienced dancers. The class will be 60 minutes long, however there would need to be a 15 minute break in between in order to clean/sanitize the space properly.

facilitator: Miranda Murphy

8 weeks

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New Adventures into Watercolour

Adventures into Watercolour

Caroline Morrison is excited to offer a brand new beginner class in watercolours called New Adventures in Watercolour. Each interactive two hour video session will introduce the basic skills and techniques needed to get started in this medium.

facilitator: Caroline Morrison

8 Lessons - 16 hour duration

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Further Adventures into...

Further Adventures into Watercolour

Caroline is a local artist and teacher and she has been teaching watercolours to students of all ages for twenty-five years. She is passionate about sharing her love of her favourite medium with the beginner painter, and gets no greater pleasure than seeing her students be successful and thrilled with their newly learned skills.

facilitator: Caroline Morrison

Coming Soon

Introduction into Ballet...

Introduction into Ballet & Contemporary Dance

Whether you are 8 or 80 this class is designed as an open and fun experience for anyone who has never danced a ballet or contemporary class in their life.

Facilitator: Jessica Atkinson

8 weeks

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Owning Your Health

Anatomy and Self-Care

Are you tired of being stuck at home and uninspired to move? Have you had previous or current injuries and don’t know what to do about it? Do you wish you had a better understanding of your own anatomy and how to achieve goals for your own personal sport or activity? Then this is the course for you.

Facilitator: Jessica Atkinson

8 weeks

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Writing Through the Senses

writing through the senses

Not your typical writing class, Writing through the Senses takes homeschoolers on an adventure in creative writing. Inspired by authors Karen Benke and Julie Bogart, participants will engage in open ended writing experiments. Each class will incorporate mindfulness practices to explore our senses, collaborative writing exercises to encourage, and poetry and prose from famous authors to inspire.

facilitator: ashlee sales

8 weeks

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Acting Through the Senses

Acting Through the Senses (and the 5w's)

New to acting? An old pro? No fear, this class is for all levels of experience. Through mindfulness practice, theatre games, and improvised skits, we will discover how actors use the five senses and the five W questions to develop their character and tell their story. Inspired by Viola Spolin and the book, Kids Take the Stage, students will develop foundational acting skills in a fun and collaborative setting.

facilitator: ashlee sales

8 weeks Facilitated by Ashlee Sales

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Speech & Dramatic Arts

This course is for students wishing to develop and improve public speaking and communication skills in a fun and creative way. Students will learn about using the actor’s/speaker’s tools: breath, projection, articulation, inflection, gestures, eye contact, and body movement in order to gain confidence when speaking in front of an audience.

facilitator: Jennifer Kelly

8 weeks

View Course

Choose How You Learn

In-Person

$ 160 for full course. Limited spacing available

Online Instruction

$ 240, available for watercolour courses only.

Hybird

$ 160 for full course. Features In-person and Live streamed at Home learning

Observation-Only

$ 40 Pre-recorded Video Access

October 2020

November

29 Oct

11:00 AM

Harbour City Theatre

Inspirations: Acting Through The Senses ( and the 5 Ws)

29 Oct

2:30 PM

Harbour City Theatre

What's your Inspriation?

Creative Exploration Programs for Arts, Culture & Leisure

Make Learning Fun

What is Inspirations?

How does Inspirations work?

Our Instructors

Dean Chadwick

Jennifer Kelly

Miranda Murphy

Jessica Downs

Caroline Morrison

Ashlee Sales

COURSE LIST

Acting Up!

facilitator: Dean Chadwick

Discovering Broadway Dance

facilitator: Miranda Murphy

Adventures into Watercolour

facilitator: Caroline Morrison

Further Adventures into...

Further Adventures into Watercolour

facilitator: Caroline Morrison

Introduction into Ballet & Contemporary Dance

Facilitator: Jessica Atkinson

Anatomy and Self-Care

Facilitator: Jessica Atkinson

writing through the senses

facilitator: ashlee sales

Acting Through the Senses (and the 5w's)

facilitator: ashlee sales

Speech & Dramatic Arts

facilitator: Jennifer Kelly

Choose How You Learn

In-Person

Online Instruction

Hybird

Observation-Only

October 2020

Audience

REntals

Events

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