Acting I: Beginning Acting

I took this class with Ashley Baptiste in Fall 2024. (Sorry Olga the review doesn't reflect you!). I hated the course. It's a waste of time for those with prior acting experience. As a professor, Ashley is commanding, and rude. She comes off as nice initially but was very mean with a few students and had her favourites. She is not open to change, discussion or adapting. Grading criteria was unclear, and effective feedback was not given. I did not learn anything from this class. Would not recommend taking it with her - she made me miserable.

I took this class with Ashley Baptiste in Fall 2024. (Sorry Olga the review doesn't reflect you!). I hated the course. It's a waste of time for those with prior acting experience. As a professor, Ashley is commanding, and rude. She comes off as nice initially but was very mean with a few students and had her favourites. She is not op …Read more

I took this course with Prof. Ashley Baptiste who did not seem to appear on the instructor listing. Prof. Baptiste is a nice, energetic and accommodating person in class although her style can sometimes feel a bit commanding in unnecessary aspects. As someone with little to no experience in theatre I feel quite unchallenged in this course, as the scene assigned are short and physical exercises in class are more leaning in to physical exploration of the body rather than physical/vocal/literal exploration based on a theatrical concept. Feedback were helpful but mostly generic acting advice that would apply to most beginners (and there wasn't written feedback for the mid-term, which is a regret). Participation in the audition and prior preparation is an important component of the course, and felt constructive for my growth in the course. Overall I enjoyed the course but felt that it could have been so much more rich and nuanced.

I took this course with Prof. Ashley Baptiste who did not seem to appear on the instructor listing. Prof. Baptiste is a nice, energetic and accommodating person in class although her style can sometimes feel a bit commanding in unnecessary aspects. As someone with little to no experience in theatre I feel quite unchallenged in this c …Read more

The class was overall chill and comfortable. The class was based on practical exercises such as walking, stretching, etc. We were assigned two scenes, one with a short script, and one with a longer script, which was most of all our grade. We also had informal journal submissions, which were not even tough. The class requires one to attend two theater productions, a great opportunity to learn new plays and new things about Middlebury. Professor Alex was such a nice, enthusiastic teacher, and I will definitely recommend taking his course.

The class was overall chill and comfortable. The class was based on practical exercises such as walking, stretching, etc. We were assigned two scenes, one with a short script, and one with a longer script, which was most of all our grade. We also had informal journal submissions, which were not even tough. The class requires one to a …Read more

I never would've thought that I would be taking an acting class in college, but Craig really changed my perspective on the arts. This course was my hardest class in terms of pushing my boundaries, memorization, and open-mindedness, but I appreciated all of it. Craig is such an understanding professor and truly understands that everyone is trying something very new. You will have to do a lot of memorization and acting scenes, but I TOTALLY recommend this class if you are looking to try something new.

I never would've thought that I would be taking an acting class in college, but Craig really changed my perspective on the arts. This course was my hardest class in terms of pushing my boundaries, memorization, and open-mindedness, but I appreciated all of it. Craig is such an understanding professor and truly understands that everyo …Read more

Prior to this class I had no acting experience, Professor Olga was very helpful and cared about your well being throughout all of our projects. I learned a lot and homework was never too much, if you really didn't have time and communicated, you could extend when you'd turn it in, otherwise it was perfect as an intro into the theater department.

The class was very interesting and I was super excited to go to class every time. The professor made the class very friendly and fun. I made a lot of friends from this class and we would do assignments and class activities together. I would definitely recommend it.

This class is a great way to put yourself out there and with the professors and students from this department it is very easy to work together as they have a close-knit community. This class requires huge collaboration and you have to be prepared to leave you comfortable space. Taking it with Prof. Sanchez requires 2 reflections per week and readings (sometimes) and it can be easy to forget those so it is important to plan ahead for those assignments. Overall great class!

This class is a great way to put yourself out there and with the professors and students from this department it is very easy to work together as they have a close-knit community. This class requires huge collaboration and you have to be prepared to leave you comfortable space. Taking it with Prof. Sanchez requires 2 reflections per …Read more

I really enjoyed this course. I was originally shy to perform in front of a large audience and was slightly introverted when I first started Middlebury in my freshman year. This class completely transformed me and made me comfortable enough to perform all kinds of scenes in front of large crowds.

I enjoyed the class. It's great for beginners to take. Craig is very enthusiastic, and we can immerse ourselves in learning to perform. He also encourages his students to explore the body, voice, and language more. The exams are all performances of a theater excerpt. Rehearsal is the most time-consuming. However, the private rehearsal with the instructor is very useful; he will give you suggestions based on your performance.

I enjoyed the class. It's great for beginners to take. Craig is very enthusiastic, and we can immerse ourselves in learning to perform. He also encourages his students to explore the body, voice, and language more. The exams are all performances of a theater excerpt. Rehearsal is the most time-consuming. However, the private rehearsa …Read more

I had a great time in acting 1 with Claudio. I thought he was a very enthusiastic professor, which is very helpful, especially in an acting class. Most of our work was done during class, and there were journal entries due every three weeks. When working on a scene, you might spend 2-3 hours a week rehearsing before presenting in class.

Acting was definitely a super fun and new type of class. I loved the random activities we would do in class - you really have to buy into it tho...some of them are quite weird. Don't be fooled though - there is honestly a lot of homework outside of class, from reflections to auditions. However, I would definitely retake this class

I took this course thinking it would be a relaxed environment where I could blow off steam. While it was relaxed and therapeutic at points, it must be said that Claudio can be a tough grader. Normally minimum homework; however, on the weeks when we had performances, I spent a minimum of 3 hours rehearsing with my partner. Overall, Claudio is a very kind, energetic, humorous, and passionate teacher, but the grading of assignments seems inconsistent.

I took this course thinking it would be a relaxed environment where I could blow off steam. While it was relaxed and therapeutic at points, it must be said that Claudio can be a tough grader. Normally minimum homework; however, on the weeks when we had performances, I spent a minimum of 3 hours rehearsing with my partner. Overall, Cl …Read more

Acting with Boddie was an interesting experience. I made a lot of friends in this class, and really enjoyed the performance aspect of the course. Given that I had a little bit of experience in acting, and that I did and still do have preconceived notions of what it means to act, I did not enjoy the day-to-day assignments/acting prompts given. We essentially only explored dialogue and had to create our own scenarios and characters, which I personally disagreed with. I also thought it to be unfair that group acting was graded as a group rather than individually. Otherwise, the class was fun, there was little reading involved, a small amount of memorization, and a lot of creativity.

Acting with Boddie was an interesting experience. I made a lot of friends in this class, and really enjoyed the performance aspect of the course. Given that I had a little bit of experience in acting, and that I did and still do have preconceived notions of what it means to act, I did not enjoy the day-to-day assignments/acting promp …Read more

Chill class, the journals are annoying, and she makes us write more than i belive is necessary, but the class itself is pretty fun. do it with your friends, more enjoyable that way. auditions can be pretty annoying also

This was a very light course, and an enjoyable one at that. I've had an intrest in acting, so this was a great introduction to it. It dod take a fre weeks before we actually did some acting, but still, it was an enjoyable experience.

Acting 1 with Alex was an amazing experience! Whether you have a lot of background in theatre, or this is your first time stepping into acting shoes at all, this is the class for you. This class made a lot of us (including myself) break out of our shell and learn how to make better eye contact with people, how to perform at an audition, and taught valuable skills that not only apply to the stage, but also in real life social situations. There was not a lot of work in this class besides memorizing some lines, that being said, Alex does expect students to come to class prepared with readings and plays just like in any other class.

Acting 1 with Alex was an amazing experience! Whether you have a lot of background in theatre, or this is your first time stepping into acting shoes at all, this is the class for you. This class made a lot of us (including myself) break out of our shell and learn how to make better eye contact with people, how to perform at an auditi …Read more

The class is so fun, and no matter your theatre level you will most likely enjoy it and learn something useful. The class does not require that much work outside of class, but the few readings that are assigned you have to do, as these are big parts of the class.

Strongly recommended for anyone remotely interested in acting or theater. Great way to achieve your art distribution requirement but also a fun and low-stakes introductory class that opens up further theater involvement in the future. Claudio is a pleasure and very fun (just make sure you read the plays when he tells you—they're really quite short).

Michole is great. I'll admit that she's pretty intimidating, but don't worry. She's super nice and really understanding. She views the class as a journey rather than a test, and she provides effective feedback without being harsh. As long as you show up and commit, you'll do great.

Jay is definitely an enthusiastic individual who brings a lot of passion and energy to his teaching. However, I found that I didn't learn as much in his class. One of my biggest concerns was the grading, which I felt was very unfair. I put in a lot of effort and time into my work but never get the grades that I felt I deserved. This was also a common issue amongst my fellow classmates, which made the situation even more frustrating. I spent much much more time than I would expect in this class. Also, the syllabus is very vague, which made it difficult to know what was expected of me in the class. In fact, the syllabus on Canvas was an outdated version from a previous semester. Overall, I wouldn't recommend taking Professor Dunn's class, particularly if you're hoping to fulfill an ART distribution requirement.

Jay is definitely an enthusiastic individual who brings a lot of passion and energy to his teaching. However, I found that I didn't learn as much in his class. One of my biggest concerns was the grading, which I felt was very unfair. I put in a lot of effort and time into my work but never get the grades that I felt I deserved. This …Read more

I enjoyed the course (Claudio is very nice), however was not expecting it to be as much work as it ended up being. Expect to put in hours and hours of work before performances (usually around three major ones). There are a bunch of required plays to attend and you'll have to write essays about those plays, and about your performances. The class was definitely fun, it was just a ton of work. Claudio is also a hard grader.

I enjoyed the course (Claudio is very nice), however was not expecting it to be as much work as it ended up being. Expect to put in hours and hours of work before performances (usually around three major ones). There are a bunch of required plays to attend and you'll have to write essays about those plays, and about your performances …Read more

I really enjoyed Professor Medeiros. He brought a lot of energy to the classroom and made the course very fun. I would take another course with him if I was given the chance. There was a lot of projects though which made the class oftentimes exhausting.

It was a generally easy course if you fully buy in. It was definitely a step outside the comfort zone, but if you take the class with a friend, it makes it much easier. There is minimal homework, but you will perform skits in class.