CANCELLED: Still Learning 18: Acting Up
This class has been cancelled for March 2026 due to medical reasons.
This course will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, March 10, 12, 17, 19, 24 and 26, 2026, 1:00-2:30 p.m., at the Northwoods Hub (formerly known as the Mercer Senior Center) in Mercer, Wis.
Get a tantalizing taste of acting, with no need to memorize any lines!
One of the best-known directors on the Gogebic Range, Helen Fashbaugh, will share her expertise in six 90-minute sessions exploring the basics of reading scripted scenes for the creation of characters and relationships for production.
Experience the joy of working your imagination and become comfortable expressing yourself! You’ll also get a feel for what it’s like to be an actor. The final session, March 26, will be an informal sharing of students’ work with invited family and friends.
Sessions will include:
• Warm-up sessions for voice and movement.
• Development of backstory of a character and discovery of that character’s spine, intention, and subtext in a scene.
• Working with props and movement as extension of characterization.
• Working with the rehearsal process with a director.
• Sharing a scene before an audience of family and friends.
A variety of scripted scenes from various plays will be available to choose from–comedy, drama, and some in-between. Scenes will be relatively short. No memorization needed; the focus will be process and involvement in making choices, and entering a character with ease and commitment in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Requirements: No previous experience is required.
One of the best-known, best-loved directors on the Gogebic Range, instructor Helen Fashbaugh holds an M.F.A. in theatre from The Ohio State University and undergraduate degrees in Theatre and English from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
She has taught theatre, performance, acting, and appreciation on the university and high school level (in addition to high school English for 20+ years). She was Executive/Artistic Director for the Columbus Junior Theatre of the Arts in Ohio for six years in the 1980s before moving to Ironwood, continuing to return to Iowa and Ohio in summers to work in various gifted and talented youth programs. She has directed and held workshops in a variety of community theatres since her university experience. Recent local productions have included Doubt, You Can’t Take it With You, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Eleemosynary, and The Glass Menagerie.
This class is limited to 12 students.
We recommend signing up at least two weeks ahead of class to ensure class fills and to prevent cancellation.
Instructor: Helen Fashbaugh
Online Registration: Scroll down to our Registration form to register online!
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Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.
Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 862-2032 or (715) 476-2881.
Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.
Course Cancellations: Students are encouraged to register at least 2 weeks before the beginning of any Fe University course. A course with less than 4 students 2 weeks before the start date may be cancelled at instructor/FeU discretion, with students’ registrations refunded. If you’re interested in a class, please sign up early! Thank you.
Student Cancellations: If a registered student cancels, registration can be refunded if requested 4 or more days before the course’s start date. We’re afraid cancellation requests made 3 or fewer days before the course’s start date are unable to be refunded.
Only $10 for the entire course! This “Still Learning After All These Years” series course is priced at a discount, thanks to a generous grant from Bader Philanthropies Inc.