Intermediate Acting Summer Institute

Refine your craft and master the scene

A performer in a hat and army gear stands on a colorful rug, facing an audience while two seated characters observe.

Develop techniques to take your talent to the next level and book the audition room.

The UCLA Intermediate Acting Summer Institute is a four-week, 8-unit intensive intended for artists who want to strengthen their skill in front of the camera and on stage. Participants will create content for their reel and take classes focused on acting, audition technique, improv, Kung Fu inspired stage combat and sketch comedy.

Every student will walk away with the tools to relate to the camera lens, approach to understanding a script along with identifying specific choices that can be made to prepare and connect in the audition room. Beyond the classroom, there will be guest workshops, field trips to a Hollywood Studio, improv nights and more.

The program is designed for college students who seek the discipline and training required for participation in a university theater program or a career in the entertainment industry.

Admission to the program is by digital audition and instructor consent. As part of the application process, each applicant must submit an unofficial transcript along with a resume. Both transcript and resume can be uploaded during the application process.

Fees and Payment Info

The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.

Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.

 

Program Fee
$4,753.00
Ackerman Student Union Fee
$16.20
Ackerman / Kerckhoff Seismic Fee
$38.00
Wooden Center Fee
$15.00
SPARC Fee
$45.00
Undergraduate Student Association Fee
$61.27
PLEDGE Fee
$23.41
IEI Fee
$61.00
Document Fee
$50.00
Total Estimated Fees:
$5,062.88
* Fees only apply for certain student types

Meet Your Instructors

Lorene Chesley

Lecturer – Theater 123

A native of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, Lorene Chesley grew up studying ballet and tap but quickly segued her love for performance into acting. Credits include “June” in the world premiere of Feeding Beatrice at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, “Marsha” in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike ( Crescent City Stage), “Valerie Johnston” in Smart people ( Arena Stage), “ Marian Almond” in the Heiress ( Arena Stage). TV credits include The Young and the Restless (CBS), Grownish ( Freeform), Shameless ( Showtime), and the Fosters (Freeform). Lorene also released her first book The Perfectly Imperfect Christian. She studied theatre at Temple University and earned an M.F.A. in acting at the University of California, San Diego.

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Toccarra Cash

Lecturer – Theater 138

Toccarra Cash is an award-winning Actor, Voiceover Artist, Writer, Public Speaker, and the Founder and Host of “The Image Monster” Workshop (as featured on NBC News)—an interactive workshop designed to provide a safe space for young Women of Color to explore and adopt a healthier self-image.

As an Actor, Toccarra recently starred as “Malika” in the Freeform/Hulu television show “Everything’s Trash”—starring Phoebe Robinson— which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. She also plays “Amaya” in the recently released romantic drama film, First, also streaming on Amazon Prime. She has starred in the hit Broadway comedy production, The Play That Goes Wrong (produced by J.J. Abrams), and she’s tackled roles Off-Broadway, such as the critically acclaimed Brothers from the Bottom (starring Wendell Pierce), as well as in London’s West End, and at numerous regional theatres across the country, receiving awards such as The Princess Grace Award and the A.U.D.E.L.C.O. Award for her work.

In film, her work includes ATL, Hereafter, Rosy, and the critically-lauded First Match on Netflix. On television, she has been featured in “Blue Bloods,” “Younger,” “Royal Pains,” and “Station 19.” You may have seen her in commercials for Farmer’s Insurance and Walmart last year, and additionally, as a highly featured Voiceover Artist, you may hear her voiceover work for brands like KitchenAid, Meow Mix, Geico, Old Navy, Pure Leaf Tea, Jif, Cotton, Principal Financial, and on the ABC docu-drama, Emergency Call. You’ll also hear her voice on Audible for the audiobook of Confessions of a Rock-Mom: The One with the Messy Hair & Smudged Lipstick—the book written by Joi Adams, on which the comedy pilot Confessions of a Rock-Mom is based—a project in which she is a co-writer and executive producer.

In addition to her acting work, inspiring young people is as strong a passion for Toccarra as acting, and she has served in that capacity as a mentor for “Tina’s Angels & Richard’s Warriors Mentorship Program” at WACO Theater Center (led by Tina Knowles-Lawson), and a Teaching Artist & Facilitator at institutions & businesses such as the McCarter Theatre at Princeton University, Creative Arts Team at City University of New York (CUNY), Playfair, HBO—where she led the Young Media Minds Program as its Media Literacy Facilitator for 7 years—and currently at Street Poets here in Los Angeles.

She is a proud graduate of the prestigious Spelman College, and received her MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)

Avery Clyde

Lecturer – Theater 138

Avery Clyde is an American actress known for strong, intellectual characters. “She can save or steal your baby or your business”. Known for her character Kathy Zelden on Amazon’s Bosch; it was the first time she played a character from a book series: Michael Connelly’s 4th book; Tale of Two Truths. Fun fact: Her first recurring role on Dawson’s Creek, she played a guidance counselor and was often younger than the actors she was “counseling”. Her experience is vast and includes:

Regional: The Heiress-Santa Barbara; The Circle-The Fountain; Stick Fly- The
Matrix; Emptier-Hudson, Women and Wallace-Actors Lab; Crimes of the Heart-Orlando Shakes; Bash, Brilliant Traces-Orlando Int’ Fringe; numerous shows with her home companies: The Road Theatre and Antaeus Theatre Company since 2005 respectfully; 100+workshops and readings.

TV: Tale of Santa Muerte (serial podcast), Bosch, Shameless, S.W.A.T. , Criminal Minds, Animal Kingdom, Crash & Burn, Damnation, Colony, The Forgotten, Grey’s Anatomy, Medium, ER, NCIS, Joan of Arcadia, Dawson’s Creek, Tanner on Tanner, Love Life, Aces, Going to California.

Film: Sinister Assistant, Monsters of California, Shimmer, Lapin, Sleep No More, Killer Vacation, Suicide Squad, If I Could Tell You, Unwound, Alice’s Birthday Wish, The Selena Incident, Your Name Here, Moon Lake Casino, Life with Fiona.

Avery has received numerous awards for her work, a testament to her talent. She has been honored by Steppenwolf West, Larry Moss, Virginia Tech; Ovation, Garland, Los Angeles Drama Critics & NAACP Award Winner; LA Weekly Nominee, StageScene LA Award Winner, Lillie Stoates Award – Nominee, Irene Ryan Candidate, ACTF; Best Actress –  Television category HollyShorts.

Avery is a member of SAG/AFTRA Equity and lives in Los Angeles with EP/director Rob Clyde and their two boys.

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Shannan Leigh Reeve

Lecturer – Theater 138
Shannan Leigh Reeve is a multi-hyphenate, female filmmaker who attributes her love of filmmaking to growing up across the globe and wanting to document and share the variety of cultures and traditions that she experienced.
Shannan started on stage and in musical theatre before channeling her athleticism into live-action stunt shows (Universal Studios Japan Water World, Universal Studios Hollywood T2:3d, & more) and film acting. In 2012, She moved from working in front of the camera, as an actress and a stuntwoman, to behind the camera as well when she and her wife launched the independent production company, Beleeve Entertainment, with the intention of focusing on themes of social justice, mental health, and positive representation for under-represented voices.
Since that time, Shannan has amassed professional credits in a variety of areas of filmmaking, though her emphasis continues to be on directing, as she enjoys navigating the arc of the characters with actors while streamlining the production process with department heads and crew. Using her education in Psychology, Shannan has always approached storytelling from a humanist perspective, leading with empathy and advocacy in the project she undertakes.
Her recent works include editing the feature film, Body of Water (Apple, SVOD), and working on the 2024 Telly award-winning educational series, “All Eyes Here,” for Children Hospital Los Angeles. She has also worked on multiple unscripted projects for HBO, A/E, NBC, Amazon Prime, and Tubi. Her narrative directing work includes The Invisible Border, which was awarded third place at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival CineSpace competition by Richard Linklater—as one of only two female directing finalists out of 658 submissions from 55 countries. She has also directed the short films The Visit, The Least Alone, The Obituarist, and Chromo46, as well as the award-winning narrative feature about addiction, Penumbra.
Shannan is a Stowe Story Lab Alumna – the only director to participate in the 2022 inaugural New Voices New Mexico program with her writing partner. She is also a mentor in The Latino Film Institute’s Youth Cinema Project and a former Cinematography Adjunct Professor.
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