Encompass Collective Summer Retreat 2025
Our 4th summer at The Celebration Barn!
Faculty: Chalia La Tour, Dr. Budi Miller, Xavier Pacheco, & Dr. Taylor Barfield (dramaturgy)
Scholarships available. Applications for scholarships due by April 1st.
Encompass Collective hosts a five-day actor intensive. The ensemble will participate in graduate school-level actor training, including movement, voice, scene study, and on-camera acting. The beautiful woods at Celebration Barn provide a secluded retreat for emerging actors interested in developing their skills for embodying character and story for stage and screen.
People of all abilities are encouraged to join. Please note that this work is full body, physical, and rigorous, but accommodations can be for every body, please reach out if there are concerns. Days will run 9am-7pm with breaks. This intensive is 5 full days.
An Evening of Affinity Space Actor Training
Learn about the artistry, camaraderie, and joy that can be unlocked when actor training takes place in an affinity space.
Co-presented by Celebration Barn, Encompass Collective, and the Visit
For the past three years, Celebration Barn, a nonprofit theater center in Western Maine, has hosted two workshops for artists of the global majority: The Encompass Collective Summer Retreat, led by members of the collective, and the Visit, led by Dr. Budi Miller.
Each workshop is distinct, but they are aligned in their commitment to advancing the artistry of global majority actors; giving actors the opportunity to work on scenes that speak directly to their lived experience, identity, or heritage; and preparing actors to navigate a field that is still dominated by primarily white institutions.
Over the past three years, the results have been remarkable. Many students claim that the workshops marked a turning point in their professional practice. Some have gone on to win admission to the top graduate programs or landed roles in major productions in theater, film, or television.
This evening gives artists, teachers, and audience members a chance to learn more about the role of affinity space actor training, what it can achieve, and why it is critical against the backdrop of widespread efforts to end—even punish—initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The evening will feature presentations from the workshop leaders, live rehearsals with alumni of the workshops, and a discussion, followed by a Q&A.
To learn more about the Encompass Collective Summer Retreat, visit celebrationbarn.com/encompass.
To learn more about the Visit, visit celebrationbarn.com/the-visit.
Encompass Collective at Studio Theatre
Encompass Collective will be in Washington DC with the Studio Theatre to engage with the community. Actors will participate in a panel discussion and get monologue coaching with Encompass Collective co-leaders, Chalia La Tour and Jenelle Chu.
Featuring:
A Panel Discussion with Jenelle Chu, Chalia La Tour, Danica Rodriguez (Casting Director at Shakespeare Theatre Company) and Raiyon Hunter (Casting Director & Line Producer at Arena Stage): Authenticity and Navigating the Industry
Monologue Coaching: Where You and the Text Meet
A performance of The Scenarios by Tiffany Nichole Greene
Encompass Collective Summer Retreat 2024
Encompass Collective Summer Retreat is here for a third summer. We are excited to welcome a new cohort of actors to The Celebration Barn.
Scholarships available. Priority to those applying by 4/15.
Bus tickets from NYC to Maine available. Apply for tickets by 4/15.
To Register and get more info click here.
Encompass Collective hosts a five-day actor intensive. The ensemble will participate in graduate school-level actor training, including movement, voice, scene study, and on-camera acting. The beautiful woods at Celebration Barn provide a secluded retreat for emerging actors interested in developing their skills for embodying character and story for stage and screen.
People of all abilities are encouraged to join. Please note that this work is full body, physical, and rigorous, but accommodations can be for every body, please reach out if there are concerns. Days will run 9am-7pm with breaks. This intensive is 5 full days.
Faculty will include internationally renowned teacher, Dr. Budi Miller, Jenelle Chu, Maya Smoot (Voice & Shakespeare), and Dr. Taylor Barfield (Dramaturgy).
“Experimentation and Curiosity brought me to the Barn with Encompass Collective. My relationship with theater is a new one in comparison to the larger arc of my creative path and I knew I wanted to play/learn/rest with highly skilled practitioners. My time at Celebration Barn deeply transformed how I sharpen and sustain my artistic vessel, affirmed my journey in theater in spite of/in celebration of the place I started from, and reminded me that acting training can be FUN. My time at the Encompass Collective Retreat enriched all aspects of my life: my other artistic disciplines (dance and performance art) intrinsically got sharper and clearer after my time with Jenelle, Sohina, and Ato. If you are a life-long theater kid or an experimental performer looking for a new perspective, deeply consider spending your Summer at Celebration Barn with Encompass Collective.” - Bryanna Bradley (Summer ‘22)
“This workshop was a GIFT. It's cliche to say an experience was life-changing, but this actually was—it's not like anything I've experienced before. Were the classes wonderful? Yes. Did I grow as an artist? Yes. Is Celebration Barn an absolutely magical, beautiful, natural location? Yes. But for me, the thing that mattered most was the community. To be in space with only artists of color, in a location and setting many of us would never otherwise get the chance to experience...that changed something deep in me, opened up a world of possibilities I hadn't otherwise considered—to put it simply, it made me feel FREE. I could BREATHE in a way it's very, very hard to do in other types of company, i.e., the rest of the entire damn world. Thank you Jenelle, Ato, and Sohina, thank you Encompass Collective, thank you Celebration Barn. I'm carrying this one with me forever.” - Joseph Cardozo (Summer ‘22)
A Celebration of The Encompass Collective & The Visit
A Celebration of the Encompass Collective and The Visit
For the past two years, the Encompass Collective Summer Retreat and The Visit workshops have given BIPOC actors access to unique training opportunities in the supportive context of an affinity space. Through these workshops, actors are empowered to reclaim their artistry, connect with their peers, and learn skills that will help them navigate—and change—the industries of theater, film, and television.
Over the next two months, we are raising money to support scholarships and travel for students and instructors for this year’s workshops. Last year we raised over $12,000, and this year, with our community of supporters, we are seeking to raise $15,000.
This year, there are three ways to contribute:
Make a gift to our Go Fund Me
Buy a ticket to our fundraising event in New York City on Monday, March 11 @ The Flea Theater (The Pete)
Bid on an item in our silent auction now through April 5
The money we raise will help us:
Offer scholarships to students in need, so that the average cost to attend (including housing!) is $250 for the Encompass Retreat and $350 for the Visit.
Offer free transportation from New York City to Maine and back for students in the Encompass Retreat.
Offset travel expenses for the instructors, including bringing world-renowned acting teacher Budi Miller to the United State from Australia, where he is based.
These workshops are a partnership among Encompass Collective (led by Jenelle Chu and Chalia La Tour), the Visit (led by Budi Miller, who teaches the workshop, Taylor Barfield, and Julian Elijah Martinez), and Celebration Barn (led by Executive Artistic Director David Bruin).
Graduate School Q&A Panel
Lingering questions about the experience of graduate acting programs for people of the Global Majority?
Encompass Collective is hosting a panel with BIPOC graduates of Yale, NYU, Juilliard, Columbia, Brown, and more.
Free on Zoom
Saturday, November 11
12 - 1:30 pm EST
Grad School Auditon Drop In Class
For the 3rd year, we are hosting a drop in class to get you ready for Graduate MFA Acting auditions. Each class will have two MFA actors as facilitators to give feedback on your monolgoues and songs. You can use your time to work on your pieces, read your statement aloud, or ask questions about the audition process & our time at these schools. Each class will be hosted by different facilitators so that you can get a diversity of notes and feedback.
Sign up for as many classes as you need!
In-Person dates: @ Alchemical Studios (50 West 17th Street, NYC)
Monday 1/8/2024 6-8pm EST & Saturday 1/13/2024 2-4pm EST
NEW Zoom dates:
Saturday 1/13 2-4pm, Monday 1/15 6-8pm, Saturday 1/20 2-4pm EST
Zoom dates:
$25 per class per student
Saturday 10/28/23 2-4pm EST
Monday 10/30 7-9pm EST
Saturday 11/11 2-4pm EST
Monday 11/13 7-9pm EST
Monday 11/27 7-9pm EST
Saturday 12/9 2-4pm EST
Monday 12/11 7-9pm EST
Saturday 12/16 2-4pm EST
Encompass Collective Summer Retreat 2023
Encompass Collective hosts a five-day actor intensive. The ensemble will participate in graduate school-level actor training, including movement, voice, scene study, and on-camera acting. The beautiful woods at Celebration Barn provide a secluded retreat for emerging actors interested in developing their skills for embodying character and story for stage and screen.
People of all abilities are encouraged to join. Please note that this work is full body, physical, and rigorous, but accommodations can be for every body, please reach out if there are concerns. Days will run 9am-7pm with breaks.
Faculty will include Encompass Collective founders Jenelle Chu, Chalia La Tour, Julian Elijah Martinez, and internationally renowned teacher, Budi Miller.
Learn more about cost, room and board, and registration at https://celebrationbarn.com/encompass/. Scholarship application deadline is May 21, 2023.
Network Diversity Showcase Crash Course
Want to know how to create dynamic comedic characters and memorable audition scenes for Network Diversity showcases?
Encompass presents a two-day online workshop where you learn what a network diversity showcase is and how to create dynamic auditions for them. We will focus on the CBS diversity showcase and how to write and create authentic and funny characters for them. We will also work on ABC and NBC diversity showcase workshops and how to create memorable scene auditions. This course is made up of 3 components: Understanding your brand and comedic voice, writing and developing comedic characters from physicality to writing, and how to audition authentically with scenes.
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Sat 3/18 and Sun 3/19
On Zoom
5-8pm EST / 2-5pm PST
Sliding Scale $120-$300
Meet Your Teachers
Chris Renfro and Nikki McKenzie are both alumni of the CBS Diversity Showcase 2019 and are comedians and house performers with UCB LA. They are working professionals in TV and film. Most notable credits for Chris Renfro are Queer AF, The L Word, Tom Swift and Good Trouble. Most notable credits for Nikki McKenzie are Seal Team, Prank Encounters, Magnum PI and The Wedding Contest.
demystifying grad school auditions
Getting ready for MFA acting auditions and looking for support and community while on this journey? 6 drop in classes on zoom facilitated by Encompass founders Jenelle Chu and Sohina Sidhu. Contact Us to sign up for any or all classes.
December 4th, 11th, 18th & January 3rd, 8th, 15th
$25-$40 sliding scale per class
3 - 5:40 PM EST (on zoom)
Encompass Collective Summer Retreat
Join Encompass Collective for five days of rigorous actor training for emerging BIPOC artists.
Encompass Collective is hosting a week-long actor intensive at Celebration Barn in South Paris, Maine. For six days, the ensemble will participate in grad school-level actor training including movement, voice, scene study, self-tape, and a workshop on surviving PWIs. The beautiful woods at Celebration Barn provide a secluded retreat for emerging actors interested in developing their skills for embodying character and story for stage and screen.
The Business of Acting
4-day crash course workshop on getting your business together. We’ll discuss agents, managers, casting directors, websites, unions, diversity showcases, reels, and work on self-tape skills for screen, theater, commercials, and voice overs! We hope that at the end of this crash course workshop you will feel empowered and confident to show this industry who you are.
$100.00-$200.00 sliding scale
Class will take place on Zoom.
Day 1 Saturday April 2 @ 2 - 4:30 pm EST
Day 2 Sunday April 3 @ 2-4:30 pm EST TV/Film sides
Day 3 Saturday April 9 @ 2-4:30 pm EST Theater/Musical Theater sides
Day 4 Sunday April 10 @ 2-4:30 pm EST Commercial and VO sides
IG LIVE: Paths to the Series Regular with Julian Elijah Martinez and Mark St. Cyr
Join us on March 31 at 2pm PST/5pm EST on IG LIVE
The Business Side of Acting: Paths to the Series Regular
w/ Julian Elijah Martinez (co-founder of EC, Wu Tang: An American Saga) & Mark St. Cyr (High School Musical, Marshall, Doomsday)
Co-founder Julian Elijah Martinez go live with actor, director, and producer Mark St. Cyr to unpack their diverging paths toward being a Series Regular.
encompass collective x the fled collective
Our collaboration with The Fled Collective will offer virtual and in person pay-what-you-can masterclasses and workshops throughout the fall. Follow us both on Instagram @thefledcollective and @encompassnyc or subscribe for our email list here to stay up to date.
In co-production with our friends at The Fled Collective, these classes will not be Global Majority affinity spaces. All are welcome.
Radio Fled on Monday 2/28 at 7:30pm EST featuring Jenelle Chu and Francesca Fernandez McKenzie with The Fled Collective on Twitter Spaces
Containers: A Physical Exploration of the Imagination with Julian Elijah Martinez on Sunday 10/30 1-4pm EST in person/zoom hybrid movement class.
Encompass Collective x All Asian Arts Alliance Workshop and Q&A
Co-Founders Sohina Sidhu and Jenelle Chu facilitate a one day workshop with students at NYU with the All Asian Arts Alliance.
Students will bring in monologues and get feedback.
Finding Your Voice: A VO Workshop with Sean Boyce Johnson
A three day workshop where actor and voice over artist Sean Boyce Johnson will demystify the voice over industry, and help you develop your unique voice for audio performance. You will leave this class with a voice reel of your own so you can start your career in voice over work. Workshop includes a one-on-one with Sean to perfect your reel.
Sean Boyce Johnson is an American actor and voice-over artist who holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama. He was born and raised in Queens, New York. After pursuing a career in Law Enforcement, Sean turned to the theatre, where he has since performed Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. His most recent work includes 'For Life' on ABC, narration for National Geographic and the '4th and Forever' docuseries on HBO Max.
Visit Sean’s website here to listen to his VO reel.
Nov 20 & 21 and Dec 4
2 - 4 pm EST
$185 - $315 (sliding scale)
Demystifying Grad School Auditions
Getting ready for MFA acting auditions? Come drop in whenever you want! Facilitated by Encompass founders and alums from Yale, Juilliard, NYU, and more.
Masterclass w/ Antoinette Crowe-Legacy
Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Godfather of Harlem, WeCrashed) coaches selftapes for on camera and theater in this one time zoom masterclass.
