the actor in motion
With Master Teacher Tom Stroud
Acting is a physical pursuit and the ability to fully embody theatrical expression is fundamental in all aspects of the acting process. Acting in Motion is a practical course designed to help actors develop skills, awareness, and a better understanding, of how movement and emotional expression are essential to the art and craft of acting.
Through in-studio practice, discussion, and group exercises participants will develop a solid awareness of the physical, emotional, imaginative and intellectual processes within the body and how they can be placed in the service of full and meaningful creative expression. The desired outcome is to understand embodiment as a foundational and universal principle in all styles and methodologies of theatre practice and to prepare participants for future acting studies.
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Areas of exploration will include:
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The integration of voice and body
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Connecting to your partner
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Developing range of expression
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Working safely and courageously
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The theatrical use of space
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Working within the ensemble
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Application to text​
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Sundays, 11:00 - 1:00 pm, 10 weeks, $380.00
September 28 - December 07, 2025
Instructor: Tom Stroud
No class Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025 (Thanksgiving Weekend)
about Tom
With over 40 years of experience in the field TOM STROUD is a choreographer and director known for his integrated approach to theater and dance. A graduate of the Simon Fraser University School for the Performing Arts, he has performed and toured with companies across the country and his works have been commissioned and presented by companies, festivals, and presenters coast to coast.
In 1991 Tom was appointed as the Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD) where, during his 14-year tenure, Stroud created numerous works for the company and spearheaded national and international collaborations that resulted in residencies and performances in Canada, the United States and Mexico. In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Choo San Goh Award for choreography.
In 2005 Stroud joined the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Winnipeg teaching compliment included movement, embodiment for actors, image-based theatre, acting, as well as directing productions for the department. He currently holds the position of Senior Scholar at the Department of Theatre and Film. His research examines emotion science, embodiment, and the actor’s creative process in contemporary performance practice.
In 2012 Tom began training in the Emotional Effector Patterns under the guidance of master teacher Laura Bond. He is currently an Emotional Body Lead Instructor and a certified Alba teacher. He is a founding member of the Emotional Fluency Project and currently leads workshops in Emotional Fluency Training for Actors.
Fall 2025
beginner acting methods
If you took a drama class back in high school or always wanted to but never got around to it, beginners acting methods is the perfect place to start. Make new friends while you boost your confidence and step outside of your comfort zone. Students will learn basic acting skills such as improvisation, voice training, movement and text work. At the end of Cairn’s 10 week course, you can show off your new acting skills in the Actor’s Studio Adult Cabaret! (P.S. This course often has a waiting list so don’t wait to register!)
Sundays: 1:30 - 3:30 pm, 10 weeks, $380.00
September 28-December 07, 2025
Instructor: Cairn Moore
No class on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025 (Thanksgiving )
intermediate acting methods/audition prep
If you have taken our beginner acting methods class or have previous acting experience and want to delve deeper, this class is perfect for you. Emphasis will be on audition prep. Learn how to choose and analyze a monologue. You will also be introduced to various acting techniques. At the end of the term, test drive your monologue before a live audience at the Actors Studio Cabaret.
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Sundays, 4:00-6:00 pm, 10 weeks, $380.00
September 28-December 07, 2025
Instructor: Cairn Moore
No class Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025 (Thanksgiving Weekend)
Fall /Winter 2025/26
youth acting conservatory company (16 - 23 yrs)
The Youth Acting Conservatory is a performance based company designed for dedicated young actors who wish to take their acting to the next level in a professional theatre environment. Training focuses on voice, movement and improvisation skills, with an emphasis on ensemble work.
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Potential members should enjoy working collaboratively and have previous acting experience. Our creative process will culminate in a full production in the summer of 2026.
Exciting News!
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After an exciting run of Jordoan Tannahill’s Concord Flora at Prairie Theatre Exchange in March 2025, Actors Studio is excited to announce that we will be mounting the broadway hit that’s making waves in New York, John Proctor is the Villain written by Kimberly Belflower.
Casting…
3 men, 6 women (flexible)
About the Play…
At a high school in a one-stoplight town in Georgia, an English class is studying The Crucible but the students are preoccupied with navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals. As the students delve into the American classic, they begin to question the play's perspective and the validity of naming John Proctor the show's hero. With deep wells of passion and biting humour, this comedy captures a generation mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury, discovering that their future is not bound by the past and that they have the power to change it all.
What the Critics Have to Say…
"JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN manages to be genuinely funny as well as deadly serious. Belflower's skill is such that these contrasting elements—and the rapid-fire transitions in mood and emotional temperature they require—seem utterly organic as her play unfolds...growing stronger scene by scene.”—Boston Globe
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"Biting and exquisite.”—MD Theatre Guide
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"a touching, and sometimes hilarious, portrait of bracingly specific 21st-century young people." —The Washington Post
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"We have to be the witches they've always said we are, and
counter their magic with our own. So fine, if you insist. This
is a witch hunt. We're witches, and we're hunting you."
—Lindy West, The Witches Are Coming
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Concord Floral 2025
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Sundays 1:00-4:00 p.m. $670.00
Sunday, January 04 - Sunday, May 3, 2026
Tech Date: Friday, May 8th, 2026
Show Dates: Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10, 2026
Director: Maia Woods (also known as Ms. Maia)
Auditions late October 2025
. Please contact Cairn directly to book your audition.
About Ms. Maia…
Maia Woods-Chliboyko (she/her) is a Winnipeg-based actor. Recently graduated from the University of Winnipeg Honours Acting program. Some of her most notable roles are Spokeswoman and Woman in Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions (University of Winnipeg), Emma in Stupid F*cking Bird (University of Winnipeg), Everybody in Everybody (Actor’s Studio, Winnipeg Fringe 2023), and Rhonda in Almost, Maine (Actor’s Studio, Winnipeg Fringe 2019). Though acting will always be her first love, Maia is now trying her hand at playwriting and directing. As a long-term alumni of the Youth Conservatory herself, she is excited to be sitting on the other side of the stage this year.
The New England woman had no political rights. She neither voted nor served on juries. Officially voiceless, she nonetheless found plenty of ways to make herself heard and demonstrated a vaulting need to speak her mind. In legal records she hectors, shrieks, quarrels, scolds, rants, rails, tattles, and spits."
—Stacy Schiff, The Witches: Salem, 1692
Some Spicy Quotes…
To register ...
To ensure a spot in an Actor's Studio class please fill out the contact form identifying the class you wish to enroll in and Cairn will get back to you as soon as possible.
Winter 2026
New and Exciting!
Emotional Effector Patterns Weekend Workshop Intensive with Master Teacher Tom Stroud
Working With Emotion – an Introduction to the Emotional Effector Patterns and Emotional Fluency Training for Actors.
To reach the audience an actor must possess the ability to fully embody the full range of human emotion. The Emotional Effector Patterns (EEP) are set of biologically based breathing and postural patterns that allow actors to access and express authentic emotion safely, repeatably, and with emotional clarity, providing a powerful foundation for performance grounded in the body’s own expressive language.
Emotional Fluency Training for Actors (EFTA) is a system of teaching the Emotional Effector Patterns designed specifically for actors. Actors who have participated in EFTA workshops have reported: an ability to enter and exit an emotion and regulate it with control and without the use of personal history; a deeper moment-to-moment connection to their partner; a wider range of expression; an ability to work safely and courageously; and a greater capacity to repeat their performances.
In this weekend-long workshop, participants will learn all six of the basic patterns plus two neutral patterns and gain an understanding of how they can be applied to the art and craft of acting.
The schedule will be as follows:
Friday January 9, 6:00 – 9:00
Saturday January 10, 10:00 – 5:00*
Sunday January 11, 10:00 – 5:00*
$340.00
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Limited to 12 participants. Register early to avoid disappointment.
*The day will allow for appropriate breaks and an hour-long lunch.
about Tom
With over 40 years of experience in the field TOM STROUD is a choreographer and director known for his integrated approach to theater and dance. A graduate of the Simon Fraser University School for the Performing Arts, he has performed and toured with companies across the country and his works have been commissioned and presented by companies, festivals, and presenters coast to coast.
In 1991 Tom was appointed as the Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD) where, during his 14-year tenure, Stroud created numerous works for the company and spearheaded national and international collaborations that resulted in residencies and performances in Canada, the United States and Mexico. In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Choo San Goh Award for choreography.
In 2005 Stroud joined the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Winnipeg teaching compliment included movement, embodiment for actors, image-based theatre, acting, as well as directing productions for the department. He currently holds the position of Senior Scholar at the Department of Theatre and Film. His research examines emotion science, embodiment, and the actor’s creative process in contemporary performance practice.
In 2012 Tom began training in the Emotional Effector Patterns under the guidance of master teacher Laura Bond. He is currently an Emotional Body Lead Instructor and a certified Alba teacher. He is a founding member of the Emotional Fluency Project and currently leads workshops in Emotional Fluency Training for Actors.
beginner acting methods
If you took a drama class back in high school or always wanted to but never got around to it, beginners acting methods is the perfect place to start. Make new friends while you boost your confidence and step outside of your comfort zone. Students will learn basic acting skills such as improvisation, voice training, movement and text work. At the end of Cairn’s 10 week course, you can show off your new acting skills in the Actor’s Studio Adult Cabaret! (P.S. This course often has a waiting list so don’t wait to register!)
Sundays: 12 noon - 2:00 pm, 10 weeks, $380.00
January 4 - March 15, 2026
Instructor: Cairn Moore
No class on Sunday, Feb 15, 2024
(University Mid-Term Reading Week)
advanced acting methods
If you have taken our beginner or intermediate-acting methods or have previous acting experience and want to delve deeper, this class will be perfect for you. Hone your acting skills and learn the fundamentals of acting theory and scene analysis. Emphasis will be on acting technique, embodying character and scene and script study. At the end of the course, students will put theory into practice by performing scenes at the Actors Studio Adult Cabaret!
Sundays: 2:30 noon - 4:30 p.m. 10 weeks, $380.00
January 04-March 15, 2024
Instructor: TBA
No class on Sunday, February 15th, 2024 (University Mid-Term Reading Week)
Summer 2026
adult acting conservatory company (21 - 101 yrs)
Call for your audition today!
Tuesdays 6:00-9:00 p.m. $660.00
March 04th- July 14, 2025
A Fundraiser Performance at Prairie Theatre Exchange TBA
Performances at the Aspire Theatre, Gimli, MB. July 12,13 & 14, 2025
Spots in the company are limited. For more information or to set up an audition, please contact Cairn at our studio.
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This course is like Summer Theatre Camp for Adults! Like our Youth Acting Conservatory Program, it was created for adults with acting experience who want to immerse themselves in performance in a professional theatre environment. Training focuses on acting theory, embodiment, scene analysis, voice, movement, and ensemble work. The class will culminate in a fund-raiser performance at Prairie Theatre Exchange, and then the cast will be off to lovely Gimli, Manitoba, for the weekend to perform three shows at the charming A-Spire Theatre.
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Exciting News!
After selling out all but one show in our four-day run of John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK, Actor’s Studio is excited to announce that we will be mounting another John Cariani play called Almost, Maine.
About the Play…
A woman carries her heart, broken into nineteen pieces, in a small paper bag. A man shrinks to half his former size after losing hope in love. A couple keeps the love they have given each other in large red bags. These playful and surreal experiences are commonplace in John Cariani’s Almost, Maine, where on one deeply cold and magical Midwinter Night, the citizens of Almost experience the life-altering power of the human heart.
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Relationships end, begin, or change beyond recognition as strangers become friends, friends become lovers, and lovers turn into strangers. Propelled by the mystical energy of the aurora borealis and populated with characters who are humorous, plain-spoken, thoughtful, and sincere, Almost, Maine is a series of loosely connected tales about love, each with a compelling couple at its centre, each with its touch of sorcery.
(10 Male, 9 Females)
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What the reviewers have to say…
“John Cariani’s Almost, Maine is a series of nine amiably absurdist vignettes about love, with a touch of good-natured magic realism ... This is a beautifully structured play, with nifty surprise endings (most but not all of them happy). Mr. Cariani describes the play’s subject as ‘falling in and out of love.’ It is just as much about pain.”—The New York Times
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“Mega-hit ALMOST, MAINE lands somewhere between Norman Rockwell and ‘Our Town.’ Unabashedly unhip. There is no pretense of an edge here — the show offers a sweetness and decency that’s become rare at the theatre. At this point, it’s a welcome breath of fresh air.—The New York Post
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“Almost, Maine’s charm is real. [It] packs wit, earns its laughs, and, like love, surprises you.”—The New York Daily News
Our Acting Training
"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."
--Willy the Shake