Service Description

This class challenges students to dive deeply into character work. The focus is on creating characters that are physically as well as psychologically dynamic. Drawing a great deal on the Michael Chekhov technique, students will experience multiple approaches for approaching character creation. Each student will select a character from a play or film to develop over the 6 week course. There will be a final presentation of a monologue or vignette as the character at the end of the course. After taking this course, students will: Understand multiple methods for analyzing and creating dynamic characters for film and television Be more confident applying character choices in a performance setting About the Instructor: Katie is a Designated Meisner Teacher (Meisner Institute) and a graduate of the MCIAT Comprehensive Training course. She is completing a 3-year teacher certification course in the Michael Chekhov Technique with the Michael Chekhov Association. She is a Theatre Generalist, but her passion is working with actors, both as an acting teacher and as a director. Aside from the Meisner and Chekhov techniques, Katie is a also a specialist in Improvisational Acting, Devised Theatre, Script Analysis, Standard Patient Acting, Theatre History, and Dramaturgy. Dr. Turner is also the Associate Director of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University, where she teaches acting, history, and literature courses. She won the Outstanding Faculty Award at SDSU in 2020, 2023, and 2024. Katie is also a multi-hyphenate theatre artist. In addition to dozens of productions and company affiliations over the years, Katie ran her own theatre company, Turnkey Theatre, from 2020-2022, which specialized in original interactive plays. Her choose-your-own-adventure Gothic Melodrama Iris and the Axe won the "Outside the Box" award at the 2022 San Diego International Fringe Festival. Find Turnkey Theatre's work on YouTube. Most recently she wrote and performed her own solo show, “Here, at the End,” at the Lightbox Theatre in August 2026.