

Lee Street theatre is excited to provide an opportunity for continued growth and involvement during the pandemic.
Lee Street is offering a 1-week Acting Intensive with Included Livestream performance.
Saturday, July 18th to Friday, July 24th
$50 per student
Sign-ups for the class will end Friday July 17, 2020 at NOON. This course is only for students aged 17+.
This will be an opportunity From Saturday, July 18th to Friday, July 24th to continue growing and utilizing your performance skills, learn new approaches and methods to performance (live and online) and ultimately be a part of the creation of a livestream production, produced and performed Saturday July 25th at 7pm.
This 1-week intensive will be led by Lee Street theatre’s Executive Director Rod Oden, who will explore:
- In-depth character analysis
- Hone and expand your actor tools
- Provide in-depth script analysis approaches
- Work on motivational and intentional delivery styles
- Ultimately give you an opportunity to grow and increase your experience and knowledge base
During these daily workshops you will be given lecture and discussion, in-workshop modeling and opportunities to apply and question, as well as resources to be help be successful and utilize well-beyond the workshop. The workshop will also include guest speakers to diversify and create dialogue on actor theory and approach. Combined with instruction, the workshop will include rehearsal times for you and your fellow cast mates to prepare for the Livestream Performance on July 25th.
Executive Director Rod Oden
Whether for the audiences on a professional stage or teaching students in a technical workshop, Rod Oden is proud to have over fifteen years experience in a variety of venues, genres and audiences. Rod has designed on stages from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and in virtually every type of venue. He enjoys working alongside community members, volunteers and students to help grow and create professional experiences in the theatre. Rod’s experience has provided him a varied theatrical background, including being a former Artistic Director, founding 2 non-for-profit theatre groups, marketing and business systems for the theatre, all the while enjoying the privilege of Technical Directing.
Some of his favorite work includes Tuck Everlasting (New Orleans Regional Premiere), Chicago, August: Osage County, The 39 Steps, The Mousetrap, Spamalot, How I learned to Drive, Shrek, and Lombardi (WV Premiere). Rod was previously the Production Manager & Technical Director of the Jefferson Performing Arts Society in New Orleans, LA and the Technical Director of the Actors Guild of Parkersburg in Parkersburg, WV. He has worked with countless community theaters, educational organizations and professional troupes to produce quality, high-end productions audiences have enjoyed watching.
As Executive Director, Rod looks forward to continuing Lee Street’s strong delivery of productions, concerts and events that exemplify our Mission Statement and Values. He also looks forward to continuing and growing our community partnerships, investing even more on the strong community that is Salisbury. Rod is blessed and thankful for his beautiful wife Raquel and his four precious boys Tristan, Lucas, Jamie and Sylar. He also enjoys spending time with his two lovely daughters Ariel and Isabelle.

Several things drew me to this class however the biggest was my desire to not be intimidated by technology. Admittedly I am not comfortable with the potential exposure being online brings or having to troubleshoot glitches in the moment; I have a very limited set of computer skills. I still don’t allow my devices to “talk” to each other. However, I thought this was a good opportunity to learn while also having a safety net… “if you can’t beat fear, do it scared.” So I jumped into the world of virtual theater. It’s been fun too. I wasn’t sure how a cast bonded, being remote yet together, but we have. There has been the sharing of experiences, stories, fears, laughter and all while we’ve rehearsed lines and new techniques like performing to a camera audience instead of a live one. My theater training has come from doing shows, asking questions, observing; I have found it interesting to realize which and when I’ve used acting techniques with prior roles and productions without recognizing them as such. And while there have been glitches, they were met with patience and guidance. I even solved one or two by myself. Guess I might have to stop saying I’m “technology-challenged.” While I still don’t want my devices to converse, I am pretty psyched about our upcoming live-stream of NIGHTFALL WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE and the chance to embrace my love of performing and community theater in this new way. - Kris Lineberger
I really enjoyed the Lee Street Intensive Class. Rod Oden did a terrific job teaching and discussing with us how to delve into character formation and presentation of our roles. As a beginner, I really found benefit in the foundational acting method discussions we had. I also liked that Rod found video clips of such notable actors, such as Samuel L. Jackson, and others discussing their craft and methods. Additionally, I liked the fact that there were folks of all different levels of experience in our group. I learned so much from watching my fellow classmates on how to approach characters. I also valued the material selection. It has been several years since I read Edgar Allen Poe and it was so stimulating to dive into the language and imagery used by Poe. Finally, the zoom format worked well and allowed me to participate safely. Our class was small, so even though we were not in person, we had an intimate feel in our zoom calls. I would be interested in other classes and appreciate Lee Street and Rod giving the public this opportunity. - Andrea Anders