7/22/2025 Introduction to Unarmed Stage Combat Workshop 

with Michael Daehn

Info: How do fights on stage appear so frighteningly real to the audience, yet result in no actual harm to any of the actor fighters? This on-your-feet workshop explores the answer to that question as we tackle the fundamentals of unarmed stage combat. This includes a variety of safe, effective slaps, punches, elbows, chokes, and kicks as well as how to use them in simple combinations. (Please wear attire you can move in, including soft-soled shoes (no sandals or heels). Also, please don’t wear hanging earrings or other jewelry that could get caught on your partner.)

Michael Daehn is an Associate Professor of Theatre, Emeritus at Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) who has directed over 180 shows. He helped create the Renaissance School for the Arts in Appleton, serving as its first lead administrator and stage combat curriculum instructor. He has also taught unarmed combat workshops at the International Thespian Festival and served as fight director for numerous productions throughout his career, his favorites being West Side Story and The Scarlet Pimpernel. He is being assisted in this workshop by talented area actor and UW-Green Bay theatre alum Brandon Otten.

7/23/2025  The Room Where It Happens: Auditions Workshop

with Abi Charbonneau 

Info: Step into the audition room with confidence! This workshop is designed for adults 16 and up who want to sharpen their audition skills and prepare for the stage with professionalism and poise. This workshop covers: How to build and use your audition book (including song selections and monologues), Slate and monologue etiquette that makes a strong first impression, How to properly format your headshot and resume for theater auditions, The biz of the biz including where to find submissions, and more! Whether you’re new to auditioning or looking to polish your approach, this workshop gives you the essential tools to stand out in the room — not just in the spotlight. Join us and learn how to own the room before you even say your first line!

Abi Charbonneau is a Midwest-born theater artist and choreographer based in the greater Milwaukee area! With five years of bi-coastal educational residences, Abi has collaborated with organizations including the New York City Ballet, Theatre Aspen, Brooklyn Acting Lab, and Theater for Young Audiences, and is part of the educational team for First Stage in Milwaukee and the Disney Musicals in Schools program at the Overture Center,  She is also the founder of the Emerging Artist Project, a in-school theater residency program designed at providing accessible theater workshops to students in K-12th grade settings in the greater Sheboygan County area. Her recent performance credits include Off-Broadway Vincent the Musical (Spark Theatre Festival), Les Femme Musketeers (Sidekick Productions) and The Unofficial, Unauthorized Barbie Princess and the Pauper (TEATRO LATEA) at the New York Theater Festival, Bound for Broadway's 2024 season (The Triad), A Little Lunch Music, and the short film Brushstrokes, which premiered at New York film festivals. Deeply committed to equity and inclusion, Abi fosters lifelong appreciation for the arts through educational theater.

7/24/2025 You’ve got the part: now what? Acting Workshop

with Sheila Ryan

Info: This fast paced workshop will explore different tools for your actor’s bag. Improv, active listening and other innovative techniques will be utilized to help you play and be in the moment onstage. Not so fond of your onstage love interest? At odds with the director’s take for your character? What can you do? Workshop goal: add something exciting and new to your actor’s bag of tricks!

Sheila Ryan has worked extensively in theater as a director, actor, instructor and artist-in-residence. She enjoys working with performers of all ages and experience levels. Favorite shows include Lee Blessing’s Eleemosynary at The John Houseman Theater and Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park at Fifth Avenue Theater in NYC as well as Fame and The Secret Garden for ALAB’s Youth theater in Scottsdale Az. She loved directing A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room for Phoenix Little Theater - a play in which 6 performers play a total of 56 characters. Other productions include Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Macbeth as well as Harold Pinter’s The Lover. Recent projects include Kohler School productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Disney’s The Lion King Jr, Willy Wonka and Little Women. She has a B.A. in theater from The University of Virginia and a Master’s degree from New York University.

Interested in all 3? 

Info: Select the first date, Tuesday, July 22nd and purchase the Workshop Combo to register for all three classes. This deal gets you $10 off! 

Founded in 1934, Sheboygan Theatre Company (STC) is the city’s longest-running live theatre organization. Each year, STC produces four Main Stage shows at the Leslie W. Johnson Theatre, engaging local artists, volunteers, and audiences.