Raquel has been teaching for over seven years in private institutions, public schools, residences, university workshops and prisons. Her work with children, teens and female prisoners within the performing/writing disciplines has lead her to sharing the arts with hundreds of students. She is the training director at John Robert Powers Academy ( Manhattan ) and the NYC branch of !IPOP! The International Presentation of Performers where she develops kids and teens for the professional acting industry with top NYC / LA agents, casting directors and managers.
Students she has coached have been featured in major motion pictures, Broadway / off Broadway theatres, and national television programs and commercials. As Vice-President of Catalyst Management she further develops and represents children for the professional industry.
With LEAP, Learning Through an Expanded Arts Program , Almazan has just finished her third year of Future Stage through Fidelity Investments, where she teaches playwriting to juniors and seniors, currently in Queens . This process involves a variety of playwriting / theatre exercises to introduce students to writing for the stage. Selected short play will be developed and directed by Raquel for performance on Broadway June 09. She her students have been featured in Backstage magazine for this exciting new program. www.leapnyc.org
www.futurestage.com
She is also a performer with Educational Play Productions , a company dedicated to dealing with the social issues of children and teens in NYC Public Schools. Raquel plays a variety or roles in repertory with this company founded by Carmen Rivera and Candido Tirado award winning Puerto Rican playwrights.
John Robert Powers Studios ( New York City , South Florida ) –Audition Technique- Film Study- Commercial- Improv- Monologue and Soap and Sitcom – children- Pre-teen and teens –IMTA-IPOP
Art Spring Organization - arts facilitator to women in prison – beginners and advance
Building original writing and performance material - Team Building- Life Skills- Group Exercises
Wingspan NYC - Teatro en Espanol- theatre in Spanish for children- original presentation.
LEAP - Learning Through Extended Arts Programs- playwriting- performance and directing original theatrical plays with youths- full production on Broadway -NYC.
Manhattan Theatre Club Teaching Artist Workshops- Conducts readings as performer in new plays written by NYC Public School Students. Final performance of selected plays at City Stage off Broadway. Performer in Spanish for new plays written by male students at Rikers Island Prison.
Brooklyn Arts Council- creating new plays through performance with a focus on conflict/resolution.
Writing Development and Private Coach - theatre plays/screenplay/poetry/short story-
Preparation and developing acting material for Auditions and Performance- children to adult
Roxy School of the Performing Arts - Creative Camera- using improv / student's original material and scenes to adapt to camera acting in commercials and scene work
Art Consulting/ Writing Development and Private Coach - theatre plays/screenplays
Preparation and developing acting material for Auditions and Performance
Voice and body technique - building a series of vocal/physical exercises for training/performance
Improv - freeing the actor /character building/ using props and creating surroundings
Scene Study -Connecting to material/ subtext & relationship/ cold readings/ making strong choices
Soap/Sitcoms and Film Study - performing the demands of each medium within camera framing
Building a monologue repertory - having comedic and dramatic material prepared for auditions
Commercial work – familiarizing the actor with commercial text, camera work and actions
Audition/slating –preparing actor with text and camera experience in auditioning/slating
Improvisational Acting within Team Building
This workshop is designed to help managers, salespeople, and business owners improve communication and teambuilding skills through improvisation.
COMMUNITY ARTS
Currently building local and traveling residencies for booking- integrating original performances with youths to adults through community arts. In this workshop artists/students learn the creative and developmental process of solo/group work based on real life experiences, oral histories and autobiographical material within a variety of themes. These workshops can be complimented with complete or excerpt performances of Raquel's original work. Residency projects can include a women's studies focus or talk back session with performance/writing students on creating new work. Length of residencies are optional.
Art Spring Organization - arts facilitator to women in prison – beginners and advance
an arts based organization that serves underserved and institutionalized women and girls with programs designed to promote personal growth and develop life skills through art-making and self- expression. Since 1994, Art Spring has been responding to the needs of adult female inmates and adjudicated girls through it's two principal programs : Inside Out and Breaking Free . These interdisciplinary arts programs incorporate movement, theatre games, writing, drawing, story-telling and performance as transformational tools. www.artspring.org
PLEASE REFER TO CONTACT PAGE FOR DETAILS OF CLASSES AND BOOKINGS.