US Performing Arts Camps

Traditional animation is the foundation for all animation storytelling. Learning to develop strong characters to tell a compelling story is at the heart of this workshop.

The eyes tell the story! Acting and performing in front of the camera, although similar to theater, is distinctive in approach and technique. This camp will teach you the techniques you need to know to build an authentic character that the camera can believe.

The techniques of digital production and post production will be taught while stressing an understanding of storytelling. Using the same state of the art equipment as the Advanced Digital Filmmaking Workshop, participants will be immersed in the creativity of visual storytelling. This Digital Film Camp is being taught within an active working Hollywood studio by award winning professionals.

Are you on your way to becoming a “triple threat”? How about making it a “Quadruple Threat” by learning how to work as a musical theater artist in front of the camera? Musical Theater in film is making a big come-back. USPA will help you get ready for your next big opportunity!

It all starts with you, the blank page and your imagination. The curriculum of this Screenwriting camp includes the study of screenplays and teleplays and writing. The week will absorb each camper in character, structure, form and plot until the word comes alive.

Editors are storytellers too! Make the leap from technician to artist this summer. The final stage of the cinematic journey is post production and editing takes the starring role! This is where the editor and the director make the final cut to tell the story.

What is a dancer’s dream? Dance, Dance, Dance and never stop dancing! Work with LA’s top choreographers and perform on a working studio lot. Dance in the rehearsal hall and perform on set. You will have an artistically and physically exhilarating week.

Are you this generations Ken Burns? Do you have a passion for current global events or hidden historical moments? Documentary filmmakers have the power to transform world thought. Learn the storytelling techniques of compelling documentary filmmaking under the direction of motion picture and television professionals.

With the advent of the computer, the animator now has another tool to use in telling a story. Based upon the foundation of traditional animation, the Computer Animation Camp will allow the animator artist to reach and explore constantly growing heights in animated creative expression.

You’ve been mastering the collaborative techniques of filmmaking with your friends and family but now you’re ready for a bigger challenge. Can you think of anything more exciting than telling your story and shooting your film within the environment of a working professional studio under the guidance of professional directors? Your days will consist of creative and artistic problem-solving and decision making in a real world film industry setting.

This two-week journey, taught within an active working Hollywood studio, incorporates the physical expression of movement, the spontaneity of improvisation, the liberating alchemy of mask and myths, and transformation into authentic character. Students will learn to move seamlessly from the stage to the camera delighting audiences in both mediums.

This is a one-of-a-kind filmmaking workshop in the emerging world of Virtual and Augmented Reality. Get your hands on the latest technology for storytelling. Using 360 video and spatial audio recording you’re only limited by your imagination.

This Sit Com Acting camp is one of the most popular workshops every summer. Taught within an active working Hollywood studio, it focuses on acting in a situation comedy and is significantly different than acting for movies. You will learn those techniques quickly and then collaborate with the Sit Com Writing/Producing/Directing workshop. Your days will mirror the actual experience of a real television fast paced sit com week.

What do THE BIG BANG THEORY, BLACK-ISH, 2 BROKE GIRLS, PARKS and RECREATION, GIRLS, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and MODERN FAMILY have in common? You guessed it! Modern storytelling situations through the eyes of comedy. And how do the actors help make it work? You will learn all the elements of comic storytelling in the fact-passed world of Sit Com production during this intensive two week camp.

Every aspect of this workshop teaches you how costume design enhances the director’s ability to tell the story. You will learn the basic techniques of costume design for theater and screen. Costume design is a collaborative art and our faculty and support team will nurture your creative vision. There will be film screenings, guest speakers, visits to Hollywood studio costume shops, and field trips to add to your design experience.

With a Team & Mentor approach to hands-on learning, here students work with industry professionals to create short-form digital content for portfolios, websites and social media platforms.

This Acting for the Camera program introduces students to fundamental approaches of living truthfully under imaginary circumstances – as applies to screen work. With this solid foundation, students practice camera-techniques from day one and learn to adapt their performances for lens capture.

Commercial dance is taking the world by storm. From shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” to the esteemed team behind Gaga herself – commercial dancers are become more ingrained in the entertainment industry than ever before.