Weekday/weeknight programs are held at Mason Community Arts Academy’s building.

One Day High School Audition Intensive
ages 14 - 18

Saturday, August 29th, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

One day only! Limited spaces available! This one-day intensive is designed for students to prepare and polish their audition materials. Actors will bring a monologue and a song, 2 contrasting monologues, or 2 contrasting songs and work on entering the room, slates, details of making vivid clear choices in their material and its execution, as well as discuss techniques for standing out and succeeding in auditions and callbacks.

Spend a day developing standout and competitive audition material. Students will strengthen their audition skills, learn techniques for gesture and space use in an audition format, apply script analysis techniques to their audition materials, learn how to prepare for the audition room, and how to ease audition-day nerves. Students should arrive dressed to move comfortably in attire they would wear to an audition and bring 2 printed copies of their monologue(s) and/or sheet music.

Enrolled students should bring one of the following options:

• one monologue and one song

• two contrasting monologues

• two contrasting songs

Instructor: Jessie Holder Tourtellotte is a working actor, writer, and producer and a prolific coach and teaching artist. Locally, she works extensively with AFYP/George Mason Community Arts, is a sought after clinician with multiple FCPS theatre and music programs, and many local theatre companies. Jessie holds a BFA from the University of the Arts’ Ira Brind School of Theatre Arts and has also trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse, Actor’s Movement Studio, and more.

As a college and graduate study audition coach, she boasts a high matriculation rate annually including acceptances to every major conservatory program as well as to strong professional training programs across the country, in addition to sending students every year to pre college programs and summer intensives at competitive schools.

She is a winner of the Los Angeles International Screenwriting Competition and a past semifinalist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship, a graduate of the New York Women in Film and Television From Script to Pre Production Lab. She served as the acting coach on the last two consecutive Cappies NCA Best Play Winning productions, has served on the acting faculty at the Identity School of Acting both in Los Angeles and Internationally, and is a faculty member with The Artist’s Initiative.

Also Offered in Fall 2026:

Acting Discoveries for ages 4-6

Join us for our early childhood Acting Discoveries program! Through creative play, crafts, stories, and theater games, students will learn acting fundamentals and how to use their body and voice to tell a story.

Musical Theater Song & Dance for ages 7-10 and 10-14

Through creative movement and introductory singing techniques, students will combine singing, dancing, and acting to perform musical theater. The group will learn music and choreography to several songs throughout the session.

Acting: Scene Study for Adults ages 18+

For actors at any level, this class provides an in-depth look at the fundamentals of acting for new students and a dedicated study for those with previous experience. Ideal for those who have always wanted to give acting a try, those who’d like to learn more about performing opportunities in the area, and professionals who’d like to brush up on presentation skills.