WORKSHOP SERIES SPRING 2026

A TIME TO RESTORE: MOVEMENT, VOICE & PRESENCE

COME AS YOU ARE. LEAVE MORE HUMAN.

Dates: Saturdays, January 11th - March 7
Location: 209 E. 16th St, NYC

This spring, Sea Dog Theater offers three workshops designed to reawaken the artist’s sense of presence, purpose, and humanity. Guided by Sea Dog’s trusted collaborators — Erwin Maas, Jenn Cribbs, and Mark Lewis — each session invites participants to reconnect with the elemental tools of their craft — body, voice, and calling — within the beauty and belonging of the Sea Dog Theater community.

Participants may choose from three separate tracks — Viewpoints (with Erwin), Voice (with Jenn), or Acting (with Mark). Each track will take place across three Saturdays (see dates below), and participants commit to attending all three sessions within their chosen track. The workshops have also been designed so that anyone who wishes may take all three classes, experiencing the full arc of movement, voice, and presence that lies at the heart of Sea Dog’s artistic practice.

Jenn, Erwin, and Mark have acted, directed, taught, and been an integral part of Sea Dog’s story. They carry within them our shared aesthetic vocabulary — the language of honesty, craft, and grace — and embody the spirit of hospitality and care that has shaped Sea Dog’s mission from the very beginning.

WORKSHOP 1: Viewpoints: Time & Space (30 spots)

with Erwin Maas
10am–1pm on Saturdays January 17th, February 7th, February 28th

Rediscover the body as a vessel of imagination and responsiveness through Viewpoints and spatial awareness. This physical theater training explores what are considered by many professionals the two most influential tools of every artist: the concepts of time and space.

WORKSHOP 2: Voice & Presence (20 spots)

with Jenn Cribbs
1:30pm–4:30pm on Saturdays January 17th, February 7th, February 28th

Reclaim your voice as an instrument of power and vulnerability. Reconnect breath, sound, and self through approaches rooted in Second Circle presence as described by Patsy Rodenburg—opening space for a voice that is both grounded and alive.

WORKSHOP 3: The Actor’s Room. (16 spots)

with Mark Lewis
5pm–9pm on Saturdays January 17th, February 7th, March 7th

A practice-based space grounding the actor’s calling in a world that often pulls us away from the heart of the craft and community. A return to purpose and the sacredness of storytelling. Here, we hold our own stories with care while learning to receive the stories of others with equal reverence. We cultivate a way of working that honors vulnerability, strengthens connection, and restores the actor’s sense of vocation.

SPRING SCHEDULE

  • Saturday, January 17 – All three sessions (Erwin, Jenn, Mark)

  • Saturday, February 7 – All three sessions (Erwin, Jenn, Mark)

  • Saturday, February 28 – Erwin & Jenn only

  • Saturday, March 7 – Mark only

TUITION PER TRACK

  • $200 early bird before December 31 / $250 after December 31

  • $350 for two tracks early bird before December 31/ $400 after December 31

  • $450 for three tracks early bird before December 31 / $500 after December 31

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • The workshops have been scheduled around our teachers’ availability, but also by design. The work we’re doing together is intentionally deep and demanding, and we believe that meaningful artistic growth takes time. The space between sessions allows the work to percolate — for insights, discoveries, and new awareness to sink in — so that when participants return, they do so with fresh perspective and renewed presence.

  • We strongly encourage participants to attend all three sessions if at all possible. Each workshop builds upon the previous one, creating a cumulative experience that deepens both craft and community. The cost of registration covers the full three sessions, and unfortunately, we’re unable to offer refunds for any missed dates.

  • Yes. We offer a discount for each additional track you choose to sign up for. These workshops are designed to complement one another, and we encourage participants who are able to experience the full range of movement, voice, and acting work.

  • Yes. If you sign up for one of the tracks before December 31st, you’ll receive an early bird discount. See pricing details below for specific rates and options.

  • Yes. We have a limited number of partial scholarships available to help make participation possible. If you’d like to be considered, please reach out and tell us a bit about your interest in the workshops at info@seadogtheater.org.

  • All workshops will be held at 209 East 16th Street, in spaces that belong to St. George’s Episcopal Church — the creative home where Sea Dog Theater has been developing and presenting work for the past eight years.

  • All three teachers — Erwin Maas, Jenn Cribbs, and Mark Lewis — know each other’s work and have designed a curriculum that makes training across all three tracks a comprehensive experience of what we at Sea Dog Theater believe to be the foundations of the actor’s craft: movement, voice, and presence. The teachers are close collaborators who understand our company’s aesthetic, vocabulary, and mission, and we wholeheartedly endorse working with any or all of them.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Mark Lewis is the Director of Theater at Wheaton College, and for 30 years has been ‘in the room’ with Wheaton’s unique theater ensemble ‘Workout’ (which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024.) Before coming to Wheaton, Mark was a professional actor in New York, working regionally, on daytime television, and in 15 professional productions of Shakespeare’s plays (at such venues as The Public Theater in New York and The Acting Company). As a director, Mark is grateful to have directed more than 50 plays at Wheaton College, including 15 productions of Shakespeare’s plays. In New York in 2018, Mark directed Seadog Theater’s acclaimed production of ‘Danny and the Deep Blue Sea’, which won an New York Independent Theater Award for Best Revival of a Play, and for which he was named Best Director of a Play by the same organization.

Jenn Miller Cribbs is an actor, director, and voice coach who equips performers to connect breath, body, voice, and text to cultivate an empowered, authentic presence. A member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, she has worked in theaters nationwide and brings a deep understanding of classical and contemporary performance demands to her teaching. Jenn specializes in freeing the voice and strengthening communicative deftness for auditions, rehearsal processes, and performance. Jenn holds an MFA in Acting and Directing and trained extensively with Michael Howard and Patsy Rodenburg for more than 20 years. She is an inaugural Patsy Rodenburg Associate and certified master teacher.

Erwin Maas is a New York–based theatermaker, curator, educator, and international arts advocate from the Netherlands with extensive global experience across creative and community contexts. A curious traveler, he works collaboratively and embraces contemporary, interdisciplinary approaches driven by a belief that culture and the arts belong at the core of society. His practice centers holistic thinking as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Maas is Co-Executive Director of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) and teaches in CUNY Brooklyn College’s MFA Performance & Interactive Media Arts Program (PIMA). His previous roles include Artistic Director of the International Society for Performing Arts (ISPA), Director of the Fellowship Program for International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), and Director of Performing Arts for the Cultural Department of the Royal Netherlands Embassy & Consulates in the USA. These positions reflect his deep knowledge of international cultural relations and policy.

In New York, his Off-Broadway and site-specific productions have received multiple New York Times Critic’s Picks. He is passionate about developing new and existing works with local artists and communities worldwide. His directing spans contemporary plays, devised and immersive work, opera, music theater, and dance. Maas is a core member of Theater Without Borders and serves on several artistic and cultural advisory boards. More at https://erwinmaas.com