In PersON

COFFEE TALK

March 2 – 30, 2026
Mondays, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
$275 regular / $250 for Theater J Angel Donors and Subscribers
Registration Deadline: February 25, 2026

In the long tradition of people gathering midday for coffee, cake, and conversation, this 5-part class is an opportunity to approach text as professional actors and directors do during “table work,” the deep dive that happens during the first days of rehearsal. Participants will read scenes aloud, explore characters, motivations, and tactics, play with different interpretations and directions, and then enter a broader conversation about how the content resonates with us, what it says about the time period in which it was written, and how plays both reflect and shape ideas and culture. This first Coffee Talk will focus on Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award) and The Sisters Rosensweig. And yes – there will be coffee and cake each week! 

Hester Kamin is the Education Programs Manager at Theater J. She’s a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Ecole Jacques Lecoq, and the Fred Rogers Institute and has served as Director of Education of six theaters around the US and as Co-Artistic Director of touring Drama Ties Theatre in Paris. Hester has also directed and choreographed more than 200 shows with professional actors and students around the world and been honored with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists National Award, the Academy of Paris Award for Contribution to Arts and Culture, and, most recently, an Art Works Award from the National Endowment for the Arts for her play about Holocaust survivor Sabine Van Dam, In Flight. Hester is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the Dramatists Guild of America. 

on zoom

THE SECRET WORLD OF THEATER DESIGN with Tyler Herman

April 28 – June 2, 2026
Tuesdays, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
$275 / $250 for EDCJCC Members, Theater J Angel Donors and Subscribers
Registration Deadline: April 21, 2026

How do directors and designers collaborate to tell a visual story that sets a mood, impacts our emotions, and takes us on a journey — often in such a subtle way that we don’t realize it? How do actors then inhabit those worlds and bring them to life? Actor, director, and design professor Tyler Herman (Chanukah in the Dark, The Hatmaker’s Wife, Prayer for the French Republic, Trayf) introduces elements of design, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of artistic decision-making, and guides participants through a critical look into the visual world of theater.

Tyler Herman (he/him) is an actor, director, father, teacher, and Silver Spring native. His work Theater J includes Chanukah in the Dark (Director), Prayer for the French Republic (Asst Director), The Hatmaker’s Wife (Gabe/Golem), and Trayf (Zalmy). Tyler has acted at Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre, Round House Theatre, and more. He is a founding member of Faction of Fools Theatre Company, teaches theatre at Montgomery College, and runs the drama program at Walt Whitman High School. BA: Cornell University. MFA: Brown University/Trinity Rep

In Person

TRAVEL THROUGH AMERICAN THEATER

May 1 – June 5, 2026
Fridays, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
$275 regular / $250 for Theater J Angel Donors and Subscribers
Registration Deadline: April 15, 2026

Meet fellow theater lovers in person! This class will read, discuss and analyze six plays written by nationally acclaimed American playwrights. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to read aloud scenes from each play. Don’t worry – no acting experience required! The first play will be The Watch on the Rhine by Lillian Hellman.

Laurie T. Freed holds a BA degree from the University of Minnesota, a Master’s degree in Theater from California State University Fullerton, and a Master’s degree in Drama Therapy from the Los Angeles Family Institute. Ms. Freed has taught theater in colleges on both East and West coasts.  She has received several acting and directing awards. As a certified Drama Therapist, she has worked with a variety of special need populations, using drama as a powerful tool toward well-being. Ms. Freed founded Peace Mountain Theatre Company, an intimate professional theatre group, in which she was the Artistic Director. Laurie lives in Maryland with her husband, Hal.

ON ZOOM

DC THEATER TALK with Holly Twyford

SOLD OUT

December 8, 2025 – May 4, 2026
Selected Mondays, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
$275 / $250 for EDCJCC Members, Theater J Angel Donors and Subscribers
Registration Deadline: December 4, 2025

Welcome to the third year of DC Theater Talk!  Award-winning actor and director Holly Twyford leads us through a season, exploring four different shows from four different theaters! From comedy to drama, from new work to reimagined classics, our extraordinary arts community is full of work that moves, surprises, and delights us. Holly lends her expertise to in-depth pre-show discussion of the scripts and animated post-show discussions that allow participants to experience DC theater as they’ve never seen it before.

Please note that participants are required to independently purchase tickets and attend the four theater shows before each of the post-show discussions. Participants do NOT need to see the shows together – though it would be fun!

Guys and Dolls at Shakespeare Theatre Company
December 8, 2025: Pre-show/ Script Discussion on Zoom
January 12, 2026: Post-show Discussion on Zoom

The World to Come, A Theater J and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co-Production (At Woolly Mammoth Theatre)
January 26, 2026: Pre-show/ Script Discussion on Zoom
March 2, 2026: Post-show Discussion on Zoom

Jonah at Studio Theatre
March 9, 2026: Pre-show/ Script Discussion on Zoom
April 20, 2026: Post-show Discussion on Zoom

The Minutes at Keegan Theatre
March 30, 2026: Pre-show/ Script Discussion on Zoom
May 4, 2026: Post-show Discussion on Zoom