A Shakespearean workshop and masterclass was held at Mt. SAC on Sept. 29-30. It was headed by theater professor Christine Cummings and world renowned actor and professor Thomas Quinn. Quinn has been seen on ABC’s dramatic mini-series “Burden of Proof” as Dr. Peter Stern. Both Cummings and Quinn attended grad school together and became very good friends along the way.

Quinn now teaches at Illinois Wesleyan University, which is a school of theater arts. Cummings had reached out to him to come to Mt. SAC and teach some of her students how to dissect a Shakespearean play and how to properly deliver a scene. Students had five weeks to prepare either a Shakespearean scene or monologue and present it to both Cummings and Quinn. After they were finished, they would critique them and give them pointers.

Although Quinn does not do many intensives at different community colleges, this is not his first time at Mt. SAC.

“These guys are great…that was my experience I had when I came before,” he said. “I just want to be in a room full of people that want to be actors, and that has been my experience both times I have been here, and it’s great.”

Students were grateful that someone as talented as Quinn was able to go and spend a whole weekend with them and better them as actors

“I think it’s great. Christine is always doing so much to extend the program whatever previous limits there was in the program,” Rafael Ortega, 24, Theater, said. “I hope they keep coming! I would love to keep doing stuff like this.”

Cummings tends to usually plan one major workshop per semester/year, but as of now, she has nothing in the works yet.