Scholarships for Greece Summer Acting Intensive

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Greece Summer Acting Intensive Scholarship Program.  GSAI is a Depaul Study Abroad program that takes Theatre School students to the birthplace of western theatre, Greece.  We are happy to announce that this is the first year GSAI participants are eligible for financial aid and Depaul sponsored scholarships.   This has allowed the largest, most diverse group of students ever to participate in this life changing program.  But even with this level of support from the university, most of our sixteen participants are still struggling to pay for the overall cost of the program.  A contribution of $25 to $100 can ensure that every student can attend and fully participate! 

GSAI is a seventeen day actor training program that also immerses students in the culture, history, and mythology of Greece.  Students live, train, and create together on the island of Hydra. They take master classes and field trips to ancient sites.  They build a play from scratch (based on Greek mythology) and perform it for a local audience.  

The benefits of study-abroad are myriad.  Students who take part in these programs

• Develop intercultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication skills 
• Enhance problem solving skills.
• Enhance geographical and historical knowledge
• Increase tolerance and intercultural awareness
• Diminish American ethnocentrism
• Are more likely to pursue a “globally minded” career. 

Finally, it cannot be overstated how important it is for young theatre artists of all cultural backgrounds to really know the Greeks.  We all know that Western theatre essentially began with the ancient festival of Dionysus in Athens. How useful it will be for a young actor in training to stand on the very ground where theatre was invented!  At some point in their careers most actors will be called upon to play Medea, Clytemnestra, Antigone or Agamemnon.  Any actor who has climbed to the top of the palace at Mycenae or walked through Apollo’s temple at Delphi or swam off a rocky coastal point in the Aegean waters will have a kinesthetic imprint that will profoundly inform their creative process when creating and performing these roles. 

It is our mission to provide a training experience that will leave an indelible impression on the creative psyche and shape the artistic career path of all GSAI participants.  As much as our students gain from steeping themselves in Greek culture and history and working with internationally renowned master-teachers, we know that our Greek hosts will also gain deeper insight into who Americans really are, especially when we bring a group that reflects America’s true diversity.