Always wanted to act, but never had the chance? Currently acting, but want to brush up on some basic skills in a supportive and super relaxed setting?  Then County Arts has the course for you! 

Facilitators Mike Trites and Thomas Harrison will lead classes and curate a series of guest speakers in this dynamic and engaging creative workshop, introducing the basic techniques of acting! In every class you will have the chance to start performing, and practicing your craft across several different genres. 

It’s an entertaining way to experience and expand your appreciation of dramatic arts, build confidence, increase spontaneity and have a whole lot of fun in a supportive environment. 

Come act with us!

  1. Learn and apply basic approaches to acting
  2. Apply improvisational techniques in group exercise
  3. Practice solo performance across comedic and dramatic genres
  4. Work with others to produce polished small dramatic scenes
  5. Understand the ‘business’ of acting for stage and screen, and produce a slate for use in acting auditions


Please Note: Classes take place in unit 2E of the Picton Armoury (Main Street level). The most convenient access is through the Main Street entrance, but you can also enter through the back/Mary St. entrance and use the interior stairs to reach the main floor (please note there is no elevator in the Armoury). There is an accessible parking spot on Main Street in front of the Armoury building (Crepe Escape/south side).

Meet Thomas! Thomas Harrison is an artist and writer who lives on his farm near Cherry Valley. His artwork, using various media, shows farm life, scenes from Prince Edward County and beyond. His creative writing includes a forthcoming work of creative non-fiction framed by Richard Nixon’s 1957 visit to Picton, and incorporates elements of memoir, historical fiction and travelogue.


As a performing artist, Thomas has appeared in several community theatre shows, including as Kris Kringle in the 2023 Belleville Theatre Guild’s production of “Miracle on 34th Street.” He appeared as Herr Schulz in Shatterbox Theatre’s production of Cabaret, held at The Cape in Picton (2024).


Thomas has been a member of the Prince Edward County Arts Council since 2020, and his work has been shown in exhibitions held by the Quinte Arts Council and County Arts’ annual ‘Art in the County’ juried exhibition and sale. In 2023 – 2024, Thomas participated in the first County Arts Mentorship Program, working under the tutelage of local artist Rhonda Nolan.

Meet Mike! Mike is a teacher at heart, one who likes to put others in the spotlight and watch them enjoy their audience’s response. Above all, he is a people person, but in his spare time, he is a director, producer, set designer, coach and clown. 


Mike taught Dramatic Arts at the Durham District School Board for 30 years until 2020, and was the Executive Producer and Vice President (Board of Directors) at Whitby Courthouse Theatre from 1997-2020. He also performed in six productions with Oshawa Little Theatre.

Offline registration - We prefer to take payment and registration through this form, but if you are not comfortable with this option and it is more than 2 weeks before the course begins, please check the "Offline" box in the Billing Information section below. We will contact you with alternative payment options. Payment must be received at least one week before the course begins.  

Processing fee - This covers transaction and ticketing fees. We've decided to use Regfox, the most affordable ticketing platform we could find, which will collectively save our participants over $1000 in processing fees per year.

Policies and Waivers - We've included these as part of the registration process (thank you for your patience!) to save some paperwork on your end and get straight to creating when we are in person!

  • We encourage those who are able to pay a little more to choose this price ($22/hr). By doing so, you are helping build a community that prioritizes access to the arts for all, and allowing us to cover more of our operating costs, which include Artist Instructor fees, rent, and more.

  • This price ($17/hr) allows us to cover most of the costs of running the course.

  • This price ($11/hr) is available to those who find the other two options too high for their household.

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Billing Information

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