Trainee Handbook

Aria Stage System (Defunct) 

Other schools will push you through training, and you’ll know you’ve gotten better… or do you? It leaves a lot of ambiguity, especially when tons of acting trainees even at the college level won't even be on stage doing plays. Aria eliminates guesswork and we want our trainees to be presentable and proud. Each rank has very specific criteria, iron rank of course being the easiest, but to reach bronze and higher is no easy task. This isn’t meant to torment you, it’s proof that you have done hundreds of lines, dozens of characters. As you move on, training integrates more than just performance. It includes media training that you must effectively pass and ensemble work proving that you can work solo or in a group. No guesswork, just hard work. 

Iron 

Benchmark - join Aria

• You have to join a troupe.

• Attend a class.

• Show good conduct.

• Successfully apply for trainee status. 

Yay, you joined Aria as a trainee! Don’t get expelled. 

Bronze 

Benchmark - Tutorial Island

• Complete all character lines. 

Benchmark - Alternatively, 10 milestones

• You may alternatively choose ten milestone franchises in the milestone list. You must record every scene and every character and every line in that milestone. 

Reaching this rank signals that you’re serious and that you’ve already done a mountain of work. Tutorial island is a mock project where you voice all the NPCs found at a starter stage/level in an MMORPG.

Silver 

Benchmark - Studio Practice

• Do 5 recorded scenes with a (trainee) director. You need a complete cast.

• Direct 5 scenes with other trainees. 

Benchmark - Presence

• Pass 15 franchise milestones in Aria. (one milestone represents a collection of scenes from a franchise) 

Benchmark - Monologues

• Two fantasy/scifi monologue memorized and consistently performed with success. 

• One drama monologue, memorized and consistently performed with success. 

This rank seems deceptively easier, but pulls together important skills. The franchise milestones ensure that you can stay consistent with not just character but also themes and concepts of scripts. 

Gold 

Benchmark - Crisis at the Gala

• Succeed in crisis at the gala. Twice in a row. 

• You will be penalized regardless of the exercise failing outside of your design. The point is to succeed as an ensemble as much as it is about individuals. 

Benchmark - The Interview

• You must successfully engage in the interview exercise 3 times for 7 minutes each.

Benchmark - Party Recruitment

• You must successfully engage in the party recruitment exercise twice. 

Benchmark - Nomination

• Requires nomination from a senior staff member or executive assistant.

Benchmark - Hosting

• You must host two social events in Aria and two academic events. 

These make sure you are an effective and versatile performer. These are complicated benchmarks, some of them demanding intense ensemble work, The Interview proving that you are also able to stand on your own. It also ensures that you can use your talents to do more than just act. 

Crown 

Benchmark - The Market

• Succeed in five mock private auditions with majority nominations. 

• Must memorize and effectively perform at least five approved monologues.

• Perform in at least two Aria productions. 

Benchmark - Nomination

• Require nomination from two senior staff members or executive assistants.

Benchmark - Media Management

• Pass all media management exercises in Aria successfully with no mistakes. 

We aren’t going to throw you to the wolves or say you’re ready just because you’re a good performer. You have to prove that you can dazzle a crowd but also not make them execute you on social media or in fan meetups. 

Summit

Benchmark - Media Training

• Interviews with ensemble members with majority positive reviews from peers and instructors. 

• Mock podcast discussions with positive reviews from peers and instructors.

• Succeed in defusing or de-escalating 5 hostile mock interviews in a row.

Benchmark - Persona

• Give a detailed essay on your public facing persona. 

• If your persona breaks during exercises in any of the media training benchmark trials, it will be considered a failure of this benchmark if not the media training benchmark. 

Benchmark - Nomination 

• Nomination from five peers gold rank and above.

• Nomination from Two senior staff members or executive assistants. 

Benchmark - Equipment

• Proof of reliable high quality equipment or access to recording studios. 

Benchmark - Mastery

• Pass Term IV. 

This is the finishing line. You’ve proven you can act, and now you’ve proven you can represent not just Aria, but yourself— without crying on camera or accidentally getting yourself canceled.