Certficate Classes
Acting | Film Production | Voice-Over
Certificate Courses
Certificate Programs at Story Institute deliver a world-class curriculum, uniquely crafted by experienced Hollywood actors and top industry professionals. Each program is carefully structured to equip students with essential skills, techniques, and practical insights for launching their careers
Acting Certificates Overview
The Professional Actor Certificate
The Professional Actor Diploma program is a state-of-the-art hybrid of classic, core acting techniques, emergent cutting-edge skills, and business training that prepare students for professional careers in live-action and voice over performance for film, television, commercials, animation, video games, podcasts, and other emergent media.
These 6-months create the skills and knowledge required for a lifetime career.
The Working Actor Certificate
A working actor is someone who is paid for the efforts and many actors wait for the phone to ring, having their agent invite them to audition for opportunities. This is always a welcome call but actors do not need to wait to be invited in order to create paid work opportunities. Today's actor needs to also create their own opportunities as they also execute the auditions secured for them by their agents. This course informs actors and gives them the skills to generate paid work they can hire themselves for while they pursue the bigger tv, film, and voice-over projects. This course outlines each step from creating concepts, to marketing these ideas, to performing them, all the way through to building these ideas into steady revenue streams.
Program Highlights
- The Professional Actor
- On-Camera Performance Skills: Develop techniques for engaging, professional on-screen acting.
Live Performance Training: Gain confidence and adaptability performing for live audiences.
Technical Production Skills: Learn lighting, sound, camera operation, and editing to enhance project quality.
Script Development & Ideation: Create compelling concepts and structure professional scripts.
- The Professional Actor
- Project Creation & Self-Distribution: Build, pitch, and distribute independent projects for revenue generation.
Portfolio & Pitch Development: Compile a portfolio and develop pitch decks to secure opportunities.
Industry Guidance: Receive mentorship from experienced Hollywood actors and industry professionals.
Career Building: Prepare to secure auditions, create revenue streams, and launch a sustainable acting career.
Certificate Benefits
- Create Professional Film Projects
- Qualifies for Student Aid
- Add IMDb credits
- Create Additional Revenue Streams while in school
Student Reviews
“The teachers I had were amazing and I love them to death! Since then, I’ve had several profound opportunities at the beginning of my acting career, such as opportunities on Riverdale, Charmed, Lifetime TV , and FX Network, which have served as significant building blocks for the future! Nothing but pure love for the teachers, Michael Coleman, and my absolutely amazing experience here!”
Tristan Cabida – 2023 Student Alumni
“My name is Carmen Pearce. I am a 63 old Canadian female fulfilling a lifelong dream to become a Actress, writer and surprisingly voiceover where I have received so much Joy.
I have been attending my second term with StoryInstitute , The Professional Actor and now The Working Actor.
Story Institute offers experienced instructors such as Peter New, Mable Clements, Joel McCarthy, Jon Cor and many more of the great experienced Actors , Directors, Producers sharing their experiences and great knowledge.
I have a special appreciation of Story Institute as I have been learning to write my own stories and tell my stories through acting, inprov, voiceover, script writing .
I am very grateful and proud to apart of Story Institute . .. Thank You Michael Coleman. 😊”
Carmen Pierce – Double Certificate Student
“I am a working, trained actor and I have also done the whole spectrum of voice-over work for 25 years. I needed a new set of skills.
The skills they teach and the individual guidance in the class is phenomenal. It is a very high, professional standard – even beyond in fact as the teachers are industry people who work in the industry themselves at a very high level. Each class has something new and exciting to teach where you are encouraged to throw yourself in at the deep end and are directed beautifully through the delivery process in class while in the recording studio. Constant gems are thrown in on how to think through the endless choice of characters while developing them on the spot – even during class we see immediate results on characterisation layering.”
Claudia Coulter – Certificate Student
The Professional Actor Certificate:
6 Months/ 26 weeks
480 Hours
The Working Actor Certificate:
6 months / 26 weeks
520 hours
Class Schedules:
Mornings: Monday to Friday 9.30am – 2pm
Evenings: Monday to Friday 6pm – 10pm
Professional Actor Certificate
Working Actor Certificate
- Graduated Grade 12 (or equivalent) or being 18 years old
- ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants with mature students status, and/or students whose first language is not English, below are the minimum scores required from any one of the following tests in English proficiency: IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC or Cambridge.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): minimum score required is 68 for the internet-based exam, 190 for the computer-based exam and 520 for the paper-based exam
- Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC): minimum score required is 700
- Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE): minimum level achieved B1
- International English Language Testing Service (IELTS): minimum score required is overall 6.0
January 7th – June 13th 2025
March 31st – Sept 26th 2025
Tuition: $11,900
Classes Start
More Information
The Professional Actor
6-month diploma program
The Professional Actor Diploma program is a state-of-the-art hybrid of classic, core acting techniques, emergent cutting-edge skills, and business training that prepare students for professional careers in live-action and voice over performance for film, television, commercials, animation, video games, podcasts, and other emergent media.This program has been approved by the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training.
These 6-months create the skills and knowledge required for a lifetime career.
Successful graduates will be able to dissect and identify the structural elements of a script. They will be able to access variations on command through grounded
performances and presence exercises. They will have greater control of their body and voice so they can create different characters and sounds through the different physical resonators and positions. Students will be able set, measure, and reset short term and long-term goals to ensure ongoing creative and professional progress.
To qualify for Story Institute programs applicants must have a strong work ethic and an insatiable willingness to learn. Applicants will be interviewed by a Director or member of the school’s admissions team where they will have an opportunity to exhibit their ability to take direction and showcase their preparation abilities via a prepared audition piece and written or video essay based on assigned homework for the interview. This program requires applicants to have graduated from grade 12 (or equivalent) or being 19 years of age before the start of classes. Applicants who do not have English as their first language and who do not master the language must be able to pass the IELTS test with a minimum overall score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 6.0 in each category for the Academic test.
Curriculum
The Professional Actor | Term 1
A professional actor is required to put as much energy into their business as they place into their craft if they desire long-term results. The responsibility of overseeing all aspects on the actor’s business from research and development to marketing to branding, to everything in between rests with the professional actor. While the professional actor will often work with other people throughout their career in the form of agents, managers, publicists, photographers, accountants, and many more they are effectively the CEO of their company and must be accountable for all areas of their career.
The craft of improvisation has become primarily known as a performance showcase based on games and short-form handles like we’ve seen on shows like Whose Line is it Anyway? In reality, improvisation is both a showcase format as well as a explorative tool required for both preparation and performance. This skill set allows the professional actor the ability to develop an understanding of story, character, and all foundational elements to a level where they can instinctually make choices without needing rehearsal or a script.
Voicing cartoons, video games, audiobooks and radio ads are but some of the wonderful way a trained, professional actor can create additional revenue streams and many choose to make these areas their specialties. This class helps actors find a diverse vocal range, create fun characters, implement strong mic technique, and analyze and prepare auditions and performances that allow them to work in this exciting part of our industry.
This module explores the classic foundations of acting in the form of words, actions, emotional life, and physical life. These are the building blocks in which all other modules refer back to in their development and exploration. Starting from grounding performances to emotional accessibility, to text analysis and character study.
The ability to interview for the job requires the same level of training and skill development as actually performing the job. Unlike job interviews in most other careers, the professional actor is often given 5 minutes or less to showcase their skills for the available job opportunity. The four key elements to every audition are be prepared, be efficient, be professional, and be capable of direction. This course will cover the technical aspects of everything from eyelines to performing multiple scenes with the organic elements of truthful emotional connection and grounded work.
The Professional Actor | Term 2
This advanced level program prepares the actor for the specific resources required to sign with a talent agent, create the professional materials (resumes, VO demos, show reels, headshots, cover letters) needed to book professional work, and a firm understanding on unions, working in LA, finding financing for your own creative projects, and a solid business plan that you can assess and revise throughout your entire career.
A skilled improvisor is able to trust their instincts and intuitions due to an enhanced understanding of the structure of story. This skill is vital in each step of the process, from preparation to audition through to the performance on both the stage and the screen.
The world of voice-overs allows many trained professionals to build studios, work from home, and audition every day of the week. This advanced term focuses on the technical elements of working with beeps for anime and other languages, building your own home studio, and creating an effective VO demo that will help secure a voice-over agent and create strong introductions to casting directors and producers.
The first term is dedicated to core foundations and now the performer is ready for more advanced techniques that allow the actor to have greater access to their emotions, turn fears into excitement, and behave truthfully under imaginary circumstances under the added pressure of lights, camera, and a film crew.
This term culminates into a professional audition demo reel for securing a talent agent, and focuses on both a deeper analysis of the text and emotional connectivity as well as the nuanced elements of taking direction effectively, using props and wardrobe to your advantage, and creating consistency and confidence with your performances.
6 Month Diploma
Professional Actor Diploma
Questions & Enrollment
Tuition
Professional Actor DiplomaInternational Student Tuition: $12900 (Purpose Scholarship qualifies for $11900)
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Credential: Diploma
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480 hours
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Demo Reel
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VO Demo
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Agent Submission Package
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Lifetime Mentorship
FALL 2024 SEMESTER
October 1, 2024 - March 28th, 2025
SUMMER 2025 SEMESTER
Upcoming start dates:
Vancouver & Prince George Campuses
Monday to Friday: 9:30am – 2:30pm
Vancouver Campus (alternative weekend option)
Saturdays and Sundays 9:30am – 6:30pm and Tuesdays 5:30pm – 10:00pm
The Working Actor
6-month diploma program
The Working Actor is where practical meets principle in a professional actor’s journey to self-produce professional work that results in additional, consistent revenue stream opportunities.
Successful graduates will be able to create, produce, and distribute professional work opportunities both on camera and live for the stage, from original concept, budgets, marketing, operational and administrative needs, through to performance and revenue generation. The entertainment industry has a multitude of distribution platforms, cost effective equipment and software, and the educated and informed actor has unlimited opportunities to create their own professional work while also pursuing traditional mainstream projects.
To qualify for Story Institute programs, applicants will be interviewed by a member of the admissions team where they will pitch three creative, independent project concepts, and will be reviewed by the admissions team who will evaluate artistry and professionalism.
Applicants must be able to pass the IELTS test with a minimum overall score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 6.0 in each category for the Academic test. Not all students must provide IELTS test results. Those whose previous education is in English (whether as native speakers with Grade 12 from an English language system, or previous post-secondary) may use documentation of that as proof of English proficiency.
Applicants must have graduated from grade 12 (or equivalent) or being 18 years of age before the start of classes.
6 Month Full-Time Diploma
Working Actor Diploma
Questions & Enrollment
The Working Actor | Term 1
A working actor is someone who is paid for the efforts and many actors wait for the phone to ring, having their agent invite them to audition for opportunities. This is always a welcome call but actors do not need to wait to be invited in order to create paid work opportunities. Today’s actor needs to also create their own opportunities as they also execute the auditions secured for them by their agents. This course informs actors and gives them the skills to generate paid work they can hire themselves for while they pursue the bigger tv, film, and voice-over projects. This course outlines each step from creating concepts, to marketing these ideas, to performing them, all the way through to building these ideas into steady revenue streams.
Today’s technology allows actors to have unparalleled opportunities when compared to the generations before them. This course focuses on the concept of creating projects that are both interesting to the individual as well as being commercially viable. This class focuses on the creation and ideation stage, through to the structural stage of creating professional scripts, all the way through to pitching them to bigger platforms or self-distributing on your own.
The technical aspects of lighting, sound, cameras, editing have long been something actors have left to “the other side of the camera”. The working actor who learns how to do these jobs as well not only gives them a better understanding of how to create their own work but also be more effective when hired to perform as an actor. This technical side of the craft allows actors to deliver a concept to distribution without needing anyone other than themselves and they can do so on small and no budget projects they create from their own stores and ideas.
The Working Actor | Term 2
The second half of this diploma program includes regular live performances and the students in the program take what they’ve learned in the first part of the program and they deliver it into the professional world in front of live audiences.
This term produces the ideas developed in Term 1, giving the students an opportunity to build professional pitches, create a portfolio of work, and even self-distribute their projects for the opportunity to generate revenue on their own.
This part of the program is where students generate pitch decks, put practice into play as they write, shoot, edit, and distribute their projects and create opportunities to be content creators and not just a hired hand for the auditions they are pursuing. Actors who can create a pendulum between mainstream bigger projects that feed their independent projects, and vice versa create an inspiring energy that will have them be noticed and separated from those who are simply waiting for the phone to ring.
Summer Break: June 17th, 2024 - June 28th, 2024
FALL 2024 SEMESTER
Tuition
Working Actor DiplomaInternational Student Tuition: $12900 (Purpose Scholarship qualifies for $11900)
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Credential: Diploma
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520 hours
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Create Professional Film Projects
-
Add IMDb credits
-
Create Additional Revenue Streams while in school
The Professional Working Actor
12-months | TWO diplomaS
This is a combination of The Professional Actor and The Working Actor (programs above) . Apply for both programs at the same time and receive an additional discount on your tuition.
Tuition: $21,800 if you are accepted into both The Professional Actor and The Working Actor at the same time and pay for the program in advance.
* This includes $2,000 in Purpose Scholarships
Tuition: $23,800 if each 6-month program is taken separately for domestic students and $23,800 if each 6-month program is taken separately for international students.
The Professional Actor
The Professional Actor Diploma program is a state-of-the-art hybrid of classic, core acting techniques, emergent cutting-edge skills, and business training that prepare students for professional careers in live-action and voice over performance for film, television, commercials, animation, video games, podcasts, and other emergent media.This program has been approved by the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training.
These 6-months create the skills and knowledge required for a lifetime career.
The Working Actor
To qualify for Story Institute programs, applicants will be interviewed by a member of the admissions team where they will pitch three creative, independent project concepts, and will be reviewed by the admissions team who will evaluate artistry and professionalism.
Applicants must be able to pass the IELTS test with a minimum overall score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 6.0 in each category for the Academic test. Not all students must provide IELTS test results. Those whose previous education is in English (whether as native speakers with Grade 12 from an English language system, or previous post-secondary) may use documentation of that as proof of English proficiency.
Applicants must have graduated from grade 12 (or equivalent) or being 18 years of age before the start of classes.
12 Month Full-Time Diploma
