All Actors Playground classes take place at
The Harriet Putterman Center at Cooper Square Committee
61 East 4th Street, Suite #3W
New York, NY 10003
A message from Artistic Director Zainab:
“The aim of our program is to build creative self confidence. Our curriculum is most interested in play where by igniting the whole body imagination the actor can overcome internalised barriers to performance. By removing pressure to ‘be chosen,’ our program strives to welcome the idea that we are all beginners at every stage of one’s acting journey. My personal wish for every student is to experience a broad set of techniques and performance styles. May all who would seek this path discover that there is no one ‘right way’ or singular approach to the craft of acting, there is only your way.”
Core Offerings – In 2025 these classes will be offered in two semester cycles for four consecutive weeks in the spring and fall months.
Exploring the Basics is an introduction to vocal awareness and how the voice and body communicate to one another. In the 2hr class we will engage in a total body warm up, games and a cool down. Some examples of techniques include: sound and movement, vocal slides, breathing exercises, humming, exploring the muscles of the ear/nose/throat. Visualisation exercises and narrated improvisation will be provided by an experienced actor, director or performance artisan.
Playing with Text invites the students to read aloud a play or literary work provided by the instructor. The two hour format will include a vocal warm up and physical games that highlight the world of the literature indicated. We will explore the concepts of actions, intentions and objectives.
Laying Your Foundation is an invitation for the student to discover the three venues of intrapersonal communication: human exploring the self, human exploring one other human, human interfacing with the broader world of humans or an audience. We will investigate what the actor considers and what it is to “make choices” in one’s work. Participants will be invited to identify what specific parts of themselves that they are lending to the other in order to build a story. The two hours will include a short vocal warm up, improvisation exercises and opportunities to perform for the group.
Building a Character is an overview of the exercises gifted to the public by instructors: Uta Haagen, Larry Moss and Michael Checkov. We will explore how to endow objects with meaning, explore the difference between speech and dialect and discover how to fully inhabit private moments in front of an audience. This class is a progression from the ideas explored in Laying Your Foundation. The two hours will be a mixture of lecture and practice.
For more information about our program please feel free to email: acting4harriet@coopersquare.org
Or find our current class offerings here: JUNE 2025
Visit our Instagram page: performingartscoopersq
About Artistic Director Zainab Musa – pronouncedzyenub.com
Zainab Musa is a celebrated actor and performing artist whose dynamic work spans film, television, and theater. Known for their commanding on-screen presence, Zainab has played leading roles in films such as I Am Charlie (Dir. Marishka Phillips), To Serve or Protect (Dir. David Garegnani), and Contained Alone (NYU/Dir.Mamadou Dia). Their supporting credits include Sole Pursuit (Dir. Katherine Croft), Get Richor Die Tryin’ (Paramount Pictures/Dir. Jim Sheridan), Ratko: The Dictator’s Son (Dir. Steve Holland), and The Resurrection of Tony Gitone (Breakthrough Ent./Dir. Jerry Ciccoritti) and other notable projects. Zainab’s television work includes series leads in Metropia (ProtocolEntertainment) and Doomstown (CTV/Dir. David ‘Suds’ Sutherland), where their performances wove the surreal with the achingly human.
On stage, Zainab has captivated audiences in productions such as Richard III (Buckingham,
Columbia University MFA) Twelfth Night (Viola, Canadian Stage Co.), Wilma Ruldolph (History Comes to Life Theater MN) and Hijab Tube (Umar Mixed Blood Theater, MN). Their achievements have earned them prestigious accolades, including Artist Residencies at Mabou Mines (2014) and Pillsbury House Theater (Naked Stages, 2013), as well as the Canadian Film Center’s Actor Residency (2010).
As a dual citizen of the cosmos (or, fine, the U.S. and Canada), Zainab brings dance, dialects, djembe rhythms, and a dash of mystery to every collaboration. With a BFA from Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan University), Zainab’s creative journey is a testament to resilience, innovation, and community-centered artistry. A recent source of joy can be found in her past collaborations with: SandBox Theater, The Muse Project, and Ananya Dance Theater.