STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Actors and aspiring actors will have a chance to expand their toolbox of performance skills on Feb. 3 and 4 at the Depot Arts Center.

“Acting/directing means learning acting and performance tools that will enhance and enrich performances,” said Stuart Handloff, artistic director of Piknik Theatre Festival. “Directors can also use these tools to evaluate an actor’s range and performance territory (the natural comfort zone in which an actor operates).”

Piknik Theatre Festival, the free outdoor series held in the fall with local and visiting actors involved in the Great American Laughing Stock Company, is hosting the workshops.

“From an actor’s perspective, they learn new ways to encourage the audience to get meaning from a performance,” said Handloff,who was inspired to communicate the learning he acquired in graduate school while earning a master in theatre directing from the New Zealand National Drama School.. “For the directors, they will learn to use these tools to orchestrate a performing ensemble to create a coherent and meaningful artistic work.”

He said this shorter, more intensive weekend format better fits the schedule of local actors and students who want to expand their skill set.

“Acting and directing are more than talents endowed at birth; they are performing arts that can be learned and developed,” Handloff said. “Anyone with the willingness to learn can acquire the abilities to act and direct effectively.”

The cost for the workshops will be $50 per day. To sign up, contact Handloff at stuart.handloff@gmail.com or visit galsco.org/.

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@steamboattoday.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1.