CHESS: Youth and Adult Lessons with John Austin
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About the Artist
John Austin is an award-winning, classically trained actor. At Arena Stage, he originated the role of “Derril Lark” in the world-premiere of Right to Be Forgotten and the role of “Valentin” in the world-premiere of Kleptocracy. As noted by AMERICAN THEATRE, John’s thrilled to teach chess lessons as part of Arena’s Artists Marketplace. Since inception, he’s taught over 50 virtual chess lessons to a variety of people: kids and adults alike, including children who are on the spectrum. Every person who has experienced an Introductory Lesson with John thus far has returned for Continued Lessons, many studying with him every week. As a youth, John played chess competitively for several years. Today, John studies the game and plays recreationally. Chess continues to inspire him as an artist and person.
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CHESS: Youth and Adult Lessons
As an actor, John communicates about chess in an exciting and engaging way. He builds positive working relationships with students of all ages and tailors lessons to fit their needs. In the Introductory Lesson, John could start by covering the basics of chess: the pieces, how they move, and how to win the game. The student would be able to start playing chess by the end of the lesson. If the student is already familiar with the game, John would expand to tactics, checkmate patterns, or another area of interest expressed by the student. This makes the discounted Introductory Lesson ideal for students working with John for the first time.
After experiencing an Introductory Lesson, many of John’s students sign up to take Continued Lessons once a week. In these lessons, John encourages students to think critically through selected instructive positions, coaching move-by-move. He draws on principles, puzzles, and positions noted by Grandmasters such as Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer.
All lessons are scheduled for an hour and take place on Zoom, hosted by John at an agreed upon date. John teaches with a tournament chess set featuring annotative letters and numbers. For Continued Lessons, it is highly recommended that students use this kind of chess set as well, purchasable on sites such as uscfsales.com ($20). For families with multiple children taking Continued Lessons, John offers a “Sibling Continued” discount for each child. Here’s what people have to say about John’s teaching:
“The best chess teacher you could ever hope for.” – Stephanie, adult student
“Fun and educational… an ideal teacher for young chess students!” – Kiyomi, 9-year-old student
“[My kids have] learned more than I would’ve thought they could in just two months.” – Hilary, parent of siblings
“We usually have to monitor his online classes very closely and with John’s class, we get a rare respite (all of us). Highly recommended.” – Chris and Jen, parents of a student on the spectrum
Want to experience chess as you never have before? Purchase a lesson today!
Cost:
$45 - Introductory Lesson
$60 - Continued Lesson
$45 - Sibling Continued Lesson