Basic Acting
 
Course Requirements
Required Reading
Session Breakdown
Recommended Reading
[Return to Course Descriptions]
[Return to Main Page]

 

 

Course Requirements

1) Attendance at all sessions. This is a studio course and your presence is of paramount importance. Every unexcused absence will result in an immediate reduction of 1/2 of a grade.

2) Participation in all exercises, games, and scene work.

3)Completion of all writing assignments in a timely fashion.

I. One 4-5 page paper which provides a concise, well-organized overview of the Stanislavskian approach described in the assigned reading. This is not a book report, but a theoretical summation.

II. Two 2-3 page papers that describes, in detail, the prior and given circumstances of the character you are portraying in your final project.

· Midtern & Second Acting Projects

· FINAL PUBLIC PRESENTATION

[top]


REQUIRED READING

Gallway’s INNER TENNIS

Stanislavsky’s AN ACTOR PREPARES

[top]


 
BASIC ACTING
SESSION BREAKDOWN
Week 1 Introduction
Orientation/Expectations

Week 2 PUBLIC SOLITUDE
Activity
Activity

Week 3 PUBLIC SOLITUDE II
Joke
Joke

WEEK 4 RELAXATION & CONCENTRATION
Anecdote
Anecdote Scene Selection

WEEK 5 SENSE MEMORY & AFFECTIVE MEMORY
Verbal Action Run Lines
Stage Action Run Lines

Week 6 JUSTIFICATION & CREATIVE FANTASY
Blocking Walk Scenes
Blocking Walk Scenes

WEEK 7 THE STAGE TASK -- ACTION/COUNTER-ACTION
No Class
Objectives Run Scenes

Week 8 IMPROVISATION & THE MAGIC IF
Parallel Improvisation Run Scenes
MIDTERM PRESENTATION OF SCENES

Week 9 BUILDING A CHARACTER
Scene Selection
Cold Readings

Week 10 BUILDING A CHARACTER II
Blocking
Walking Scenes

Week 11 ACTION & IMPROV
Scene Action
Improv Work

Week 12 PUTTING IT ALL TOGER

SCENE PRESENTATION
Final Project Assignments

Week 13 STRUTTING YOUR STUFF: FINAL PROJECT
Work Presentation
Work Presentation

Week 14 FINAL PRESENTATION PREPARATION
Work Presentation
Work Presentation

Week 15 FINAL PRESENTATION PREPARATION
Work Presentation
Work Presentation

 
PUBLIC PRESENTATION: Date to be determined

[top]



 Recommended Reading:

 Adler, Stella. The Technique of Acting. NY: Bantam Books, 1990.

Atkins, Greg. Improv: A Handbook for the Actor. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994.

Chinoy, Helen Krich and Toby Cole. Actors on Acting. NY: Crown Publishers, 1970.

Clark, Larry D. Acting Is Believing: A Basic Methood. Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1996.

Cole, Toby. Acting: A Handbook of the Stanislavski Method. NY: Crown, 1983.

Gordon, Mel. The Stanislavski Technique. NY: Applause, 1987.

Hagen, Uta. Respect for Acting. NY: Macmillan, 1973.

Kahan, Stanley. Introduction to Acting. Needham Height, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1991.

Lewis, Robert. Advice to the Players. NY: Theatre Communication Group, 1980.

Meisner, Sanford. On Acting. NY: Vintage Books, 1987.

Miller, Allan. A Passion for Acting. NY: Backstage Books, 1992.

Moore, Sonia. Stanislavski Revealed. NY: Applause, 1991

Poggi, Jack. The Monologue Workshop. NY: Applause, 1990.

Shurtleff, Michael. Audition. NY: Bantam Books, 1978.

Spolin, Viola. Improvisation for the Theatre. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1985.

Stanislavski, Constantin. My Life In Art. NY: Theatre Arts Books, 1948.

[top]