Introduction to Acting

Catalog description

Great acting is not just a matter of talent. It is an advanced art form that requires discipline, skill-building, technique and most of all, practice. This course aims to give students opportunities to explore the various ways that actors practice and build their craft. Students will learn relaxation techniques and physical exercises that actors use to help them to embody their characters. They will also explore the use of text analysis, imagination and sensory exercises, and interactive games designed to build the kind of teamwork and collaboration that is essential to an acting ensemble. Over the semester students will rehearse and perform scenes with their classmates. This course will nurture an appreciation of this discipline through both practical application and also supplemental readings by famous practitioners about their various approaches to performing. The students will engage with various methods like those of Konstantine Stanislavsky and the work of actors who continued to develop the craft like Uta Hagen, Meyerhold, Adler, Laban and others. Acting involves embodied learning as well as collaborative and teamwork skills, so attendance is vital.