Acting for Singers

Catalog description

To help students develop authentic and specific characters/portrayals on stage through physical and emotional awareness. MUSIC 468 Acting for Singers (2) This is a course teaching singers the fundamentals of acting. All types of stage work related to vocal music will be explored from performing in recitals and concerts to the opera and excerpted scenes. The objective of the course is to make singers more comfortable on stage and more realistic/believable in their performances/presentations. This course differs from acting courses offered in other areas because the singer has restrictions placed upon him due to the requirements of the music, especially in regard to timing and the sense of time, and the use of texts which are often in foreign languages. The course is an elective 2 credit course which students may repeat for a maximum of 4 credits. An accompanist will be present to accompany students in their song/aria presentations. Every class meeting will begin with warm-up exercises and then continue with further exercises focusing on helping students develop a sense of timing and enabling them to explore the 'beats' (or central topic) of a scene. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to prepare for a scene, analyze it, and determining the goal(s) of the character. The students will be encouraged to learn how to be specific in their acting and to learn what will 'read' to an audience while accurately reflecting the portrayed emotion. Some work will be solo work, but there will also be opportunities to work with partners. Improvisation will also be incorporated.