An Actor鈥檚 Technique: Nuts and Bolts
Course Description
Summary
How do actors bridge the gap between themselves and the role they are playing? How do actors rehearse with other actors in order to explore the world of the play?
This non-performance based class is designed to help individual actors discover their own organic, thorough rehearsal process. Step by step we will clarify the actor鈥檚 process: character research, character exploration, text analysis, identifying actions, working with scene partners, emotional preparation, and scene presentation.
Each student will be required to research and present the biography of one renowned actor during the term, and these presentations will serve as a springboard for an on-going group conversation about the craft of acting. Students will work to create a warm-up specifically designed to meet their individual needs, and work on one scene throughout the term, allowing them to explore, revise, and edit their choices. Various rehearsal techniques will be explored, so that students can begin creating their own rehearsal technique for future performance work.
Learning Outcomes
- Understanding of the principles of collaboration.
- Ability to analyze and interpret text from a play.
- Develop a sense of how work is created and an ability to foster process.
- Solidify your individual process as an actor from rehearsal to performance.
Prerequisites
The Actor鈥檚 Instrument or equivalent coursework.
Permission of the instructor.
Please contact the faculty member : shawtanebowen@bennington.edu
Corequisites
Completion of Dance or Drama lab assignment.