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THE TWO YEAR PROGRAM
Two Year Costs & General Information
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“Art bids us touch and taste and hear and see the
world, and shrinks from what Blake calls mathematic form,
from every abstract thing, from all that is not a fountain
jetting from the entire hopes, memories, and sensations
of the body.” – W.B. Yeats |
NEW CLASS BEGINS OCT. 8, 2007
A DYNAMIC BALANCE OF TECHNIQUES: We are the only program to offer extensive work in Stanislavski based "method" technique in tandem with Viola Spolin's improvisational theatre training (including regular public performances. A student learns to shift easily from one set of craft requirements to an entirely different one: from performing a well-formed, entertaining, improvised scene on the spot in front of an audience - and doing it with relish and authority - to performing carefully rehearsed, and repeatable character work in, say, a Chekhov role - and doing it with emotional reality and conviction. Working alternately in these two disciplines gradually prepares an actor to function effectively in any situation from cabaret to classical drama, from experimental theatre to television and film. The training is dynamically balanced, developing flexibility and precision in the expressive channels while generating and releasing a personal imaginative process.
SCENE STUDY: Building analytical skills: how to set the acting tasks, seeing the point of the scene. Developing the ability to create the framework of given circumstances and relationships, and living imaginatively within them. Handling dialogue. The first year will focus on American playwrights. This course culminates in a public performance. (8 hours, taught by George Morrison) |
ACTING TECHNIQUE: Developing a "conscious road to the subconscious" (Stanislavski): developing sensory awareness and the ability to create subjective experience, developing a warm-up, managing a mix of imagination and memory, translating written into spoken language, integrating character elements with personal experience, learning to give non-judgmental feedback. Through use of monologues, exploring and isolating expression of face, voice and body to increase flexibility and power. Includes vide-taped feedback. Exercises to create an imaginative relationship to your partner with flexibility and precision. (1.5 hours) |
IMPROVISATION: Focusing on Spolin theatre games. Exploring playfulness, expressiveness and focus. (4.5 hours). |
MR. NICHOLS' MASTER CLASS: (as his professional schedule permits) Script analysis. First year students audit. (3 hours.) |
MOVEMENT IMPROVISATION: Freeing the body through the use of music and imagination using the technique developed by Beatrice Lees (Viola Spolin's sister). (2 hours)
click to enlarge |
FELDENKRAIS: Building responsiveness and flexibility by freeing the body of the limitations of the habitual. (2 hours) |
VOICE: Producing a voice free of unnecessary tension, spontaneously responsive to both internal and external stimuli. (2.5 hours) |
SPEECH: Correcting regionalisms and faulty enunciation. (1 hour) |
SENSE MEMORY: Is the exploration of the memory of all five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. In this class all of the major exercises of Lee Strasberg, essential to the technique known as The Method, will be practiced. The exercises are approached not to imitate experience, but to recreate it. (1.5 hours) |
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SCENE STUDY: Continued from year one with added work on period drama, Shakespeare and European playwrights, especially Chekhov. (8 hours, taught by George Morrison.) |
IMPROVISATION: Continued development of performance skills and exploration of long form improvisation, including weekly public performances. (3 hours) |
MR. NICHOLS' MASTER CLASS: (as his professional schedule permits) Script analysis. Creating "the event" through powerful acting choices. Second year students and graduates present scenes in this class. There is no charge for graduates who continue to attend and work in this class. (3 hours) See the New York Times Article on Mr. Nichols. |
ACTING TECHNIQUE: Continued from year one. (1.5 hours) |
VOICE: Continued from first year with text work on Shakespeare. (2.5 hours) |
IMPROVISATION MOVEMENT: Continued from year one. (2 hours) |
FELDENKRAIS: Continued from year one with individual work. (1 hour) |
ALEXANDER/KINETIC AWARENESS: Work on freeing the body. (2 hours) |
SPEECH: Continued from year one. Learning good speech for classical plays. Dialects. (2 hours) |
SENSE MEMORY: Continued from Year One. (1.5 hours every other week) |
FRIDAY NIGHT IMPROVISATION: Second year students perform throughout the year and are joined by first year students mid-year. (optional) |
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE: Full production of contemporary play or Story Theater. Guest directors chosen by Mr. Morrison. (15-20 hours/wk) |
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