Although it is hard to fully discuss acting methods that we have only touched on in class through brief workshops and discussions, and although it seemed, at times, that the distinctions between a few of the methods were rather vague, I nonetheless have an idea of certain tools hat will help my acting and in which circumstances specific tools would prove most useful; most of the techniques we explored offered at least some sort of benefit—Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, Meisner, and even Strasburg had illustrative insights—and the workshops we worked with during the Hedda discussions also were helpful. Speaking in terms of stages of scene work, it seems to me that the work with architecture from Anne Bogart’s viewpoints during the Hedda Gabler scenes could be a good starting point. As we put ourselves into the Victorian rooms, I began to get a sense of how a Victorian woman in general interacts with objects and people. Then when I imagined Hedda in these circumstances my sense of atmosphere was further heightened and I began to feel caged in by the society of my peers; when we changed the circumstances to a modern-day get-together, I was able to find the truth and reality of Hedda—she absolutely is not just a Victorian woman, she is dealing with very real issues of frustration. I am not sure if this particular technique would be helpful for all scenes, but perhaps period pieces in particular. Another early-stage method that was partially helpful for me was the Meisner work, but it is particularly useful for scenes that focus on two partners—Meisner affirmed that “what [gives] crackling energy and tension to a scene…[is] the interaction between characters” (Brestoff). In class, after a bit of working with the method, especially with the ... ... middle of paper ... ...feels almost tragic to tamper with one’s past in such a fashion. Thus, I certainly have some qualms with the Strasberg method, although I will keep it in mind if I am having an unusually difficult time with an emotional connection. Thus, though I honestly feel as if I have a gained a very shallow knowledge of different acting methods throughout this course, I have indeed gleaned some bits of inspiration and some new techniques to utilize for future theatre projects—Chekhov seems highly effective, Adler and Hagen are reliable, Meisner has potential, and Strasberg is a last resort. I would certainly love to explore each of these methods further, but in particular, Chekhov and Meisner could be an effective combination—I think further work with Chekhov would improve my process of getting in character, whereas Meisner would help me become absolutely honest on stage.
In this area of theatre i have learned more about brainstorming, character position, the effectiveness of music, the effectiveness of light and at what darkness and more about character goals and character formation both physical and vocal.
...Acting teacher, Sandy Meisner, described a technique of living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. To do so is to apply Burke’s pentad to an aesthetic performance completely.
Olive, David. "Possibilities of Performance: New Ways of Teaching Dramatic Literature." Links & Letters 2 (1995): 9-17. UAB Digital Repository of Documents. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.
Still running today, the Neighborhood Playhouse is a conservatory for actors to improve their talent, and is the home of the Meisner technique. When Meisner moved on to the Neighborhood Playhouse, he dedicated his time on teaching his own acting methods to students and would do so for the next forty-eight years. Even though Meisner’s acting was originally influenced through the Stanislavski method, he decided that he did not agree with the idea of emotional recall because he believed it took an actor’s mind out of their scene. Instead, Meisner believed that it was more beneficial to “Learn to live in the moment as an actor, and let go of any idea of result. Learn what it means to really “do” and to respond truthfully to a given moment based
The first question is why use "commedia dell' arte" as a training tool for modern actors at all, since drama and the business of acting has hopefully moved on since the Italian Comedians finally left Paris. The fact remains, however, that the dominant form of acting today that both exists as the aspiring young actor's performance role model and as a category of performance in itself is T.V. naturalism. We are lucky in that something both inspirational and technical has survived from those heady times. When contemporary acting technique does not provide all the answers that actors may be looking for, it is not surprising that they look towards the past for inspiration. It is in this grey area between researching historical certainties and reconstructing guessed at acting technique that we must look. These Martinellis and Andreinis were the superstars of their day and the question that most often gets asked is "how did they do it?"(Oliver Crick).
One of the techniques used most often by theatre high school teachers is role-playing. The reasons that this technique is often used are numerous. When students read a text silently some of the nuance contained in the meaning can be lost. This is particularly true when dealing with a play, or anything containing multiple characters. Reading the piece aloud can help them to understand the connotation as well as the denotation. In the theatre, how a passage is spoken will determine the feeling that it carries with it. Lines of dialogue can suddenly become funny or sad once given inflection. This is the prime reason role-playing is used. The prime time that this technique is employed is when teaching the works of Shakespeare.
Lazarus, Joan. "On the Verge of Change: New Directions in Secondary Theatre Education." Applied Theatre Research 3.2 (July 2015): 149-161. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/atr.3.2.149_1.
Good acting relies on a kinesthetic, an intrapersonal, and an interpersonal intelligence, all of which work together to form a creative expression. There exist limitless styles of acting; there is always something to learn.
I’ve learned to appreciate the beauty of how theater is more than a mere performance, but rather an artform with nuance and depth. My knowledge on theatrical styles has expanded and some of my favorites we have studied in class are Brechtian and Chinese theatre styles. I grew up participating in musical theatre, but never had the opportunity to truly learn the history and details of the craft. After studying RENT, I am inspired by the various possibilities for theater beyond acting, singing, and dancing. Theater can be used for activism or as a form of commemoration. Theater is relevant by communicating issues to the world. Theater is so much more than a dramatic presentation. The theater that I have come to appreciate the most are the performances that relay a greater purposeful message about society amidst the theatricals on
However, there are still many actors who utilize techniques other than classical acting to achieve their results on-screen or -stage, and many of those actors are method actors. Method acting is a style of acting that encourages emotionally sincere performances. Though it sounds similar to ‘The Method,’ developed by Stanislavski, and while it does originally derive from that same system, method acting was popularized by teachers Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner. The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute described method acting as “the (re)experiencing of life by the actor within the fiction of the story as if it were true and happening now.” This means that instead of the actor creating the character as if it is fictional,
Process drama according free Wikipedia encyclopedia is a method of teaching and learning, where both the students and teacher are working in and out of role. Cecily O'Neill, Brian Way (et al) (1995) further postulates that it is a teaching methodology used to explore a problem, situation, theme or series of related ideas. Process drama is unscripted; it eliminates some of the elements that other genres of drama consist such as a script and writing and memorizing of the script. It entails mostly the use o language skills, listening and speaking but not reading, writing or memorizing. Because of this, process drama is appropriate for students of all ages, as there are no steadfast rules of how to perform and no script is needed. It is an imaginary world created by students and teachers to solve conflicts that arise daily, placing themselves in another person’s position. Process drama is a self motivated tool that assists facilitators to reflect in action. To reflect in action facilitators strategize and constantly add creative and distinctive changes to situations that need a novel approach. Process drama is used to promote literacy among students. Literacy is developed, while a vast am...
Wilson, E., & Goldfarb, A. (2008). Theater: the lively art (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Actors are more than just people who portray dramatic characters on a movie screen, stage, and television. Professional actors tend to make more money than most other careers. Actors bring joy to the people who watch them perform, and take them out of the real world and into the creative world of visual communication. Performers can show more than just joy, they can also bring happiness, sorrow, fear and even comedy. Acting can be a very versatile profession. It is way for many people to refine themselves. Performing is not only about getting into a role but understanding the extent of one’s imagination. There is a lot of preparing that goes into a performance than just reading a few lines. Acting is a paradigm. Acting is very different now compared to when it first started. In todays world acting is a fast growing career and well respected. but over 200 years ago it was not that way.
“Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.” ― Meryl Streep. I love exploring and gaining knowledge about the beautiful craft of acting. During my journey of being an actor, I notice there are two types of actors: stage and film. Stage and film actors are different in their times of rehearsal, their relationship with an audience, and their emotional challenges.
For my assignment I have decided to choose a group which I have just finished taking for level 1 Hairdressing and they have progressed on to level 2 Hairdressing. This is within my current role as a hairdressing lecturer at Hugh Baird College which I have done since October. Within this group there are a couple of people who have support workers. There is one student within the group who has severe learning difficulties and is a more mature student. She also has many health problems which results in her having to carry an oxygen tank around for when she has any problems with her breathing due to her having problems with her heart. There is also another student in the class who has learning difficulties, she is very clever but just needs someone there for when she needs something explaining. She also has a support worker that comes in to give her support. This student has also been going through personal problems at home and has attendance issues. There is another student within this group who has severe dyslexia. She doesn’t have a support worker but the support people who are in there do give her help as she can have a tendency to give up, not to listen and just needs to be kept on track so by sitting next to a person that does have a support worker she gets the help from them. These three students have all had their level 1 qualification extended for a year were the rest of the group have progressed on to level 2 Hairdressing. Two of these students may progress on to level 2 but one doesn’t have the ability to be able to do this as the requirements are too high for her. The reason the course was extended for them was because they were struggling with the work that was required for this qualification, but as the col...