Instructor: Peter King

Acting

Fall 2013

Instructor: Peter King

Wikipage:

Table of Contents

Syllabus…………………………………3

Six Step Rehearsal Entry…...... 7

Journal Pages…………………………………8

Assessments Guidelines………………………9

Contentless Scene #1………………………………..10

Contentless Scene #2…………………………..………..11

Exposed (Neutral Scene)………………………………………..12

Crisis (Action Scene)……………………………………………………13

Sample Essential Actions…………………………………………………14

Anticipation (Object Scene)…..…………………………………………….15

Love (Endowment Scene)…………………………………………………………16

Revelation (Full Scene)………………………………………………………………..17

Acting Syllabus 2013-14

RATIONALE: this introductory course will focus on basic acting techniques and familiarize you with the fundamentals of living truthfully within imaginary circumstances.

OBJECTIVES:by the end of the course, you will have learned what it means to

work effectively in ensemble;
be more aware of the world, of others, and yourself;
be fully present in-the-moment;
identify and develop the imaginary circumstances in a scene;
live truthfully within those imaginary circumstances;
identify and play actions;
make personal connections to your work on stage.

UNITS:

ENSEMBLE

Ensemble

Ancient Games

Trust Games

II.ACTING TRUTHFULLY

Playing Off Each Other

Being Present In-the-Moment

The Notion of Action: Acting is Doing

Conflict = Goals and Obstacles

Criminal Scenes

One Line Scenes

III.PLAYING OFF THE PARTNER

Being Present in the Moment

Word Repetition Game

Silent Scenes

One-Line Scenes

Contentless Scenes

IV.WHAT DO I WANT? Playing Actions

Developing the Circumstances

The Literal

The Want

The Actionand its Cap

The As Ifs

Making Choices

How to Rehearse

Staging a Scene: Positions, Blocking

Action Scenes

V.ENDOWMENT, STAGING, SPACE

Truth and the Senses

Endowment and Fourth Wall

Creating the Environment/Space

Stage Terminology

Staging

Physical Action Scores

Spike Heels Scene

IV.TACTICS, BUILDS, PACING

Expanding Tactical Range

Obstacles

Opposites

Escalations

One-line Scenes

Full Scenes

Final Self-Assessment

ATTENDANCE:

Class starts promptly. Warming up is essential to your work in acting. If you miss it, your work will suffer. You will need a late note if you arrive after class has started.
Students will sign-up to present scenes. If you miss class the day you are supposed to present, you will present the class period you return. It puts the whole class behind if you miss your day.
Because acting takes place on a stage in front of others, any time you miss class, whether excused or not, your work and others will be affected. You can’t learn to act by reading a book. You must be present in class.

ASSIGNMENTS: You may view your assignments for this course by going to the Veracross website for this course or The course page will be updated every week or so.

REHEARSAL ENTRIES:24 hours before each presentation you will email me an attachment with a two-page REHEARSAL ENTRY covering the “6 Steps” handout. You will not be allowed to present your work if you have not completed this entry. You will be receiving feedback on your rehearsal entries, and you need to KEEP ALL YOUR REHEARSAL ENTRIES.

JOURNAL ENTRIES: Please have blank paper, a paper journal, or an electronic device you can write responses to exercises, readings, rehearsals, and scenes on a daily basis. These journals will not be graded but will help you immensely writing your quarterly self-assessments. I will check periodically to make sure you’re chronicling your work.

WRITTEN ASSESSMENTS: You will be asked to do a written assessment at the quarter break and the end of the semester. IF I DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR SELF-ASSESSMENT BY THE DUE DATES, YOUR GRADE WILL GO DOWN A + OR – PER DAY LATE.

PERFORMANCE ATTENDANCE: All first semester acting students will attend the fall musical and all second semester acting students will attend the spring productions. Sign-up to usher and you’ll share the backstage excitement, as well as get in free!

SCENE NIGHT: Your final exam for this course is presenting your final scene for an invited audience of family and friends. Thursday, June. 29th, 7 – 8:30 p.m. This is a fun, informal time to share your work. Don’t get uptight about this. OK?

MATERIALS:

Blank paper, a paper journal, or an electronic device for Journal Entries. Please bring your “journal” to every class.
Props. When presenting exercises and scenes you must bring all necessary props.

ATTIRE: Wear clothing you are comfortable moving around in. We will be doing a lot of physical work in this class. When presenting scenes or exercises wear clothing suitable to the character and situation.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:Please turnoff and DO NOT use cell phones. You may use laptops, tablets, and smart phones, but only for class related work. You may not realize it, but these devices interrupt you and everyone else in the room, jarring all of us out of “the depth of the moment” and forcing us to leave the imaginary circumstances of the play or scene we have worked so hard to create.

Assessment:

Participation 40%
Timeliness
Focus
Commitment
Engagement
Ensemble – Trust and Respect of others
Risk-taking
Presentations 40%
Preparation – props, costumes, sets, lines, staging
Application of technique – truth, action, playing off the partner
Written Assessments 20%
6-steps
Self-assessments

The Six-Step Rehearsal Entry

Please answer the following questions in writing for each presentation or scene you do. Your rehearsal entry must be one page, single-spaced, or two pages, double-spaced.You may not present work until this entry has been completed and emailed to Peter. Title your rehearsal entry with the name of the exercise or the name of the scene you will be presenting. Write your name at the top of your entry.

WHO AM I?
What is my present state of being physically and emotionally?
How do I perceive myself?
What is my background: social, economic, educational, occupational, family?

WHAT ARE MY CIRCUMSTANCES?
What time is it? (Year, season, month, day, time)
Where am I? (Smells, sounds, shapes, colors, textures, weather, friendly/unfriendly, public/private, inside/outside)
What are the immediate circumstances? (What are the facts of the situation? What has just happened before this scene begins?)

WHO AM I TALKING TO? (The Target)
What events have I shared with him or her?
What kind of relationship would I like to have with him or her?

WHAT DO I WANT?

STEP ONE: The Literal. What is the Literal Activity of the scene (Business and Dialogue)?

STEP TWO:The Want. What does my character Want in the scene?

STEP THREE:The Action.
What is (are) my Essential Action(s) (Goal with the Partner/Target)?
What is (are) the CAP(s) to the action(s)?

STEP FOUR: The As If.
What is currently happening in my own life that is like my character’s action?
What does the action mean to me on a personal level?

WHAT ARE THE STAKES? (What do I have to win or lose?)

WHAT IS THE URGENCY? (Why must I do it NOW?)

JOURNAL PAGES

Your journal pages are like a sketchbook to an artist. Actors write down ideas for their scenes, characters, situations, conflicts. Actors take notes about what worked for them in rehearsal or during class exercises, and then they go back and use what they wrote to help them become better actors. Journal pages are just that – a place to fool around, a place to brainstorm, analyze, test and throw out ideas, free write about characters or what is happening in your scene. Most importantly, it is a place to wrestle honestly with your acting. You will be given time in class to write, but you are encouraged to write outside of class, as well.

Your journal pages will not be graded. It is a workbook for you, chronicling your ideas and progress, a place of inspiration for the future and reflection on your past work. Writing itself is a process of discovery, so when you write, you’ll discover, make connections, and document useful notes about acting.

At the end of each quarter, you will type up one or two entries that you found particularly important to you and share it with the class. Here are some suggestions as to what you might include in your journal pages:

6-STEPS. Notes on any of the six steps that you will prepare for each presentation.
SELF-CRITIQUE. After each time you present, try writing a self-critique of what you did that worked well, and where you did not succeed.

OBSERVATIONS. Include specific, detailed descriptions of people, relationships, dramatic situations, and interesting environments.
EXERCISES. Notes on exercises that describe what happened and how you and others reacted. What useful information did you learn about acting? Can you recapture the thrill? Or other emotions? How can you use these games or exercises in your work?
ADVANCES. Especially take note of discoveries, revelations, and epiphanies about your work and how you intend to use your newfound knowledge in your acting.
REHEARSALS. Detailed descriptions of what choices you make and what you try in rehearsal can be very helpful. Make notes after you rehearse on what choices worked and which ones didn’t.
GOALS. List what you want to work on both as an actor and as far as your scene or presentation is going.

CHARACTER. Any notes about the characters you are working on in terms of actions, obstacles, personality traits, qualities, similarities you share, background, etc.
FREEWRITING. Taking ten to fifteen minutes just to write about what is happening in your life or in class without worrying about punctuation or grammar can unlock a lot. Even if it ends up being a lot of frustration, it is important to work through that so you can get to the acting.

ASSESSMENTS

A two-page self-assessment of your work will be due at the end of each quarter. This self-reflection is one of the most important things you will do as an actor and weighs significantly in your final grade. Honor yourself and the work you have done by taking the time to think critically about it. Make sure you include peer and teacher comments to support your opinions. The self-assessment includes the following elements:

A reflection on your strengths and weakness as an actor and participant. What were your biggest risks and biggest failures?
Evidence of growth. Site specifics from your journal pages, different presentations, or work in rehearsals or exercises that demonstrate how you have grown.
A critique of each of your scene presentations. Include comments from your peers that you think reflect accurately on your performance or process.
Goals. List at least two goals you have for the next quarter or for the future.
Your three best journal entries from the quarter.

PLAYING OFF THE PARTNER

Contentless Scene #1

With a partner, memorize the following dialogue out loud with no interpretation or “fixed” reading. Keep it open and neutral. Once the scene has been memorized, we will switch partners and produce the scene with no prior rehearsal.

A:Hi!

B:Hello.

A:How’s everything?

B:Fine. I guess.

A:Do you know what time it is?

B:No. Not exactly.

A:Don’t you have a watch?
B:Not on me.

A:Well?

B:Well what?

A:What did you do last night?

B:What do you mean?

A:What did you do last night?

B:Nothing.

A:Nothing?

B:I said, nothing!

A:I’m sorry I asked.

B:That’s all right.

Contentless Scene #2

A:Hi!

B:Hello.

A:You all right?

B:Yes.

A:Are you sure?

B:Yes, I’m sure. A little headache, that’s all.

A:Oh, good. You want some aspirin?

B:No. Don’t be so helpful, OK?

A:You are upset.

B:Good Lord!

A:OK, OK. I thought you might want to talk.

B:About what?

A:About anything.

B:Well, I don’t want to talk.

A:Are you sure?

B:Yeah, I’m sure. (Starts to leave.)

Exposed (Neutral Scene) Presentation

Critical moments in theater are often about one character exposing or trying to expose another. Be creative in how you define expose. It doesn’t have to be about catching someone with his or her pants down. It might be that Karen is trying to get Henry to admit he loves her. This exercise helps you play off what your partner is giving you in the moment, and it helps you play out of specific GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES.

With a partner type up a contentless scene of 16 – 20 lines in which something or someone is exposed in the manner of the two previous contentless scenes you have done. You will develop it into a one and a half to two-minute presentation.
Develop specific GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES where each character has a clear GOAL (Action) and clear OBSTACLE in the partner. Make up a plausible situation of your own. Here are some examples that you may you use if you wish.

A.You’ve just discovered you both are in love with the same girl/boy.

B.One of you is hopelessly in love with the other. The other is in love with your sister/brother.

C.You are best friends and one of you has just been kicked out of school.

D.Father/mother and son/daughter at breakfast after she/he was out all night.

Define a clear LOCATION and exact TIME of day, month, and year. Draw a picture of your set showing where furniture or other scenic elements are located.

IV.Create very specific CIRCUMSTANCES: the facts of the situation that help determine both URGENCY (why you must get what you want NOW) and STAKES (what costs or pay-off will be). Determine PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE circumstances.

V.Create strong ENTRANCES/EXITS. The scene begins when one person enters and ends when one person leaves. What have you just been doing when you enter? Can you be in the middle of doing something as you enter or exit? Why do you come in and where and why do you go out?

VI.Use and ENDOW at least three real props and place two objects on the FOURTH WALL.

VII.Above all, play TRUTHFULLY in-the-moment.

Rehearsal: Having decided on your situation, discuss all your circumstances (write down in journal). Next define your location by setting up chairs, beds, etc that you can act on and around. Make your setting as real as possible. Run the scene just trying to play off what the partner is giving you in-the-moment. Run the scene paying attention to the URGENCY and the STAKES. Make sure everything is logical and justified. Let the situation AFFECT you. Let the partner AFFECT you.

Crisis (Simple Action Scene)

Most scenes revolve around a crisis, in which both characters have clear opposing actions. In this exercise you will practice defining and playing clear actions on your partner.

In your journal on your own, write a twenty-line realistic scene that

has two characters;

uses four of the actions listed below (or make up your own) two for each character,

has a clear location,

has activity or business so both characters can endow two different props;

has a clear winner;

Actions

get a friend to divulge a secret

get a pal to boost his/her self-confidence

gain a friend's trust

urge a friend to take a big chance

get a stranger to open up

beg for a friend's help

convince a partner to go in on a deal

force a friend to face his/her own problems

lead a friend astray

get a friend's comfort

ask an elder's blessing

make a acquaintance forgive me

seek a potential ally's support

force a friend to admit a lie

make someone see things my way

get a friend to take care of me

get jerk off my back

make a special person accept a change in our relationship

get an adversary's undeniable respect

gain someone's honest friendship

gain a stranger's acceptance

get a sibling to empathize with me

win a friend's adoration

encourage a child to be self-reliant

show an antagonist I'm in control

prove I'm worthy of a loved one's interest

convince a loved one to accept a gift

Sample Essential Actions