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Chapter 7. The Art of Acting. What Shakespeare says about Acting. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It.
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Chapter 7 The Art of Acting
What Shakespeare says about Acting “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It “Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue …. Nor do not say the air too much with your hand … Suit the action to the word, the word to the action …” Hamlet
Training to be an Actor The Body • Dance • Martial arts • Fencing • Stage combat • Circus techniques • Yoga • Tai Chi
Training the Actor The Voice • Breathing techniques • Vocal technique in pitch, volume and resonance • Dialects • International Phonetic Alphabet • Singing
Training the Actor The Mind • Memorization skills • Engaging with the imagination • Levels of empathy • Keen awareness of surroundings and others • Ability to analyze and synthesize information quickly
Konstantin Stanislavsky1863 - 1938 “The fundamental aim of our art is the creation of this inner life of a human spirit, and its expression in an artistic form.” Stanislavsky in An Actor Prepares
Tadashi Suzuki “The desire to impart the significance and the reality of human experience, from birth to death,… must all be conveyed. One way to do so is through the theatre …” Suzuki, The Way of Acting
Acting Techniques for Everyone • For expressing emotions • Outside/in • Technical approach • Inside/out • Emotional memory • For creating character • Use of costumes or props • Ability to visualize imaginatively the world of the play
Acting Techniques for Everyone • Empathy • Substitution • Use of imagery • Recall • Given circumstances • Magic if • Through-line actions
Characterization • Given circumstances • Their particular situation • Their specific problems • Their limitations • Their hopes • Superobjective • What is this character’s main driving force? • What does he or she want? • What is the most important thing to this character?
Characterization • Public Image • Personal Image
Inner conflict Character flaw Motivation stated in the positive Characterization
The Actor’s Working Life • Actor’s Equity Association • Screen Actors Guild • American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Auditions • Open call – “cattle call” • Cold Readings • Improvisations • Callback list
Rehearsal to Performance • Table work • Blocking rehearsals • General working rehearsals • Special rehearsals • Off-book rehearsals • Run-throughs • Tech rehearsals • Dress rehearsals • Preview • Performance
Acting • “With acting, you get to do things that are normally illegal. There are no repercussions and nobody doesn’t love you.” David Duchovny, actor • “When I found acting, I finally found a place that accepted everybody and all their dreams.” Kevin Spacey, actor