Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 22:
1.
"When you play a character you must see what you have in common with that character, but you must never stop there." Describe why a character is incomplete when you base it only on what you can relate to.
2.
"When Marlon Brando was working on the role of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, he used Van Gogh's painting of the boots to help him understand the character. He saw Kowalski as a peasant who'd come to the city and was broken by it." Describe a time when you used an object to help create your internal character and then describe how you physically demonstrated that internal character.
3.
"If, as actors, you've done your homework, there's no cause to be humble or apologetic in applying to agents or directors or producers. You've done the grinding work demanded by your profession, and they haven't. You'll begin to act when you can forget your technique -- when it is so securely inside you that you need not call upon it consciously." Describe a time when you were able to easily become your character on stage because of the research you did.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Class 21: Stanislavski and the New Realistic Drama
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 21:
1. "But as an actress who has a great deal of experience elsewhere, I resented acting with some of the principals used at the Group Theatre." At one time or another we feel that we are more skilled and resent or blow off what we are taught in the theatre. Describe a theatre experience when you learned to build upon something you already knew or were surprised how well you knew the information.
2. "He explained in detail how important it was to use circumstances. He said where you are is what you are, and how you are, and what you can be. You're in a place that will feed you, give you strength, give you the ability to do whatever you want." I suppose this is why I prefer sets that are as realistic as possible; as an actor I want to be immersed in the show. Give an example of a time when your location (according to the script) dictated what you did in your performance.
3. "In one scene of the play Stanislavski's character talked to the people and asked them to do something. That was wrong. He said, 'I had to speak to the soul of the people. If I could reach their souls, I could get somewhere.' Ten years after Stanislavski originally played the role, the play was revived; the part was his and now he could play it." Reflect on a past performance and describe one thing you did on stage, why it was "wrong," and what you would do differently to be able to reclaim that part of the performance if you were going to do it again.
4. "The truth is big -- don't tear it down. We want to hear Mr. Ibsen, not you." Describe a time when your performance wasn't as successful because it was more you than the character the author intended.
5. "As an actor you have to find a way to analyze the outside world to give it value. Trust me, it's there. You must be fed from the outside. If you feed only from yourself, you're pathological." Explain what Stella Adler mean by this.
Questions from Chapter 21:
1. "But as an actress who has a great deal of experience elsewhere, I resented acting with some of the principals used at the Group Theatre." At one time or another we feel that we are more skilled and resent or blow off what we are taught in the theatre. Describe a theatre experience when you learned to build upon something you already knew or were surprised how well you knew the information.
2. "He explained in detail how important it was to use circumstances. He said where you are is what you are, and how you are, and what you can be. You're in a place that will feed you, give you strength, give you the ability to do whatever you want." I suppose this is why I prefer sets that are as realistic as possible; as an actor I want to be immersed in the show. Give an example of a time when your location (according to the script) dictated what you did in your performance.
3. "In one scene of the play Stanislavski's character talked to the people and asked them to do something. That was wrong. He said, 'I had to speak to the soul of the people. If I could reach their souls, I could get somewhere.' Ten years after Stanislavski originally played the role, the play was revived; the part was his and now he could play it." Reflect on a past performance and describe one thing you did on stage, why it was "wrong," and what you would do differently to be able to reclaim that part of the performance if you were going to do it again.
4. "The truth is big -- don't tear it down. We want to hear Mr. Ibsen, not you." Describe a time when your performance wasn't as successful because it was more you than the character the author intended.
5. "As an actor you have to find a way to analyze the outside world to give it value. Trust me, it's there. You must be fed from the outside. If you feed only from yourself, you're pathological." Explain what Stella Adler mean by this.
Class 20: The Actor Is a Warrior
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 20:
1. "You must see these lines are full of strength, power and authority. The words come from God, through Shakespeare, to you." Describe a time on stage when you felt you were performing your lines with the strength, power, and authority spoken about above.
2. "Take the text and make it yours. The actor becomes richer as he makes the author's ideas his own. You are the conductor of the orchestra, not just a player. You cannot be weak inside. The actor must sense the power, the quality, the size of thinking in the text. If it doesn't mean anything to you, instinctively, you haven't got it. Or the part." Using an experience you had for an audition describe how you connected to the author's ideas in the script.
3. "He must lean the ideas of the great writers, not just the lines! You are not parrots!" Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
4. "One more thing -- you no doubt think the military mind is about anger. Anger is cheap. Take the anger out. It's not a substitute for thinking, for ideas, for words. Look at history. Invariably the victorious side is the one fighting for an idea." Explain how "fighting for an idea" strengthened your character during a performance (or how it would have in a past performance where you were not fighting for an idea.)
Questions from Chapter 20:
1. "You must see these lines are full of strength, power and authority. The words come from God, through Shakespeare, to you." Describe a time on stage when you felt you were performing your lines with the strength, power, and authority spoken about above.
2. "Take the text and make it yours. The actor becomes richer as he makes the author's ideas his own. You are the conductor of the orchestra, not just a player. You cannot be weak inside. The actor must sense the power, the quality, the size of thinking in the text. If it doesn't mean anything to you, instinctively, you haven't got it. Or the part." Using an experience you had for an audition describe how you connected to the author's ideas in the script.
3. "He must lean the ideas of the great writers, not just the lines! You are not parrots!" Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
4. "One more thing -- you no doubt think the military mind is about anger. Anger is cheap. Take the anger out. It's not a substitute for thinking, for ideas, for words. Look at history. Invariably the victorious side is the one fighting for an idea." Explain how "fighting for an idea" strengthened your character during a performance (or how it would have in a past performance where you were not fighting for an idea.)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Class 19: Making the Costume Real
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 19:
1. "Character is physicalization -- with truth. I'll even let you write that down. Everything you say, everything you do defines your character. The outside is what counts most in character. Your physical self is the most interesting thing in character." Describe a role you played that was so physically motivated you were able to easily find you character.
2. "Your costume must feed you. Be careful of regarding your costume as 'make believe.' You mustn't lie to your body. If you do, you kill your talent. What you put on is going to be part of you. Live in it. Marry it. Don't cheapen yourself by cheapening your costume. Learn to change your outside. Become the character." Using an experience you had on stage describe how your costume made it easy to find your character.
3. "You must reach the point where you need to make a gesture -- then restrain it. See what gestures you need. Then give it no more, no less than it needs. Otherwise it will e casual, contemporary, cluttered." Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
Questions from Chapter 19:
1. "Character is physicalization -- with truth. I'll even let you write that down. Everything you say, everything you do defines your character. The outside is what counts most in character. Your physical self is the most interesting thing in character." Describe a role you played that was so physically motivated you were able to easily find you character.
2. "Your costume must feed you. Be careful of regarding your costume as 'make believe.' You mustn't lie to your body. If you do, you kill your talent. What you put on is going to be part of you. Live in it. Marry it. Don't cheapen yourself by cheapening your costume. Learn to change your outside. Become the character." Using an experience you had on stage describe how your costume made it easy to find your character.
3. "You must reach the point where you need to make a gesture -- then restrain it. See what gestures you need. Then give it no more, no less than it needs. Otherwise it will e casual, contemporary, cluttered." Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
Class 18: Actors Are Aristocrats
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 18:
1. "As an aristocrat you understand the tradition of handing down. Do you have something handed down from your grandmother? If so, you understand that what is handed down is respected and cherished. In the case of an aristocrat, what's handed down is social position, a sense of esthetics and morality. From what's handed down you derive a sense that you're not alone." Describe a time when you felt your inheritance as an actor. (For example when I was the lead in "The Comedy of Errors" I took my first time doing Shakespeare very seriously. I knew that these words were hundreds of years old and have been performed hundreds of times by amazing actors. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I mastered that role.)
2. "The resentful man is neither sincere nor honest nor straightforward. His mind loves hiding places, secret paths and back doors. Everything hidden impresses him as his security, his comfort. He knows waiting. He knows self-deprecation, self-humiliation." Describe a character you have played or would like to play that demonstrates these qualities.
3. "Actors are aristocrats of the mind! And have been for well over 2,000 years!" Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
Questions from Chapter 18:
1. "As an aristocrat you understand the tradition of handing down. Do you have something handed down from your grandmother? If so, you understand that what is handed down is respected and cherished. In the case of an aristocrat, what's handed down is social position, a sense of esthetics and morality. From what's handed down you derive a sense that you're not alone." Describe a time when you felt your inheritance as an actor. (For example when I was the lead in "The Comedy of Errors" I took my first time doing Shakespeare very seriously. I knew that these words were hundreds of years old and have been performed hundreds of times by amazing actors. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I mastered that role.)
2. "The resentful man is neither sincere nor honest nor straightforward. His mind loves hiding places, secret paths and back doors. Everything hidden impresses him as his security, his comfort. He knows waiting. He knows self-deprecation, self-humiliation." Describe a character you have played or would like to play that demonstrates these qualities.
3. "Actors are aristocrats of the mind! And have been for well over 2,000 years!" Explain what Stella Adler means by this.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Class 17: Learning a Character's Rhythm
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 17:
1. "Now you see the costume is the character. What you put on is the character, affect you inside. What's outside make you feel certain things inside. The costume helps us conquer our impulse to slop about and be comfortable." Describe when a costume you wore had this type of change over you on stage.
2. "This is a case where the words matter more than the feeling. Let the words do it. Don't 'feel' too much. Don't let 'feeling' overwhelm the words. We want to hear the words more than the emotion." Using an experience you had on stage or watching a play/musical explain what Stella Adler is talking about.
3. "Isabella is urging her brother to die so she can preserve her virginity. I can't think of any idea more foreign to the way you think. Apart from the language's beauty, her plea will tell you what it means to be governed by ideas, not feelings." Describe a time when your character's motivation came from their beliefs instead of their feelings.
Questions from Chapter 17:
1. "Now you see the costume is the character. What you put on is the character, affect you inside. What's outside make you feel certain things inside. The costume helps us conquer our impulse to slop about and be comfortable." Describe when a costume you wore had this type of change over you on stage.
2. "This is a case where the words matter more than the feeling. Let the words do it. Don't 'feel' too much. Don't let 'feeling' overwhelm the words. We want to hear the words more than the emotion." Using an experience you had on stage or watching a play/musical explain what Stella Adler is talking about.
3. "Isabella is urging her brother to die so she can preserve her virginity. I can't think of any idea more foreign to the way you think. Apart from the language's beauty, her plea will tell you what it means to be governed by ideas, not feelings." Describe a time when your character's motivation came from their beliefs instead of their feelings.
Class 16: Dressing the Part
Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 16:
1. "Actors must develop the ability to see even casual dress as something historical. To wear a shirt the way they do, with the sleeves rolled up or more than one button unbuttoned at the neck shows they're specimens of the late 20th century. So is the fact that one is wearing a tie but has loosened it." Take a look at what your peers wear on a regular day. Describe what they are wearing from a picture and then explain what this says about who they are.
2. "When we put on the costumes of another time we're not just 'dressing up.' We're not playing 'make believe.' We're assuming another way of thinking. We're donning an inheritance, intellectual and spiritual." Describe a costume you wore for a play and explain how it allowed you to become a character with a history.
3. "On stage you're nothing. You are what the clothes make of you. Clothes say something about your self-control, your self-awareness, your social awareness. Clothes say something about your ability to be restrained, your ability to be respectful. When you wear your clothes, you're limited to your own mind, your own memory. It's hard to act. you can be only yourself." Using an experience from the stage explain why that sentence is true.
4. "I'm very aware that this class is antagonistic to your time. It challenges the suppositions of your time. But you want to be professional, and this is a 2,000-year-old profession." Explain what Stella Adler is saying in this last sentence.
Questions from Chapter 16:
1. "Actors must develop the ability to see even casual dress as something historical. To wear a shirt the way they do, with the sleeves rolled up or more than one button unbuttoned at the neck shows they're specimens of the late 20th century. So is the fact that one is wearing a tie but has loosened it." Take a look at what your peers wear on a regular day. Describe what they are wearing from a picture and then explain what this says about who they are.
2. "When we put on the costumes of another time we're not just 'dressing up.' We're not playing 'make believe.' We're assuming another way of thinking. We're donning an inheritance, intellectual and spiritual." Describe a costume you wore for a play and explain how it allowed you to become a character with a history.
3. "On stage you're nothing. You are what the clothes make of you. Clothes say something about your self-control, your self-awareness, your social awareness. Clothes say something about your ability to be restrained, your ability to be respectful. When you wear your clothes, you're limited to your own mind, your own memory. It's hard to act. you can be only yourself." Using an experience from the stage explain why that sentence is true.
4. "I'm very aware that this class is antagonistic to your time. It challenges the suppositions of your time. But you want to be professional, and this is a 2,000-year-old profession." Explain what Stella Adler is saying in this last sentence.
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