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 13:
1.
"In addition to cold, reasoned logic, advice is generally dark in mood. It has something to do with being professional. To get the necessary note of authority into the voice, an actor giving advice assures himself he knows something very important that the person receiving the advice doesn't know."
Drawing from your experience onstage explain what you did vocally and physically in order to successfully give another character advice.
2.
"When Eliza Doolittle finally defies Henry Higgins, Shaw is not just describing a former flower girl telling off a professor of phonetics. He's writing about the servant class raising itself to the level of its masters. The woman who at the beginning of the play couldn't have imagined herself as anything but a servant is now telling the wealthy, well-born man who has taught her and supported her that she's his equal." Give your own example of how your character successfully or unsuccessfully defied another character (include how you used your voice and body.)
3.
"Because it requires losing the present, the action 'to dream' is close to the action of reminiscing, but is different because it looks to the future instead of the past." Explain what differences there would be for a character vocally and physically when they are dreaming instead of reminiscing.
4. "'That's forbidden,' I said. 'Never start a scene by sitting down.'" I say this because most students take away the urgency needed at the beginning of a monologue or scene; Stella Adler says it because it prevents an actor from setting up the environment before they speak. Give an example of how you began a scene or a monologue sitting down and specifically explain what you would do now in order to set up your environment.
5. "I urged him to think about that window. 'That window has a life of its own, ' I said. 'A leaf flutters down outside the window. Birds fly past. The last light of day reaches you through it. You worship that window.'" Describe at least one situation
where you were able to visualize what was going on outside of the room you were in in order to be able to develop a more believable character.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Class 12: Complicating Actions
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 12:
1. "You don't hear me talk much about emotions. That's because emotions aren't doable. Actions are doable, and if you do them correctly, they prompt feelings." Give an example of when an action prompted a feeling (for example, being given a rose.)
2. "To remain in your personal past, which made you cry or gave you a past emotion, is false, because you're not now in those circumstances. You're in the play, and it's the play's circumstances that have to be done truthfully by borrowing what was physical from the past action, not the emotion." In your own words explain what Stella Adler means. Do you agree or disagree with her?
3. "Whenever you enter or leave the stage, you go into circumstances. That means you have come from somewhere and you're going someplace. A good actor doesn't enter from the wings. Before he enters he makes a preparation. He's found a need to walk on that has nothing to do with the stage manager's cues." Give a specific example when you (as an actor in a show) did or did not enter the stage as if you had just come back from someplace else. How did this help or hurt your performance?
Questions from Chapter 12:
1. "You don't hear me talk much about emotions. That's because emotions aren't doable. Actions are doable, and if you do them correctly, they prompt feelings." Give an example of when an action prompted a feeling (for example, being given a rose.)
2. "To remain in your personal past, which made you cry or gave you a past emotion, is false, because you're not now in those circumstances. You're in the play, and it's the play's circumstances that have to be done truthfully by borrowing what was physical from the past action, not the emotion." In your own words explain what Stella Adler means. Do you agree or disagree with her?
3. "Whenever you enter or leave the stage, you go into circumstances. That means you have come from somewhere and you're going someplace. A good actor doesn't enter from the wings. Before he enters he makes a preparation. He's found a need to walk on that has nothing to do with the stage manager's cues." Give a specific example when you (as an actor in a show) did or did not enter the stage as if you had just come back from someplace else. How did this help or hurt your performance?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Class 11: Instant and Inner Justifications
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 11:
1. "When we act, primarily we perform an action. Our second objective is creating a reason for the action. This is called justification." Drawing from your experience describe your action for your character and your justification.
2. "I know that sounds obvious, but it's not good. Why is 'I'm thirsty' not a good justification? Because it's too subjective. It's a state of being. You need to find a justification that you can do. 'I need water as a chaser for my drink.' 'I need water to wipe a spot off my dress.' 'I need water to take an aspirin.'" Give your own example of poor justification and strong justification.
3. "In life, as on the stage, it's not who I am but what I do that's the measure of my worth and the secret of my success. All the rest is showiness, arrogance and conceit." Explain why this first sentence is true in regards to the stage.
4. "In a restaurant a man asks a woman if she'd like some sugar. She says, 'No, thank you.' Her answer has great strength because her inner justification is that she has diabetes." By creating your environment and your character there are some things you understand about your character that others do not -- this allows you to have strong justification. This is what creates a successful performance. Give an example of when you used strong justification for a character you have portrayed. Explain how you felt about your performance.
5. "The objects you choose can help or hinder you. A radio, for example, something mechanical, is a mistake. Instead, turn to nature. A radio leaves you stone cold inside." Describe at least one situation where a property helped or hindered your performance.
6. "Bringing that poetic quality into it, you reminisce about your high school graduation. 'There it was that day! There was -- an auditorium!' You don't try to make it natural. So you don't try to bring it back to a natural tone of voice. 'Was there a graduation? Was there? There's the apple tree. There's the haywagon.'" Describe why reminiscing in a natural tone of voice would not work on stage (even if you were using a microphone.)
Questions from Chapter 11:
1. "When we act, primarily we perform an action. Our second objective is creating a reason for the action. This is called justification." Drawing from your experience describe your action for your character and your justification.
2. "I know that sounds obvious, but it's not good. Why is 'I'm thirsty' not a good justification? Because it's too subjective. It's a state of being. You need to find a justification that you can do. 'I need water as a chaser for my drink.' 'I need water to wipe a spot off my dress.' 'I need water to take an aspirin.'" Give your own example of poor justification and strong justification.
3. "In life, as on the stage, it's not who I am but what I do that's the measure of my worth and the secret of my success. All the rest is showiness, arrogance and conceit." Explain why this first sentence is true in regards to the stage.
4. "In a restaurant a man asks a woman if she'd like some sugar. She says, 'No, thank you.' Her answer has great strength because her inner justification is that she has diabetes." By creating your environment and your character there are some things you understand about your character that others do not -- this allows you to have strong justification. This is what creates a successful performance. Give an example of when you used strong justification for a character you have portrayed. Explain how you felt about your performance.
5. "The objects you choose can help or hinder you. A radio, for example, something mechanical, is a mistake. Instead, turn to nature. A radio leaves you stone cold inside." Describe at least one situation where a property helped or hindered your performance.
6. "Bringing that poetic quality into it, you reminisce about your high school graduation. 'There it was that day! There was -- an auditorium!' You don't try to make it natural. So you don't try to bring it back to a natural tone of voice. 'Was there a graduation? Was there? There's the apple tree. There's the haywagon.'" Describe why reminiscing in a natural tone of voice would not work on stage (even if you were using a microphone.)
Class 10: Building a Vocabulary of Actions
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 10:
1. "The circumstances and the partner can play an important part in making the action strong." Draw from an experience on stage to explain what Stella Adler is saying.
2. "In an action you must know what you do, where you do it, when you do it, and why you do it. But you don't know how you do it. The how is spontaneous and unexpected." Explain why this is the case.
3. "The action embraces a number of other actions -- getting across the border, deciphering the prescription, signaling form help -- but escaping is what you are doing most. What you do most is your action." Describe how your end goal in a play motivated your other actions throughout the play.
4. "One of my students got so caught up in his attempts to capture the attention of the circling helicopter that he ignored my stage signals. No matter how I tried to get his attention he kept jumping and waving, stopping the drama and spoiling the progression. An actor must correct himself as he goes along and not let emotion distort or interfere with the action." Describe a time when you let your emotion distort of interfere with the action.
Questions from Chapter 10:
1. "The circumstances and the partner can play an important part in making the action strong." Draw from an experience on stage to explain what Stella Adler is saying.
2. "In an action you must know what you do, where you do it, when you do it, and why you do it. But you don't know how you do it. The how is spontaneous and unexpected." Explain why this is the case.
3. "The action embraces a number of other actions -- getting across the border, deciphering the prescription, signaling form help -- but escaping is what you are doing most. What you do most is your action." Describe how your end goal in a play motivated your other actions throughout the play.
4. "One of my students got so caught up in his attempts to capture the attention of the circling helicopter that he ignored my stage signals. No matter how I tried to get his attention he kept jumping and waving, stopping the drama and spoiling the progression. An actor must correct himself as he goes along and not let emotion distort or interfere with the action." Describe a time when you let your emotion distort of interfere with the action.
Class 9: Making Actions Doable
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 9:
1. "Everything is based on actions. An actor develops a character from the things he does. That's why the actor must understand actions." Using your experience onstage as an example, explain what Stella Adler means.
2. "There are strong and weak actions. To be strong, an action needs an end, an objective. . . 'I'd like to go somewhere' is weak. 'I'd like to take a walk in the park' is strong.'" Drawing from your experience on the stage explain why the second statement is a stronger action statement than the first.
3. "To reminisce is to soliloquize, to recall the past and bring it back to life. It's different from remembering, which is automatic and associated with daily life. You remember your telephone number and your grocery store list. You remember to answer a letter. In reminiscence, a man brings back what he loves." Give an example between remembering and to reminisce.
4. "Before starting the reminiscence, walk around the stage. But don't walk anywhere without going somewhere. Don't begin without a starting image, say of an object on the stage, from the couch or the table." Finish reading the rest of the paragraph. Explain the benefit of using Stella Adler's blocking tips if you were to perform a scene where you reminisce.
5. "The objects you choose can help or hinder you. A radio, for example, something mechanical, is a mistake. Instead, turn to nature. A radio leaves you stone cold inside." Describe at least one situation where a property helped or hindered your performance.
6. "Bringing that poetic quality into it, you reminisce about your high school graduation. 'There it was that day! There was -- an auditorium!' You don't try to make it natural. So you don't try to bring it back to a natural tone of voice. 'Was there a graduation? Was there? There's the apple tree. There's the haywagon.'" Describe why reminiscing in a natural tone of voice would not work on stage (even if you were using a microphone.)
Questions from Chapter 9:
1. "Everything is based on actions. An actor develops a character from the things he does. That's why the actor must understand actions." Using your experience onstage as an example, explain what Stella Adler means.
2. "There are strong and weak actions. To be strong, an action needs an end, an objective. . . 'I'd like to go somewhere' is weak. 'I'd like to take a walk in the park' is strong.'" Drawing from your experience on the stage explain why the second statement is a stronger action statement than the first.
3. "To reminisce is to soliloquize, to recall the past and bring it back to life. It's different from remembering, which is automatic and associated with daily life. You remember your telephone number and your grocery store list. You remember to answer a letter. In reminiscence, a man brings back what he loves." Give an example between remembering and to reminisce.
4. "Before starting the reminiscence, walk around the stage. But don't walk anywhere without going somewhere. Don't begin without a starting image, say of an object on the stage, from the couch or the table." Finish reading the rest of the paragraph. Explain the benefit of using Stella Adler's blocking tips if you were to perform a scene where you reminisce.
5. "The objects you choose can help or hinder you. A radio, for example, something mechanical, is a mistake. Instead, turn to nature. A radio leaves you stone cold inside." Describe at least one situation where a property helped or hindered your performance.
6. "Bringing that poetic quality into it, you reminisce about your high school graduation. 'There it was that day! There was -- an auditorium!' You don't try to make it natural. So you don't try to bring it back to a natural tone of voice. 'Was there a graduation? Was there? There's the apple tree. There's the haywagon.'" Describe why reminiscing in a natural tone of voice would not work on stage (even if you were using a microphone.)
Class 8: Learning Actions
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 8:
1. "As an actor you have to be able to take either side. If you can't take both sides, it means you can only play yourself." Why does Stella Adler think this?
2. Stella Adler stops the acting exercise and says, "You are not interested in what he's saying. You're anxious to talk. That's not discussion. Discussion comes out of what your partner says, not what you feel." Describe why a discussion "comes out of what your partner says, not what you feel."
3. "We have a false situation -- a situation where the action starts with your talking. It has to start before you talk." Using personal experience explain why a "false situation" would begin with only talking.
4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
Questions from Chapter 8:
1. "As an actor you have to be able to take either side. If you can't take both sides, it means you can only play yourself." Why does Stella Adler think this?
2. Stella Adler stops the acting exercise and says, "You are not interested in what he's saying. You're anxious to talk. That's not discussion. Discussion comes out of what your partner says, not what you feel." Describe why a discussion "comes out of what your partner says, not what you feel."
3. "We have a false situation -- a situation where the action starts with your talking. It has to start before you talk." Using personal experience explain why a "false situation" would begin with only talking.
4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
Class 7: Getting Hold of Acting's Controls
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 7:
1. "You can't play 'old.' You can't play 'young.' But you can find physical controls that will make you seem old or young." Describe a moment as an actor when you used the physical controls that allowed you to seem older or younger. What specifically did you change?
2. "Every accent requires an adjustment of the way your tongue forms words. Once you find these adjustments you have a way to control the accent. You're not just doing an imitation." Describe how and where you used the specific muscles in your mouth to create an accent.
3. "Say the line, 'I'll throw a stone' in your normal voice. Now become a marble statue and say it again." Do this exercise. Describe what the vocal and physical differences were between saying the line in your normal voice and your marble statue voice. How would you personally use this on the stage?
4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
Questions from Chapter 7:
1. "You can't play 'old.' You can't play 'young.' But you can find physical controls that will make you seem old or young." Describe a moment as an actor when you used the physical controls that allowed you to seem older or younger. What specifically did you change?
2. "Every accent requires an adjustment of the way your tongue forms words. Once you find these adjustments you have a way to control the accent. You're not just doing an imitation." Describe how and where you used the specific muscles in your mouth to create an accent.
3. "Say the line, 'I'll throw a stone' in your normal voice. Now become a marble statue and say it again." Do this exercise. Describe what the vocal and physical differences were between saying the line in your normal voice and your marble statue voice. How would you personally use this on the stage?
4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Class 6: Making the World of the Play Your Own
Questions from Chapter 6:
1. "There was no pole, no line, no fish hook. But in the way he held his hand and lifted his arm, you could see the pole, the line hanging in the water, the twitch of the line as the fish took hold of the hook. It was genius." Describe a moment as an actor when you didn't work with your property to make it as real as possible. What would you change in order to create an engaging relationship with that prop?
2. "It's only when we don't understand the circumstances that we have to 'act,' that we have to fake it. And believe me, the audience knows that instinctively." Describe a moment onstage when you didn't understand the circumstances. What would you do differently?
3. "In creating the physical reality, you will have created the mood." Give an example of how a specific environment dictated what you did as an actor.
Class 5: Developing the Imagination
Questions from Chapter 5:
1. "If you'd come here to study a musical instrument, on thing you'd have to learn is the proper way to warm up." Why is this important. Describe what you do or what you should do in order to prepare for your performance on stage.
2. "In a play the playwright is never going to give you a tablecloth that belongs to you. That is your job." What does this sentence mean and why is this important?
3. "Life in the theatre isn't necessarily when you get money from performing. It isn't when you sign a contract. It isn't even when you are in a play. It's when you understand it. If you understand it, you'll know why you want to act, and if you don't understand it you won't want to act." What does Stella Adler mean?
4. "Did you notice that this time as Jennifer described the robe she began to giggle? That's significant." Why was Jennifer's giggling during her description important to the audience?
Class 4: The Actor Needs to Be Strong
Questions from Chapter 4:
1. "If I walk on stage, on that platform, everyone who watches knows my walking must have some meaning, some significance." Describe how do you want to be seen on that platform?
2. "If you walk around without a world, it makes your actions self-conscious. You must always fill the stage with your imagination." Describe an instance on stage when you did or did not envision your environment; how did this effect your acting?
3. "For the imagination to come quickly, all the actor has to do is let go." Explain what Stella Adler is talking about. Explain why it is easy or difficult for you to let go.
4. "The reality you create on the stage by opening a jar or threading a needle isn't so that the audience will believe in you. It's so that you believe in yourself." Explain what Stella Adler means by giving an example from your experience on stage.
Class 3: Acting Is Doing
Questions from Chapter 3:
1. "An action has to go somewhere. It has to have an end. It can't just hang. Now if I said to you, 'Count,' it wouldn't work, would it? But if I say, 'Count the blue blouses in the room' it works immediately. Every action has an end, an object. An action is weak unless you finish it." Use a specific example from your life on stage that explains what Stella Adler talking about.
2. "Sometimes, when a husband and a wife go on a trip together, he might say, 'My God! Do you know what that it? Why that's Notre Dame!' And she replies, 'Yes, I know. I can see it.' They are seeing in Notre Dame something entirely different. As actors you must make everything you see come alive." Explain what you think the husband or wife saw when they made their statement.
3. "You can say, 'She beat her baby,' and that's reporting. Or you can say, 'Look at her beat the baby. Isn't it terrible,' and that is still too cool for the stage. One has to put it in the present, placing you there. You particularize: 'Oh, my God, the baby, the baby. . .' And there you are at the place, in the present moment, and we in the audience experience what you see." Use a specific example from your stage experience to describe a moment when you had a limited amount of words to express a big idea.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Class 2: The World of the Stage Isn't Your World
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 2:
1. "Part of your preparation must be to understand the language of the past and to make it compelling for audiences in the present." Why is this important and give a specific example of how you had to "understand the language of the past" in order to successfully portray your character.
2. "If I don't understand the chair completely, I'll be forced to fake it. That's the worst thing an actor can do." What is Stella Adler talking about and give a specific example of what your "chair" was during a performance.
3. "If the actor sees it he can make his audience see it." Give an example of how you were able to successfully create your environment on stage.
Questions from Chapter 2:
1. "Part of your preparation must be to understand the language of the past and to make it compelling for audiences in the present." Why is this important and give a specific example of how you had to "understand the language of the past" in order to successfully portray your character.
2. "If I don't understand the chair completely, I'll be forced to fake it. That's the worst thing an actor can do." What is Stella Adler talking about and give a specific example of what your "chair" was during a performance.
3. "If the actor sees it he can make his audience see it." Give an example of how you were able to successfully create your environment on stage.
Class 1: First Steps On Stage
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 1:
1. "Carrying a spear makes you a different person." Give a specific example of what your "spear" was onstage, what was its purpose, and how did you use it as a performer.
2. Stella Adler speaks about the importance of aims in regards to acting. Discuss 1 of your aims.
3. "He must learn to see the difference between different reds-the red of a racing car, the red of a hibiscus, and the red of blood. They're three different reds. They mean three different things." Give a specific example of a certain color, what its purpose was, and how you used it as a performer.
Questions from Chapter 1:
1. "Carrying a spear makes you a different person." Give a specific example of what your "spear" was onstage, what was its purpose, and how did you use it as a performer.
2. Stella Adler speaks about the importance of aims in regards to acting. Discuss 1 of your aims.
3. "He must learn to see the difference between different reds-the red of a racing car, the red of a hibiscus, and the red of blood. They're three different reds. They mean three different things." Give a specific example of a certain color, what its purpose was, and how you used it as a performer.
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