Search results: 3

EA211-5-AU : Development of Acting Methodology

This second year module takes place during the Autumn Term. By the beginning of the second year students are expected to be sufficiently prepared to undertake textual exploration and research as part of their performance preparation work. Through a variety of plays and projects the second year of training aims to develop and extend the methodology learned in first year as well as integrating technical skills into rehearsal and performance with gradually increasing consistency.

After the Improvised Living History Project at the end of first year, in this module students now explore recreating these deeply felt experiences and intense relationships within the confines of a script. Modern classics, exploring a depth of human psychology, for example the plays of Tennessee Williams Arthur Miller, Jean Paul Sartre, Arthur Schnitzler among others, will be the material through which you will consolidate your understanding of another person's existence and how to recreate it convincingly. Scenes are chosen that will test and develop your ability to finds the means in your methodology to 'live in the moment' and to react spontaneously within the course of action pre-determined by the author, just as in an improvised piece in which you knew neither the outcome of an action or what reaction would be provoked. Through practice-based learning and research you will develop the courage to take risks in your character creations, and expression of emotional life.
Category: Acting

EA212-5-SP : Extension of Acting Methodology

This second year module takes place in Term Two. Students will extend the work of EA211 to develop their performance technique and heighten awareness of the importance of relationships between characters. Texts chosen for this module will be based on the repertoire of Classic Naturalism and will include the work of Chekhov, Gorky, Gogal and other great dramatic studies of human behaviour such as Ibsen or Strindberg. An important theme of the module is the conflict of old ideologies with the emerging new world.

Module Content
In this module you will deepen your absorption in the world of the character, examining the minutiae of human behaviour, which leads towards specificity and transformation. Working on longer scenes or full length plays you will experience the importance of charting the 'through line of action' for your characters, and on communicating increasingly complex emotional life through integration of technique. You will begin to demonstrate development of subtlety in your character creation through working on naturalistic texts, in which so much of a play's content is unspoken or left unsaid. Relationships will be explored in detail to further develop your insight and analytical skills, and to enlarge the possibilities on which you can draw, outside your own experience. Technical terminology is introduced, as is the beginning of awareness of communication with an audience.

Category: Acting

EA215-5-FY : Voice II

In this module you will develop and apply the rigorous foundation work of EA114-1-FY and apply it to the more demanding dramatic texts being worked on in the second year acting courses EA211-2-FY and EA212-2-FY. You will connect movement, voice and acting. You will begin exploring accents and dialects in more detail with a view to both acquiring accents and developing the skills and tools with which to work on accents throughout your career as an actor. You will begin to examine the vocal demands of different performance spaces, including outdoor performances, and develop your ability to give life to complex texts. The vocal demands of a range of performance styles, for example, Commedia dell'Arte, will be explored and students will be given opportunities to apply their vocal techniques to devised and text work of increasing complexity. The course is designed to prepare students for independence, to ensure that they enter their third year with voices of professional standard and the vocal training necessary to maintain them.


Module Content
Term One
Developing articulatory skills through drilling, exercises and text work
Developing greater breath support and physical energy
The vocal pitfalls of naturalism
Fluency, expressive connection and range in RP
Use of language and rhythm in Shakespeare
Exploring speeches from Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde and their specific posture, breath, range and accent issues.
Connecting Acting Choices to practical voice work (creating a unit between mind, voice and body through breath and body support)

Term Two
Overcoming blocks in RP
Vocal and emotional connectivity to intellectually demanding texts
The expression of character emotions in accents of English
Adapting breath and articulation to the demands of text and character
The use of the full range of pitch and resonance to express character, language and emotion.
To look at the use of language and rhythm in the work of Shakespeare and to connect acting choices to vocal performance.

Term Three
Use of the voice in different spaces
Specific vocal demands of different performance styles eg commedia dell'arte
Leading group warm-ups and work-outs
Refining sensitivity, power and passion in the voice
Demonstrating a professional commitment to voice work.
Category: Acting