An Actor Prepares is the first part of a series of books on Acting by Constantin Stanislavski. This first part focus on the psychological work an actor must do. The second part focuses more external aspects of acting. The second world war caused the second part to be published ten years after the first, leading many people to think it is a complete text. Many of the directors and actors we see today have been influenced by Stanislavski, or draw on the teachings of those who expanded the works.
Constantin Stanislavski was an actor and director. He was born in 1863 and died in 1938. Early in his acting career, Stanislavski began remaining in character outside the theatre. This trait was to become his hallmark. In 1897, he along with Vladimir Nemirovich, he started the Moscow Art Theatre over lunch. This theatre group is where he directed actors with his system. Stanislavski and Checkov rose to fame together, as Constantin brilliantly directed several of Antons plays. By 1906, his system began to coalesce. He struggled with making his system complete and all encompassing while at the same time providing a technique that could be taught and readily understood.
The book itself is first person point of view from one of his students. It is a fictional diary. The fictional author describes the rehearsals and exercises he is taught by the director Tortsov. The imaginary Tortsov is in fact the real Stanislavski. There is reflection by the author and we see his is progression in skill. The text teaches by example. The first day of instruction begins with the students performing Othello. They are then critiqued on their performances.
The basis for the system is emotional memory. Actors are encouraged to relive emotions they have experience in real life and use those feelings on stage. In addition, actors are taught to use concentration and imagination to bring emotional reality, if they lack personal experiences. Emotional memory and method acting make use of psychology. Acting techniques such as relaxation, concentration, substitution and the magic if appear within the volume. There are exercises an actor can perform to increase his or her skill with each technique.
Lee Strasburg studied the teachings of Stanislavski and developed Method Acting from them. Stella Adler also contributes to Method Acting, having studied with Stanislavski. Method Acting differs from the System, but both use emotional memory as a focal point. They also share relaxation, concentration, and substitution.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Acting Duet
An Acting Duet is a five to twelve minute scenes, part of a script or a side used for Duet Acting in forensics. The duet is not an official part of the National Forensic League, but is often part of normal competition and tournaments. Two people, the actors take part. The event allows interaction between the participants and the setting, thus adding acting to the competition. This is in in contrast to Duo, where the actors may not even directly address each other and movement is restricted.
How do you select an acting duet? The scene used may be either comedic or dramatic material. It must be of sufficient length. A properly formatted side will take approximately one minute per page to perform. Therefore, if you want five minutes of performance, look for five pages of dialog.
A good acting duet must have conflict between the characters. This drives the scene.
Each character must have a strong want. The characters want is what resolution does the character seek and what is the reason for engaging the other character. A character without a strong want in the scene may be withdrawn, and this choice will lead to a weak performance. Of course, the choice of characters want is complete up to the actor, so you can decide you own want. However, it should fit within the context of the dialogue.
You must ask yourself what is the relationship of these characters. You speak and respond differently to friends, parents and authority figures, so would your character.
A good acting duet will often have transitions where an actor can move from one emotional color to another. This reflects a change of thought or emotion within the scene.
How do you select an acting duet? The scene used may be either comedic or dramatic material. It must be of sufficient length. A properly formatted side will take approximately one minute per page to perform. Therefore, if you want five minutes of performance, look for five pages of dialog.
A good acting duet must have conflict between the characters. This drives the scene.
Each character must have a strong want. The characters want is what resolution does the character seek and what is the reason for engaging the other character. A character without a strong want in the scene may be withdrawn, and this choice will lead to a weak performance. Of course, the choice of characters want is complete up to the actor, so you can decide you own want. However, it should fit within the context of the dialogue.
You must ask yourself what is the relationship of these characters. You speak and respond differently to friends, parents and authority figures, so would your character.
A good acting duet will often have transitions where an actor can move from one emotional color to another. This reflects a change of thought or emotion within the scene.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Disney Acting
The Disney Channel produces many programs with child and teen actors. They are the best place to start a child or teen acting career. Most of the big young stars around today came from that channel. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale are just a few examples of current stars. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera are all Mouseketeer alumni from the Mickey Mouse Club tv show, seasons six and seven.
Please keep in mind that competition is fierce for these Disney acting roles. You will want to be as prepared as possible. It is beneficial to have performing experience in high pressure situations. Put yourself in every available acting role to gain knowledge of the industry an practice your skills acting and singing. The more you act in front of an audience, the more relaxed, prepared and confident you will be. School theater and plays as well as local theaters can give you loads of acting experience. You may also consider paying for acting classes from a reputable teacher.
The best way to get started in Disney acting is to get an agent. An acting agent works on behalf of actors to promote them in exchange for a percent of the actors salary.
Agents have access to information about what Disney productions are coming up, what characteristics the casting company is looking for, and what type of roles are available. There are many agents out there, so do your research and find out what agents are the best before signing with any of them.
Another way to to get started is to attend Disney open auditions held around the United States and the world. Of course, Los Angeles is the primary location for such talent searches, but you can find them traveling to most major cities. For example, at the time of this writing, My Camp Rocks 2 is visiting different cities giving aspiring actors and singers a chance to perform in front of Disney experts. You can visit the Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam website to find the schedule of cities and find the four songs you can perform.
Please keep in mind that competition is fierce for these Disney acting roles. You will want to be as prepared as possible. It is beneficial to have performing experience in high pressure situations. Put yourself in every available acting role to gain knowledge of the industry an practice your skills acting and singing. The more you act in front of an audience, the more relaxed, prepared and confident you will be. School theater and plays as well as local theaters can give you loads of acting experience. You may also consider paying for acting classes from a reputable teacher.
The best way to get started in Disney acting is to get an agent. An acting agent works on behalf of actors to promote them in exchange for a percent of the actors salary.
Agents have access to information about what Disney productions are coming up, what characteristics the casting company is looking for, and what type of roles are available. There are many agents out there, so do your research and find out what agents are the best before signing with any of them.
Another way to to get started is to attend Disney open auditions held around the United States and the world. Of course, Los Angeles is the primary location for such talent searches, but you can find them traveling to most major cities. For example, at the time of this writing, My Camp Rocks 2 is visiting different cities giving aspiring actors and singers a chance to perform in front of Disney experts. You can visit the Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam website to find the schedule of cities and find the four songs you can perform.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)