Download The Actor and the Director Chapter 11 Actor Training Few successful

The Actor and the Director
Chapter 11
I.
Actor Training
Few successful actors get by on talent alone.
Almost all actors have specific approach to creating a character.
There are literally ____________________ of programs, schools, and private teachers offering
acting instruction for people of all ages.
Some actors drawn to certain methods while others “_______________” with specific teachers.
II. The Stanislavsky Approach: considered to be the Father of modern realistic acting. His methods
focus on a few key points: ____________________, ____________________,
____________________.
____________________: what a character wants. Every character wants something. Good actors
find out what their characters want as a means of driving them the scene or the play.
____________________: Why a character wants something. Stanislavsky taught that a character
must have strong psychological motives for pursuing an objective.
____________________: how the character attempts to get what they want. Actions or tactics are
all the little things a person does in an attempt to get what they want.
Other foundations of his teachings:
____________________________________________________________. (This was the title of his
book.)
A Good actor is an ____________________ actor. He is always working on ____________________
& ____________________.
____________________ : Stanislavsky’s suggestion that the actor ask themselves to think of a
similar situation from their life to help them get in touch with how the character might feel and
behave.
Subtext: literally, “that which is below or beneath the text”. Great actors can look at a page of
dialogue and see the writer’s ____________________ hiding behind the words.
III.
Stanislavsky’s Disciples: Variations on a Theme
____________________: (1901-1992) was another Group Theatre member who founded her own
acting school in New York and Los Angeles. She focused on Stanislavsky’s concept of Given
Circumstances.
____________________: (1901-1982) was a director for the Group Theatre who went on to found
the Actor’s Studio, a legendary training school for actors. He is credited with creating modern
method acting. He specialized in a portion of Stanislavsky’s teachings that dealt with using personal
experiences and emotions to create an honest performance.
IV.
Lee Strasberg
____________________: really, this is any time an actor using some sort of specific approach to his
craft. Over the years it has come to be known as a technique in which the actor uses personal
experiences and emotions to create an honest performance.
V.
Stella Adler
____________________: anything set forth by the writer or director which effects a character’s
behavior. Given circumstances include age, gender, social class, temperature, nationality, time of
day, time period, etc.
____________________ : A relatively new method of actor training. It uses physical performance
techniques as a means of exploring both scripted and unscripted work. The Six basic viewpoints are
space, shape, time, emotion, movement, and story. Actors are trained in how each of these effects
and dictates performance choices.
____________________ ____________________ : A performance where no actor stands out from
their peers. All approach a theatre piece as a team, creating a unified and dynamic performance.
Vi. Time for Auditions!
____________________: sometimes called a tryout, this is when an actor performs for a director in
hopes of getting cast in a play or film.
____________________ : an 8X10 picture of an actor.
____________________: a speech from play which the actor has memorized and practiced. It is
usually about 1-3 minutes in length.
____________________ : a form of audition where the director gives the actor a scene from a play
and asks them to read it out loud.
____________________: the second round of auditions.
____________________: a professional representative who gets paid to get the actor work and get
the actor paid well for it. Good agents have strong connections to casting directors and theatre
companies. These agents can often get an actor advanced audition opportunities.
VII.
Help for Actors
____________________: the largest union for theatre actors.
____________________: Also known as SAG, this union is for actors who work in film and television.
VIII.
The Director
Concerned with ________________________________________ of the production; Decides upon
interpretation of script and production concept to shape staging; ___________________ and
____________________ performers (* if in Broadway or professional theatre, the producer can cast
a named star in a lead role because it is a money issue {Casting Madonna as the Virgin Mary});
Works with designers; Integrates all elements into finished production.
Initial Questions facing director includes:
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What is the basic story?
If the play is in a foreign language, what translation is best suited for this production?
How might the play’s events and their arrangement affect a live audience?
Should portions of the script be cut?
What is the significance of the play’s time and setting? Should these be altered?
The director may consult sources beyond the script to:
Understand the author’s point of view
Explore the cultural environments and context
Read what critics and reviewers have written about the play and about previous
productions.
The director may distill his/her interpretation of the play into a ____________________.
____________________: a short statement that conveys the director’s vision for the production.
Production concept is used as an organizational tool for production team.
IX.
3 Types of Directors
____________________: the director serves the playwright; His job is to transfer the script as
literally as possible from the page to the stage; He is also responsible in retaining the time and place
specified in the script. Lastly, the director is to follow the playwright’s staging prescription closely.
____________________: Director’s goal is to capture the spirit of the script; May depart from the
playwright’s specifications; Most common approach; Usually identifies a metaphor, analogy,
dominant theme, or set of conventions that will shape the production.
____________________: Script as raw material that the director feels free to reshape as needed;
Director as ________________________________________; At its most extreme, eliminates
playwright all together; Text definition: French for author. A director who has a very strong vision
and distinctive style.
X.
Theatrical Terms
____________________:: when a director meets with the designers for the play to discuss ideas for
the show and how to bring the play to life.
____________________:: when a director makes the extreme choice of casting a person of a
different gender or race than what the script calls for.
________________________________________: In 1986, this organization (previously called
________________________________________) was founded with the intent of working to end
the issues of racism & exclusion in all of the performing arts.
XI.
The Director and the Designers
The production’s focus should be clear to all; The director must relate any specific demands to the
designers, such as: ____________________,
_____________________________________________, __________________________________.
After initial meetings, designers must be allowed time to conceive their designs.
Designs are then considered and various questions are explored…
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Do the designs fit the production concept adequately?
Do they fit the play’s action, moods, theme and style?
How do the lighting, costume, scenic, and sound designs complement each other?
Are the designs functional for staging purposes?
Can designs be achieved within budget, personnel, and time constraints?
Designs are approved and then executed.
XII.
Auditions and Casting
Audition procedures vary.
____________________: allows anyone interested to audition. Access still often restricted by some
criteria.
____________________: a person hired to assist in funding talent for a play.
____________________:narrow field of prospective actors are given more time to demonstrate
suitability in additional auditions. Actors may be called back numerous times.
Audition Material
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XIII.
Actors asked frequently to perform 2 short, contrasting monologues unrelated to
the play being cast.
 Actors sometimes asked to study the script being cast and to read a passage from it.
 Actors may be asked to read unfamiliar material and to respond to instructions from
director = cold readings
Working with the Actors
____________________: supervise rehearsals, ideally working collaboratively with actors to give life
to the play.
____________________: structured blocks of time for the director and the actors to work on taking
the script off the page and bring it to life on the stage. In other words,
”play practice.”
____________________: when the actors sit with the director and read & discuss the roles and the
actual text of the play.
____________________: the placement of the actors on the stage; where they move, when they
move, where they enter, exit, sit, stand, etc.
____________________: when the director sits down with the scenic designer’s ground plan and
carefully plots out the movement & placement of the characters on each page of each scene.
____________________: when the director and the actors work together to create the movement
and placing of the actors in the play. This type of staging is based on actor’s impulses & specific
moments as they happen on stage.