OK, I’m not really going to attempt to quantify what “good acting” is. I’m not even sure I am qualified to do so. What prompted this was the confluence of a couple of things. First, there is a video going around of Uta Hagen stating that “if the acting is visible, it’s bad acting.” Next,… Continue reading What is Good Acting?
On Sunday, April 14, we held what I hope to be the first of many future Scene Nights, featuring scenes presented by my Spring 2024 Scene Work class. Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis was kind enough to allow us to use their space for this free event. I was unsure what kind of turnout we would… Continue reading Scene Night!
After a week off to enjoy the eclipse, it was great getting back to class. In our last class, we were offered the option to change up the words we use in the repetition exercise based on observed behavior in our partners. This week presented a new challenge: adding a “trigger event” as a circumstance.… Continue reading Meisner Class Journal 4.16.24
Last night’s class was interesting. Jolene allowed us to begin to change up the words to reflect any changes in behavior that we witnessed in our partners, providing that it happened spontaneously. She mentioned that we didn’t have to do this, and that she reserved the right to discontinue this new layer (she didn’t…at least… Continue reading Meisner Class Journal #4
I had the opportunity to take part in a Master Class on playing Chekov with Dmitry Krymov, former professor at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts and the Head of the Experimental Theatre Project of the Union Theatre of Europe, and founder of Krymov Lab in New York. We were told that the class was… Continue reading Chekov
We’ve now been repeating for about a month, and while in ways the exercise is becoming more instinctive (I hesitate to use the word “easier”), I am still having difficulty identifying what I am seeing when observing others practicing the exercise. It’s said that it typically takes 20 hours to become reasonably competent in a… Continue reading Meisner Class Journal #3
We are three weeks into the Meisner class. Our focus is exclusively on the repetition exercise and will be for several more weeks. While I suppose that it may begin to feel redundant, I am still enjoying the challenge of it. My biggest challenges are letting myself alone and letting the exercise go where it… Continue reading Meisner – Week 3
I’ve now been teaching acting classes for a couple of years, and am in the middle of my fourth offering. I have to say, I really enjoy the process of watching my students latch on to concepts that we work on and begin to apply them, sometimes consciously, and sometimes unconsciously. To see the “Aha!”… Continue reading Thoughts on Teaching
March 5, 2024 Prompt – What are your goals for the class? My biggest goal is to immerse myself in a formal course of study again. I had been considering an MFA program, but at this stage in my life kit is very difficult to find one that works with other commitments that I have.… Continue reading The Adventure Begins