The Actor and the director.

2.  Around the world, acting is a fundamental activity
 Imitation, Pretending
 Social Roles, role playing
 Spiritual Performance and storytelling
 Acting in life vs on stage – on display

3.  To make a character believable – inner truth
 Physical acting – the use of voice and body
 Synthesis and integration – combining inner and outer skills

4.  Usually trained as an apprentice with a company
 Treated more as oratory skills and less as an exploration of psychology
 Codified gestures
 Delsarte Technique

6.  Constantin Stanislavski & Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
 Moscow Arts Theatre/ Chekhov
 “The System”
 Darwin, Marx, Freud

7.  Relaxation
 Concentration and observation
 Specifics
 Inner Truth – the real innovation
 Magic “If”
 Given Circumstances
 Superobjective
 Ensemble Playing
 Psychological Action

9.  Strasberg- Emotional Recall
 Adler- Imagination
 Meisner- Repetition and Spontaneity
 Grotowski- Emotion through Movement
 Stella Adler
 Eric Morris
 Method Acting

10.  Dual Consciousness
 Experiencing the truth of the role while still
maintaining a consciousness outside of the role.
 Profane and Holy Actors
 Some cultures used actors as part of religious
ceremonies
 Some cultures treat actors as degenerates and
prostitutes
 Entirely dependent on the culture

11.  Historically, stage performances have required exceptional physical and vocal
skills: the ability to move with agility and grace and to engage in such actions as
sword fights and death scenes; the ability to deal with poetic devices (meter,
imagery, alliteration, etc.); the skill to project the voice to the farthest reaches of
the theatre space.
 The actor’s instrument - training the voice and body
 Precise Movement and gesture

12.  Internal or External
 Indefinable attributes - presence, charisma,
personality, star quality

13.  Good acting is dependent on cultural views and individual taste
 What do you consider to be a great performance?
 How do you judge a good performance?

15.  Provides “Unified Artistic Vision” of the play
 “Leads the Creative Process” to its realization
 “Interprets” the play

16.  Directors act as the Audience’s eyes in rehearsals
 Relatively new in the history of Theatre
 Late 19th century, early 20th century
 Previously only used organizers
 Actor-Managers
 Pageant Masters

17.  A need for a realistic, coherent and unified presentation of the world of the play on
stage

18.  Choosing the text
 Research
 Analysis
 Interpretation
 Developing a concept and approach to
the production

19.  Considerations:
 Budget
 Working Conditions
 Performance Rights/Copyright
 Intended Audience
 Castability

20.  What is a Concept?
 Encompasses the plays themes
 Speaks to the director in their view of the world of the play
 Unites all the production elements
 Sums up the meaning of the play-a thematic statement

28.  Collaborators:
 Scenic designer
 Costume designer
 Lighting designer
 Sound designer
 Props designer

29.  Auditions to cast the show
 Rehearsals
 Set the tone for the entire process
 Talks about vision of the play and the process
 Interpretations of every role
 How to tell the story
 The Director’s Process/How they work

30.  Table Work
 Discuss the play
 Explore character and relationship
 Discuss conflict
 Theme/Idea
 Blocking
 Run-Through
 Technical Rehearsals
 Dress Rehearsals
 Previews

31.  The Actor Coach – show that requires specific style of acting
that must be taught or collaborate with actors that have
similar aesthetic to develop the show
 The Auteur Director – create performance from their personal
vision not that of the playwright
 The Director-Designer – has great visual aesthetic that can
govern the creative process

32. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Baz Luhrmann
Carlo Carlei
Slings and Arrows