Video/Reflection

A perfect way to model the Meisner technique is by showing a video of two or more students enacting the repetition exercise. A mere description would be too abstract. The response prompt gives students an incentive to watch and scrutinize the video, learning the technique through observation and its value through analysis.

Once again, these responses should be evaluated holistically based on completeness, thoughtfulness, and specificity. Similarly, the worth of these study questions should be at the instructor’s discretion but worth less than peer reviews and scene work.

Scene Work/Reflection

While this class is mostly designed to be self-sufficient and asynchronous, this is one of the few exercises that requires students to work with a partner. However, the responsibility of organizing a time to meet is up to them, once again encouraging some independence.

Furthermore, a major theme of this class is mimesis and learning performance techniques through mimicry and observation. Recording the activities then watching them gives the student an opportunity to evaluate themselves objectively. This also gives them a basis of comparison with how their peers and instructor responds.

Responding to other classmates’ recordings also gives the student an opportunity to learn from them as they provide another model of how the exercise is done. Sometimes it is easier to identify an issue in someone else’s activity than your own. Therefore, picking this issue out in someone else’s performance could help the student better identify it in themselves.

The instructor should also provide thorough feedback for the recordings, and encourage students to compare the reflections from all three evaluators: teacher, peers, and themselves.

To better assimilate a classroom environment, the instructor might want to record a video of their feedback as if they were giving it in a live, in person setting. This would also break up the monotony of producing excessive text.

Readings/Reflection

The approach to all the readings and reflections will be fairly universal. Once again, the instructor should evaluate the writing based on completeness, thoughtfulness, and specificity.

This chapter focuses on the importance of “doing” rather than “acting”. This could also test the patience of a young actor as stillness and listening seems like “doing nothing” to them. Putting these qualities into context before the students experiment with them could help them develop a deeper appreciation and respect for them, especially since they are being modeled, albeit in text descriptions.

Video/Reflection

This will likely be the longest video the students watch on their own. This is an exemplary example of a performance relying on the principles of “doing” and “stillness.” Here, Delphine Seyrig employs these moments not as a means to an end, but as a basis for a fully developed, nuanced performance. Studying and scrutinizing this performance will give the students an idea of just how powerful these seemingly passive actions can be.

Scene Work/Reflection

This exercise is a variation of the mirror exercise, where students imitate the movements of another student standing before them. It establishes a point of concentration and an opportunity to respond to the actions of someone. In person, the mirror exercise can be invaluable to establish a connection with a partner as the point is that the two students are both intuitively moving together without one or the other fully initiating.

This exercise working with Jeanne Dielman. . . focuses on the point of concentration rather than partner connection. However, it is also an opportunity to work specifically with mimesis. In arbitrarily replicating Seyrig’s physicality, students will be free to make their own discoveries and allow their approach to the same movements to morph into something more unique.

Therefore, instructors should not grade these activities on the accuracy of the mimesis, but instead on commitment and focus. The reflection element of this assignment is a valuable opportunity for the students to make further discoveries from an objective perspective, as insights are not always apparent when acting from moment to moment.

"You talkin' to me?"

Read Chapter Sixteen “Talking to Yourself” from Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen

https://archive.org/details/respect-for-acting/page/120/mode/2up

In a Google Doc or MS Word Doc, respond to to this chapter using the following questions (250 words per answer):

• What does Hagen mean when she says that talking to oneself is to “gain control over circumstances”? Describe a time when either you or someone you witnessed displayed this kind of self talk. Was it productive? Why or why not?
• How does Hagen describe the “fantasy talking aloud”? When you ever did this yourself, what do you think the purpose of this self-talk was in hindsight?
• What does Hagen insist that the actor consider in addition to the words and text when talking to oneself? Why is this a necessary step?
• Unlike the Meisner and Stanislavski texts, Respect for Acting is written in a more straightforward essay format rather than an anecdotal account of a real acting class. Is this approach more or less effective than the previous anecdotal texts? Why or why not?

Video

Watch the video "Talking to Yourself"

In a Google Doc or MS Word Doc, respond to to this chapter using the following questions:

• What moments seemed organic in the “Talking to Yourself” exercise with the young woman? What moments seemed forced or contrived? Explain your answers. (250-300 words)

Scene Work

Record yourself making a grocery list out loud. Try to verbalize every thought that goes through your head during this activity, and do not write anything down. Organizing these details in your head and then aloud will make this exercise more focused and active. Keep the self talk going for two straight minutes. Watch the recording, and take notes of what you observe. Record the exercise again, but this time mirroring your every move and word from your first round.

Upload the most recent recording to the message board. Include your own metacognition (250 words) of this recording as text in the same post. Watch them, and reflect on what you observe from this outside perspective.

Respond to the recording of two other classmates. (200-250 words)

Scene_20Work_20Peer_20Review.pdf

Readings/Reflection

The approach to all the readings and reflections will be fairly universal. Once again, the instructor should evaluate the writing based on completeness, thoughtfulness, and specificity.

This chapter defends a practice that often seems artificial and inorganic on stage and screen: talking to oneself.

However, like anything, this action only seems phony when it is particularly amplified or contrived for effect. Also, talking to oneself on stage/screen is often the sign of lazy writing when a character launches into a tirade whose sole purpose is to provide exposition. When performed organically, self talk can be a useful tool for an actor.

The responses here require some introspection in addition to references to the text, asking the students to recall these times they verbalize to themselves and analyze what made them do so in the first place.

Video

The video for this update models an acting exercise where an actress talks to herself in character as she searches for cats while also agonizing over the mess they have made. This features footage of Uta Hagen herself actively explaining this concept to a student.

Much like the Meisner technique video from the Update #1, this video asks students to denote both the organic and contrived moments in the exercise. This will help students realize what actions they should try to avoid and identify the kind of moments that work for this type of exercise. Modeling is in a way a form of mimesis because it portrays a template that can be followed beat by beat at first until the piece evolves into something more unique.

Scene Work

This activity provides a point of focus as the student is tasked with actively making a list. This also incorporates mimesis as it tasks the student to repeat a performance that started as improvisational and organic. For formal productions, actors must be able to recreate moments and continue to make them appear and feel organic, even if they are contrived in reality. This also allows the actor to trust that the physicality of the moment will trigger the inner life of a character once the initial blocking has been set.

If the student uploads both of these recordings, they then can be compared and contrasted to identify anything lost or gained from the initial exercise to the encore.

The instructor and peer reviewers should be constantly looking for these small nuances and details in these recordings, especially since there will be closer shots of students’ faces and the luxury of recording that can be paused and rewound.

Readings/Reflection

The approach to all the readings and reflections will be fairly universal. Once again, the instructor should evaluate the writing based on completeness, thoughtfulness, and specificity.

This chapter is a more formally written informative text that discusses the necessity of games, teamwork, and working with an audience. In the reflection questions, students should focus most on adaptability and how they can utilize these tenets by themselves in their own insular bubble. This kind of reflection can lead directly into the Scene Work that tasks them to create their own solitary theatre game.

Video/Response

There is a specific way that this activity can be adapted into a solo activity: an actor can look at a random letter generator, whether it is on their phone or with flash cards. They then can give a new answer with each successive letter, timing themselves to keep on pace. For example, they might flash to a “G” and say “Greg sells Grapes in Greenland” then quickly flash to J and say “John sells jam in Johannesburg.” This maintains the quick thinking, under pressure element of the game without someone randomly pointing at the actor.

However, this A solution, but not THE solution. The instructor could offer this solution if a student is stubborn and insistent that there is no way to amend the theatre game. The instructor should be open to whatever amendments the student suggests. That being said, these amendments should be feasible and within the purview of an average middle class person. For example, generating hologram AI’s to join the student in a circle would NOT be feasible nor within the average student’s purview.

Scene Work

This update requires the student to develop TWO self sufficient theater games. However, the original game will be reverse engineered to include multiple people.

This will give students the opportunity to flex their skills as a practitioner or director as they will need to explain their process both to the audience of the video and to their partner from class.

Instructors should evaluate this scene work based on the originality of their idea, the clarity in which they explain and demonstrate it, and how useful the game will be in their development as actors.

Acting 101 (Asynchronous) Class Evaluation


How rewarding were the solitary asynchronous elements of this class?
Not Rewarding at All 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extremely Rewarding

How rewarding were any projects involving partners, groups, peer review, etc?
Not Rewarding at All 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extremely Rewarding

How satisfactory was the feedback you received from your instructor on assignments and projects?
Not Rewarding at All 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extremely Rewarding

How satisfactory was the feedback you received from your peers on assignments and projects?
Not Rewarding at All 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extremely Rewarding

Was this remote/asynchronous class model an adequate substitute for the synchronous, face-to-face model?

• Inadequate. I regret taking this course.
• Inadequate, but still useful in some ways.
• Adequate. I learned what I needed.
• More Than Adequate. I learned more than I expected.
• Even Better Than Adequate. I feel like I learned more from this model than I would have in person.

Would you prefer more or less group/partner activities?

• More Group Activities
• The Same Amount
• Fewer Group Activities
• No Group Activities at All

Did acting exclusively on Zoom/Teams feel limiting?

• Extremely Limiting
• Limiting
• Somewhat Limiting
• Not Limiting at All