Rooted in the teaching methods of Jon Menick
I. Foundational Courses
There are no prerequisites required for Foundational Courses - All students are welcome to begin here!
Process 1: Acting for the Camera
Process 1 focuses on the elimination of all signs of indicated emotion. Here, we strip away our desire to please, to be good, to inject our own ego into our work, so that we can disappear and receive our character fully. Process 1 also hands you a series of steps that will eliminate bad camera technique. We “empty out” so that we can receive and begin to create the substructure for believable acting.
Script Analysis:
Upon receiving the sides for an audition, it is not unusual for an actor to be stricken with terror. The terror to please, to want, to have, causes us to extract the character and act out of context. We begin to make cognitive choices about the character that do not fulfill the obligations of the script, but rather the imposed obligation of our need to succeed - and thus we destroy our auditions. Script Analysis puts the story first by focusing on what is already there in the script and realigns the “part” we’re auditioning for back into its proper relationship with the “whole.”
Sense Streaming:
Building Our Sense Streaming Muscles
Performance works best when it appears to be random and lifelike. The trick is for us to connect with the thing that is most obviously random - our environment - through our senses. We can hear it...we can smell it...we can touch it. But to do this requires us to dim our cognitive mind - not to cut it out - but to align it into a new relationship with the creative side of our brain. Sense Streaming is the act of receiving what is given to you by your senses and allowing what you receive to affect us emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Blocks and Fears:
Your Blocks and Fears have nothing to do with the character that you are trying to portray. The character is not us - it’s a different person with their own set of blocks and fears. It is our job as actors to put our personal terrors aside, and take up the motivations and triggers of the character we wish to create.This class explores the layers of blocks and fears that lie within the actor. You will learn to let down your guard, strengthen your impulses, reveal your true self, and leave space for a character to enter.
"Acting is simple, but
it is not easy."
II. Intermediate Courses
In order to participate in Intermediate Courses, students must complete specified prerequisites and demonstrate a commitment to their craft.
Process 2: Intermediate Acting for the Camera
Here we solidify the techniques of interior work, continuing to eliminate indication to the point where it becomes habitual. This class is open to anyone who has completed Process 1.
Prerequisites: Process 1, Script Analysis
Character Profiling: Building an Archetype
The objective of Character Profiling is to create a deeply detailed ARCHETYPE that fits snuggly into the concept of the script, while holding a number of personality contradictions and complexities. This systematic approach begins with a thorough examination of the script from which we are able to concisely use Carl Jung’s list of ARCHETYPES to delve deeply into the interior life world of our character. We do not only use one ARCHETYPE to examine our character, but rather, we combine three related ARCHETYPES in order to add a deeper, more human profile of the person we will bring to life. This course follows Script Analysis in the Process. It is a creative handoff from the ideas of the screenwriter who holds the story, to the actor who must bring the character to life.
Prerequisites: Script Analysis, Process 1, Process 2
Persona:
This course will probe the details of character acquisition. We will focus on the voice and learn the principles of changing vocal placement, learning how to strengthen vocal flexibility and range. The goal is to create a language of voice and body, to understand the differences between our behavior and that of our character’s physical and vocal characteristics.
Prerequisites: Script Analysis, Process 1 & 2, Character Profiling
Image Streaming 1: Personal Memories:
This course explores your forgotten memories and dreams in order to inspire your creative center. You’ll learn to balance the relationship between your creative and cognitive mind and strengthen your intuitive sensibilities. The purpose of this technique is not to rely on your past for performance, but rather to demonstrate that emotion lies dormant beneath your memory.
Prerequisites: Script Analysis, Process 1
"Our goal, as actors, is
to make the unfamiliar,
familiar."
III. Advanced Courses
In order to participate in Advanced Courses, students must successfully complete at least Script Analysis, Process 1, and Process 2, in addition to specified prerequisites.
Advanced Process Performance: Take 1
The objective of this class is to integrate all of the steps in "The Process" for an audition. First, a full Script Analysis of a scene, then we will focus on a thorough Character Profile from which we will find an Icon to model behavior and their exterior characteristics. Finally, we begin the process of Streaming to discover the character's inner life.
Prerequisites: Process 1, Script Analysis, Image Streaming 1, Character Profiling, Persona
Advanced Process Performance: Take 2
This course is a continuation of Advanced Process Performance: Take 1. Our objective for this course is to provide additional opportunities for you to speed up the "The Process" for your audition.
Prerequisites: Process 1, Script Analysis, Image Streaming 1, Character Profiling, Persona
Dead Scripts:
Each week, actors receive a script with only dialogue without ANY descriptions, actions, emotion, character breakdowns, or any of the Seven Obligations. Using only dialogue, actors practice creating the entire circumstance of the script with a partner. They will be filmed as they bring to life the Dead Scripts. This course will build the actors' confidence in using script analysis and acting fully to develop a living breathing world.
Prerequisites: Script Analysis, Process 1, Process 2, Character Profiling, Persona, Image Streaming, Advanced Process Performance
