Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of different acting methods by presenting a 2 minute scene using one acting technique and writing a 1-2 page paper outlining the pros and cons of different acting methods.
Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to construct a personal acting method by writing out the steps they use, theories/methods they are influenced by, and the styles they adhere to.
Learning Level:
Intermediate-Advanced Theatre
Prior Experience:
Students should have a solid background of the following material:
Scene Work/Partner Work
Voice and Diction
Objectives/Tactics
Script Analysis for Actors
Ann Bogart’s Viewpoints
It is recommended that before doing this unit, the students should do a unit on Viewpoints, and another on Scene Work.
2014 National Arts Core Theatre Standards:
TH:Cr3.1.II.b. Use research and script analysis to revise physical, vocal, and physiological choices impacting the believability and relevance of a drama/ theatre work
TH:Pr5.1.II.a. Refine a range of acting skills to build a believable and sustainable drama/theatre performance.
TH: Re7.1.II.a. Demonstrate an understanding of multiple interpretations of artistic criteria and how each might be used to influence future artistic choices of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cn11.2.II.a. Formulate creative choices for a devised or scripted drama/theatre work based on theatre research about the selected topic.
Big Idea:
There are various ways of approaching acting, and reasons for doing acting. There are different methods and techniques to choose from when acting, and it is up to the actor to do the choosing.
Essential Questions
Creating: How do theatre artists transform and edit their initial ideas?
Performing: What can I do to fully prepare a performance?
Responding: How do theatre artists comprehend the essence of drama processes and theatre experiences?
Connecting: In what ways can research into acting theories alter the way a drama process or production is understood?
Enduring Understandings:
Creating: Theatre artists refine their work and practice their craft through rehearsal.
Performing: Theatre artists create and refine their methods as they work.
Responding: Theatre artists reflect to understand the impact of drama processes and theatre experiences.
Connecting: Theatre artists critically inquire into the ways others have thought about and created drama processes and productions to inform their own work
Key Knowledge and Skills:
Students will know…
The basics of how to do 4 different Acting Methods (Psychological, psycho-physical, physical, physical-social)
Students will be able to…
See the pros and cons of each acting method.
Apply different acting methods to a text and scene.
Use critical thinking to begin to construct and describe their own acting methods.
Performance Tasks:
Write a paper discussing the pros and cons of each acting method.
Perform a 1-2 minute scene using one of the acting methods (other than psychological acting)
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to explain what their acting method is by writing out the definition of their own acting method and practicing traditional method acting techniques on a content-less scene.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of psychological acting, specifically sense and emotional memory, by playing the improve game Emotional Quadrants.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of psycho-physical acting techniques by using psychological gesture in practicing their objectives.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of psycho-physical acting techniques by using Chekov exercises in practice and demonstration of their final assessment scene.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to incorporate interesting and abstract movement by creating a 30 second physical theatre piece using their scripts.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the Verfremdungseffek (alienation) techniques by rehearsing a short scripted scene using this effect.
Objective: Students will be able to use the basics of four separate acting techniques by doing activity station exercises to rehearse each acting technique with their final scenes.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of different acting methods by previewing a 2 minute scene using one acting technique.
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of different acting methods by presenting a 2 minute scene using one acting technique and turning in a 1 page paper on how each acting method changes and influences the scene.
