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Core Curricular Areas
Acting - Acting is the core element of the curriculum and all Acting Studio classes develop students’ understanding of Stanislavski-based technique. Students must complete and pass the full-year course of Acting in order to be promoted to the next year’s level.
Physical Techniques and Dance - Physical Techniques and Dance presents a series of exercises adapted from various styles of dance and theater movement that are natural to all body types and designed to facilitate the execution of specific actions that require increased range of motion, considerable strength and moderate coordination.
Theater Studies - Theater Studies, which includes Theater History, allows for the study of principles of theater, theatrical discipline, styles, types, theory, play analysis, and theater history.
Voice and Diction - Voice and Diction training gives the actor an instrument capable of producing and projecting sound in a healthy manner, as well as articulating clearly in performance.
Course Offerings
All of the following courses are required and sequential. Active and consistent participation in class-work is essential for the completion of each course. Most courses require performance projects as well as written research/analytical assignments or projects.
Note: After-school rehearsals are required for all performance classes.
Grade 9
Acting 1 and 2 - Students explore and develop their instruments. They learn basic acting technique, beginning with work on self.
Dance 1 and 2 - Introduces a basic vocabulary of movement in conjunction with definite rhythmical patterns to expose students to a practical method used in obtaining a knowledge of dance. The first year establishes a foundation for a basic technique in contemporary dance and tap dance.
Improvisation 1 and 2 - Stimulates and develops imagination, spontaneity, creative risk-taking, responsiveness, and ensemble skills through individual as well as group theater and problem-solving improvisation exercises.
Theater History 1 and 2 - The course begins with an overview of Theater for actors. Students become acquainted with the workings of professional Theater. They learn actor and theater terminology, history of the development of acting principles, lines of authority in the theater, periodicals, books, and other source material about the field, professional theater organization, and an introduction to the business of theater. In addition, they learn to begin to think about plays as actors preparing for rehearsals or auditions. Coursework continues with an overview of theater history through the beginning of the 20th Century that connects purpose, physical design, acting style, and plays performed throughout the ages.
Voice and Diction 1 and 2 - The focus is on freeing the natural voice, increasing resonance, articulation of consonants and blends, proper placement and breathing, ear training, support and projection in voice production. Students are introduced to phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as a tool.
Grade 10
Acting 3 and 4 - Students explore and develop their instruments. They learn basic acting technique, beginning with work on self.
Dance 3 and 4 - Furthers students’ experience of dance through the implementation of modern jazz and the soft-shoe style of tap dance. Students present dance combinations and routines that make them aware of their own performance in relation to that of the rest of the group. Freedom to express various emotions while relying on technique and the music to permit proper execution is encouraged.
Physical Techniques 1 and 2 - The class develops technique and physical freedom through exploration of skills in hand-to-hand stage combat, self-defense, mime, juggling, acrobatics, and relaxation exercises.
Play Analysis 1 and 2 - The class teaches the actor an approach to analyze scripts for playing characters focusing on modern plays from the 20th and 21st Centuries. Students learn how to: distinguish text from subtext, distinguish between literary analysis and acting analysis, analyze scripts as actor’s “homework” to prepare for work on roles, and find textual clues about characters.
Voice and Diction 3 and 4 - The classes build upon the skills learned in Freshman Year while students create an Individualized Speech and Voice Plan (ISVP) focusing on their own unique challenges and goals. Students are introduced to recording techniques, to IPA transcription and to Eastern Standard Speech (to expand their character options in addition to working on clarity of speech when approaching their own regionalisms).
Grade 11
Acting 5 and 6 - The Junior Acting class introduces the concept of extension of self; students must go outside of self for the source of creating character. Students work on character sketches far from self in scenes from modern theater, children’s theater, classical theater, absurdist theater, and farce.
Dance 5 and 6 - This course aligns with the studio work on classical and stylized works. Students continue the techniques learned in the prior years and apply them to further work in ballet and other stylized dance.
Physical Techniques 3 and 4 - The class further develops technique and physical freedom through exploration of skills in stage combat involving weaponry, acrobatics, kabuki, Elizabethan, and other stylized forms.
Voice and Diction 5 and 6 - This course introduces dialects and accents and the use of IPA in rehearsal. The Junior Vocal Text class introduces techniques for vocal text interpretation of verse and more advanced elevated and heightened language.
Grade 12
Acting 7 and 8 - The Senior Acting course is the production year where the student actors apply their three years of acquired skills and techniques in working on scripted material with a director for invited audiences and public performances. Students learn ensemble acting and how to maintain a “life” on stage when they do not have lines. Projects include large group scenes (four or more on stage at a time), a fully mounted/professionally designed production of the Spring Drama Festival, a Showcase presented to invited casting directors and agents, and a Senior Project of the student’s choosing including playwriting, directing and filmmaking.
Career Management 1 and 2 - Equips actors with skills and knowledge as to how to be working actors. Students are introduced to various job opportunities in theater, film, and media where they can apply the skills and techniques they have learned in our program. Students acquire practical professional information about unions, agents, resumes, pictures, interviews, and their options after graduation. Students meet visiting working professionals from theater, film, television, and radio who speak about their fields and answer students’ questions.
Dance 7 and 8 - This course concentrates on techniques that will help portray expressive movements that exhibit a performer with versatility and style. Students learn approaches to interpretation and identification with certain musical qualities. Focus is on Theater Dance as a means of gaining experience with floor, spatial, and rhythmical patterns as well as design, character, and showmanship.
Voice and Diction 7 and 8 - This course prepares the vocal instrument for public performance. Breathing, projection, and support are reinforced for specific scripted stage work. Work is also done on accents and dialects for characters. In conjunction with Audition Technique class, each senior prepares a voice-over demo.
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