2016-17 Fall
HART1022
Introduction to Acting
Course Instructor:
Mr. NG Shiu Hei, Larry (Email: TBC)
Program Officer:
Wendy CHENG (Rm 6401; Tel: 2358-8373; Email: [email protected])
Time:
Tuesday, 14:00-15:50
Venue:
GYT-G009 A&B
Office Hours:
By appointment
Course Description
This course introduces the basic principles of acting developed by Russian maestro Stanislavsky. Through
applying these principles in a series of practical exercises, students will have an experiential
understanding of the theory and practice of theatre arts. The in-class activities can give students a
refreshing stimulus to both body and mind, unleash their imagination and develop their inborn ability of
acting further.
Students will also be guided to appreciate the art of an actor by watching a theatre performance.
Discussion and analysis will be focused in both historical and current theatre practices. Upon the
completion of this course, students will have an elementary understanding of contemporary theatre arts.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to:
1. Describe and apply the basic principles of naturalistic acting in performance and appreciation
2. Identify the significance of naturalistic acting style in contemporary theatre
3. Identify their own strengths and weaknesses for naturalistic acting style
4. Enhance their communication and collaboration skills
Course Schedule and Outline
Week Date
Topic
Phase 1: Understand the basic concepts of acting via practical exercises
1
6 Sep
Introducing the social, artistic and philosophical concepts of Naturalistic Acting
Style - Key Concept: “Re-playing an Happening in a Place”
- An explanation to the purpose, process and requirement of the course will be
given.
- An introduction of the differences between showing (drama) and narrating
(storytelling)
- An introduction of the background theories of the Naturalistic Acting style.
1
-
Theatre games will be played to build up an open and trustful environment for
the students to feel secure and free about taking on future adventure.
Exercises will be devised to introduce the basic drama elements including roles,
dramatic contexts, conflicts, tensions, dramatic language.
2
13 Sep
Key Concept: “Action and Reaction” (1)
- A series of games and physical exercises will be devised to facilitate the students
to discover the primacy of action in drama and the power of action to both actor
and audience
- Students will learn to pay attention to both the “what” and the “how” of action
and their relationship to a dramatic scene
- Students will explore the concept of “action as reaction” (including “reaction to
circumstance” and “reaction to others”) through games and exercises
- Students will explore the loop of “action-imagination-feeling” in Stanislavsky’s
approach of naturalistic acting
3
20 Sep
Key Concept: “Action and Reaction” (2)
- A series of theatre exercises will be devised to facilitate the students in
deepening the concept of “action as reaction” via exploring how to construction
an impression of “cause and effect” on stage by the body of actors, rhythm and
space
- Exercises and improvisations will be used to sharpen students’ body expression
in acting.
- Students will be guided to learn how to analyze an action and to analyze what
actions could be involved in a circumstance
- Students will be guided to explore what kind of action is useful for an actor in
acting
4
27 Sep
Key Concept: “Dramatic Moment” (1)
- A series of theatre exercises will be devised to facilitate the students in exploring
how “emotions” could be generated from “action, reaction and interaction”.
- Exercises and improvisations will be used to activate the sense of “dramatic
development” through a series of “action, reaction and interaction”, moment by
moment, that generate a flow of “emotion”.
- Students will experience through exercises how they, as actor, could concretely
engage in emotions through concrete actions.
5
4 Oct
Key Concept: “Dramatic Moment” (2)
- A series of theatre exercises will be devised to facilitate the students in exploring
how “emotions” could be enriched by “imagination” and “personal memories”
- Students will learn through practical exercises how they can express emotions
effectively through their acting body
- Students will learn through practical exercises the stagecraft that can help them
to construct a dramatic moment for the audience
2
6
11 Oct
Analytical Application (1): Playback Life Experiences
- Students’ life experiences (experience of their own and/or experience of other
people around them) as materials to illustrate how naturalistic acting is related
to the reality of their lives and how life experience can be shown with actions
rather than narration.
- Students will apply the skills learned in the first 5 week in acting out their own
stories.
- Additional analytic skills will be practiced under guiding (identifying key/strong
moments to show, differentiating the verbal and non-verbal elements in the
experience, identifying which non-verbal elements could be more expressive
than words, etc)
7
18 Oct
Analytical Application (2): Working with a Text
- A series of exercises will be devised to guide students on how to get the text off
the page and to turn it into actions in space.
- A sample scene will be selected to illustrate how an actor analyses a text, from
which students will learn how to divide a scene into “units” and “beats” for
interpretation, building up of rhythm and development.
- Elementary guidelines of mise-en-scene will be introduced.
- Students will form small groups of 2-3 and select a scene from the texts offered
by the instructor. The selected scene will be used for the presentation in week
12, students should thus start learning the lines of this scene from this week.
Phase 2: Apply concepts of acting to scene work with reference to contemporary theatre practices
8
25 Oct Scene Work in Progress (1): Improvisation with Given Circumstances
- Students are divided into small groups of 2-3 people to work on the short scenes
they have chosen for the performance in week 12.
- Students begin explore and rehearse for the short scenes, under the instructor’s
step-by-step guiding, through (i) analysis of given circumstance of the scene and
(ii) a series of improvisation according to this given circumstance in order to find
out possible actions. (Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Action for rehearsal)
- Students will be guided to analyze how they can form the “line of action” for the
scene from the actions they have discovered in improvisation
- Students will watch video fragments of theatre performance as references and
reflective materials for the above key points
9
1 Nov
Scene Work in Progress (2): Improvisation with Dialogue Fragments
- Students will be guided through certain rehearsal exercises to explore the
characters and the words written on the script as the expression of the
characters’ inner life
- Students will be guided to explore further the relationship and interaction in the
scene in order to uncover the “subtext” and the underlying interplay of the
scene behind the dialogues
- Students will watch video fragments of theatre performance as references and
reflective materials for the above key points
3
10
8 Nov
Scene Work in Progress (3): Constructing the Scene
- Students will guided to work further on other details of the character.
- Students will work out the blockings and dynamics for the selected scenes.
- Students will watch video fragments of theatre performance as references and
reflective materials for the above key points
11
15 Nov
Scene Work in Progress (4): Fine-tuning and Final rehearsal
- Students will rehearse and polish their selected short scenes.
- Instructor will give feedbacks and guidance to all the groups.
12
22 Nov
Scene work presentation and discussion
- Students will take turn to perform their excerpts / short scenes.
13
29 Nov
Conclusion
- Students are required to give comments on classmates’ performances.
- Instructor will give comments to all the groups.
- Students will reflect on the whole artistic learning process to consolidate what
they have learnt and to settle any possible queries.
Assessment Tasks
Attendance (10%) &
Course participation
(10%)
Active participation in the in-class practical exercises and discussion.
Reflective Journal
(30%)
For each session, each student is required to note down their reflection
and possible query about the lesson. It can be creative in forms of
presentation and writing style; what is important is the content and how
well the form chosen can present the experiential and reflective content.
The students are encouraged to give an honest evaluation of their learning
progress and to share their personal inspirations/discoveries throughout
this journey.
Attendance will be taken in the beginning of each session after the
add/drop period. Students arrived 10 minutes after the beginning of each
session will be counted as late. Being late or leaving early twice will be
counted as one absence. For each absence, students will have 2% deducted
from their 10% attendance grade.
The reflective journal with complete entries of week 1-13 should be
submitted on 6 Dec 2016. 10% of the reflective journal grade will be
deducted per day after the due date. Submissions will not be accepted
after 12 Dec 2016.
Self and Peer evaluation
(20%)
At the end of the course, after the final performances, students are
required to evaluate themselves and their classmates and submit written
comments to the instructor by 6 Dec 2016.
10% of the grade will be deducted per day after the due date. Submissions
will not be accepted after 12 Dec 2016.
4
Final Scene Work
Presentation
(30%)
After mid-term presentation, the students have to rehearse with their
group members, under instructor’s guidance, and perform the short scenes
in week 12.
Required Reading Materials
Theory and Practice
1. Benedetti, J. (1998) Stanislavski and the Actor. Routledge.
Play (One of the followings)
1. Chekhov. A. Translated by Sharon Marie Carnicke. (2014) Three Sisters. Hackett Publishing.
2. Ibsen, H. Adapted and translated by Simon Stephens. (2013) A Doll’s House. Methuen Drama.
3. Ibsen, H. Translated by Brian Friel. (2008) Hedda Gabler. Faber & Faber.
4. Anouilh, J. Translated by Dan Freeman. (2000) Antigone (Student Edition). Methuen Drama.
5. Miller, A. Translated by Christopher Bigsby. (2009) All My Sons. Penguin Classics.
6. Shakespeare, W. Translated by Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor (2016) Hamlet (Revised Edition).
Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
Academic Honor Code
-
You must observe and uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty in all the
work you do throughout your program of study.
As members of the University community, you have the responsibility to help maintain the
academic reputation of HKUST in its academic endeavors.
Sanctions will be imposed if you are found to have violated the regulations governing academic
integrity and honesty.
Regulations for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity
(http://publish.ust.hk/acadreg/generalreg/index.html)
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