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doug lucie

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The Aim of this Course is to:

 

Doug, known as "Britain's most acerbic Playwright", is one of our most famous contemporary writers. 

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His work spans from the seventies when he broke out at Edenborough Festival in 1975 before taking over as playwright-in-residence at the Oxford Playhouse in 1979 and 1980. 

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What you will cover:

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Method Techniques

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Exercises from Adler, Strasberg and Hagen covering:

Relaxation

Inner imagery

Sensory exercises

Personalisation

Objectives

The 'Big Idea'

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Meisner Technique

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Instinct development

Repetition exercise

Concept of 'Activity and Door' and how they apply to scene structure and objectives.

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Taking all this work into scripts,  which will commence on week 6.

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Once we are working on scripts, there will be a one hour private session with each pair of script partners for the remaining 5 weeks.

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Course Details

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Enrolling now. Limited Spaces.

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You will be joining an established class where you will follow your own path for 10 weeks. You will be among more advanced students whose work will  provide a helpful guide to your own journey.

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You will cover the aforementioned elements of the techniques and be assigned a script partner for the final 5 classes.

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Times: 

Every Monday 12-4pm

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£300

on Zoom

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If accepted onto the course, the student will be expected to behave in a professional and responsible manner. This includes:

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  • logging in at least 5 mins before class begins.

  • coming prepared and rehearsed (when required).

  • to practice the required exercises outside of class.

  • to meet (on zoom if preferred) and rehearse with script partners.

  • to ensure you are fully off book for scenes.

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Any queries please contact us via our contact page.

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 “True learning is through repetition. Intellectual understanding isn’t enough - You don’t know something till it is a part of you; till it has sunk into your gut. This can only be achieved through hard work and reiteration.”

We believe that proper training takes time, dedication and a singular focus. Whether studying Full or Part Time, These techniques cannot be taught in a few months - they require dedication and time.

However, many do not have the option to spend 5 days a week in full time study.

Our Aim with the Part-Time Courses is to ensure that you still walk away at the end of your time with us  with a full technique - a confident, unique Actor. 

We want whatever course you choose to be an incredible journey for you - so you can truly find your confidence, your voice and uniqueness as you learn your craft and  develop your technique.

This 10 week course is designed to introduce the actor to these techniques and how they will work together. After completing this course, we hope you will want to continue the journey.
 

They are all born of a desire to bring truth to the Actor’s performance; they just approach it from slightly different angles and focus on certain elements. All of which are essential.

It is axiomatic to understand the history; upon whose shoulders we stand and why the Techniques were developed in their own unique way. Please follow this LINK for more information.

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It is important to remember that both Method and Meisner acting techniques have shared roots in the System developed by the great practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski

"To help, to continually help and share, that is the sum of all knowledge; that is the meaning of art."

 

Eleonora Duse

Much is given to the partisan nature of these techniques but the truth is they complement each other wonderfully. Below is a short introduction to the techniques.

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The Meisner Technique was designed to bring the actor into the moment; to ensure that they are truthful, instinctive and free – to live truthfully under the given imaginary circumstances. 

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The Repetition Exercise encourages these qualities and more – empathy, a deeper understanding of yourself and human behaviour, courage, confidence, self-worth, point of view to name but a few. It’s a long list and when committed to properly, this exercise is of singular importance.

“Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.”

 

                  Meryl Streep

Beyond this, what many people don’t realise is that the Meisner Technique also offers a finely detailed, fundamental approach to Scenes and Character.

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Through a structured, layer by layer learning process, the student will develop a codified system – a genuine technique which will allow them to create detailed, nuanced, truthful performances under any given circumstances.

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See below for course structure or use this LINK for more information on Meisner.

 

To be able to do these things we have to be open, we have to be honest; we have to know who we are and be comfortable using our own truth. We are our own instrument – mentally and physically we have to be trained.

This is where the Method exercises come in...

Method Acting

Growth as an Actor and as a Human Being is synonymous

 

Stella Adler

People struggle with how to define what is American Method Acting. It is a system; a method of working to create real, human characters. You work from the inside out to develop a full psychological understanding of the character.

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Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, Uta Hagen, Susan Batson are all regarded as masters of modern Acting, Stella herself as the Mother, basing their work upon the Stanislavski System.

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Each had a unique focus or belief which defined each teacher's approach, leading to the development of specific exercises for specific uses.

 “It takes a chunk out of your soul. It should. I think if it’s not costing you anything you’re not doing it right. My job is to create a human being"

                          Viola Davis

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For example, Stella Adler favoured a sociological approach, script analysis and the use of imagination to bring truth into acting. Her exercises enlarge the actor and their senses; challenges the individual to grow and lift yourself into the character’s life and out of your own; to grasp the ‘Big Idea’.

Whereas Lee Strasberg, whilst also believing imagination is the most important thing an actor can have, he believed in a more psychological approach – opening up the actor to free expression using Sense Memory. He insisted upon using specific exercises to use the Actors own truth to bring them into the Character.

Learning how to combine these techniques is at the core of what we do at the Actor's Craft. The 10 week course is an introduction to these techniques and this process.

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if you are interested in taking your study further, please check out our part time courses,

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