Theater and Performance

Text & Interpretation - working with a Text
“What is actually happening in this scene, and why am I speaking these words?”

1. Cold Reading

2. Monologue

3. Scene Study

4. Character Breakdown

KEY SOURCES

1. Stanislavski – An Actor Prepares
   → Foundations of script analysis, objectives, given circumstances

2. Donnellan – The Actor and the Target
   → How meaning emerges from pursuit, not introspection

3. Adler – The Art of Acting
   → Text, imagination, and circumstances over emotional memory

Character & Inner Life - Psychology, Imagination, Transformation
“Who is this person from the inside—and how do I inhabit them truthfully?”

1. Character Breakdown

2. Monologue

3. Scene Study

KEY SOURCES

1. Chekhov – On the Technique of Acting
   → Psychological gesture, atmosphere, imagination

2. Oida & Marshall – The Invisible Actor
   → Presence through restraint and inner clarity

3. Smith – Letters to a Young Artist
   → Artistic identity, vulnerability, and purpose

Voice, Body & Presence - the actor as an instrument
“How do my voice and body communicate meaning before I say a word?”

1. Voice Over

2. Commercial Acting

3. Blocking / Sitcom

KEY SOURCES

1. Frankel – Respect for Acting
   → Discipline, physical control, professionalism

2. Oida & Marshall – The Invisible Actor (also here)
   → Economy of movement and embodied presence

Interaction & Ensemble - listening, reacting, and being alive onstage
“How do I stay alive, responsive, and connected in the moment?”

1. Improv

2. Scene Study

3. Blocking / Sitcom

KEY SOURCES

1. Meisner & Longwell – Sanford Meisner on Acting
   → Acting as truthful reaction, not planning

2. Donnellan – The Actor and the Target (also here)
   → Attention outward rather than inward

Audition & Professional Practice - the actor in the real world
“How do I show my best work quickly, clearly, and professionally?”

1. Audition Technique

2. Commercial Acting

3. Voice Over
   
   

KEY SOURCES

1. Merlin – Auditioning
   → Strategy, psychology, and preparation for auditions

2. Smith – Letters to a Young Artist (also here)
   → Career resilience, rejection, and self-trust

Style, Medium & Genre - different rules for different worlds
“How does acting change between stage, camera, sitcom, ad, or VO booth?”

1. Commercial Acting

2. Voice Over 

3. Blocking / Sitcom

4. Improv

KEY SOURCES

1. Adler – The Art of Acting (also here)
   → Style, scale, and cultural specificity

2. Chekhov – On the Technique of Acting (also here)
   → Genre, atmosphere, and expressive form