PrefaceACTING ONEIntroductionPART I. PREPARATION FOR ACTING Lesson 1: Preparing to Act Relaxation / Exercise 1-1 Relaxation / Trust / Exercise 1-2 Spine Lengthening / Exuberance / Exercise 1-3 BAM-POW, Dance, Sing / Discipline / Criticism / A Playful Attitude / Freedom / PreparationLesson 2: What Is Acting? Exercise 2-1 Pledge Your Allegiance to a FlagPART II. THE ACTOR'S APPROACH Lesson 3: Goal and Obstacle Fundamental Principle / Exercise 3-1 Reaching / Exercise 3-2 Reaching for Goals / Exercise 3-3 Overcoming an Obstacle / Self-Consciousness / Exercise 3-4 Doing vs. Being / Projection / Exercise 3-5 Resonating / Exercise 3-6 Resonating (A Continuation) / Exercise 3-7 GoalsLesson 4: Acting with the 'Other' The Other / Exercise 4-1 Making Your Partner Smile / Interactive Dynamics / Exercise 4-2 Vulnerability / Exercise 4-3 Discovery / The Character / Tactics / Exercise 4-4 Using Tactics / Exercise 4-5 One Two Three Four Five Six Seven / Monologues / Exercise 4-6 Inventing the OtherLesson 5: Beginning to Act Contentless Scene / Exercise 5-1 Contentless Scene I / Intensifiers / Exercise 5-2 Intensifying / Physicalizers / Exercise 5-3 Varying Locale or Action / Exercise 5-4 Contentless Scene IILesson 6: Tactics Punishment and Reward / Playing Tactics / Exercise 6-1 Frighten Your Partner / Exercise 6-2 Building Intensity / Exercise 6-3 Try to Make Your Partner Cry / Exercise 6-4 Movement and Contact / Exercise 6-5 Encourage Your Partner / Alternating Tactics / Exercise 6-6 Mixing Tactics / The Middle Ranges / Exercise 6-7 Eliminating the ExtremesLesson 7: Expectations Expecting Victory / Exercise 7-1 Playing Bored / Positive Goals / Exercise 7-2 Enthusiasm / Exercise 7-3 Try the Impossible / Eye Contact / Exercise 7-4 Tactics and ExpectationsLesson 8: GOTE A Basic Method / "Get Your Character's GOTE" / Exercise 8-1 The GOTEsheetPART III. THE ACTOR'S TASK Lesson 9: Preparing a Role Finding Your Role / Finding Your "Character" / Editing a Scene / Memorization Methods / Cues / Studying the Part / Exercise 9-1 The Gentleman Caller ILesson 10: Rehearsing Rehearsals / Undirected Rehearsals / Rehearsal Alternatives / Exercise 10-1 The Gentleman Caller IILesson 11: Staging the Scene Stage Directions / Creating the Locale / Movement and Stage Business / Interesting Positions / Reaching the Audience / Exercise 11-1 Setting the StageLesson 12: Choices The Need for Choices / Good Choices / Exercise 12-1 Bold ChoicesLesson 13: Performing Stage Fright / Classroom Performance / Play for Results--In the Other Character!Lesson 14: Evaluation and Improvement Helpful Criticism / Reworking / Exercise 14-1 Scene PresentationPART IV. THE ACTOR'S INSTRUMENT Lesson 15: The Actor's Voice Breathing / Exercise 15-1 Breathing from the Abdomen / Phonation: Making Sounds / Exercise 15-2 Sounding / Resonance / Exercise 15-3 Exploring Resonance / Pitch / Exercise 15-4 Exploring Your Pitch Range / A Stageworthy Voice / Exercise 15-5 Speaking with ResonanceLesson 16: Stage Speech Good Diction / Speech Sounds / Exercise 16-1 Vowels / Exercise 16-2 Repeating Syllables / Exercise 16-3 Consonants / Exercise 16-4 SpeechesLesson 17: Using Your Voice Liberation / Exercise 17-1 Rude Chants / Exercise 17-2 Rude Cheering / Exercise 17-3 Fancy Talk / Exercise 17-4 Address a Group / Purposefulness / Exercise 17-5 Adding PurposeLesson 18: The Actor's Body Agility / Exercise 18-1 Fast Warm-Up / Alignment / Exercise 18-2 Improving Alignment / Walking / Exercise 18-3 Sixteen Walks / Exercise 18-4 Walk and Talk / Sitting and Standing / Exercise 18-5 Walk, Talk, Sit / Velocity: Accelerating, Decelerating, and Constant / Exercise 18-6 Acceleration/Deceleration / Counterpoise / Exercise 18-7 Contraposto / Exercise 18-8 Contraction/Extension / The Dynamics of Effort / Exercise 18-9 Distinct Movements / Exercise 18-10 To Be or Not to Be / Exercise 18-11 Walking and KickingLesson 19: Voice and Body Integration Coordination / Exercise 19-1 Commands / Exercise 19-2 Speeches with Business / Exercise 19-3 Physical Punctuation / Exercise 19-4 Physical Rhythms / Exercise 19-5 Verbal Rhythms / Pointing / Exercise 19-6 Pointing / Tempo / Exercise 19-7 Speech/Movement Timing / Actors with DisabilitiesLesson 20: Imagination and Creativity Imagination / Creativity / Creativity and Imagination / Using Your Fantasies / Exercise 20-1 Cold/Hot / Exercise 20-2 Age Regression/Advancement / Exercise 20-3 Facing an Imagined Death / Exercise 20-4 Facing Love / Lesson 21: Emotion and Acting Theory Exercise 21-1 Playing (with) Real Emotion I / Self-Consciousness / Exercise 21-2 Playing (with) Real Emotion II / ConclusionPART V. THE ACTOR'S TECHNIQUE Lesson 22: Phrasing Diction / Open-Mouthed Speaking / Exercise 22-1 A Acting with Your Teeth / Exercise 22-1 B / Exercise 22-1 C / Developing Diction / Exercise 22-2 Repeated Sentences / Exercise 22-3 Shaw Speech / Emphasis / Exercise 22-4 Change of Emphasis / Exercise 22-5 Punctuate with Emphasis / Inflection / Exercise 22-6 Inflections / PhrasingLesson 23: Attack The First Word / Physical Attack / Turn-Taking / Exercise 23-1 Turn-Taking Dialog / Preparing Strong Attacks / Exercise 23-2 Action CuesLesson 24: Follow-ThroughThe Hook / Questions as Questions / Statements as Questions / Exercise 24-1 Making Questions / Statements as Statements / Exercise 24-2 Argument-Enders / Trail-offsLesson 25: Line Linkage Analyzing Dialog / Rising End-Inflections / Falling End-Inflections / Attack Inflections / Pauses / Long Speeches / Exercise 25-1 Line Linking / Exercise 25-2 The Long Speech / Line Linking in PracticeLesson 26: Scene Structure Breaking Down a Script / Choosing a Scene to Do in Class / Structural Characteristics / Transitions / Scene Breakdown / Exercise 26-1 Scene Structure in ActionLesson 27: Building a Scene Building and Topping / Exercise 27-1 Standard Build I / Exercise 27-2 Standard Build II / Exercise 27-3 Standard Build III / Cutting Back / Getting on Top / Pacing a Build / Complex Builds / Exercise 27-4 I Detest Monday / Exercise 27-5 I Detest January / Exercise 27-6 Come Here / Exercise 27-7 Building MolièreLesson 28: Creating a Monologue Going It Alone / The Monologue to Someone Else / The Soliloquy / Playing a Monologue or Soliloquy / Exercise 28-1 Prepare a Monologue / L'Envoi ACTING TWOIntroductionTerminology: Style, Character, and performance / Acting Two's Structure / A Word About Gender /Part I. Extensions of YourselfLesson 1: Style Exercise 1-1 Baby Talk / Exercise 1-2 Baby Moves / Lesson 2: Stylized Exchanges Exercise 2-1 Pig Latin / Exercise 2-2 Speaking in (Foreign) Tongues / Exercise 2-3 Contemporary Greetings / Exercise 2-4 Making Elizabethan Greetings / Exercise 2-5 Ad-Libbing Elizabethan Greetings / Exercise 2-6 Ad-Libbing Elizabethan Insults / Exercise 2-7 Hamlet's Greeting to the PlayersLesson 3: Roses Are Red Rhyme and Verse / Exercise 3-1 Roses Are Red / Exercise 3-2 Roses Are Redder--Take One / Eye Contact--And Looking Elsewhere / Exercise 3-3 Roses Are Redder--Take Two / Exercise 3-4 Roses Are Redder--Take Three / Thinking Your Character's Thoughts / Exercise 3-5 Roses Are Redder--Take Four / Playing the PlayLesson 4: Playing God Exercise 4-1 Playing God / Playing a CharacterLesson 5: Characterization Exercise 5-1 Reciprocal Characterization: Richard and Hastings / Exercise 5-2 Intrinsic Characterization: Richard and Hastings / Intrinsic Characterizations: Extensions and Stereotypes / Centering / Exercise 5-3 Centering / Character Postures and Walks / Exercise 5-4 Character Walks / Character Voices / Exercise 5-5 Finding Your Voices / Character Descriptions / Exercise 5-6 Playing Out Character Descriptions / Animal Imagery / Exercise 5-7 Animate (Animalize) Your Character / Intrinsic and Reciprocal Characterization / Exercise 5-8 Character GreetingsLesson 6: More God Exercise 6-1 A Stanza, by GodLesson 7: The Battle of the Sexes: Noah and His Wife Scene 7-1 Noah and His WifeLesson 8: Performance: Being Public in PrivateExercise 8-1 A Performative God / Performative Aspects of Dramatic Scenes / Exercise 8-2 Performing Your Greetings and Insults / The Audience in the Theatre / Scene 8-3 The Performative Context: Oedipus and Creon / Exercise 8-4 The Performative Context: Shakespeare / Exercise 8-5 the Performative Context: ChekhovPart II. The Scenes Lesson 9: Greek Tragedy Scene 9-1 Politician vs. Prophet: Oedipus and Teiresias / More Greek Scenes /Lesson 10: The Commedia Commedia Styles and Scripts / Commedia Performances / Commedia and Renaissance Ideals / Acting Commedia: Machiavelli's Clizia / Exercise 10-1 Commedia: Direct Address / Commedia Lazzi / Scene 10-1 Nicomaco and Sofronia / Stock Characters / More Commedia ScenesLesson 11: Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Theatre Scene 11-1 The Past Made Vivid: Richard and Ann / Scansion / Verse Variations / Playing the Verse / Rhetoric / Playing and Building the Rhetoric / The Public Environment / Scene 11-2 A Merry War: Beatrice and Benedick / Shakespeare and Commedia / More Elizabethan ScenesLesson 12: The Theatre of Molière Scene 12-1 Physical Comedy / Jourdain and the Philosopher / Molière and Commedia / Costume and Deportment / French Verse / Scene 12-2 Quarreling in Couplets: Alceste and Celimène / Lesson 13: Restoration Comedy Exercise 13-1 Restoration Speeches / Scene 13-1 Sexual Banter/ Lesson 14: The Belle Epoque George Bernard Shaw / Exercise 14-1 Shaw's Political Speeches / Anton Chekhov / Scene 14-1 Chekhov's Symphony of FeelingOscar Wilde / Scene 14-2 Wilde's Comedy of (Male) Manners / Exercise 14-3 Wilde's Comedy of (Female) MannersLesson 15: The Hyperthe atreEugene Ionesco: Theater of the Absurd / Exercise 15-1 Theatre of Absurd: Mr. and Mrs. Martin Bertolt Brecht: Theater of Distancing / Scene 15-2 Distancing in Szechuan / Verfremdung in Everyday LifeLesson 16: Contemporary Styles Clashing Cultures / 16-1 Prior and Harper / Clashing Subcultures / 16-2 Boy Willie and Grace / Clashing Professions / 16-3 Vivian and Jason / Solo performer, Multiple RolesL'EnvoiA Glossary of Acting TermsIndex