Scene Study Deep Dive
Tuesdays 7-9ish
Hello All!
Welcome to your class page for all things scene study deep dive. I will do my best to keep this site current with exercises and resources for every week. That way, you always have the tools available when you need them and if you miss a class, you can see what we covered.
Welcome to your class page for all things scene study deep dive. I will do my best to keep this site current with exercises and resources for every week. That way, you always have the tools available when you need them and if you miss a class, you can see what we covered.
Week 1
Introductions and retelling a story.
Week 2
Warm-up
Echo Check-In
Mirror
Always and Only
3 Surprising Things in Common
Mirror
Always and Only
3 Surprising Things in Common
Exercise
Working with referents
For the next few weeks, we will be working with referents to deepen the text and connect it to our own experiences and associations. For some, this work is similar to Lee Strasberg's "The Method." In that work, you create characters and story by directly connecting the reality of the character to your personal experiences: personalization. It is primarily work that is done "inside"- within the actor's inner world or memory and experience- and not as much influenced by the other actor's work (although there is always a dance between what is happening inside and what is happening outside).
These exercises create similar inner states as The Method, but I find them to be more accessible and tangible when approaching the work. Most of them were created by George Morrison who worked closely with Strasberg and, in many ways, picked up where Strasberg's work ended.
These exercises create similar inner states as The Method, but I find them to be more accessible and tangible when approaching the work. Most of them were created by George Morrison who worked closely with Strasberg and, in many ways, picked up where Strasberg's work ended.
What is a referent?
A referent is a word in the text that refers to something not present. For instance, if I say to you, "yesterday I went to the beach," I'm referring to something in the past. One of the referents in my quote is beach. In order to understand me, you create an image of the referent in your mind. As you read the word beach, what kind of image do you make? Do you see the water, sand, and sun? Do you hear the waves roll in and out? Do you Smell the salty, slightly fishy air? Do you taste the water in your mouth? Do you feel the sun on your face? All these are sensory images your mind makes to create meaning out of a word, a referent.
Felt Sense
Creating the "inner object" for Personalization/Substitution in a relationship, or referent for a person in a text.
This week we focused on creating a "felt sense" for a person who is not in the scene, but is referred to in the dialogue. The following exercise can be used for both a character you are referring to or a character onstage with which you need to have a strong emotional connection or reaction (personalization or substitution). This week, we are using it specifically to personalize a character that is not on stage.
Using the exercise below, actors chose a person to use as a personalization for a person not present onstage, but that both characters in the scene are talking about. The scene itself is vague enough that any referent can work and the characters do not have to feel the same way about the person they a e speaking about.
The best way to use this audio exercise is to listen to it wearing headphones and to find a comfortable place where you can relax and be still for the duration.
Using the exercise below, actors chose a person to use as a personalization for a person not present onstage, but that both characters in the scene are talking about. The scene itself is vague enough that any referent can work and the characters do not have to feel the same way about the person they a e speaking about.
The best way to use this audio exercise is to listen to it wearing headphones and to find a comfortable place where you can relax and be still for the duration.
| felt_sense_acting_exercise.m4a |
Week 3
Activating Referents with a Scene Partner
This week we focused on creating relationships using referents with a scene partner. In the core of the work, we did improvised scenes using Viola Spolin's Who Game.
During the scenes, we explored both being the active driver of relationship, objective and story, and focusing on being in a more receptive, reactive space depending on whether you were the neutral actor or the instigator.
Jazmine recorded these scenes and if she shares them with me, I will post them here. Because they are really interesting!
During the scenes, we explored both being the active driver of relationship, objective and story, and focusing on being in a more receptive, reactive space depending on whether you were the neutral actor or the instigator.
Jazmine recorded these scenes and if she shares them with me, I will post them here. Because they are really interesting!
Week 4
Working with a partner and referents
Using a simple scene, we explored how to blend the associations created by activating a referent with the information your partner is giving you. How do you blend the two to create a seamless experience? For those who want the felt sense exercise as an audio file, it can be found in week 2.
We also touched on LOOPING. Looping is when you loop whatever experiences you are having as an actor with the experiences that your character is having. When you become aware of a feeling or thought that doesn't seem to "fit" your idea of the character or is unusual, instead of judging it or trying to ignore it, you say:
I am feeling (blank)
Could it be that the character is feeling (blank)? Spoiler: the answer is always YES!
Why would the character be feeling this? And allow an answer to arise. then loop that or INCLUDE that in the character's experience.
Ultimately, once you are up on stage or in front of a camera performing, what is happening to you is happening to the character whether it was planned or not. By ignoring it, we exclude the full experience and the audience will pick up on it.
The caveat is that this technique is most successful after you have done all the preparation for the character and the play. Because, sometimes, the work affects us in ways we do not expect and it is our job to include our entire experience and trust that if we have done our work, whatever is happening is meant to happen. Even if it isn't... it is.
We also touched on LOOPING. Looping is when you loop whatever experiences you are having as an actor with the experiences that your character is having. When you become aware of a feeling or thought that doesn't seem to "fit" your idea of the character or is unusual, instead of judging it or trying to ignore it, you say:
I am feeling (blank)
Could it be that the character is feeling (blank)? Spoiler: the answer is always YES!
Why would the character be feeling this? And allow an answer to arise. then loop that or INCLUDE that in the character's experience.
Ultimately, once you are up on stage or in front of a camera performing, what is happening to you is happening to the character whether it was planned or not. By ignoring it, we exclude the full experience and the audience will pick up on it.
The caveat is that this technique is most successful after you have done all the preparation for the character and the play. Because, sometimes, the work affects us in ways we do not expect and it is our job to include our entire experience and trust that if we have done our work, whatever is happening is meant to happen. Even if it isn't... it is.
This is how the character's story is told through the lens of my body and experiences.
Week 6
This week we worked with cold reads and using substitutions to immediately connect to the scene partner and raise the stakes of the character.
Questions we asked were:
What is the journey of my character in this scene? (Where do they start, where do they end and what changes (if anything) during the scene?
What is my character's greatest hope and greatest fear at the beginning of the scene? Does that change as the scene progresses?
What person in my life best represents the dynamic between the characters at the beginning of the scene? OR What person has represented that hope and fear in my life?
Below is the script of Life, Itself. Please give it a read before the next class, if possible.
Questions we asked were:
What is the journey of my character in this scene? (Where do they start, where do they end and what changes (if anything) during the scene?
What is my character's greatest hope and greatest fear at the beginning of the scene? Does that change as the scene progresses?
What person in my life best represents the dynamic between the characters at the beginning of the scene? OR What person has represented that hope and fear in my life?
Below is the script of Life, Itself. Please give it a read before the next class, if possible.
| life_itself_-_dan_fogelman.pdf |
Homework
SOAK the scene either alone or with your partner. Below is a link to a video explanation:
Here is a written explanation of how George Morrison used the exercise as scene preparation:
| soaking_exercise__1_.pdf |