From: web-form@Oswego.EDU Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:55 PM To: ucc@oswego.edu; loem@oswego.edu Subject: Web Form: Course Submission IP Address: 129.3.13.11 Department Chair: Mark Cole Department Chair Email: Mark Cole Additional Contact: Jonel Langenfeld-Rial Additional Contact Email: Jonel Langenfeld-Rial Course Number: THT 181 Course Type: Updated Course Course Title: Movement for the Actor Catalog Description: Training in physical expression for the actor. Emphasis on the mind/body connection and the development of body awareness and confidence in relation to the actor’s presence and characterization. The student develops skill in the use and application of relaxation techniques, core strengthening, stamina, adaptability, focused energy and wellness strategies. Prerequisites: None Fl - every Fall: Yes Semester Hours: 3 sh justificationforcourse: The body is the performer’s tool, or “instrument.” A healthy physical and mental state of awareness supports the actor’s ability to adapt to the physical demands of performance. Flexibility, strength and control are key elements in the development of an actor’s body awareness and self-confidence. Through movement the actor develops an intuitive connection to the creative impulse and constructs the physical life of characterization. The mind/ body connection that is cultivated in the course enables the actor to make meaningful connections between the physical and psychological nature of a character. The inter-relationship of breath, movement and voice is also explored. The course also aims to foster personal wellness habits as a component in a holistic approach to actor training. courseObjectives: • Develop awareness and conscious control of the physical self in acting • Understand and implement wellness strategies in relation to personal lifestyle and the demands of professional acting. • Explore impulse and characterization through creative movement • Understand rhythm, time and space in performance • Use the body to effectively communicate specific character traits • Understand and demonstrate the unity of body and voice Course Description: I. Physical and Mental Awareness A. Body Core Conditioning B. Purpose of the Warm-Up C. Flexibility and Stamina D. Conscious Body control II. Wellness Strategies A. The connection between mind and body III. The Actor’s Physical Self A. Trust and partner work B. Creative exploration through movement C. Use of the body to create and develop a character D. Integration of sound and movement Methods of Instruction • Lecture, demonstration, active participation in individual and group work Course Requirements Students will be required to participate in and complete the following: - Body Core Conditioning and over all Strength Training. -Daily Experience Journal: Students will be required to keep a Daily Journal, where they will respond to their work done in class, to observations outside class, to productions and workshops attended, etc. -Daily Food Journal: Students will also keep a Food Journal, where they will be required to notate all food and drink intake for approximately one month and their response to their physical and mental energy levels, emotions, behavioral attitudes towards food, etc. -Personal Warm-Up: Students will develop a 30 minute Personal Warm-Up. -Group projects: Students will work together in and out of class on various observation and presentation assignments. -Abstract Movement Monologue: Students will be required to do one (physical) Monologue presentation, including 2 workshop rounds. -Theatre Department productions, other productions, workshops: Students will be required to attend all Department Theatre productions, and various other productions and/or workshops. Means of Evaluation Skill Development: Students will be assessed on their over all growth development; do they continue to apply themselves to the best of their abilities to learn and grow? It is understood that everyone will begin at a different physical ability and skill level. Instructor looks to see how students develop over the course of the semester. Grading: -All assignments will be assigned a point value. -Final grades will be based on attendance, skill development, over all progress, and accumulated point value of all assignments. Resources: No additional resources needed at this time. Bibliography: Course Content Sources & Suggested Reading: Theresa Mitchell, Movement: from Person to Actor to Character, (The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., & London, 1998) David G., Zinder, Body Voice Imagination : A Training for the Actor, (New York : Routledge, 2002). Mark Ross Clark, Singing, acting, and movement in opera [electronic resource]: a guide to singer-getics, (Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2002). Barbara Sellers-Young, Breathing, Movement, Exploration (New York : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, c2001). Dymphna Callery, Through the body : a Practical Guide to Physical Theatre (New York : Routledge ;London : Nick Hern Books, 2001). Robert Gordon, The purpose of playing : Modern Acting Theories in Perspective (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, c2006). Edited by Nicole Potter, Movement for the Actors, (New York, NY: Allworth Press, 2002). Gary Izzo, The art of play : The New Genre of Interactive Theatre (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997). Izzo, Gary, Acting Interactive Theatre : a Handbook (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998). Daw, Kurt, Acting : Thought into Action, illustrations by Rosemary Ingham and Lawren Spera, (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997). Other Comments: Reasons for Changes Made: • This course has been updated to accommodate the demands of the amateur and professional theatre world, and the requirements of national accreditation of the Theatre Department as a National School of Theatre. ➢ Where Changes have been Made: • A Fitness portion has been added • The teaching of basic Dance technique has been removed, it is now being taught within the Music Theatre Track, by an instructor in the Health and Wellness Department. • The Catalogue description has been updated so that it is a more accurate description of the course. • Title of the course: It has been changed from; “Bodily movement for the Theatre” to “Movement for the Actor”.