An Actor’s Studio: Acting, Directing, Improvising

Acquis d'apprentissage

The objectives of the course are:

• To be able to communicate ideas, experiences and opinions in good (clear and efficient) English
• To talk fluently on any given topic and to improvise on a situation at a moment’s notice
• To be able to analyse the gist of any written document or oral performance and to express one’s ideas in an essay
• To stand in front of an audience with less apprehension and to perform for about ten minutes
• To get a group to listen to you and to understand you
• To acquire the skills to exploit the latent creative ability in the language

Contenu

Welcome to the Theatre world! This course introduces students to different basic drama exercises such as warming-up, trust-building or concentration games. The course will then go on to present various improvisation games to promote quick reactivity and spontaneity. Then students will choose, study and perform different scenes taken from plays, films or series (Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter, Quentin Tarantino, Monty Python, Woody Allen, Breaking bad…). Students will then develop a trained eye by watching carefully and analysing the performance of others.
The purpose of the course is to consider learning English not as an end in itself but as a means for students to express themselves in a meaningful context, which is what acting offers. By taking risks using the language and having to adapt to people and situations, students should be able to overcome any possible “language blocks”.
In the words of Alan Maley and Alan Duff in Drama techniques in language learning, students will be encouraged to “use the skills we most need when speaking a language : adaptability, speed of reaction, sensitivity to tone, in one word appropriateness.”
By the end of the course, students should be able to understand how a scene comes to life on stage, to perform in front of other students and to appraise the scenes acted out in front of them.

Attentes du cours

Students should expect a high degree of interaction. I expect active participation, discussion about what has been done as I consider the discussion after or before the work as important as the work itself in terms of language learning. In order to build a warm, pleasant and stimulating atmosphere I expect students to keep themselves and their mobile phones quiet during performances. I also insist that all scenes are learnt very early on so as to facilitate the acting process.
Students will be called on during every class to contribute and should be ready to activate their microphone when called on.
Students should arrive to class ready to participate with the necessary materials. In addition to the regular classroom materials`, this includes a computer equipped with a webcam, microphone, and active high-speed internet connection for the duration of each session.

Evaluation

Grading will be on a scale of 0 to 20.
Grading will be on a scale of 0 to 20, unless otherwise stated.
50% CF: A written response to given input, produced in an academic style.
50% CC: (Assignments such as writing 2 essays, acting and performing one scene in groups + Participation Grade).

Unjustified absences will negatively impact the continuous assessment (CC) grade.
Each unjustified absence will result in a 1-point reduction in your CC grade.
It is the responsibility of the student to ask to make up for any missed work to avoid absences further impacting final grades.

CEFR Grade (A1-C2)

Students will be assessed as to their language level relative to the CEFR criteria. There is NO DIRECT RELATION between a student’s CC/CF and their CEFR level.

Approches pédagogiques

The participation grade will be based on the following criteria:

• Punctuality: on-time and ready to work.
• Motivation: Only speaking English in Class, no use of translation tools.
• Professional: Appropriate setting, actions and interaction for professional context.
• Engagement: Participating appropriately in whole-class activities
• Focus / Responsiveness: Remaining focused during teacher input and on class tasks. Responding immediately and appropriately when asked.
•Committed to Homework: Homework delivered on time and to the best of your ability.
• Positive: Contributing to positive class atmosphere.
Attendance will be taken at the beginning, end, and at random intervals during the class. If a student arrives late, or experiences technical problems, it is the student’s responsibility to signal this to the teacher immediately, and to the Helpdesk if necessary. Absences and lateness, as with any lack of participation, will affect the final grade. Severe lateness will be treated as absence.

Programme

Programme grande école,Programme Ingénieur,Programme Bachelor

Plan du cours

The course will be composed of 3-hour sessions. All sessions are obligatory unless otherwise indicated. Sessions will generally be conducted as a mix of ‘live’ interactive webinar and self-driven autonomous work. Homework will need to be completed regularly, and will be due before the start of each following session.
Below follows a rough outline of the course structure (non-exhaustive and subject to change).


Class Number Course Content Homework
Class 1 Introductions
Drama exercises to break the ice (warm-up and improvisation)
Explain and hand out the scenes to work on and the essay subject
Choose the scene you will work on, who you will work with (actors and directors)
Essay: write the biography of the character you will be playing

Class 2 Hand in your essay
Drama exercises
Public speaking techniques: improvisation and using your voice
Choose a short speech and prepare to deliver it in class (punctuation, pauses, stresses )

In threes, write out a two-page dialogue that will be acted out in class by the others
Class 3 Hand in your dialogue to be corrected and photocopied
Drama exercises
Acting out one another’s dialogues In pairs, find two drama exercises to explain to the group over the following weeks
Class 4 Drama exercises (Two of which are explained by students in each session)
Start working on the scenes : analysing, acting and directing (I will explain what to look out for, to correct, to consider etc. when directing a scene ) Learn your lines
Class 5 Drama exercises
Work on the scenes (notice how the scenes have improved, how to help the actors when they are stuck…)
Learn your lines
Class 6 Drama exercises (all dialogues must be known perfectly at this point)
My experience: CV writing workshop (content generation) and peer/teacher correction
Go and see a play and write a review of it
Class 7 Drama exercises
Work on the scenes
Hand in your review Find props and costumes for your scene
Class 8 Drama exercises
Work on the scenes
Class 9 Drama exercises
Work on the scenes
Class 10 Play the scenes
Class 11 CF1:
In this session, you will sit the CF1 test: a common exam, based on the international TOEFL exam (offered by ETS). In general, you will be
asked to analyse multiple artefacts and produce an appropriate academic response in form of an analysis.