Beginning/Intermediate Technique

Important: This class is not for recreational class takers, but is intended for professionals who are pursuing a career in acting. Please consider that before enrolling.

This class is ideal for the new actor who wants to explore the possibilities of a career in acting as well as the intermediate actor who wants to strengthen their grasp of the fundamental acting techniques necessary to succeed.

This class is designed to build the actor’s understanding of the craft and the techniques used by great actors for over 100 years. These techniques are constantly evolving to keep pace with the ever-increasing demands placed on today’s actor. The good news is: Acting and the techniques that make it possible is very learnable. This technique oriented class is for the beginning and intermediate actor, but is open to actors of all levels who want to learn and improve their understanding of the craft and techniques necessary to be successful as an actor.  This approach to the craft is grounded in the teachings of Stanislavsky and further developed by the great master teachers  Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, Harold Clurman, and refined and brought into the 21st century by Penny Templeton. This 7 week course will be broken into three “blocks*.

Week 1:  An Overview of Acting

We talk about the different parts of the craft and the fundamental techniques necessary to master the craft of acting. We will learn these techniques in 3 blocks beginning with the Structure in week 2. The week 1 class runs an extra hour (10pm) to cover all the material.

Block 1 (2 weeks):  THE FUNDAMENTALS – STRUCTURE: Core, Happiness, Driving Question Actions and Tactics

The first 3 weeks are devoted to gaining an understanding of what acting is and what it is not.  The tools and techniques of the professional actor with be explained and put to use using short scenes to allow the new actors to begin using them as the first step to becoming an actor. This first block is specifically designed to allow the new actors to learn the techniques without the fear or pressure. Fear is the enemy of creativity and knowledge is its best friend

Block 2 (2 weeks) How to bring the emotional truth to the scene

As the actor’s grasp and learn to use the elements of the structure we will add in short monologues to develop the concepts used to bring emotional truth to the character and the scene. By the end of the 5 weeks the actors will have an understanding of all of the elements of the craft and how they are put together to create a vibrant character and a complete scene. Over the 7 weeks the actors will be exposed to many valuable exercises developed by Penny Templeton, to grow in their understanding and ability to use their technique.

Block 3 (2 weeks): Structure  Memorization

The class will learn how memorization techniques. The Penny Templeton  process of Learning the scenes with the structure and emotional connection rather than memorizing the lines by the traditional “rote” process. This valuable  and necessary tool is the skill professional actors are expected to have. When you have a process for learning the lines it eliminates the fear.

We also offer [payment plans / deposits] for this class. Please call 212-729-4088 to request additional payment options.

It is highly recommended that all actors get a Copy of ACTING LIONS  prior to beginning the class.