The Rehearsal Room - acting & drama classes and workshops in Melbourne Victoria Australia

“ADVANCED WORKSHOP Level One"

In each session a new element of theory is explored and actors shoot a scene/exercise. It’s a great combination of theory and practice.

CONTENT

WEEK ONE

Explore how our listening works with reference to psychologists’ assessment and a great film performance – it’s wondrously fascinating. Review the fundamentals of Rehearsal Room Process. Learn The Rehearsal Room ‘Conversation Exercise’ impro.

WEEK TWO

Develop ‘Conversation Exercise’ further and explore the unique Rehearsal Room process for establishing the key purpose for the scene. This approach to identifying the story is an immensely powerful and practical tool.

WEEK THREE

Start the search for a suitable ‘general audition scene’ to be used in the final session with Casting Director Nick Hamon. Take the next step with the ‘Conversation Exercise’ and commence applying this technique to a script.

WEEK FOUR

Explore ways of bringing a different colour to any scene (making big changes quickly). Work with text to develop complex spontaneous listening skills. These exercises are challenging and very productive.

WEEK FIVE

SUPRISES – this unique material is taught nowhere else. It’s incredibly useful and highly productive. ALL the great actors play brilliant surprises. This enormously practical acting and story telling tool should not be left to chance.

WEEK SIX

Perform a learnt scene using all the exercise techniques explored so far.

WEEK SEVEN

Developing these techniques with a 3-hander scene. Three-handers provide excellent opportunities to test and build listening skills

WEEK EIGHT

Internalizing the ‘Conversation Exercise’ techniques (developed earlier in the term) to gain greater layers of complexity and more active listening.

WEEK NINE

Apply all these techniques to rehearsing the general audition scene for next week.

WEEK TEN

An evening with Casting Director Nick Hamon testing out these new skills under audition stresses. It’s also the opportunity to discuss audition process and techniques with Nick. Actors have the opportunity to seek answers to the questions that interest them.

RETURN TO DATE & TIMES PAGE HERE

FINAL SESSION FOR THE TERM

In WEEK TEN actors test out their skill

performing a general audition for

Casting Director Nick Hamon.

Auditions are held in a separate room.

Only Nick and a reader from the group

are present.

It’s like doing an audition.

“Something clicks in every class. It's an amazing feeling - knowing that you are going to learn something profound ... I return each week excited."

- Ann Truong, March '13

For more testimonials …

The Goals for this Workshop

Here is a list of the specific elements we examine over the duration of the course.

1	Using a verb or the character’s ‘NEED’ as a major tool for determining the NATURE OF PERSON you are playing. Other factors (such as pre-history/life experience) also contribute to a person’s nature but ‘NEED’ is a very efficient tool. (to stay complex it must be ‘separate from the text’)
2	Identifying Story is an effective tool for determining a consistent path through a scene. The vast majority of scenes are one conversation. Having a clear goal to assess progress keeps listening and decision-making unified (as in life). Being able to change conversation goals significantly and quickly is a great tool for use in auditions and when taking direction on set.
3	CIRCUMSTANCES AND RELATIONSHIPS provide many more options for understanding conversation goals and delivering dialogue than analyzing the meaning of the dialogue.
4	SURPRISES - how they work and how to manage them. We explore their value and that we need to trust them. We can expand them with confidence because they are great storytelling tools.
5	The CONVERSATION EXERCISE builds trust in never speaking without a reason. It encourages you to follow your simple understandings of what’s being said and what you want to say in response. It also builds an understanding that we can communicate a lot without using words.
6	The REPETITION EXERCISE provides the opportunity to constantly find different impulses to drive your responses. It aids in building the skill to ‘step lines up’ so that every phrase is important and drives the story difficulty forward.
7	LANDING ENDINGS is a simple Rehearsal Room technique that brings a practical perspective to ending a scene. Its aim is to free and empower the actor.
8	We work on the story value of ‘keeping ENDINGS UP’ – dropping the ending of a line mostly brings an ambience of resolution and comfort (or diminishes importance). Keeping endings up generally drives the story difficulty forward. (Keeping endings up is also great for ‘laugh’ lines.)
9	Considering OPPOSITES creates a more open approach to a scene and brings greater depth to listening. It makes the actor more flexible and more complex..
10	A DEFINITION OF TEXT makes it plain we don’t have to say ALL the dialogue or do all the big print (stage directions).
11	A PRE-SHO0T PROCESS enables focus on the most practical forces the actor will follow through the scene.
12	Putting ‘Hopes and Exptectations’ in place helps to make the actor like the character.
13	We work on the basis that WHATEVER HAS HAPPENED IN ANY PERFORMANCE is now part of the scene – use it. Everything is real, don’t imagine things didn’t happen because they weren’t mentioned in the script.
14	Defining the drama/story in a THREE HANDER and how to keep ‘need’ simple.
15	All these processes are built on the belief (beautifully articulated by Glenn Quinn) - “I NEED TO PUT MYSELF, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCENE, IN THE SAME POSITION THAT THE CHARACTER IS IN, SO I CAN GO ON AND MAKE HIS DECISIONS FOR HIM” – that’s the ‘actors goal’.

YOU LEARN A LOT at The Rehearsal Room

Making your character’s next decision is the most important thing you will ever do as an actor.

RETURN TO DATE & TIMES PAGE HERE

All the pictures on this page were taken at the final session of 1^st Term 2013

Nick records every actors details to

enter on his casting database.

Other actors in the group watch the
audition on a TV in another room.

Actors rehearse in preparation for

their audition.

Actors can run their lines or chat

without disrupting the auditioning actor.

Question and answer session with

Nick.

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AUDITIONS
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DIRECTOR'S NOTES
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