New Studio Intensive

July 10 – November 8, 2012:
Tues & Thur, 6.30pm – 9.30pm

VCA's Acting Studio is a wonderful, rigourous and rewarding part-time evening course, which has developed such a strong reputation over the past few years that we’ve run two or three groups concurrently. In response to this, we are introducing a semester length studio intensive, in part to meet this demand and in part to reflect the contemporary acting and performance creation training being pursued in VCA's undergraduate course. The Studio Intensive will be ideal for those planning to audition at the end of the year and for those interested in both text based and self devised work, all founded in VCA's strong physical actor training methods.

This is an 18 week / two times per week semester length version of our successful year long program. The course introduces and develops, the essential skills of theatre acting and performance generation that are extended through practice and showings. The curriculum has been designed to reflect the current training being pursued in VCA's undergraduate course.

Pleasingly in the past few years, a number of Acting Studio alumni have gained undergraduate places at VCA, NIDA and WAAPA. Equally pleasing is that several groups of alumni have gone on to form small independent theatre groups, such as GRIT Theatre, winners of the 2010 Fringe Festival Best Production (from AS 7/2008), Mutations Theatre (from AS 5 & 7) and Studio Eleven Theatre presenting two seasons of work in 2011.

There are no pre-requisites (ie an interview or audition) beyond a minimum age of 18, a passion for acting and a commitment to the entire course. The course is non-award and whilst there is no formal assessment, as the course progresses, capacity for learning scripts and scene work increases and is recommended in order to attain maximum benefit from the course and your tutors. A Certificate of Completion is given at the end of the course, based on minimum attendance requirements and participation.

Course Overview

Unit 1: In the Beginning, July 10 - Aug 16
You will explore the essential elements of acting including Space, Ensemble, Impulse, Imagination, Text and Audience. Through impulse, improvisation and ensemble practice you will develop your creative, physical presence, vocal skills and spatial awareness along with developing the power of your own individual presence and creative expression.

Unit 2: Exploring Text & Monologues (Shakespeare), Aug 21 - Sept 27
In this unit, you will work on a monologue that can be developed and used as an audition piece. You will look at how you begin to interpret text as actors, taking it from the page into performance. We look at the various ‘tools’ that can be used to open up text, understand it and then how to bring that into performance. You will start to recognise and move past ‘blocks’ in individual performance, how to free yourself from habits, inspire you to continue taking risks – finding your own actor ‘voice’ and ‘presence’.

Unit 3: Exploring Devised Performance, Oct 2 - Nov 8
This unit will assist you in exploring techniques that open you to a wide range of devising and performance possibilities. You will experiment with various stimuli, explore and critique the choices you make, apply imaginative compositional, physical and vocal craft skills that illustrate the potential to respond to training and how to sustain a high quality of performance craft. You will be given the opportunity to perform your solo devised piece in front of others and receive feedback from your tutor, an artist in this field.

Tutors in Acting Studio are both skilled teachers and industry practitioners and regularly include: Sarah Cathcart, Danielle Carter, Karen Davitt, Nicky Fearn, Andrew Gray, Jenny Lovell, Matt Scholten and Paula Van Beek. Their connections with the VCA are various: as professional colleagues, as alumni, as previous and present sessional teaching staff. This ensures a strong synergy with the teaching processes and philosophy of the VCA Performing Arts full-time undergraduate program.

Please note, the next foundation year Acting Studio will be offered / run in 2013 (Feb - Dec).

http://www.vca.unimelb.edu.au/performingarts/shortcourses/parttime