TAPS 23AX:
Acting Anton Chekhov: Three Sisters
In this course, students will explore creating characters by rehearsing Chekhov's Three Sisters with a particular focus on relationship, ensemble building, physical play, subtext, and sensory life. The humor, absurdity, mystery, and empathy found in Chekhov's work will be explored through rehearsal play. Through research into 19th century Russian culture, students will discover how clothing, art, manners, music, and food affect movement and behavior. Students will practice techniques developed by the great acting teacher Stanislavsky, including text analysis and improvisation, to connect with and embody the play's characters and events, as well as exploring gesture, tempo-rhythm, physical centers, and archetypes. The class will watch contemporary and older films that are influenced by Chekhov's characters and plays and consider how various of his short stories connect with his plays. The class will culminate in a performance of several scenes from Three Sisters. Note: Interested students will have an opportunity to get to know Three Sisters in advance through informal play readings to be held in the Roble Gym building on March 15 and April 7. Auditions for acting roles will be held on April 9-10 with callback auditions on April 13. There will be additional places for students (who are not auditioning) that are interested in dramaturgical research, rehearsal techniques, text analysis, and improvisation. Actors who are cast, Assistant Directors, and Dramaturgs will participate in the summer Arts Intensive as part of the rehearsal and research process, which will continue with the acting company during the fall quarter of 2024.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2