Genre Scene Study
in person
with John Markland
may 28th - july 16th
This class will bend you inside out... beware.
Be the actor who is so adaptable, so directable, and so dynamic in your range that its part of how people talk about you. Be the one who can switch on the fly, come out of nowhere, each take a wholly new experience. These are the actors that get your heart racing and make you think “WTF”. There is no one way to become this actor, but here’s a class that will sure wake it up and then challenge it. Act a single piece in four different genres.
You will be asked to invent/bend/reconceptualize the genre of your piece three/four times. Recognizing that although the genetics and historical foundation of the character stay the same, the style and expression of them will have to change based upon the genre you choose.
Imagine your favorite film. Now imagine that film in a different genre. Think of The Godfather as a comedy or even a horror. What would Titanic feel like as a western or a musical? Silence of the Lambs could be a fun rom-com. The Hurt Locker might be interesting as a film noir. The mind bending, emotion stretching you will have to find will be extremely challenging, but it will reengineer your own understanding of your talent.
The bodies of these characters, their voices, their timing, their gesturing, tics, and nuances, may all have to shift depending on the genre. This takes a deft heart and mind, one that can embody the same soul in different worlds. You’ll have to feel connected to the belief system, inherited or learned, and the emotional roots of the character to have the malleability of expression. Not an easy task but a true testament to skill.
If you want to be the adaptable, dynamic actor people talk about. If you feel there are levels to you that have just not been tapped into. If you want to live and breathe acting and are willing to put in the time, effort, drive, commitment, and blood, sweat and tears then join this class and risk it all.
We are posting early so there is more time to work and, if you have an actor you wish to partner with then you can register early together and get to work.