ACTING FOR DANCER: MOVING INTO LANGUAGE
Moving Into Language is an approach to acting created specifically for trained dancers; taking what they know & understand so deeply about their bodies and using that as the foundation for their acting explorations. Dancers will learn how to use movement as a launching pad for building character, unlocking a scene and arriving at a unique interpretation of spoken material. They will gain greater access to their voice by seeing it as simply a natural progression of a scene’s physical expression. And they will acquire the necessary tools to independently prepare a scene/monologue so they can arrive at an audition or rehearsal creatively full & ready to play.
We'll begin with a series of physical improvisations aimed at tapping into the dancer’s impulses and at generating a sense of freedom & play in their initial experience of the text. The dancer will be released from any pressure to perform the words and encouraged to discover the world that exists around the words. They will learn to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view, and how to place that character within the dynamics of the scene.
Based on the discoveries made through these improvisations, we'll progress towards creating a score for the text. This will represent the dancer’s interpretation of the material, an amalgamation of the discoveries they made in earlier lessons and the choices they’d like to make now to solidify their unique performance of the material. We’ll practice how to “play” this roadmap, while allowing new impulses, as well as feelings/emotions/opinions, to arise. This training in how to prepare encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings begin to arise at the time of performance.
With this method of working established, we’ll finish by looking at how to apply it to a wide variety of material. We’ll explore the humanity and immediacy in more heightened texts, as well as the fullness and complexity in very stripped-down naturalism. Dancers will also have an opportunity to bring in audition material, poetry, pieces of their own writing or texts that they’d like use in their choreographic work.
All the material described above is broken down into three essential components; Exploring, Interpreting and Playing. Workshops can focus on a single component, or take students through all three over a longer period of time.
**WATCH THE TRAILER.**
We'll begin with a series of physical improvisations aimed at tapping into the dancer’s impulses and at generating a sense of freedom & play in their initial experience of the text. The dancer will be released from any pressure to perform the words and encouraged to discover the world that exists around the words. They will learn to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view, and how to place that character within the dynamics of the scene.
Based on the discoveries made through these improvisations, we'll progress towards creating a score for the text. This will represent the dancer’s interpretation of the material, an amalgamation of the discoveries they made in earlier lessons and the choices they’d like to make now to solidify their unique performance of the material. We’ll practice how to “play” this roadmap, while allowing new impulses, as well as feelings/emotions/opinions, to arise. This training in how to prepare encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings begin to arise at the time of performance.
With this method of working established, we’ll finish by looking at how to apply it to a wide variety of material. We’ll explore the humanity and immediacy in more heightened texts, as well as the fullness and complexity in very stripped-down naturalism. Dancers will also have an opportunity to bring in audition material, poetry, pieces of their own writing or texts that they’d like use in their choreographic work.
All the material described above is broken down into three essential components; Exploring, Interpreting and Playing. Workshops can focus on a single component, or take students through all three over a longer period of time.
**WATCH THE TRAILER.**
Upcoming workshops
GIBNEY's Virtual Weekend Workshops Series
Acting for Dancers: Moving into Language: ‘Playing'
December 12th & 13th, 3:30pm-6:30pm EST
Teaching Artist: Charlotte Bydwell
Pricing: $60 for both days, or daily drop-ins available for $30
*THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED VIA ZOOM*
Description: ‘Moving into Language’ encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of physically-driven exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings arise at the time of performance. ‘Playing’ offers an opportunity for dancers to explore the final step of that journey by providing a supportive and curious environment in which to practice “playing” specific choices while allowing new impulses to emerge. We will explore strategies for staying private in public (while still meeting the demands of a stage, or on-camera setting) and tips for dealing with anxieties about speaking or playing a character in front of an audience.
Charlotte Bydwell Biography: A graduate of the Juilliard Dance Division and the Old Globe/USD Graduate Acting Program, Charlotte has performed at leading theaters around the world, and in recognized film/TV productions. Select performance credits include: The Michaels (Public Theater), A Month in the Country (Williamstown), PARIS! (Company XIV), Monica Bill Barnes & Co. (various venues, company member), Keigwin + Co. (The Joyce). As a choreographer: Alternatino (Comedy Central, season choreographer), Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, As You Like It (Old Globe), Terezin (Playwrights Horizons). Her solo film, The Nude Model, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe before screening at film festivals across North America.
Acting for Dancers: Moving into Language: ‘Playing'
December 12th & 13th, 3:30pm-6:30pm EST
Teaching Artist: Charlotte Bydwell
Pricing: $60 for both days, or daily drop-ins available for $30
*THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED VIA ZOOM*
Description: ‘Moving into Language’ encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of physically-driven exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings arise at the time of performance. ‘Playing’ offers an opportunity for dancers to explore the final step of that journey by providing a supportive and curious environment in which to practice “playing” specific choices while allowing new impulses to emerge. We will explore strategies for staying private in public (while still meeting the demands of a stage, or on-camera setting) and tips for dealing with anxieties about speaking or playing a character in front of an audience.
Charlotte Bydwell Biography: A graduate of the Juilliard Dance Division and the Old Globe/USD Graduate Acting Program, Charlotte has performed at leading theaters around the world, and in recognized film/TV productions. Select performance credits include: The Michaels (Public Theater), A Month in the Country (Williamstown), PARIS! (Company XIV), Monica Bill Barnes & Co. (various venues, company member), Keigwin + Co. (The Joyce). As a choreographer: Alternatino (Comedy Central, season choreographer), Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, As You Like It (Old Globe), Terezin (Playwrights Horizons). Her solo film, The Nude Model, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe before screening at film festivals across North America.
