ACTING FOR DANCERSMoving Into Language was originally conceived as 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 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 gain greater access to their voice by seeing it as simply a natural progression of a scene’s physical expression. They acquire the tools to independently prepare a scene/monologue so they can arrive at an audition or rehearsal creatively full & ready to play.
Classes 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 is released from any pressure to perform the words and encouraged to discover the world that exists around the words. They learn how to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view, and how to place that character within the dynamics of a scene. Based on the discoveries made through these improvisations, we progress towards creating a score for the text. This represents 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 then practice how to “play” this roadmap, while allowing new impulses, as well as feelings/emotions/opinions, to arise. These early lessons encompass the essential first steps of the acting process by taking a 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 arise at the time of performance. With this method of working established, we finish by looking at how to apply these tools 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 also have the 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 stages over a longer period of time. |
MOVEMENT FOR ACTORSPreviously taught workshops targeted towards actors include:
GETTING BACK INTO YOUR BODY Finding it hard to shed the PJ bottoms and to activate your whole system after two years of acting in 2D? Re-energize your body with this *free* ninety-minute workshop designed to jumpstart your kinetic imagination after months and months…and months of working on Zoom! Learn some quick, easy and engaging ways to integrate movement-based explorations back into your acting practice. Whether you’re preparing a self-tape, a Zoom audition or getting ready to step back into a live rehearsal room for the first time, this workshop will help you shake the dust mites off your mind-body connection and get your physical impulses back in gear! MOVING INTO SHAKESPEARE The goal of this workshop is to dissolve the barrier of unfamiliar language that can stand between Shakespeare’s characters and our own humanity. Through a series of physical explorations, Charlotte will teach you to embody the movement of thought within Shakespeare’s poetry and to explore his rhythms & imagery viscerally. You will learn tools to transform complex ideas into actions driven by immediate, instinctual need. Participants will have the opportunity to delve into some of Shakespeare’s greatest characters and speeches, gaining a deeper understanding of their humanness and timeless relevance. This approach to Shakespeare is sure to get you up, moving, and connected to the muscularity of these famous texts! PHYSICAL COMEDY** Join choreographer, actor and expert physical comedienne Charlotte Bydwell for tips & tricks aimed at sharpening, specifying and spicing up your comedic work. Explore the use of time, space and physical posturing to nail your punchlines, embody larger-than-life characters and hone your comedic instincts as an actor. Learn to generate physical choices from a place of joy and fun, while also getting really specific about the demands and style of the text. This 5-week course should leave you excited about all the ways your traditional acting work (who, what, where, why, when…) can serve you to craft unique, truthful and repeatable moments of physical comedy. Whether you’re looking to improve your self-tapes/in-person auditions, to feel more excited about the choices you bring into a rehearsal room, or to simply get back into your body after years of acting on Zoom, these classes are sure to connect you to the funny that is innately and wonderfully YOURS. End the five weeks with renewed confidence in your body’s impulses, in your personal humor barometer and in your ability to get laughs by reacting honestly (and fully) to imaginary circumstances. Charlotte’s workshops are aimed at inviting the actor’s body back into the early stages of their exploration, so they can be viscerally engaged and in a state of action from the very beginning of their work on a scene/monologue. All the tools are designed to be immediately useful to you in the practice of your craft. Learn something today, and use it on a self-tape tomorrow. ** This course can also be taught online to focus on the use of physical comedy in self tapes and Zoom callbacks. |