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AUDITION TECHNIQUE

Course description:

Nancy leads a series of exercises that actors practice, record, and submit via internet. Audition Technique class uses both video examples of actors auditioning and sections of the book, Secrets from the Casting Couch. This course will prepare actors for the demands of today’s market, where casting often happens online, with actors self taping and sending casting directors links to their work. Using actual film script scenes, actors practice two monologues and three scenes. Within a week of each submission, Nancy responds with an extensive written evaluation, making specific suggestions for improvement. Audition skills improve with practice.

• Unit One. Slating, (Reading Assignment from Part 1 of Secrets from the Casting Couch, plus webinar) Introduce yourself to camera. It may sound strange, but this is one of the most difficult parts for some actors. Being themselves. In this unit the actor perfect the art of slating; introducing yourself to the director. This is in effect when you’re “selling” yourself for the role. It is in those first few moments in the interview when you are being yourself that it counts.
• Unit Two. Practice Audition. Monologue 1. For all of the scene and monologue work, the actor has the opportunity to choose from a range of scenes and monologues from different genres. The actor then films him/herself and posts it online for Nancy’s assessment.
• Unit Three. Practice Audition. Monologue 2. Here the actor has the opportunity to work from notes on the previous assessment and choose a monologue from another genre.
• Unit Four. Practice Audition. Scene 1. In this unit, the actor chooses a two person scene, which is usually how it works in an audition. It would be helpful to recruit a scene partner to read off camera.
• Unit Five. Practice Audition. Scene 2. The same exercise in a different genre. For example, if the previous scene was a Science Fiction, the next may be dramatic period piece.
• Unit Six. Practice Audition. Scene 3. In the final scene, which will undoubtedly be the actor’s best, the actor can choose his/her own material or yet another genre.

Nancy writes a detailed written assessment of each assignment within one week after submission.

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ONLINE FILM ACTING COURSE

FILM ACTING; (click here for video of Nancy teaching an introductory film acting course)

Course description. This course is aimed towards three different kinds of student.

• 1. Actors who have already been acting onstage and wish to make the transition to screen acting. Theatre is an excellent place to start. But there are key differences between stage and screen acting. For example how does the actor calibrate performances specifically for the frame of the camera? How will a performance vary from a close up to a wide shot? How does an actor cope with continuity and repeating a take time after time? We will cover these topics in the course.
• 2. Actors who have taken a break from acting for a while and want to review and sharpen their skills to re-enter the market. Acting is an ongoing craft and a life-long study.
• 3. Students with no previous acting experience. Can you learn to act exclusively from an online course? No, but this is a good start. We will cover essential, acting strategies, such as text analysis, and approach to character.

In addition to exercises, actors will also use known screenplays to develop monologue and scene work. The difference in approach between the film acting course and the audition technique course is that here we’ll assume that you’re working on set, and in the audition course, you’re still working to get the role.

COURSE SYLLABUS

• 1. Introduce yourself to camera. The first thing you’ll learn in this course is simply to feel comfortable in front of the camera. Practice and familiarity will improve your on camera presence.
• 2. Story- Telling. Before you start to play someone else, it’s important also be able to play yourself in front of camera. In acting, we draw from the self. Our unique qualities are what interest the audience and casting directors/directors. Learning to value and showcase their unique qualities is what gets actors work.
• 3. Inner Monologue. The camera photographs thought. It means that the actor/the character has to be thinking, and reacting, even when not speaking.
• 4. Objective. We’ll start moving towards scene work. Clarifying the character’s objective is one of the most important parts of acting. What does the character want and how does she work to get it?
• 5. Emotional States. Sadness, Happiness, Fear and Anger. In this unit, actors will explore approaches to meeting the extreme demands that a script places on our emotional memory.
• 6. Monologue 1. Actors will apply the skills learned and choose from a selection of monologues or choose their own to present.
• 7. Monologue 2. Further development with a contrasting monologue. If you’re first monologue was a comedy, the second will be dramatic etc.
• 8. Scene analysis and Presentation 1. Actors will select a scene from a known film script, to analyze and perform.
• 9. Scene analysis and Presentation 2. Further development with a different genre.
• 10. Scene analysis and Presentation 3. Yet another genre.

For this course you will need

A copy of Secrets from the Casting Couch. You can buy it at a bookstore or order it on Amazon or directly from the publisher at: www.acblack.com

A Camera; could be a consumer video camera, or a simple webcam. Some computers have them built in.

A Computer. You may also need a cable to download the file from your camera to the computer.

Quicktime. You can download on your computer for free. I prefer this format for viewing files, if you are sending a file rather than a link. The file should have .mov at the end of it.

A scene partner. For the scene exercises, it would be helpful to have someone to read in the other part. If you can find an actor friend to help you, that’s great, but it’s not necessary. It can be a family member or any cooperative friend that is literate enough to read the other part of the scene. That person should not appear on camera but should read off screen. This often happens in an audition situation too that you will have a reader, (often a non- actor) who sits next to the lens.

Access to the internet.

How to submit taped work: There are a number of ways that you can submit your work

• 1. Via Vimeo.
• 2. YouTube
• 3. You send It
• 4. Savefiles.com

Audition Technique/ Online course, Six Units $300

Marketing and Audition Technique/ Online course, 8 units $400

Film Acting/ Online course, 10 units, $475

Combination Course Discounts:

Audition Technique and Film Acting: 16 Units, $700

Marketing and Audition Technique and Film Acting: 18 Units, $790

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ACTOR MARKETING CONSULTATION

Actor Marketing Consultation. Submit your headshot, CV, website and showreel for written professional feedback, and half hour Skype consultation session. Contact Nancy for details.