Performing Arts (PERF1-CE)

<p>From Richard Pryor to Jerry Seinfeld and Aziz Ansari to Wanda Sykes&mdash;no two stand-up comedians are alike, but they&rsquo;re all united by one thing: fearlessness. Comics have long been admired as artists who express themselves and their own world view without fear. In this course, build an original, professional five-minute stand-up routine based on whatever subjects you happen to be passionate about&mdash;whether it&rsquo;s your relationship with your mother-in-law or your hatred of tuna salad. Discover classic joke-writing techniques, and build the skills to improve your public speaking, think on your feet, and create rapport with an audience. Through class activities, discover who you are as a comedian and what your funny message is. Whether you&rsquo;re performing a set at a comedy club or a delivering a presentation in the board room, this class will give you the confidence to face any audience. The semester concludes with a public performance at a professional comedy club in New York City.</p>

Actors in &ldquo;the zone&rdquo; find themselves in a special place where performance is effortless and flowing. This can be reached through a fusion of scene study and improvisation. Once the author&rsquo;s words and actions are crystallized in the actor&rsquo;s mind, they are actualized through strategic improvisations. Actors return to the script with a stronger inner connection. This course incorporates the camera as an additional tool. Performance segments are recorded, providing a mirror and capturing subtleties in characterization, so you can analyze your work and consider new choices.

This intensive introduction to the world of contemporary songwriting begins with an analysis of melody and chord structures, and an examination of how to put words across with both feeling and focus. Song arrangement and production follow, as does a discussion of how to market songs. Each semester, a special guest from the music industry visits class to critique students&rsquo; songs. Past guests have included Al Jardine of The Beach Boys and Del Bryant, president of BMI. Finally, we take our act on the road, as several students have the opportunity to present their songs to a live audience.

<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Dramatic writers&#8211;&#8211;have you ever wished you knew how your characters would speak, what they would say to move your story forward, and how they would say it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Would you like your script to be more &#8220;actor-friendly&#8221;&#8211;&#8211;and more commercial, as a result?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>By means of acting exercises and improvisation, participants discover the authentic voices of their characters and thereby trace the arc of their scenes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Create new characters, which may even inspire new stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>And do so in an environment of support, creativity, and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>The blank page will still be there tomorrow, but you might just find it friendlier.</font></p>

Enjoy creating improvisational comedy in a relaxed, encouraging, supportive atmosphere. No performing experience is necessary for this class&mdash;just a willingness to play, experiment, and laugh with others. While everyone is encouraged to participate, no student will be forced to join any warm-up or scene. Enjoy &ldquo;Experts,&rdquo; &ldquo;Carpool,&rdquo; &ldquo;Obsessions,&rdquo; and many other great improv exercises.

With all the various approaches to acting, do you wonder which technique would suit you best? Do you know the difference between method acting (made famous by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Scarlett Johansson) and the Meisner technique (used by Robert Duvall, James Gandolfini, and Grace Kelly)? Here&rsquo;s your opportunity to explore the major acting approaches in an enjoyable and easy-to-follow class. Through exercises, improvisation, scene study, and discussion, gain an introduction to the techniques of Stanislavski, Strasberg, and Meisner. In a supportive environment, learn the similarities and differences between these techniques and begin to discover which approach works best for you. The semester concludes with a final scene performance in front of the class.

Immerse yourself in the world of acting in this engaging interactive workshop, suitable for first-time actors and budding thespians alike. Spark your creativity and explore the basic tenets of role-playing, movement, and speech through theatre games and improvisations. Become comfortable on stage and in front of a room. This course is for beginners or for anyone who wants a taste of a full-length beginning acting course.

Have you always had the desire to perform but were afraid to do so? Here is your opportunity in an enjoyable, no-pressure environment. This class teaches you the ABCs of acting. Learn to develop techniques to deal with stage fright, to use your body and voice more effectively, and most important, to have fun and explore your creativity. This class helps you to bring a playwright&rsquo;s words to life and to approach any character you&rsquo;re called upon to play. Whether you see yourself acting on Broadway, on stage at your local community theatre, or just in the classroom, you will learn the basic skills you need to develop as an actor. At the end of the semester, all participants will get to perform a scene in front of their classmates.

This basic workshop is designed for anyone interested in exploring one&rsquo;s own voice and style in solo performance. In class, write and perform your own pieces using life experience as fodder and the tools of the actor/writer to bring that experience into a dramatic form. Also, experiment with using digital media&mdash;Facebook, vlogs, selfies, texting&mdash;as a form of performance. Write, act, react, and ultimately present your work in a final presentation. Come prepared to explore a basic question through writing, acting, and voice work.

With the advent of music recording software for the home computer, it has never been easier or more affordable to create, produce, and release music. Learn from a Grammy-nominated songwriter and music producer how to turn song ideas into finished professional recordings. From preproduction arranging to how music gets online, study the process from start to finish. One or more song productions are created and recorded during the course.

Do you often feel that you are one person at work and another when away from the workplace? Do you ever wish you could integrate these two people, allowing the real, creative, &ldquo;whole&rdquo; you to function in both places? Using professional acting techniques in a supportive environment, allow your full potential to unfold and blossom into self-expression and more effective personal presentation. The training introduces new levels of relaxation, concentration, and focus, with the goal of helping you to deepen your sensory awareness, heighten your imagination, release spontaneity, and improvise. Primarily for nonactors, this course also provides an excellent orientation for beginning actors.

Explore your creative side in this one-day workshop, designed to welcome newcomers to the world of acting. Gain an introduction to theatre games, strategies to conquer stage fright and self-consciousness, and the rudiments of playing a role. This enjoyable course is for the beginner or anyone who wants a taste of the full-length beginning acting courses offered in the summer or fall semesters.

Athletes describe &ldquo;the zone&rdquo; as a place where performance is exceptional, consistent, and flowing. When acting, seek this transcendent state through a method that fuses scene study and improvisation. Once you have the author&rsquo;s words crystallized in your mind, personalize them by employing challenging improvisations and by exploring the character in your own words, moving beyond the boundaries of the text. Then return to the script with a stronger personal connection, prepared to act in &ldquo;the zone&rdquo;&mdash;where you and the character are one. The course concludes with an online, public performance of scenes and monologues you worked on during the semester. The final class will be recorded and shared with participants for personal use.

Whether you are an experienced actor or are just starting out, discover an expressive inner life by acting in a fun environment. Through exercises, cold readings, and scene study, learn the Meisner technique, which is specific, spontaneous, and expressive. Particular emphasis is placed on the repetition exercise, allowing for acting with vitality and unique expression. The goal of this course is to fulfill Sanford Meisner's definition of acting: "The ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances."

Deepen your appreciation and understanding of Shakespeare through acting, and never be intimidated by any of the Bard&#8217;s work again. In this fun, interactive course, breathe life into Shakespeare&#8217;s masterpieces and act out speeches and scenes from his best-known comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. Find inspiration by watching scenes from the BBC series of Shakespeare&#8217;s complete works. Learn tools and techniques for making a personal connection to the text, practice scansion, and explore how movement transforms meaning, all while brushing up on your acting skills and discovering Shakespeare through performance. This course is appropriate for actors and lovers of the Bard&#8217;s literature alike.

<p><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Love to sing but afraid to do it out loud?<span>&nbsp;</span>Worried you can&#8217;t carry a tune?<span>&nbsp;</span>You&#8217;re not alone. Surveys consistently rank singing in public as one of the top two fears people suffer from, along with public speaking.<span>&nbsp;</span>If you are one of those people, this course is for you.<span>&nbsp;</span>In a supportive and structured environment, students learn how to liberate their natural singing voices, explore and overcome road blocks, and find the joy of sharing singing with others.<span>&nbsp; </span></span></p>

Enjoy creating improvisational comedy in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. No performing experience is necessary--just a willingness to experiment, play, and laugh with others. Group warmup exercises will lead to improvised scenes with two or more players. While everyone is encouraged to participate, no student is ever forced to be part of an exercise or game. Enjoy "Experts," "Carpool," "Obsessions," "Information Booth," "Constellation," and many other great improv exercises.

Discover an approach to acting that is clear, pragmatic, and fun. Learn how to play the emotional truth of any scene and understand actions and behavior. Through exercises, improvisations, and scenes, learn techniques designed to unlock your imagination, get rid of repressions and inhibitions, and approach a character&#8211;&#8211;from first read through to performance. This course is ideal for the beginner acting student looking to build a strong foundation.

<p>In this follow-up to <a href="http://scps.nyu.edu/academics/course_detail.html?id=PERF1-CE9982"><em>Acting for the Nonprofessional</em></a>, explore improvisational performance and scripted scenes. Through a broad variety of in-class exercises, develop skills that can be used by actors and non-actors alike, such as the ability to interact with an audience and express content effectively. Become more sure of yourself and more comfortable in front of an audience, and foster trust in your fellow performers. The class culminates with the performance of a short scene from a play or film. Come away with improved confidence and creativity, as well as the ability to work in teams and to think on your feet. Prior experience with improv or acting is helpful, but not required, for the class.</p>

<p>From movie trailers and commercials to audiobooks and corporate training videos, opportunities for voiceover actors are abundant, and technology has opened the door for amateurs. However, voiceover work isn&rsquo;t simply reading&mdash;great voiceover is an art. Actors must be able to convey emotion, get a point across, and nail it. In this class, discover the keys to voiceover work&mdash;learn to find voice cues in a text and gain tools for creating characters, including accents, dialects, and gendered voices. Learn the ins and outs of launching a voiceover career, from recording your demo to the audition process.</p>