Open Arts Curriculum (OART-GT)

Analog Photography is a course designed for students eager to learn the traditional methods of making photographs with black & white film and crafting prints in a darkroom. Using a 35mm SLR camera, students will learn how to properly and creatively expose film, process their own black & white negatives and use gelatin silver paper to make prints in a darkroom with an enlarger to produce museum quality archival photographs. Emphasis is placed on the application of technique in terms of personal expression through the selection and composition of subject matter. The course consists of technical lectures and demonstrations, working sessions in the darkroom, photography and written assignments, lectures on historical and contemporary photography, discussions about readings and assignments and several group critiques. Smaller photography assignments begin the semester; each student will work on a single larger project after mid-term. Each student must have access to a camera with manually adjustable focus, aperture and shutter speeds by the first week of class. In addition to the lab fee for this course, students will need to pay for a minimum of 7 rolls of film and 100 sheets of photographic paper.

This is a standard digital photography course designed for those with little or no experience in photography. This course will emphasize personal expression through the application of technique to the presentation of subject matter. Open Arts will have enough Sony A7r cameras for students to share. If students plan to borrow the DSLR cameras, they are first required to purchase College Student Insurance, (CSI). While it is not required that you own your own digital camera to enroll in this course, it is recommended that you borrow or acquire your own camera for the duration of this course, or if you would like to avoid having to share one of the department's cameras with another student. If you would like to purchase your own camera, a digital single lens reflex (SLR) or mirrorless digital camera is highly recommended for this course. The camera needs to have manual aperture and shutter speed controls. The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of the technical and aesthetic aspects of making photographic images. We will apply fundamental photographic techniques such as composition, framing, lighting and manual camera controls to the images we create. We will discuss the way we see, compared to how cameras and lenses see, evaluate the similarities and differences and how that impacts the creation of images and how we analyze them. Students will make photographs that are effective as individual images and photographs that work together in a series. Students will learn how to create a narrative with a series of photographs and express a feeling or mood with a series of photographs. Class discussions will introduce students to a variety of concepts related to visual literacy. Students will also be introduced to the work of historically significant photographers from a broad range of backgrounds. Students will learn how to use Adobe Creative Cloud software to adjust images for print and digital publishing. By the end of the course, students will understand how to use a digital SLR or mirrorless camera to create compelling photographs using manual controls, process their images using Adobe Creative Cloud software and best practices for publishing their images digitally as well as best practices for printing their images. Finally, students will enhance their critical thinking skills while developing a deeper understanding of visual/photographic language. Students are expected to shoot a minimum of 108 exposures (photographs) each week.

This class used to be called Intro to Special Effects Makeup. This is an introductory level hands-on workshop designed for students wishing to explore their artistry, experienced makeup artists seeking advanced techniques, non-makeup artists just starting out, and anyone who has ever wondered “how’d they do that?” This course explores the art of special effects make-up. Topics include “out-of-kit” makeup effects including contusions, bruises, burns and frostbite; skin safe molding procedures; casting and painting silicone replica props, frozen death makeup; and designing and creating a 1:4 scale character maquette. Anatomical reference and safety using materials is also addressed. University Bursar will assess a lab fee for this course. Students receive their own specially designed makeup kit with all materials necessary to complete all in-class assignments. No artistic background required.

PRE-REQUISITE: OART-GT 2014 Special Effects Makeup 1 or special permission from instructor. This course expands upon Special Effects Makeup I in an even more rigorous and challenging hands-on workshop environment. It is designed for students who have already successfully completed Special Effects Makeup I and wish to further develop and build upon the skills and techniques learned in the class for their own film productions, photo shoots, or fine art projects. Special Effects Makeup II projects are character driven and include designing, sculpting, molding, casting and painting. The University Bursar will assess a lab fee for this course. Students will receive all materials and tools necessary to complete each in-class assignment. (NOTE: This class uses latex. Please contact the instructor if you have a latex allergy.)

This is a team-taught workshop that encourages you to find your own voice and learn to merge your unique artistic vision with those of other collaborative artists to create exciting new musical theater. The course will start by covering the basics of songwriting for the theater, but it is not a music theory class; we’ll be focusing more on using music to tell stories than on compositional techniques. Together we’ll examine theater songwriting craft, issues of communication between artists of different disciplines, and storytelling through music and text. Poets, playwrights, and writers from other genres, and composers from a wide variety of stylistic backgrounds ranging from pop to classical, country to hip-hop, rap to jazz to fusion—all are welcome to participate, regardless of experience or lack thereof. We aim to create a supportive environment in which you feel free to experiment and to explore both what musical theater has been and what it can become. Note: most of your homework will be done in collaboration with one or more of your classmates, so expect to spend a significant amount of time working with others.

Note this class is called "Devised Theater: History and Practice." This intensive focuses on both historic evolution of ritual-based/early theater models through contemporary theater philosophies (accentuating history of Futurist/Dada theater innovations to present), and on anatomizing the nature of performer, performance, story and storytelling via the non-traditional philosophies and methods of contemporary experimental theater. The class will be rigorously participatory in terms of discussing/physicalizing these experimental methods and will culminate in the creation and performance of simple class collaboration-generated stage narratives. Students will investigate the meaning and application of physical/environmental ’neutrality’ on stage as they simultaneously investigate and define for themselves the most essential markers needed for the viewer to perceive ‘story’ in performance. As the staged pieces are constructed from these anatomized building blocks of performance and story, more complex qualities of character, identity, archetype, mannerism, linguistic disfluencies (verbal and non-verbal) and psychological subtext will be introduced as tools for each performer’s role in the story. In the final phases of piece creation, simple analog elements of music, sound, light, mask, craft materials, dance, virtuosic/specialized skill, props will be introduced as tools. The final performance will aspire to clear and effective applications of the performance/story elements discussed (or discovered) in class. Techniques and exercises derived from the worlds of Futurism/Dada, Richard Maxwell, Blue Man Group, Elevator Repair Service, Ann Bogart, Joshua Fried, and others will be discussed and employed.

Embodied Performance: Collaborative Creations is a 2-credit studio course that explores the instructor’s original performance methodology, a fusion of physical theater modalities culled from Western practices (Psycho-physical actions, Viewpoints), Eastern practices (Butoh, Kundalini yoga) and related performance disciplines (Mask, Puppetry). This course provides foundational training for students who are interested in investigating the field of performative and collaborative arts and will serve as an entry point for NYU students interested in movement and physically based acting.

This four-day workshop will introduce participants to the anatomy of words. Through an abstract process of deconstructing words into the unique sounds that comprise them, participants will explore a deeper connection to words’ meanings. Through an in-depth investigation into how sounds are made, how they differ from one another, and the visceral feelings evoked by producing them, participants will also strengthen their connection to speaking words from an authentic, full-bodied place, in order to be a more effective speaker. The concepts of phonetics and the specifics of sound structure as outlined by the International Phonetics Association will be explored through a series of exercises designed to address students’ physical and psychological impulses in connection to the sounds they speak. Sessions will be spent in a variety of practical manners; engaging in physical exercises, sitting and listening, observing others’ work, and contributing to discussions. Feedback will play a large role in the workshop and participants will be encouraged to share generously their experiences and feelings about their work.

Flash Frames explores the moving image, the pixel, color, and composition, through two weekends of intensive, hands on image fabrication. Students gain a coherent understanding of the technicalities involved in producing artistic and professional quality videos. The workshop applies technical and creative approaches to capturing video, editing, and adding the finishing touches on short productions. Projects are focused on strengthening design and editing skills, understanding media management practices, applying video effects, color correction, motion graphics, and sound. Students broaden their understanding of digital design and video production, while learning the basics of video editing, animation, sound mixing, and motion graphics.

This course will focus on the interdisciplinary practice of marrying found text to non-literal as well as naturalistic movement. Through two weekends of intensive, on our feet, rehearsal the class will create an original work that will be performed for an invited audience. The primary objective of this course is to impart to students a tangible way to access a treasure trove of possibilities for creating and performing original work. A key to this process is the use of a technique pioneered by The Wooster Group in which performers’ lines are conveyed through an in ear device, rather than through memorization. This approach makes it possible to quickly put verbatim found text on its feet, and to combine it with complex choreography as well as various other staging directives. Two examples of found texts that will be introduced in class are conversations between James Baldwin and Margaret Mead and recordings of one-minute stories by John Cage. The students will also be encouraged to explore sources that speak to their own social, cultural and political passions.

This practical workshop is designed to introduce students to the techniques and theory of developing and producing short film ideas that are shot on digital video and edited digitally on computer using Adobe Premiere Pro software. The course centers on learning elements of visual storytelling through a spectrum of aesthetic approaches. Working in crews of four, students learn directing, shooting, and editing skills as they each direct three short videos (three to five minutes in length).

FUNDAMENTALS OF FILMMAKING II: NARRATIVE FILM is an intensive production workshop for fiction filmmaking. Students write, direct, and produce one short, 5-7 minute, film. The course builds upon the visual storytelling tools learned in the prerequisite courses, Fundamentals of Filmmaking I, or Cinematic Narratives. Students will strengthen their skills in screenwriting, cinematography, aesthetics, and editing to further develop their personal filmmaking style. Students can choose to create a traditional narrative film with dialog, or they can choose alternative types of performance and filmmaking that create narrative style flow in different ways. Students must have a rough draft script, or one page treatment, ready by the first day of classes as writing and rewriting work begins in week one. Each student writes and directs their own film, and then they serve as crew members for their classmates when they direct their films. Students can also choose to break the constraints of the traditional solo director/auteur theory, and choose to co-direct and Co-Create their film with a partner. Students with more experience in acting or performing can partner with other students who have more experience with writing, directing, or cinematography - and they can explore the opportunities within the emerging trend of Co-Creative filmmaking. Students are guided by their Professor, and a Production Advisor, through all the production logistics that are necessary for successful filmmaking - including casting, art direction, props, locations, schedules, call times, insurance, equipment, wardrobe, effects, editing and more. During Morning Sessions, all work is discussed in class, and creative feedback is an essential component of the course. For the first third of the semester, Afternoon Sessions provide technical training on professional level videocameras, audio gear, lighting, and editing software. After the tech training period, Afternoon Sessions are reserved as optional practice sessions and/or filming periods. Midway through the semester, the final production period occurs over four consecutive weeks, and weekend work is required during this production period.

Hollywood in your palm. That is what this combination of lectures, screenings, demonstrations and practical production workshop will offer to the students in this course. There will be several professional guests making presentations and Q&A sessions from the mobile phone filmmaking industry. In addition to the historical and critical overview of the emergence and exponential growth of global cell phone cinema, students will shoot all footage on cell phones and download them for computerized editing. The final project will be under three minute shorts. Projects will include all genres of film and television: news, mini-documentaries, animation, music videos and narrative shorts. Completed student projects will be suitable to be posted on the Internet and entered into domestic and international mobile phone film festivals. For example, two minute long improvisations of Bollywood Style Music Videos shot on Cell Phones by the students have been projected at the Tribeca Cinemas as part of the New York Indian Film Festival. It is suggested but not compulsory that students bring to the class a cell phone capable of recording video.

This course will combine a history of video art and experimental film with practical training in the use of live video performance art technology. Students will explore new ways to create and edit films and videos using VJ software, projections, and multi-channel video surfaces. Workshops will demonstrate concepts and software that can be integrated into the creative process of video performance art and video art installations. COURSE OBJECTIVES At the completion of this course, the student will be able to: Draw inspiration from the recent history of incredible video and multi-media artists. Develop an understanding of audio and visual hardware used by VJ’s. Use live VJ software to manipulate digital media in real time to create Video Performance Art. Use Projection Mapping techniques to project video art onto 3D surfaces. Create original video performance art, video installations, and other performance pieces. Utilize skills to make video art in the professional market.

New Video Dimensions is a video production workshop where students conceive, produce, perform, direct and edit fully polished video media for a variety of interdisciplinary art forms - from immersive VR to interactive performance art, from movement-based performance to media guided participatory theater, to stand alone internet media and short films. Video is an integral part of many artistic disciplines and this class explores ways to reimagine conventional video production and harness the visceral impact of video within a wide range of unique interdisciplinary mediums. Each student pitches and chooses an interdisciplinary project they plan to create. They then team up with another student who will work with them to create video that will support that project. Emphasis is given to ways in which personal visual inspiration, as opposed to artistic imitation, can create innovative new forms of video art. Students will alternate roles as interdisciplinary artists and as video collaborators, so that each student creates a final video for a proposed interdisciplinary project. Students can also choose to work together within both roles for a single project, or stand alone video piece. All aspects of video production will be explored, including writing, choreography, acting, art direction, cinematography, music, editing, and more. The role of the video-maker will be explored as a collaborative partner with other interdisciplinary artists. Students use a variety of cameras & audio gear as they build upon the technical skills they learned in previous filmmaking courses. For the final projects, each proposed interdisciplinary project will be detailed in a powerpoint presentation, and the completed videos for those projects will be screened along with those presentations. Students are required to have taken one introductory video class with synchronous sound, or special permission can be given by the Professor on a case by case basis.

One video can be worth a thousand backers in the digital age. Successful videos have raised millions of dollars for projects on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. This type of online fundraising is a whole new way for individuals to raise money. It is venture capital with no strings attached – direct donations not just to a philanthropic cause, but to business ventures as well. By donating online, people are sharing in the creation of marketable ideas and projects. Online crowdfunding is changing the shape of business innovation - and this class will explore all the techniques used to create a successful crowdfunding video that can capture interest and generate financial backers. Crowdfunding Video Production is an intensive course combining lectures and creative workshops to explore online fundraising for inventions, business ideas, artistic projects, social activism, scientific research, and community projects. Lectures provide students with an overview of the Crowdfunding industry and basic filmmaking, while practical workshops help the students conceive and create their own Crowdfunding Video. Students with existing personal projects can choose to post their videos on an actual crowdfunding campaign website - like Kickstarter. Students who do not have an existing project will create a mock campaign on a practice site, in order to produce a practice Crowdfunding Video. Students learn filmmaking techniques in class and then go on to shoot outside class, designing a simple attainable production. As the students produce their Crowdfunding Video, they learn by doing. The goal is to provide practical knowledge of the art, craft, and commerce of Crowdfunding Videos - concentrating on how their media presentations hook the audience and sell the project. Students will learn the business vocabulary of advertising and marketing - while they also conceive, create, produce, and direct their own Crowdfunding Video (or practice Crowdfunding Video).

Students will learn how to shoot professional looking shots on prosumer cameras with minimal lighting — by applying the lessons of professional cinematography to prosumer video cameras, DSLR's, and cellphone videography. A wide variety of Camera Exercises are assigned to train the students to shoot movies with natural light and limited prosumer camera gear. 3-4 person crews are selected to work together on all the Camera Exercises, and for the Final Project as well. Students shoot with their own DSLR's, prosumer cameras, and/or cellphones. Pending availability (and CSI access) students can also choose from a selection of DSLR's and prosumer gear provided by the course (SONY A73, SONY A7R2, SONY A6400, Pocket Osmo Gimbal Camera, and Osmo 3 Gimbal for Cellphones). All camera exercises are screened and reviewed in class. Students analyze and discuss their own work and are assigned reshoots and pick-up shooting assignments to reinforce their in-class learning. Early classes work with professional lighting gear on stage and students then go out into the field to film camera exercises and music videos utilizing available natural light and small practical light kits - while employing the lighting concepts and lessons they learned on stage.

Fundamentals of Documentary Filmmaking I is an intensive 14 week course combining lectures and creative workshops to introduce students to documentary film production, basic film production tools, and basic film grammar. Students work together in crews to research, discover, design, pre-produce, shoot and direct short documentary film exercises and a final short Observational documentary Film. No pre-arranged interviews, or prepared recreations are used. Only a directional camera microphone is employed to acquire diegetic sound while observing and filming real life activity. This course serves to expand the Open Arts program’s film production course offerings by making an introductory documentary filmmaking class available. It is similar in structure and technical scope to the existing Fundamentals of Filmmaking I course - which is a narrative based course. Fundamentals of Documentary Filmmaking I will also serve as an introductory film production course for other NYU students who may have an interest in non-fiction, documentary film production courses. This course will count towards the Documentary minor. Please email Tisch Special Programs at tisch.minors@nyu.edu to ask to substitute this course for the minor.

*This class is Fundamentals of Documentary Filmmaking II. “Documenting Discovery” is an intensive 14 week course combining lectures and creative workshops to fully explore documentary film production. Students will learn advanced non-fiction filmmaking techniques, including interviewing subjects, capturing visuals from real life and documentary storytelling. Over the course of the semester, students will hone their filmmaking skills through a series of exercises, leading up to a final project that focuses on a single subject. Focusing on both content and form, student filmmakers will choose a subject to research, interview and develop a documentary film with a clear narrative arc. Students can choose to focus on a friend or family member, or else they can choose from a pool of suggested subjects to document their process of artistic discovery.

This course reflects the various skills and disciplines that are brought together in modern game development: game design, programming, visual art, animation, sound design, and writing. The workshop will situate these disciplines within a larger context of game literacy and a historical and critical understanding of games as cultural objects. Classroom lectures and lab time will all be used to bring these different educational vectors together into a coherent whole; the workshop will be organized around a single, long-term, hands-on, game creation project. Working in small groups under the close supervision of instructors, students will collaborate on the creation of a playable game. As a creative constraint to help inspire them and guide their designs, the students will be given a theme to express in their game projects.

THINK LIKE A GAME DESIGNER is a class about collaboration, systems thinking, problem solving, communication, and the creative process. The course uses game design as the way to practice these essential creative skills - but it really is a course about how to design anything. Over the semester, students will work in groups to actually make a series of playable games, each project offering lessons in how to brainstorm, conceptualize, prototype, iterate, and playtest. While we will be discussing the design and culture of videogames, the focus of the class is hands-on physical game creation: card games, board game, social games, and physical games. Along the way, we will be touching on all of the things that make games work - mathematics and logic, aesthetics and narrative, psychology and economics, technology and culture. Because games operate across all of these areas, they are the perfect way to practice how we can design with all of these factors in mind - systems thinking to storytelling to designing for human contexts. The final class project will make use of your own field of study as you link game design thinking to the analysis and redesign of a real-world problem.

This course, while not a production class, is designed to give students the opportunity to learn each stage of the documentary filmmaking process from the best working professionals in their field. Each week we will watch a documentary and meet someone who had a pivotal role in the making of that documentary. Our guests will include producers, directors, cinematographers, sound engineers, editors, writers, film composers and sound mixers. These professionals will share their experience and expertise with the class and answer questions about their work thereby providing a foundation of insight into the decisions, tools and skills that go into the making of good documentaries. Class discussions will explore the creative and technical decisions involved in the making the film.

This is an introduction to the dances and rhythms from Africa and the African Diaspora. Through movement, students will explore certain aesthetic characteristics that help to classify the dances as “African.” Traditional and or cultural dances and rhythms.

The purpose of this course is to enable the student to gain a heightened awareness, appreciation, and knowledge of dance through movement and performance. We focus on the foundations of dance such as control, aesthetics, alignment, development of strength and flexibility, dynamics, athleticism, musicality, use of space, development of learning strategies within a group context, and personal, artistic expression. The student’s mastery of their body, expression with their body and creativity through their body is the center of the work. Through individual and collective kinesthetic participation in unfamiliar patterns, related, but not limited to China, West Africa, United States, and Japan, the student is physically and conceptually challenged and informed. Using these learned dances as inspiration, students go on to re interpret, improvise and choreograph their own variations on dance forms in their class assignments. Dance experience is not necessary.

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet technique. Its goal is to help students develop a clean and precise technical base for ballet dancing. Through the instruction of proper alignment and dynamic imagery, students will learn how to dance safely and effectively, and improve their comprehension of the ballet form in relation to music, space, time and energy. Eventually students will experience how the mind, body and breath come together to produce greater freedom in movement. The technical content will vary according to the skill level of the class and the individual dancer. All levels are welcome. No previous dance experience is required. For the dance-history part of the course, students will examine the evolution of ballet from the time of Louis XIV through the present, and explore different styles of training and performance presentation through the use of images, video, practice and discussions. Reading assignments will explain how social changes have affected the development of ballet technique and choreography.

This is an introduction to the dances and rhythms from different styles that comprise Hip-Hop dance today. The first stage of the course will explore the wide array of styles that comprise and influence Hip-Hop movement. This course will not only introduce steps, but investigate root moves and historical context that shaped contemporary Hip-Hop today. During the course, students will also discuss the current and emerging trends of the genre. As an ever-evolving dance, this class will focus on budding dance styles, such as Flexing, Lite feet and Finger Tuts, comparing and contrasting those to case studies of past styles that emerged, (or re-emerged) to become heavily popularized such as Gliding, Krumping and Waacking. Additionally students will explore the globalized nature of Hip-Hop. To see the full evolution, students will see how other cultures have embraced and left their mark street styles, and how international dance battles and competitions have emerged, ultimately changing the landscape of Hip-Hop dance. Over the course of study students will begin to realize the complexity, the history and the varying opinions focused around Hip-Hop.

This movement and performance course fosters the creation of interactive experiences that blur the lines between performers and audience, utilizing unconventional spaces for site-specific choreographic structures. Throughout the semester we will immerse ourselves in time-based performance art, emphasizing embodied choreography that challenges the confines of the traditional proscenium stage. Students will be expected to engage confidently in physically demanding movement vocabularies, bolstered by frequent performance opportunities. Set against the backdrop of New York City's rich cultural legacy, the course takes place in outdoor settings at various landmarks. With the inclusion of guest artists, students will collaboratively craft public performances, which will be documented on video. Our goal will be to probe the role of public spaces in articulating social commentary, melding choreography, activism, and performance art, and offering a unique opportunity for students to enhance their movement skills in notable urban locations, honing their performance capabilities within an ensemble. The desire and passion to participate and engage in movement and performance as an ensemble is required.

This course is a continuation of classical ballet training designed for students who have had previous training or have taken Ballet I and are looking to further develop their technique, learn new steps and expand their vocabulary at the intermediate level. In Ballet I, we traced the basic ballet vocabulary back to the time of its birth at the court of Louis the XIV. Students developed their ballet technique, and experienced the growth of ballet up to the early-1900s avant-garde choreography of the Ballet Russes. The period that followed is considered the most pivotal in ballet history, and it is this era that will be the focus of Ballet II. Students in Ballet II will not only look into the different training styles of ballet technique, but will also learn about some of the 20th century's most famous ballet dancers, as well as notable ballet productions from both the East and the West.

This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of Modern Dance technique that focuses on the dynamic rapport between body-mind knowledge and expression. In movement, students will become more aware and organized in their bodies. They will explore certain aesthetic characteristics that help to define dance material as “Modern” or contemporary. Through structured improvisation and teamwork approaches students will learn to dance from the inside out, exercise choice with imagination and work together as an ensemble. Ultimately, students will gain an appreciation for the expressive capacity of the body, recognizing shared, unifying attributes and those that are unique and intrinsic to each individual. The thorough warm up places an emphasis on breath and proper placement for safe practices and well being. It includes floor work, stretching and strength exercises and patterns that incorporate elements of Bartenieff Fundamentals. Short dances / sequences will be learned to sharpen knowledge of the Modern Dance lexicon and increase facility for translation of weight, space, time and energy ideas. All levels are welcome. No previous dance experience is required.

This course will explore the basic tools of digital imaging. We will cover the three main Adobe products for creative imaging - Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Through a series of short assignments we will look at various graphic design and layout ideas using Illustrator and InDesign and will touch on the wealth of image enhancement techniques afforded by Photoshop. The short assignments introduce the basics of design, typography and compositing images. Students have the opportunity to complete a small project of their own for the end of the term. Class time will be divided between lectures, critiques, and work in class sessions. This course is not intended to completely cover the software listed, but will give students a fundamental understanding of the possibilities of digital imaging. While the majority of the class focuses on print media (images, books and magazines), we discuss the growing importance of screen output. We do not have time to cover specific web or media projects, but will address transferable skills and understanding. We will incorporate some Adobe apps to augment the desktop applications. Additional reading materials will be distributed during the semester. Students should have access to the Adobe Creative Suite through the NYU license.

The primary objective of this semester is to free up the artist’s channel through physical training. This work happens under the notion that the body is a channel through which we process our experiences into motion and sound - whether that be through acting, filmmaking, writing, etc. When the channel is open, you learn to connect with and respond more spontaneously to an environment without tension or pushing. A large portion of the freeing-up process is psychological, which requires an understanding of and connection to your emotional and physical self. The mindfulness component of the movement work encourages you to be permissive with your habits, experiences and emotions as they develop in the body. However, this is never accomplished in a vacuum. The unique insight of this training is the necessity for you to be in contact in order for the work to take-hold. This happens through regularly practiced ensemble exercises drawing from Pilobolus and Viewpoints techniques. The concept of “play,” begins to take hold, as you understand improvisational movement without tension or anxiety - working less cerebrally and more kinesthetically. Pulling from exercises of Michael Chekov, Lloyd Williamson, Joe Hart, Steve Paxton, Allen Wayne, and Julia Crockett- you are given an arsenal of physical vocabulary and challenged to become fearless, expansive, unapologetic, and creative. A large portion of the work focuses on the studies of Rudolf Laban’s “Eight Efforts.” These Laban Efforts are the springboard for a final composition choreography project, where you will be asked to create your very own movement piece.

This course provides a foundation for understanding and practicing the craft of the actor. Beginning with theater games and improvisations, class participants will be challenged to explore and stretch their physical and emotional ways of expression and the scope of their imaginations. Students will begin to work with scripted material in the second half of the course and will learn basic script analysis to support their work with text as they integrate earlier exercises into presentation of scripted material.

Building on Acting I: Introduction to the Actor's Craft, this class provides students with techniques and skills designed to help them make the transition from theater games, improvisation and basic text work to detailed scene study. After beginning with ensemble building exercises to create a safe and supportive environment conducive to bold, creative exploration, the class will focus on methods of script analysis; playing actions; particularizing emotional meanings; ways to make creative choices while respecting the playwright's intent, and how to balance spontaneity with precision and aspects of character development. The goal of the class is to enable students to make the journey from text analysis to a full, immediate and inventive embodiment of the given circumstances, character adjustments and dramatic action. Scenes will be drawn from a wide range of dramatic material. A NOTE ON ZOOM: it works wonderfully as a medium for the actor. It’s closer to film acting, but you will do everything to prepare, that you would in going on stage, or in front of a camera. You must be living in the moment with your partner: Zoom allows for the development of a real, personal relationship. Your living space is your “green room.” You can see yourself in a little box, and can “frame” yourself, as if you were behind the camera. Scenes will be recorded, so you can view your work. Rehearsing in Zoom is especially convenient. The acting exercises that I use, we will also do on Zoom. We will make full use of Improvisation.

January & Summer: This course is an active workshop for actors who want to explore and cultivate their filmic talents, directors and writers who want to create performances that exploit the potential of the camera. Unique to acting for film is the intimate relationship between actor and camera. The actor/camera relationship is highlighted within the remotely taught environment. Prior acting experience and training is not required. Breaking down and filming scenes from television and film scripts, actors learn to make nuanced, authentic choices based on commitment to action, responsibility to text, investing in subtext and understanding what their physicality and behavior reveal. Being directed and watching others directed will give clarity to the role the actor plays in this visual storytelling process. The audition will be demystified through improvisation of a casting session.  Rehearsed and cold audition material will be filmed and experienced in a live setting and as a self-taped submission. Captured with Zoom’s ever-presence, the workshop participation will be a “live” experience of instruction, discussion and filming of work: on-screen exercises, rehearsals, improv, and directed performances of audition material and scenes. Each actor works on camera every session. Actors will be guided  to learn  “On-Location” production by filming their own work on a separate device, program or app. Self-shot filming is an opportunity to experiment with framing, use props on hand, and available spaces and lighting. Bringing production elements, building the frame with the director, the actor participates in the balancing of production detail with focus on their own performance. Placing one's self within the “bigger picture” will expand understanding of the actor’s role in visual storytelling. Self-shot recorded footage, not exclusively being shot on Zoom, has the advantage of capturing a higher quality, closer to studio level footage, that is also not dependent on internet signal strength and connectivity at the time of recording. Spring & Fall: This course is for actors who want to explore and cultivate their filmic talents, directors and writers who want to create performances that exploit the potential of the camera. Unique to acting for film is the intimate relationship between actor and camera. Experienced actors and those new to acting begin working before the camera the first class. Breaking down and filming scenes from television and film scripts, actors learn to make nuanced, authentic choices based on commitment to action, responsibility to text, investing in subtext and understanding what their physicality and behavior reveal. Being directed and watching others directed will give clarity to the role the actor plays in this visual storytelling process. The audition will be demystified through improvisation and practice of rehearsed and cold audition material. There will be an overview of the business aspects of professional acting, including casting and actor representation. The goal is to be a better screen actor, trust yourself, feel confident and be comfortable auditioning and working on professional sets in the future. Footage and scenes are available to each student.

This course provides a hands-on, performance-based introduction to reading, understanding, and performing Shakespeare’s works. Students will begin with text analysis, gaining a broad foundation in Shakespeare’s text, including but not limited to: use of language, meter, scansion, alliteration and antithesis in order to approach sonnets, monologues, and scenes from Shakespeare’s canon. Students will work as a class group to analyze sonnets as an introduction to working on Shakespeare’s plays. Throughout the course of the semester, students will work on a monologue and a scene for action-based acting and character work. Students will be expected to prepare and rehearse material outside of class and will be paired for a final assignment of preparing a Shakespeare scene for rehearsal and presentation in class. Monologue and scene suggestions will be provided from a list handed out by the instructor. This is not a lecture-based seminar on Shakespeare’s writing, but rather an introductory approach to analyzing text for clues and insights into performing Shakespeare’s works. Open to all students of all levels of experience.

This class explores the acting of comedy through theater games that focus on comedic techniques such as quick change, neurosis, obsession, shift of status, body part out of control, etc. as well as through analysis and performance of comedic text. If drama holds a mirror up to life, comedy holds up a magnifying glass. The boldness of choice and degree of commitment demanded by comedy are what make it so difficult to perform, especially because bold choices must be supported by psychological truth. Characters' objectives, obsessions, needs and phobias are what compel them to act in comical ways; if actors don't find the pain and truth of these catalysts, their behavior becomes silly, and the comedy, shtick. The exercises employed in this course (many of which have their roots in commedia dell'arte) help participants to free their bodies and voices, allowing them to commit both boldly and truthfully, and will be used to analyze and bring to life comedic text from television, to movies and theater.

Urban Arts Workshop–New York is composed of lectures, presentations, screenings, readings, discussions, and visits from painters, photographers, filmmakers, writers, designers, architects, planners, restaurateurs, curators and critics designed to expose students to the key concepts and fundamental theories of urban studies, public art and the urban-inspired works of many great artists and writers based in New York City and around the world. Outside of class time, students will do readings, conduct research, watch movies, post reactions and do various assignments that engage the core course subject matter and themes. Each class will explore another form of urban art, including discussions about and encounters with graffiti, street photography, sculpture, installation art, architecture, music, dance, performance, theater, fashion, urban sound projects, large-scale projections, poetry, essays and short stories with an aim to understand how such art forms came into being and how they express a distinctly urban message to the inhabitants and visitors of New York City and cities across the planet. The instructor seeks to combine the critical and theoretical with the experiential and personal in order to lead students to a deeper and more fruitful relationship with cities, the arts and themselves. Further exploration will be conducted into the phenomenon of connectivity in the 21st century city providing a deeper perspective on globalism, the networked environment, and emerging technology’s role in the future of art, culture and urban living. Field trips may include: The Whitney, The High Line and Hudson Yards, Tiny Island, MoMA, Guggenheim, PS1, Museum of the City of New York, The New Museum, Transit Museum, Noguchi Museum, Governors Island and others based upon availability. Students will need a MetroCard for traveling around the city as well as approximately $50.00 to cover meals and museum tickets (this price varies depending on course itinerary).

This course is a studio based advanced on-camera acting performance workshop designed for actors, writers, directors and artists to strengthen screen acting skills by focusing on four major aspects of screen performance: Character, Role & Identity; Script Analysis; Physicality & Voice in Frame; and, Specificity in Moment to-Moment Being. Concentrating on these elements of screen performance, and filming on-camera exercises and scenes every session, actors will employ various acting techniques to discover and develop a reliant set of techniques and technical skills that best serve them as actors, and expand their artistic sensibility as related to visual storytelling through film. Actors prepare to be successful, auditioning and working within the parameters of the professional filming experience. With limited rehearsal and acting direction, shooting out of sequence, and multiple takes unique to production, each actor will develop their own set of best practices and ownership of their role as an actor.