Acting and devising 2
ACTING AND DEVISING 2 consists of 6 practical subjects: ACTING, MOVEMENT, VOICE, MUSIC and DEVISING. The subjects follow a common progression with students working practically.
The course fosters experimentation driven by curiosity, courage, and humour. Students are encouraged to try out ideas and to accept both success and failure as part of the learning process.
ACTING
ACTING consist of improvisation classes to develop acting skills and creativity.
In first part of the course, improvisation classes explore animals, Expressive masks, Laval masks and student’s mask to develop physicality and playing skills that lead up to creating original characters and situations. This work builds on the improvisation skills of listening, reacting, and developing situations through play.
In the second part of the course, acting skills are developed with objects, stage spaces, and music. These skills go into shaping a sequence of scenes that show a longer story with changes of scenes.
In the third part of the course, all acting skills are developed in a longer devised project. The students work in groups for 6 weeks to research, develop and perform an original piece of work.
VOICE and MOVEMENT
In Voice and Movement students develop the functional and expressive use of voice and body for acting and performance.
MUSIC
In Music students work on basic musical skills. Ensemble singing, and ensemble music using rhythm, listening, ear training and basic composition. The classes are practical and work through a physical method that does not require any prior theoretical knowledge.
DEVISING
In DEVISING students follow a sequence of devising tasks that build up knowledge of how to create engaging and original scenes. The devising work gives the student a creative way to refine their acting skills and develop devising methods. The devised scenes form the basis of evaluating the student’s progress and are a point of critical reflection on the theory and practice of devising. In the second half of the course tasks are given to make narrative structures that tell a longer story in different locations. Students explore using different sources for creating short pieces. For example, short stories, historical events, paintings, news reports, objects. The final and longest task of the course is devoted to making an ensemble devised show that is shown to the public. Students make an original play based on a period of immersive observation of a real-life place. For example, an old people's home, a restaurant, a church, a children’s school, refugee educational centre, a local bar etc.. The devised show is inspired by their research experience into a real-life place.
All practical work is accompanied by feedback and critical reflection on both the artistic work and the work process involved.
Knowledge
The student:
- Has a basic understanding of acting as an embodied process.
- Has experience and finer awareness of how movement and body language create dramatic play.
- Has a basic understanding of how to play with space, time, relation, action, reaction, rhythm, timing, scales, balance, and imbalance.
- Has a basic understanding of anatomy and functionality in voice and movement, and an awareness of their personal strengths and weaknesses.
- Has a basic understanding of how to actively research and imaginatively engage in methods of acting, alone and in groups.
- Has a basic understanding how to work collaboratively in exploring the subject of acting.
- Understands how openness, curiosity and courage facilitates learning and quality in acting work. has a basic knowledge how to work collaboratively in ensemble.
- Has a basic knowledge how to use play and acting to develop a scene.
- Knows about research and development in the artistic field and has an awareness of interdisciplinary influences in the arts.
- Has a basic knowledge how to update their knowledge of the artistic field.
- Has knowledge of creative processes within music.
- Has knowledge the function of music in theatre and film.
Skills
The student:
- Can play alone and with others on stage intuitively and truthfully.
- Can use non-verbal communication, movement, and voice to interact with space and other partners in improvised and text play.
- Can play with Masks.
- Can use observation and imaginative identification as an acting process.
- Can develop a character from different sources: movement, text, psychology and identification with elements and materials.
- Can improvise and explore imagined situations individually and with others.
- Can embody thoughts, feeling and intentions physically and vocally.
- Can place their voice (breath support).
- Can move efficiently and safely.
- Can use articulate movements and play with dynamics of moment.
- Can do basic acrobatics and stage combat.
- Can release unnecessary tension in movement and vocal work.
- Can manage group dynamics to make a good working environment.
- Can use listening skills to understand other people’s ideas.
- Can formulate and express their own idea clearly.
- Can make creative propositions with their acting skills.
- Can apply their critical reflections to find creative solutions in acting. Song in ensembles.
- Can sing with technique and voice care.
- Can keep time in rhythms.
- Can achieve group musical performance tasks.
- Can perform musical material.
- Can compose musical material.
General competence
The student:
- Knows how to prepare mentally, vocally, and physically to be ready to improvise, devise, rehearse or perform.
- Knows how to sustain a level of awareness and listening to work effectively.
- Knows how to work as part of a group in exploring theme through improvisation.
- Can play using movement, text, psychology and identification with elements and materials.
- Knows how to develop skeletal alignment for efficiency in movement and voice.
- Can work as part of team to conceive, plan, create and perform a short scene.
- Can exchange points of views and experiences, and contribute to the sharing of knowledge, new thinking, and innovation.
- Has insight into the ethics of artistic production.
All teaching takes place at the campus. The work is carried out as a whole class, in groups, and individually.
The instruction is organized in regular weekly work sessions and extended work sessions in connection with presentations. Periods of work outside of the scheduled times must be anticipated in specific periods.
The learning approach uses an inductive/problem-solving method. All tasks begin with a challenge, provocation, or foundational material, and it is the students' responsibility to find a coherence in the form of a scenic presentation based on the frameworks, constraints, and materials that have been agreed upon.
Teaching Methods
Movement:
- Regular instruction where students explore and develop the body's relationship to space, imagination, and interaction.
- Conducted through provided exercises, techniques, and assignments.
Acting Technique:
- Regular instruction where students explore and develop skills in acting and stage art production within specific themes.
- Classes focus on improvisation, stylistic analysis, and assigned tasks.
Voice:
- Regular instruction where students explore and develop the use of voice in relation to space, imagination, interaction, and text usage.
- Includes various exercises, techniques, and assigned tasks.
Assignments
- Presentation and staged performance of work with accompanying feedback and reflection.
- Task solving and skill training without guidance.
Mandatory Attendance
The work in the subject primarily takes place with the entire class or in groups, where everyone's participation and contribution are essential to the development of each individual. For this reason, the subject has mandatory attendance.
Nord University works continuously to improve the quality of its studies. In this work, we work closely with the students: in that the students participate in the evaluation of both the individual courses and the study as a whole. Evaluation in each course will take place by:
- At the start of a course: clarification of expectations between lecturer and students
- Continual evaluation throughout the semester
- Final evaluation
Comprehensive evaluation of the study takes place at regular meetings between representatives for the students and study leaders at Nord University. Students are also encouraged to participate in the central quality surveys.
1nd Semester: Practical exam (PE). Group exam (stage performance) with individual assessment. Duration of up to six hours. Grading: Pass/Fail. Counts for 100/100.
Mandatory Attendance (MA) in teaching, a minimum of 90%, and in agreed student-led activities. Mandatory Attendance must be approved to receive the final grade in the course. Counts for 0/100.
Work Requirements (AK)12 practical work requirements. Stage presentations are work requirements during the academic year. Work Requirements must be approved to receive the final grade in the course. Grading: Approved/Not approved. Counts for 0/100.
