NIDAOnline: NIDA Audition Preparation – Classical Monologues

  • Zoom Call
  • 4 sessions.

 

Job of an actor:

  • Articulation/be heard
  • Remain in character
  • Remember lines
  • Remember que’s
  • Knowing what and when to say
  • Being heard
  • how much energy you should bring to the stage
    • Must bring freshness when repeating the scene
  • Keep your breath
  • Reality and truth of humanity
    • How do you use your props as if you use them every day (e.g.: smoking, using your whole body)
      • can use rosemary Tabasco instead of actually smoking
  • Must have self care
  • Must find own way to get into scene (e.g.: playing a drunk when you’ve never been drunk)
  • Have to do all of this and make it look effort less

Given Circumstances:

  • who
  • What
  • When
  • Where
  • why

The actor as detective

  • Must read the text to get the given circumstances
  • Must understand what is happening in the scene and why they said what they said
  • At teh given time
  • Don’t think of it as a speech, but as a series of thought
    • The character doesn’t have speech planed out,

Objective:

  • I want
  • I need
  • I must have

Choose the strongest

Raise the stakes

How do I get it? – action

  • As long as you can physically do it, that’s what gives it the “action”
  • What’s in the way of achieving your objective? – gives you drama.
  • Don’t want perfection/polished actor when auditioning
  • Looking for actor who they can work with (actor will bring something the producers like)
  • want to see your version of the character
  • What motivates your character – what makes them human?
    • Take them off the classical/heightened language pedestal and make them human
      • there’s sometimes a tendency to put on an actor voice – don’t
      • Want to hear your voice
        • Want clarity of utterance (speak clearly)
        • Pace
        • Ease
        • All things that are far easier said than done

Homework: Study play:

Questions:

  • Who are you? – Juliet
  • Age? – 13
  • Gender? – Female
  • Race? – Italian
  • Professions?
  • Social status?
  • Family? – daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet
  • Relationships? – Romeo – love interest
  • Education?
  • Wealth? – wealthy family

For your speech specifically:

  • Where are you? – Capulet’s Orchard
    • geographical – Verona, Italy
    • Environmental – garden
    • Time of day
    • Season
  • Where have been
  • Where are you coming from
  • Where are you going
  • What do you want? – to meet with Romeo
  • What is fact
  • What can you speculate/assume

NIDA Online: The Creative Voice – Day 1

  • Zoom Call
  • Did some imagery breathing techniques
  • To free the voice, we need to free the breath
  • Want to be honest when we use our voice
  • Born with amazing body
  • Over time with conditioning, things go wrong:
    • Can you please be quiet
    • All these muscular conditioning affects our vocal conditioning
  • Excess muscular traction can hinder our communication despite feeling great
  • Releasing tension
  • Freeing the breath
  • Allows expression and undoes the conditioning
  • Breathing impulse is primary impulse
  • Breath connected to voice – communicates better
  • Freedom within the body will allow freedom within teh breath and vice versa