Workshops

   

 

ACTORS' SCENE STUDY WORKSHOP

The Jack Neary Acting Workshop (Scene Study)

The Workshop will be designed to accommodate beginning actors, and actors who would like to renew and re-invigorate their acting chops from days gone by.  Anyone age 16 and over is welcome, and there is no age limit.

The focus of the six-week, one session per week Workshop will be to introduce or re-introduce actors to the basic process of preparing a play for production, from read-through to blocking to working to running off-book, and finally to performance.  It is also important to understand that part of learning about acting is observing others performing, and discussing the scenes afterward.  We will be doing this.

Here’s the process:

Week 1.  Meet and Greet, followed by a mini-audition workshop, during which time participants will do cold readings from selected plays, and learn about basic audition procedures.  After that, scenes will be assigned, and each scene will be read-through.  Each scene will involve only two actors, and will be approximately ten-minutes in length.  We’ll also discuss memorization techniques.

Week 2.  Blocking.  Each scene will be blocked (staged) and run for blocking.  This is always the first step in the rehearsal process after the read-through.

Week 3.  Working.  Now that each scene is blocked, the scenes will be worked to develop nuance and true storytelling techniques according to the intent of the playwright.  Also, comic timing and precision will be worked on in pertinent scenes.

Week 4.  Working continued.

Week 5.  Running off book.  At this point, the scenes will have been memorized and worked, so that they can be run without stopping, with the director taking notes.  After the notes are given, the scenes will be run again.

Week 6.  The plan will be to invite a very small audience to see the prepared scenes in performance.  

FAQ:

“I’ve never acted before.  Will I be out of my league in this workshop?”

NO.  EXPERIENCE WILL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WORKING ON A SCENE, AND EMERGING ACTORS WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE EXPLORING THIS NEW TERRITORY.

“I’ve acted before, but not since college.  Will there be others like me in the Workshop?”

NO DOUBT.  MANY OF US ACTED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, ENJOYED IT, AND THEN WENT ON TO HAVE REAL LIVES.  THIS WORKSHOP, IT IS HOPED, WILL REVIVE THE ACTING SPIRIT IN PARTICIPANTS.

“I actually have done some acting in community theatre over the years, but haven’t performed for a while.  Should I try this Workshop?”

SURE, WHY NOT?  ACTORS WITH SOME EXPERIENCE WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE THESE EXPERIENCES WITH THE NEWER ACTORS, AND WILL, IT IS HOPED, PICK UP SOME NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT ACTING ALONG THE WAY.

"How about me?  I'm pretty active in community and local theatre.  Is there anything I might gain from this workshop?"

YES.  PERHAPS YOU CAN WORK ON A SCENE YOU'D NEVER EXPECT TO BE CAST IN, OR ON A SCENE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY.

“Okay, so…how much?”

GLAD YOU ASKED.  FOR THE SIX-WEEK WORKSHOP TOTALING 15 HOURS OF IN-WORKSHOP TIME, THE COST WILL BE $150 PER PERSON.  IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP WITH A FRIEND, THE TOTAL DISCOUNTED COST FOR 2 WILL BE $275.  YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD VIA PAYPAL BELOW, OR YOU CAN SEND A CHECK TO JACK NEARY, 13 POND ROAD, DERRY, NH 03038. ONCE REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE, YOU'LL BE SENT AN EMAIL WITH CONFIRMATION AND MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP.

“Is the number of participants limited?”

YES.  IN ORDER TO FULLY ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS OF WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS IN THE EXISITING TIME FRAME, THE WORKSHOP WILL BE LIMITED TO 14.

"I have a couple of questions.  May I call or email?"

YES.  JACK NEARY'S EMAIL ADDRESS IS jackneary3@gmail.com AND HIS PHONE NUMBER IS 978-853-9620.

TO SIGN UP BY CHECK, SEND THE CHECK TO "JACK NEARY" AT 13 POND ROAD, DERRY, NH 03038.  OR SIGN UP NOW, VIA PAYPAL, USING YOUR CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL ACCOUNT! CHOOSE "INDIVIDUAL" OR "WITH PARTNER" IN THE DROP DOWN MENU, THEN CLICK ON THE "BUY NOW" BUTTON AND SIGN UP!


Workshop Payment