From Antiquity to the present, acts of transformation have captured the public imagination as proof of magical powers or demonstrations of artistic dexterity. Priests, shamans, and mediums embody the supernatural in possessions, seances, and altered states of consciousness; actors such as Daniel Day Lewis and Meryl Streep become virtually unrecognizable as they morph completely into their roles. Whether magic, misdirection, or method, the ability to shapeshift inspires awe and celebrates our innate capacity to change. This hands-on course examines methods of metamorphoses through key performance figures such as Lecoq, Chekhov, and Hagen, as well as contemporary practices informed by Cognitive Neuroscience. Using masks, costumes, imagery, archetypes, and improvisation, we will treat the studio as research laboratory, experimenting with integrated techniques that alter not just how we appear in the world, but how we move, think, feel, sense, perceive, and act upon it. Through in-class exercises, rehearsals, journaling, and individual/group assignments, we will invent characters from paintings, sounds, materials, and other provocations, while adapting these skills to devise original text and explore the dramaturgy of scripted scenes. By the end of the semester, you will have created, rehearsed, and performed 3 unique characters, developed a deeper appreciation of the actor’s transmutational toolkit, and acquired a repertoire of psychophysical instruments to enact your own feats of transformation, onstage and off.
Spring 2024
1392-22767
Number of Credits
3
- Tan, Hansel