ACTING 101: 6 Week Beginning Technique and Scene Study with MARLA SCHAFFEL, TONY award Nominated Actress and Coach

Saturday, May 11, 2019, 2pm ET / 11am PT

If you've been thinking about starting a career as an actor, Acting 101 is the PERFECT way to start off. You'll work with Marla who will introduce you to a variety of approaches to Acting, Stage basics, Terminology and the Craft of Acting.

Acting begins with the ability to be your authentic self in the present moment. 

Since the ROOT of acting is the verb “ACT” short for ACTION that is how I would like to begin. Together we will establish and define essential lifelong tools for acting through basic practical application.

The class will focus on listening, imagination, objectives and being present by working on short monologues over the first three weeks with the second three weeks building off this work and adding a focus on relationships, character and given circumstance, through scene work.

Both the monologues and scenes should be 1 to 1 & 1/2 minutes long (scenes up to 3 & 1/2 to 4 minutes long since you will be working in pairs). We will work in detail, stopping & starting to develop awareness of connection, urgency and specificity of thought.

Please choose material from Modern American Dramas, early 20th century preferred. These writers loaded their work with complexity and detail which will prove fruitful for our class purposes. I suggest playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, August Wilson, Lillian Hellman, Thornton Wilder, or plays written between 1930-1970.

The scenes there after will be more open to your preference but I strongly suggest picking scenes in which something is at stake. No mumble core.

Each class will begin with a brief check-in and warm up, and close with you articulating “what did I achieve, learn, and what is it that I’m going to work on this week before we meet again? "

Please come dressed in comfortable clothes ready to move.

These techniques will help you prepare for roles and auditions, and find your authenticity as an actor.

Class size is limited to 14 to ensure personalized attention and plenty of time with each actor. 

Marla Schaffel

Marla Schaffel starred on Broadway in the Tony-nominated musical Jane Eyre. The role earned Ms. Schaffel several accolades: a Tony nomination, the Drama Desk Award, a Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award, all for Best Actress in Musical. Her other Broadway credits included Titanic and Les Miserables, as well as starring in the national tours of Evita, My Fair Lady, White Christmas, and The Sound of Music. Marla created the leading roles off-Broadway in Enter Laughing, Christina Alberta’s Father, Enter the Guardsman, Fanny Hill, Tall Grass and A Broadway Diva Christmas. Her regional credits include leading roles in world premiere musicals Jane Eyre, Let Me Sing, They All Laughed, Lucky In The Rain, Glimmerglass, as well as in the classics like, West Side Story, A Little Night Music, The Music Man, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, The Miracle Worker and The Belle of Amherst among others. Ms. Schaffel also starred in the critically acclaimed independent feature, I Love You, Don’t Touch Me! And created the pivotal role of Beaver Woman in Tim Robbins film Cradle Will Rock. TV: a recurring role as the star’s rocker ex-girlfriend on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and The Mysteries of Laura.  Her voice can be heard on several recordings including Jane Eyre (original Broadway Cast Recording and world premiere Toronto Cast recording), The Prince of Egypt (soundtrack), The Broadway Musicals of 1949, A Prairie Home Companion Christmas. Marla is a graduate of The Juilliard School Drama Division and studied at the Moscow Art Theatre School.