THR 251-01

ACTING II: Scene Study

(Listening)
Holly Cate Office: Rehearsal House 205
hollycate@muhlenberg.edu
Cell: 646.319.5594 Office Hours: Available but fluctuating
Email me to schedule a time

Meeting times: MW, 10 to 11:50am

This course is scheduled to meet for four hours per week of classroom instruction.

REQUIRED TEXTS: Closer by Patrick Marber

Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Jon Robin Baitz *
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
Stanislavski in Rehearsal by Vasily Osipovich Toporkov on CANVAS
(trans. by Christine Edwards) *

* Please use only the translation/adaptation indicated for both of these texts.
OPTIONAL: Actions: The Actors Thesaurus
by Marina Caldarone & Maggie Lloyd-Williams
(or buy the app - $6 from the App Store)

GRADING: Homework 30%

Presentations 30%
(graded on growth, risk/boldness, and acting)

In-class work/participation 20%

Attendance 20%
Please note: Since the majority of the graded work in this class is based on or derived from participation and
performance that cannot be completed once the course is over, grades of incomplete will not be granted.

ATTENTION: Punctuality and attendance are essential in this class.

You are allowed two absences; the reason for the absence is immaterial. Upon the third absence, your
overall grade in the class will be lowered by a full letter grade. The fourth absence will result in a two-
grade reduction. Five or more absences will result in a failing grade.

Lateness will not be tolerated; there is no grace period. Every time you are late points are deducted
from your grade.

Students with disabilities requesting classroom or course accommodations must complete a multi-faceted
application/approval process through the Office of Disability Services prior to the development and implementation of an
Accommodation Plan. If you have not already done so, please contact Disability Services to have a dialogue regarding
your academic needs and the recommended accommodations.

Holly Cate Acting II

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course uses intensive scene study to help you further develop your command of the fundamental
tools of the actor that you began working with in Acting I while also adding new tools to your actor
toolbox. The demand in this course is higher, asking you to move beyond simply playing an action
within the given circumstances and toward creating a three-dimensional character. The super-objective
of this course (to borrow a little language from Stanislavski) is to help you become more aware of your
own process as an actor.

This course is based on the premise that listening is one of the most important skills we can develop as
actors. To that end, our emphasis will be on developing new tools intended to help you grow your
listening skills, including Laban, listening with the body, moment of orientation and rhythm. We will play
with and discover the tools in the body first, gradually adding in text and beginning to link the tools to
the scenes were working on. You will then be asked to bring in short segments of your assigned scenes
that allow you to demonstrate your command of each tool.

We will begin with a brief introductory period in which the focus will be on building an ensemble, arriving
at a common language, reviewing the fundamentals, and moving the body. Then, the class is divided
into roughly four sections (all dates are approximate only):

Part One - Laban (thru 02.13): In this section, we will encounter the work of dance movement
analyst, Rudolf Laban. We will not fully explore the intricacies of Labans theories, which are better left for
a pure movement class. Instead, we will work with select elements from Laban that can be useful to us as
actors. Our focus with the Laban work will be two-fold: accessing emotional intensity thru fully embodied
actions and developing a habitual movement vocabulary for the character that is both coherent and
dramatically different than your own. If action is the what of our path through a scene, then Laban is the
how.

Part Two Listening with the Body (thru 02.27): We might actually listen with our bodies
more than our ears. This section will give you an opportunity to increase your sensitivity to what I call the
small dance of life the little, almost imperceptible energy shifts that make up human interactions. The
emphasis in this section will be about staying connected to your partner and letting their impulses trigger
your own. As part of this section, we will begin exploring what Stanislavski calls moments of orientation,
those moments in which two characters size each other up and make important decisions about how to
proceed most effectively toward achieving their objective. If action is the what and Laban is the how, then
this section is about exploring the why of what we do.

Part Three Rhythm (thru 03.20): A shorter section, this unit brings together the thinking of
Stanislavski and Jacques Lecoq on the importance of rhythm or in Lecoqs language, states of tension -
to the actor. Our work in this unit will revolve around increasing our awareness of the inherent musicality
of human behavior and exploring how altering the rhythm of an interaction can alter its meaning.

Part Four Angels in America (thru 05.03): Having sharpened your skills and added
considerably to your toolbox, this last section of the course gives you the opportunity to bring all the tools
together in the service of creating vibrant, memorable three-dimensional characters drawn from the world
of Tony Kushners Angels in America. We will make the scene selection decisions for this final part of the
course together. You will be asked to work more autonomously on these final scenes with an emphasis on
beginning to more concretely identify the elements of your process as an actor.

Holly Cate Acting II

SCENE STUDY:

The scene study structure in this course is slightly unusual and slightly complicated. You will receive a
separate handout on January 30th that outlines your scene study assignments and the homework and
rehearsal expectations for the first round of three scenes. The basic facts are these:
You will each work on at least one scene from each of our first three plays (Closer, Hedda and
Streetcar).
You must log a minimum of four hours of rehearsal by the mini-scene presentations in class.
Each scene will have select written homework assignments attached to it.

Angels in America scene selection will be done in partnership with me. You will be required to log at
least six hours of rehearsal in support of your Angels scene, perhaps more.

Rehearsal: Rehearsal is an integral part of the homework for this class. You are required to turn in a
minimum of 22 hours of rehearsal logs over the course of the semester, though of course I hope you
find time for more.

I have found rehearsal logs to be an invaluable source of communication between my students and
myself about their journey with a scene and also about the development of their process in general. For
those of you to whom this kind of assignment is new, never fear, I will give you a set of guidelines prior
to your first rehearsal. A general reminder to all about rehearsal logs: They are your messages to me
about how you are working. Remember to include details about successes and struggles and always feel
free to note questions that you have for me. Like most written work in this class, rehearsal logs must be
submitted as google docs.

Presentations: As most of you probably know by now, I have a philosophy that students studying the
performing arts should be called upon to perform. To take the work out of the safe space of the
classroom and into the public arena can be an invaluable learning experience. Accordingly, this
semester you will have two public presentations as well as a series of mini-presentations during class
time.

The first set of public presentations will be on March 29th in the Empie. In this presentation you will be
sharing your work on at least one of the scenes from our first group of plays (Closer, Hedda, Streetcar).
Due to the complicated partnering in this class, it is possible that you will present more than one scene
on March 29th.

IMPORTANT: These mid-term presentations will happen after hours, between 11pm and
1am on March 29th. Please mark them in your calendar now. This is a course requirement.
Failure to attend these presentations will count as an absence.

The second presentation will showcase your work on Angels in America and will happen at a time during
finals week to be determined by the Registrar. In that sense, you do have a final in this class, so leave
time for rehearsal as you approach the end of the semester. This scene presentation is also open to the
public. Please welcome all friends and family to share this performance with you.

A privilege, not a right: Please know that participation in scene study and in the public presentations is a
privilege not a right in this course. Just as in life in the professional theatre, you earn the right to work
in this class by putting in the homework and hours of rehearsal required. If you are seriously deficient in
either the homework in support of a scene or in the rehearsal hours required, I reserve the right to pull
you from the public presentations and/or assign someone as your understudy for scene work.

Holly Cate Acting II

HOMEWORK:

The actors job begins long before rehearsal starts. The actors job begins with homework. Part of the
actors craft is developing a process of preparation to enable us to come to rehearsal ready to be
effective collaborators with the director and the other actors.

Homework is about asking questions, in this class and in preparation for rehearsals. I consider
homework the platform for our next discussion, not an end in and of itself. Please dont be afraid to
come in confused, with questions about how the homework relates to our work in class or to your
process. Confusion is often a catalyst for growth.

PLEASE DO THE HOMEWORK. I cannot stress enough how integral the homework is to your
development in this class. You are training yourself to think in a different way, and that thinking takes
practice. The written homework in this class is as much a part of that training as rehearsal is.

With each scene, you will be required to turn in a fully realized set of given circumstances for your
character.

With each tool we explore, there will be an optional observation assignment posted on Canvas that
invites you to see that tool at work in the world around you. You must do at least one of the four
possible observation assignments by March 27th; additional observations will earn extra credit.

There will be additional homework assignments associated with each tool, intended to help you dig
deeper into the world of your character and to help you develop a greater command of the tool.

At the conclusion of this syllabus, you will find an Important Dates sheet that outlines the due dates
for some of the major homework assignments, however I hasten to add that the list of homework you
find there is by no means exclusive. Additional assignments may be added as your work on the scenes
progresses.

Please note: Like a director giving notes to actors in rehearsal, I have a tendency to give homework
assignments verbally. It is your responsibility to ask me for clarification regarding the homework.
Please get in the habit of checking the Canvas course calendar daily. All information regarding
assignments will be posted and distributed through Canvas. All due dates will be outlined on the Canvas
course calendar. It is your responsibility to keep track of those due dates.

Below is a partial reading schedule for the semester. It is entirely possible that more readings will be
added as we move further into the course.

Date Due Book Pages

Jan. 27th Stanislavski in Rehearsal (SNR) Up to pg. 103
#1 & 2
Jan. 30th Closer n/a
Hedda Gabler
Streetcar
Feb. 1st Laban materials (on Canvas) n/a
March 13th SNR #3 Up to pg. 152
March 27th Angels in America n/a
April 10th SNR #4 Up to pg. 201
April 19th SNR #5 Finish

Holly Cate Acting II

ADDITIONAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Please include the following dates in any conflicts you give directors this semester.

One show
We have the rare opportunity this semester to see one of Muhlenbergs own Madison Ferris starring
in a Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie, with Sally Field and Joe Mantello. Madison is a
talented young actor and an inspiration, and the play will be a terrific companion piece to our work on
Streetcar. (http://glassmenagerieonbroadway.com/?gclid=CMOQr9yCytECFcpLDQod94oElA)

You are required to attend this production. Please do everything you can to see The Glass Menagerie on
either March 18th or 19th. (Your other two possible dates are March 25th or 26th.)

The sign up form for selecting your date can be found here:
https://goo.gl/forms/51KiwUt67WoN1Un33
one dance concert

Master Choreographers on Saturday, February 11th at 8pm.

With our work on Laban we will be in possession of a uniquely vibrant language with which to
describe bodies moving in space. We will attend the Faculty Dance Concert together as a class
as a way of practicing that vocabulary and our eye for action. We will assemble after the concert
for a brief post-concert Laban check in.

The cost for the concert is $8. You must pay Jess in the Theatre office by February 1st. Failure to pay
Jess on time will result in points being deducted from your participation grade.

and two study sessions (chosen from the four listed below):

Closer - Thursday, Jan. 19th, from 5 to 5:50pm in the Rehearsal House

Streetcar + Blue Jasmine screening Sunday, Jan. 22nd, from 2 to 5pm

in the Library, Room B02

Hedda - Wednesday, Jan. 25th, from 5 to 5:50pm in the Rehearsal House

Stanislavski in Rehearsal Friday, Jan. 27th, from 2 to 2:50pm

in the Rehearsal House

These study sessions will give us a chance to discuss the broader themes of the three plays we are
working on to start the semester as well as the opportunity to ask questions about the Stanislavski
reading and its connection to our work together. Please come to the sessions having read the plays
(preferably multiple times). These sessions are your time to begin asking questions intended to unlock
the worlds of these plays. N.B. The Stanislavski session is highly recommended to those actors that
have not yet encountered his work.

Holly Cate Acting II

PRODUCTIONS:

If any of you are cast in a show, departmental or otherwise, please let me know, so
I (and the class) can support your work. As your acting teacher, I am deeply invested in
your entire journey as an actor, not just the part that happens in this class. Please keep me
posted on the performance work you are doing and do not trust that I am aware of all thats
going on around campus. If you give me a couple weeks notice, Ill try to make it.

Attendance at all departmental productions is highly recommended. One useful way to chart
the development of your own process is to watch and critique others. We will always set aside
some time in class to discuss each show once the run is ended. I hope you wont pass up the
following opportunities to sharpen your theatrical sense:

Listen to Me, Feb. 22 - 26

Wig Out!, March 30 April 2
Dance Emerge: Student Choreographers Showcase, April 19 - 22
The Cherry Orchard, April 26 April 29

CLASS POLICIES:
Unless otherwise instructed, please come to class prepared to move, in loose, comfortable
clothing.

Please purchase kneepads from the following source and bring them with you to class every
day unless otherwise instructed: http://www.contactquarterly.com/kp/kp.html

Please do NOT chew gum in this class.

Please bring water with you to class. Other food and beverages are welcome in class,
provided you treat our space as sacred. Think camping: Carry in, carry out.

As partnering is essential in a scene study class, please notify both myself and your scene
partner(s) as soon as possible if you are going to be absent.

The MTA production rule: As most of you are aware, students enrolled in a studio class can
only be involved in one other substantive theatre production, including mainstage theatre
productions, Black Boxes, Red Doors, or off-campus productions. The rehearsal demand in
this class is high, and I will take violations of this rule very seriously. If I am informed by the
MTA or the department that you are in violation of this regulation, I will ask that you
immediately withdraw from the production(s) in which you are involved. If you refuse, I will
pull you from the presentations and any upcoming scene study assignments as well as give
you a zero for your participation grade for that section of the course.

It is expected that your work in this course will be in compliance with Muhlenbergs
Academic Integrity Code (www.muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/dean-academic/integrity)
Violations of the standards of academic honesty will be taken very seriously in this class and
may result in action taken by myself or the College, including grade reduction, suspension or
expulsion.

Holly Cate Acting II

 Important Dates
(Please note: This list is not necessarily complete and is subject to change. Please use it as a guide only.)

Thursday, Jan. 19th Closer study session (5 to 5:50pm, Rehearsal House)

Sunday, Jan. 22nd Blue Jasmine screening + Streetcar study session

(2 to 5pm, Library Room B02)

Wednesday, Jan. 25th Quiz due

Hedda study session (5 to 5:50pm, Rehearsal House)

Friday, Jan. 27th Stanislavski study session (2 to 2:50pm, Rehearsal House)

SNR #1 & 2 (up to pg. 103) read

Monday, Jan. 30th Bring in questions from syllabus

Scene assignments made
Plays read

Wednesday, Feb. 1st Laban reading due

Pay Jess for Master Choreographers

Monday, Feb. 6th GC for Scene A due

Two hours of Scene A rehearsal logged

Saturday, Feb. 11th Master Choreographers, 8pm

Monday, Feb. 13th Laban Scene A presentations

Revised GC due (if nec.)
Two additional hours of Scene A rehearsal logged
O/T list with thinking beat-to-beat

Wednesday, Feb. 15th Scene A e-mail due

Monday, Feb. 20th GC for Scene B due

Two hours of Scene B rehearsal logged

Monday, Feb. 27th Listening with the body Scene B presentations

Revised GC due (if nec.)
Two additional hours of Scene B rehearsal logged

Wednesday, March 1st Scene B e-mail due

O/T list from Scene B presentations due

March 3rd thru March 12th SPRING BREAK

Holly Cate Acting II

Monday, March 13th GC for Scene C due
(NB: If you would like the opportunity to revise these
GCs, you must submit them over the break.)
Two hours of Scene C rehearsal logged
SNR#3 (will discuss 03.20)

Wednesday, March 15th Rhythm Scene C presentations

Revised GC due (if nec.)
Two additional hours of Scene C rehearsal logged

Saturday, March 18th Mid-term presentations e-mail due by noon

March 18th & 19th Please try to go on the NY Theatre trip on this weekend

Monday, March 20th Mid-term scene presentations decided

Monday, March 27th Angels read and scene requests due

Last day to submit observation assignments
Two hours of mid-term scene rehearsal suggested

Wednesday, March 29th MID-TERM SCENE PRESENTATIONS 11pm to 1am

Full scene homework folder due

Monday, April 3rd Self-evaluation due

Wednesday, April 5th Angels homework list due

Monday, April 10th Begin work on Angels

SNR #4 due

April 14th thru 17th Easter Break

Wednesday, April 19th SNR #5 due

Finals Week Final Presentations!

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live,
mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time,
the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn,
burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across
the stars

Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)

Holly Cate Acting II