This scene study class is designed for students who have participated in one of Berkeley Rep’s previous Taste of Meisner or Meisner Technique: Repetition classes or have some previous experience with the Meisner technique.
The seven weeks will build on Meisner’s foundational “repetition exercise” and start applying the same skills of attunement to text work with the concept of “conversational reality.” Students will be assigned scenes and gradually “grow a performance” in an organic, process-oriented way. Week by week, we will introduce tools of emotional preparation, objectives, actions, and particularizations as students carve out more meaning and specificity in their scenes.
Students should have some acting experience paired with a desire to deepen their listening skills, vulnerability, spontaneity, imagination, and sense of truth when performing in a scene. This course requires consistent attendance and significant work outside of class, including weekly rehearsals with scene partners and additional imaginative private homework. Students will be asked to show up as the most authentic versions of themselves, with an openness to feedback and a willingness to look at the social habits and defenses that may be getting in the way of honest human connection.
Prerequisite: A short, informal interview is required by Sep 26 to determine rightness of fit for this course. Selected students will receive a direct registration link.
Instructor: Carolyn McCandlish
- Sat 1–4pm
10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15
$390