Let's Make a Horror Movie! The Art of Scary Acting
Get your best scared face ready for my most popular script in this horror movie acting class: a spooky story about 3 teens looking for an abandoned house in a creepy forest. #confidence #halloween
Gordon Woolvett, ACTRA / UBCP / WGC
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(310)
Popular
Rising Star
What's included
5 live meetings
4 hrs 35 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
_______________________________________ Happy September! I'm feeling excited to start another school year which means you get a limited time offer to try one free class; but this month only! Just use code WOOLVBKTOSCHOOL25 when you enrol in any of my classes (except 1-Day) during September. _______________________________________ When three teens search the forest for their lost dog they find something inhuman lurking in an old dilapidated shack... This is a waste-no-time acting drama class for five actors who will get a crash course in acting out fear & tension (it's fun when it's not real!). You will learn, rehearse and perform a short suspenseful thriller style horror (no gore but heaps of creepiness). It's really not a scary piece; the monster is implied, never seen, and its existence will depend on your acting! It's up to you to bring the movie and the beast to life with your acting. This script is by far my most popular script srom my Scene Study Class with my learners to date. They always demand to know how it ends. Well now you can enrol to this class and find out! (There's a creepy twist of course). You will practise and develop your acting and performance skills. We will cover scene study, characterization, context & subtext, motivation, getting "out of your head," the 7 levels of tension, and different established acting techniques and styles. We will also use and play improv games throughout to develop and extend your ideas, gain trust as a group, and most of all, build your confidence. My teaching style is fast, fun and filled with skills development! I strive to get you on your feet and jumping in right away before you have a chance to even think about it. This way you feel the reward of success very early and start investing in your own ideas with more assuredness. There are 5 roles: Two parents and three teens. All parts are the same size. WEEK 1 Improv warm up games, casting Topics: Getting to know each other, building trust and confidence. Story: Read through scenes 1&2 (The Setup... uh oh...) WEEK 2 Improv warmup, Acting 101 Topics: Scene breakdown, character motivation, genres Story: Read through scenes 3&4 (omg, what will happen next ?!) WEEK 3 Acting Fear & Tension Topics: Stages of fear, telegraphing, foreshadowing, 7 levels of tension Story: Read through scene 5 (The Big Twist ending) WEEK 4 Full Rehearsal Topics: Subtext, wants, deeper dive into acting Story: Work through through, stop and start, whole script WEEK 5 Technical Rehearsal Topics: Technical, stagecraft, concentration & focus, taking it further, zoom technical We will find backgrounds and discuss props & music. Story: Full script, with immersive backgrounds WEEK 6 FInal Performance! Topics: performing live, improvising to keep going, knowing your lines I look forward to seeing you in class. Happy Halloween!
Learning Goals
Students will learn how to bring a character to life and make the unseen believable for the audience. They will gain a deeper understanding of fear and why it's actually a useful human tool. They will practice improv, acting styles, scene breakdown, story and plot, and how to be more "real and believable" with their performance as well as more melodramatic when it's called for. But above all else they will walk away with more confidence in their own ideas and skills.
Other Details
Supply List
Learners will need to be able to print their scenes, if possible, and be ready to make handwritten notes on them. Your learner must also have a quiet space to move around in with good lighting in front of them (not behind!) so their fellow actor can see and hear them please.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
310reviews
Popular
Rising Star
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have been a professional actor, writer and director in theatre, television and film for more than 35 years. In 2002 I won a Gemini (the Canadian Oscars / Emmies) for my work on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. I had previously also been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for another film I worked on. I have been teaching improv and acting for many years. I'm also a soccer coach and a Scout leader.
I trained at theatrical school from ages 8-16 (and have continued to train throughout my career) and they were the best summers of my childhood. Theatre / acting / drama is such a great outlet for young people. If your child/teen has an interest in drama, training is crucial. It gives them a chance to explore and use their imaginations, but also teaches them valuable lessons about "the human condition." I have taught improv and acting in various after-school drama clubs and at Scouts Canada camps and meetings for a number of years now. (I also have another popular class on Outschool teaching improv and acting to elementary age kids: Theatre For Kids - Acting and Improv).
Drama is an amazing outlet for stress and anxiety. Sometimes in class those emotions can come in handy and help with scenes. This can lead to deeper discussions about feelings or experiences that can be emotionally recalled to help with a scene. In this way, drama can be quite cathartic. However, to protect children's privacy and ensure we maintain a safe zoom environment, I am ever mindful of steering students away from divulging personal details about themselves. I instead encourage students to engage in an inner dialogue so they can recall and utilize personal moments while keeping them private.Reviews
Live Group Class
$24
weekly or $118 for 5 classes1x per week, 5 weeks
55 min
Completed by 2 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-14
5-5 learners per class
