LGBTQ and Friends Improv Acting Club: Kind and Creative!

I've been teaching theatre since 1996 and have produced countless shows with cast after cast. There are a few basic lessons that every new actor must learn before they are ready to audition for a play and receive a script. This class will cover those basic lessons: Variety in Voice, Body Consciousness, Emotion and Story in a Character. 

This class is a little different, though, because it is an ongoing class which students can join or leave at any time so it does not build lesson upon lesson but instead is an opportunity every week to practice the skills we use to create a character. In this class students will learn how to create a character using variety in voice, body movement, and emotional connection by simply PRACTICING the art. We will use a variety of fun and engaging exercises to give students an opportunity to immerse themselves 
in the art. Here are a few examples:

INTRODUCE ME: 
"Introduce Me: is an activity I created years ago that has worked in all my classrooms--in person and virtual. Students either come up with a character name on their own or are given a name by a classmate or Ms. Jackson. They receive time to find a voice, body and vibe for the character and then present an introduction or story as that character. 

TELEPHONE: 
Using the characters we create in "Introduce Me" students call each other and have a conversation using the character voice and developing the character. 

TO BE OR NOT TO BE:
This simple activity gives students a chance to practice different character voices and accents in non-intimidating, fun ways. 


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
In this class students will learn the basics of creating a character for stage. They will experiment with finding character voices, body movements and consider stories and emotions behind character motivations. It is a first step to performing on a stage.

Variety in Voice
We learn about using the voice to find a character. Experimenting with high/slow, fast/slow and accent is a good way to start. All exercises are with teacher modeling and mimic so students will feel comfortable (basically, I'm so silly that no one worries about looking silly themselves!)

Body Consciousness
We learn how to use one's body to convey a character. How does this person walk? What do they do with their hands? How would they stand/sit/move, etc? I also will talk some about body consciousness on stage and basic stage manners like cheating out, not upstaging and how to always be seen. 

Emotion and Story in a Character
We'll talk about how we FEEL when we're a particular character and we will add a story to explain who the character is.