Workshops

Presented by Julissa Roman –

Held in-person: 

This workshop is oriented to helping the working actor develop a set of tools for building a character.

Acting is doing. The major question is: “What do I DO to get what I want?”

The structure of this workshop is based on Uta Hagen’s brilliant Physical Destination Exercise. Through this workshop, the actor will discover the profound depth of the Destination Exercise and will learn how it can provide the actor with the necessary foundation for living truthfully under the given circumstances on stage or in front of a camera. Actors will learn through the application and exploration of the Destination Exercise, and possibly the other exercises, how to use these methods towards finding the emotional core of the character and most importantly how to play moment to moment.

We will start by working individually on Uta Hagen’s Destination exercise to establish the fundamental understanding of this base exercise .(Actors that have studied the Hagen exercises before will combine exercises.)

In the following sessions, students will work on the Destination Exercise set in the context of an assigned character of a scene. Students will be asked to re-work this exercise but adding another exercise that will help them deepen the exploration of the character. Finally, we will move into Double Destinations (guided paired improvisations using Hagen’s exercises) in the context of the assigned scenes, building a bridge between the acquired technique and the scene work.

Prior to the first day of class, students will be assigned specific scenes and characters as well as the Destination exercise.

Required Reading:

• A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR by Uta Hagen.
• The play from which you are assigned a scene must be read in its entirety before the first day of class.

Required Rehearsal time: During the second half of the workshop, students must meet for rehearsal outside of class at least once before bringing work to class (preferably a minimum of two rehearsals).