Notes from Oxford - Vol. I

I stumbled upon one of my notebooks that I took to Oxford with me this summer. For those of you who don't know, I spent the summer in Oxford, England studying with the British American Drama Academy. The program lasted four weeks, with classes in voice, speech, movement, classical and modern theater as well as master classes every week that were taught by guest actors, directors, producers and playwrights. I want to put these notes on my blog so I'll have another record for myself, and for you to enjoy. If you are at all inclined in the theatrical department, I think you might enjoy these notes. I do need to find my journalist's moleskine notebook that contained all my notes from the Sir Derek Jacobi masterclass though..

So, here are my notes.

Things to try to remain active: Butoh, Alexander Technique, Capoeira, Pilates, Yoga. Live in your body. Be active. This will help you on stage with your movements.

Books to read:
Peter Hall - Advice to Players
                   Exposed by the Mask: Form and Language in Drama
John Barton - Playing Shakespeare
David Mamet - True and False

You do not have to feel anything before you learn the words. Learn the words, understand the form, and then decide what you feel. 

Shakespeare uses alliteration, repetition, assonance, etc. to HELP the actor. Always wordplay.

"For Shakespeare, what you need is a warm heart and a cool head."

Inspiration comes from an honest regard for what's on the page.

Tip for breath control: Think of hitting each line like a diver diving straight into the water. Do not expel the breath before you say the line.

On Actions: The Actor's Thesaurus
**You can't play an emotion. Emotions are the result. You play actions. Transitive verbs.


DAVID LEVEAUX MASTER CLASS QUOTES:

 

*David Leveaux is a UK theatre director who has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards. At the time he came to visit us at BADA, he was in the middle of directing the revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia on the West End. These are some of the many memorable quotes I was able to jot down during the session. Enjoy!

 

"Failure is a tool. So is boredom. If I know I'm bored, I know something has to change."

"When I'm in this room I'm working. As Actors or people who love chaos, we can't let that permeate our work."

"A rehearsal room is a series of little deaths; humiliations."

"We are all of us trying to do the art of the possible and the impossible."

"You can have a relationship with failure. Never mind the f****ing critic. What about you, and the energy you can bring from it?"

"Tom Stoppard said that 'laughter is the sound of comprehension.'"

"The directorial need to 'sign' a production is nonexistent."

"Great plays are an enduring mystery."

"Life itself is not catchable by concept."

"Catch in the inherently incatchable..and freeze it."

"We the living, have an obligation to stay alive."

David Laveaux on playing Pinter:
-what is the immediate moment?
-don't bring a lot of backstory; it's what's happening in the present tense.
-Pinter's background was in comedy!
-Pinter is vivid, writes facts.
-there are no enigmatic pauses in Pinter. All the pauses are real.

David Laveaux on auditioning:
-listen, be directable
-be open to changes
-auditioners are looking for you, not trying to weed you out.



*Important words in Shakespeare: IF, NOW

PLAY TO READ: Judas Iscariot


Make sure your intention on stage is stronger than the nervous voices in your head.





**David Laveaux