CARLO ALTOMARE
Objective Acting Workshop
an introduction to the non-fictional aspects
of the art of acting
Single Session – $ 25
4 Sessions – $ 85
8 Sessions – $ 150
Mondays 7 - 9
Saturdays 2 - 4
Objective Acting - Meyerhold’s Biomechanics - Jazz Acting
Physical Acting Technique - Creative Scene Study
Enrollment: 212-929-2545
or
137 WEST FOURTEENTH STREET - NEW YORK
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
- Surrender to public scrutiny
The presence of the actor and the complex art of address
- Biomechanics
Meyerhold's movement study for actors: Stringing The Bow
- Jazz Acting
Scat Singing, Scat Speaking
Physical micro-narrative studies
- Scene Study
Working with text and naturalism
This workshop is dedicated to the understanding of true real time action as the basis of acting, invoking the inner life of the character through physical means and immediate experience, and the exploration of chance operation in the art of acting. It explores how physical experience connects to the conscious and unconscious mind, and how that experience creates a new vocabulary for the actor. Like an alchemist, the actor separates the elements of experience and recombines them in real time to bring both actor and audience into the immediate moment. Consider that Shakespeare’s line “The play’s the thing...” refers not only to the playwright but to the “play” of the actor’s art which reveals a philosophical meaning of human action.
Directed by Carlo Altomare, this intensive workshop will engage each participant in an alternating practice of technique and creative work through the physical studies of Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, the rhythmical and linguistic ‘riffs’ of Jazz acting, and the application of these techniques in approaching both naturalistic and stylized character creation on the contemporary stage.
The goal of this workshop is to introduce theatre artists to a vision of the stage where the actor is a central creative force, capable of composing in real time for an audience.
“A new theatre for a new millennium begins with re-imagining the art of the actor.
Contemporary consciousness suggests an experiential complexity beyond the convention of psycho-emotional ‘believability’. The audience lives in that more complex world, and so should the actor. What does this portend for actors training, technique, and the practice of our art? “ – Carlo Altomare
Carlo Altomare - was a member of The Living Theatre from 1973-1980, acting in all the plays of The Legacy of Cain cycle and composing music for The Dismantling of The Money Tower and Prometheus. He considers Julian Beck and Judith Malina his teachers and mentors. He is the founder of The Alchemical Theatre in New York (1981-). The Alchemical Theatre presented the world premiere of There Is No More Firmament by Antonin Artaud in 1983 and devised an original piece, Pure War/The Madness of the Day based on the writing of Paul Verilio and Maurice Blanchot. He returned to the LT in the late 80’s to compose and perform the music for The Tablets and I and I. He is co-founder and artistic director of Theaterlab performance space at 137 W 14th St. where he teaches Meyerhold’s Biomechanics and Jazz Acting, a new form of non-fictional acting. He is co-director, with Orietta Crispino, of the Actors Research Group, which performed the first Jazz Acting piece: Appearance – A Suspense in Being in 2006.
