Choosing A New York Theatre Workshop

By Deanne Shepard


New York NY is a place that is world famous for theatre. While most people dream of appearing on Broadway there are ways to get the experience of theatrical acting. A number of companies offer a New York theatre workshop and this can be beneficial in a number of different ways.

A lot of developments in acting styles in recent years have come from New York. This was where Lee Strasberg studied the work of Stanislavksy. It was Strasberg who then perfected what we now know as the Method school of acting, so called because it makes an actor consider how they would react in the moment in a realistic way as opposed to a more theatrical style of acting that while powerful may be less naturalistic.

There may also be specific skills you want to improve. For example if you want to learn to be better at improvising then it is worth going to a workshop that is specifically about improvisation. People often associate this with comedy while in truth being able to improvise is also an excellent benefit for a dramatic performance as well.

It is also worth remembering that skills learned in the theatre can also have applications in other fields. Acting and performance are great ways of developing self confidence. For children about to go to high school or adults with confidence issues the ability to learn how to talk with confidence and project can often be something that can benefit them in everyday life.

You also have to consider your own individual performance. How you project your voice and how you move affect the character. While you want to project it should be realistic and not involve shouting and being over the top. There is also the issue of approaching the motivation of the character you play. The same line can be very different depending on the tone of the actor delivering it. A good teacher helps students to look at the subtext. This means looking at the intention behind the line as much as the line itself.

There are also applications outside of acting and the theatre that you may not necessarily associate with drama. A good example is self confidence. For a lot of people self confidence can be an issue. This is especially the case with young children and teenagers. Acting lessons and workshops can be a great way of making people feel self confident while at the same time helping them to stay focused.

In order to get the full benefit it helps to find the right workshop. This is in terms of both the skills you learn and the person instructing. Ideally you want to go to a class where the teacher has the appropriate skills and experience. As well as someone who has extensive acting or directing experience ideally they should also have the patience and experience in order to teach people as well, something that is not necessarily the same as being able to direct people.

In order to do this effectively you should look for the right theatre and teacher. Check online for background information. As well as experience in acting and directing ideally the people running the workshop should have some form of teaching background or have been running workshops for a number of years. For more information and feedback use your regular search engine to find theatres in your local area.




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