Thtr 11-10; CRN 5341
4 Credits
TR 10:10-12:00 
Professor Kashi Johnson
 

Introduction to Acting

There are nearly as many reasons to study acting as there are acting students: to learn about yourself, to meet people, to pursue a career, to be comfortable in front of people are but a few.  Whatever your motive, it is important to realize that you are already an actor!  You play several roles each day - student, friend, daughter, son, employee, grandchild - and every time you present yourself, you adapt or change your behavior in order to achieve a desired goal.

In this seminar, your everyday acting skills will be transformed into the greater power of artistic technique.  We will use acting games and sensory exercises, as well as improvisation techniques and on-stage performances, to provide clear insight into the world of the actor.  As you learn how to implement specific acting methods and develop your voice and body as an instrument for acting, you will focus and strengthen the natural actor inside you. The study of acting is a meaningful journey of personal discovery and growth.  No previous acting experience is required to take this course - only a willingness to try.

Course materials

Text: Proof by David Aubern (this is a dramatic text)

Required assignments

This is a performance based class.  Graded assignments will be
based on performances in acting exercises, a dramatic scene and a dramatic monologue.  Students will also be required to write one paper and attend two Department of Theatre productions. 


A professional actress, Kashi Johnson's extensive stage credits include major performances in Denial, Endgame, A Lie of the Mind, King Lear, Top Girls, The Colored Museum, Hamlet and Late Bus to Mecca, among others.  She recently conceived and performed the original play Untold Truths; and went on to create  Speaking Freely: Diverse Lehigh Voices with Lehigh University students.  Kashi is an active member of the Actor’s Equity Association.  She holds a B.A. in Theatre from Lehigh University and an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to performing on the stage, Kashi also directs main stage plays in the Theatre Department.  Past directing credits include Speaking Freely, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Talk Radio, Flyin’ West and I’m Not Rappaport.  She will direct The Colored Museum on the Diamond stage in February 2005.