Antaeus Academy
The Art & Craft of Story: The Actor as World-Builder
Enrollment is now closed
There is a great debate. Some say “actors are liars” and others say “actors are truthtellers”. But all would agree: “actors are storytellers”. But do we really know what we mean when we say that? What makes a good story? Is it one that is true? Or, is it one that is well-told? Or…is it both? And how, exactly, does one even tell a story as an actor? And, perhaps even more importantly, how does one do it over Zoom with a rocky internet connection? We are all having to reimagine our work in this pandemic time. Unable to rely on our scene partners or great spaces or cool set/costumes pieces to help build the worlds in which our characters live, we’re finding we have to build them all by ourselves, with just our imagination. And this is where we’re a little rusty. Even those of us using this time to write instead of act have found our storytelling skills a bit wanting. So let’s get tuned up! Let’s use this time to thrive, not merely survive. This class will cover specific, practical tools and techniques to ensure your storytelling is both good and honest. Whether you’re looking to dive into the classics or modern plays/scripts, or work on your own material, by the end of this class you will understand how to create and embody a three-dimensional world for your character to inhabit; you will cease trying to “generate” emotions or wrangle yourself into the correct “state” so you can “do” the character; you will stop seeing yourself as a detective, trying to get the character “right”, and you will begin to discover yourself as an explorer, naming and claiming the terrain of the character’s story as your own. Whether for the page or the stage or the dreaded Zoom, you will never forget: “a text without a context is a sure sign you’re being conned”.
*No class November 26
Regular Tuition: $450 due by September 21, 2020
Installment Plan: $475 (First installment due September 21, 2020; second installment due October 19, 2020)
Questions? Email academy@antaeus.org or call 818.506.1983.
Ann Noble
Ann Noble is an actor, playwright/new media writer, director, arts educator, acting coach and solo performer with over twenty-five years professional experience. Originally from Chicago and co-founder of the Irish Theatre Company (formally Seanachai), she graduated from Northwestern’s Theatre School and trained at the Yale School of Drama’s “Midsummer in Oxford” program. She has worked all over the country, particularly in Chicago, L.A., D.C. and NYC, and her work has been produced/filmed all over the globe. She currently teaches scene study and solo performance at Berg Studios as well as at Antaeus (where she is head of casting, as well as a long-time ensemble member); she also teaches Shakespeare, poetry and storytelling to incarcerated youth and former gang members at various institutions here in L.A. including Homeboy Industries. As a director, she has worked with Warriors For Peace, LifeChild, Two Heads Are Better…, and Antaeus, as well as for the L.A. Museum of the Holocaust’s annual summer youth theatre program, “Voices of History”. She also serves as a chaplain in the L.A. County jails. More at www.annnoble.com
