Audition and Screen Acting Technique
3-Day Master Class
Casting directors Nancy Bishop, CSA and David Stejskal offer a special Master Classes in their home city of Prague, 29 July -31 July, 2016.
Summary: This three day intensive series of Master Classes is designed for actors who wish to learn strategies to approach marketing and auditioning and to improve on camera acting skills. Each actor will get professional feedback and a copy of their scene work. The three day class will be taught by casting director David Stejskal, who runs the Prague office and teaches acting at the Prague Film School. Nancy Bishop will give feedback to actors each day.
Class Schedule:
Friday, 29th July 2016
10:00 – 10:30 Meet at venue for welcome coffee and orientation.
10:30 – 12:00 Master class: Self-Tape Casting
All actors will have been pre-assigned self tape auditions which we will view in the class for critique by Nancy Bishop.
12:00 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 15:00 Archetype Workshop Part I (Introduction Exercise)
Actors introduce themselves to the rest of the group. Others identify acting archetypes based on their first impression.
15:00 – 16:00 Cold-Reading Practise
1.We start with a short exercise to improve cold-reading skills. 2.actors cold-read on camera a scene which will be given to them 10mins prior.
16:00 – 17:00 Watching playbacks; David will provide feedback to each actor.
17:00 – 18:00 Cocktail Hour at a local Prague Pub (optional)
19:30 Theatre Performance TBA. For participants who are interested, we can arrange tickets to a local performance. (optional)
Saturday, 30st July 2016
10:00 – 12:30 Acting a Scene with objectives
Actors will identify a wide scale of possible objectives in the given scene. They will practice to deliver the scene with focus on different objectives. This exercise will help actors to 1.improve ‘flexibility’ and be ready to adjust performance in instance when asked by the director; 2.listen and receive from their partner.
12:30 – 13:45 Lunch
13:45 – 16:30 Taping Scenes
16:30 – 17:30 Watching the playbacks; Nancy will provide feedback to each actor.
Sunday, 31st August 2016
10:00 – 11:45 Archetype Workshop Part II (Headshots)
Actors should bring their photos for discussion. The
class will view and critique one another’s headshots, helping to pinpoint an archetypal image for each actor. Do the headshots correspond with the feedback from Part I?
11:45 – 13:15 Lunch
13:15 – 16:00 Blocking Techniques Workshop
Actors identify the main beats in their scenes. David helps them to arrange blocking of the scene to deliver the beats. The aim is to ‘make physical what is emotional’ between the characters. The scene will be therefore divided into multiple camera set-ups and the actors will practice 1.‘Finding and acting for the camera’; 2. Repeat the action while avoiding editing issues.
16:00 – 16:30 Break
16:30 – 17:45 Watching the playbacks; Nancy will provide feedback to each actor.
19:00 FINAL DINNER AND FAREWELL
About Nancy: Emmy-award nominated, American Casting Director, Nancy Bishop, has cast nearly one hundred international TV and film projects, from her offices in Prague and London. She has cast for major feature films including and Mission Impossible IV, Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, Prince Caspian, Bourne Identity, and she recently finished the European casting on Michael Apted’s Unlocked. She is currently developing several independent features with Das Films. She has been teaching film acting workshops throughout Europe, the UK, and the US for many years. In addition, Nancy is the founding head of the Acting for Film Department at the Prague Film School.
About David: David Stejskal is the head caster in Nancy Bishop’s Prague office. He has worked on projects such as the TV series Transporter, Crossing Lines and the soon toe be released feature film, Interlude in Prague. Trained as a film director, he is also skilled at working with actors and has been coaching actors privately as well as holding a teaching position at the Prague Film School and FAMU.
About Nancy’s best-selling book (published by Methuen Drama) Acting for Film and TV: gives practical advice for actors, written from a casting director’s point of view, teaching the craft of film auditioning in front of camera. This best-selling book shows how actors can work with today’s internet technologies to book roles, and features advice and actual exercises that achieve results in the casting studio. The book will be available for a discounted price of 15 EUR.
About Prague: Meet and work with actors form all over Europe in beautiful Prague, the Golden City filled with a thousand spires. The master classes will take place at Kolowratský palace in Prague 1, resident home of the Prague Shakespeare Company, www.pragueshakespeare.cz. Located in the center of Prague, it is conveniently accessible nestled between Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Market. Prague is also of particular interest to actors not only because of its rich theatre history (notably with former President/playwright Vaclav Havel) but because hundreds of international film makers and large scale studios flock to Prague each year to shoot films.
MASTER CLASS INFO:
WHAT: AUDITION AND SCREEN ACTING TECHNIQUE MASTER CLASSES IN PRAGUE OVER THREE DAYS
WHEN: 29 July – 31 July
WHERE: Kolowratský palac, Ovocný trh 579/6, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic.
COSTS: Class fee: Please write to david@nancybishopcasting.com
ACCOMODATION INFORMATION: Because participants may require different levels of budget/comfort, the organizers will recommend several different contacts for accommodation options.
HOW TO REGISTER: Please send a photo and CV to workshop manager david@nancybishopcasting.com. Preference will be given to serious career actors, with a commitment to skill enrichment. The 3-day master class space is limited, and we anticipate the class will fill up quickly so please register soon.
For Further info: www.nancybishopcasting.com or nancybishopcoaching.com
Nancy and David follow CSA guidelines for teaching. Please note that acceptance by Bishop/Stejskal for your participation in this class is strictly based on your current material including your CV and headshot. This class is exclusively instructional in nature and our acceptance of your attendance does not imply in any manner or circumstance any reciprocity between us, either now or in the future, nor will our acceptance of your attendance influence your ability to secure a future audition for projects that we may be undertaking. We will ask you to sign a release form to this effect. Thanks for your understanding.
