The Actor
High Art vs Low Art
• High art : "fine art"
o Emphasis on the craft
o Considered as a culture and seen as sophisticated
o Training (both from the artist and audience)
o Exclusivity
• Low art : "pop culture"
o Emphasis on the coolness
o Wide appeal, mass audience
o No training necessary
o Inclusivity
What Do Actors Do?
• Train
o College
o Acting programs / classes
• Audition
o All the time
• Perform
o If they are lucky
• Work
• Repeat
Three Challenges of Acting
1. To acquire the vocal and physical skills that stage acting demands
2. To make characters believable
3. To integrate these - to combine skills with credibility
History of Acting
• We always want acting that looks and feels "real"
• Many different schools of thought and study as to what "real" is…
o Ancient theater
▪ Masks
▪ Makeup
▪ Dancing
▪ Singing
▪ Chanting
*style of acting was presentational
o Renaissance
▪ Presentational acting
▪ Vocal abilities needed
o Neoclassicism
▪ Strict adherence to the ancient rules (without masks)
o Romanticism