On-going Weekly Scene Study

Our goal is to familiarize you with the language, intention, and tools of script analysis so that you will utilize them actively and aggressively in your scene study and in your professional work. You will explore and exercise tools such as goal, action, obstacle, inner object, substitution, inner monologue, doings, place, fourth wall, previous circumstance, and playable action.

The emphasis in our scene study courses is developing skills for film acting. Teachers choose scenes for partners from a large library of film scripts according to the tools, skills, and areas each individual may be developing. Each scene is presented in two works for the lesson of the scene to be learned. In the first work, the actors present the scene without interruption and are given notes and observations to take away, work on and rehearse. In the second work, the teacher will stop and start the scene to make adjustments where needed as it goes along.

Five to six scenes are presented in each course. Depending on course size you can expect to work on average about every other week. You should be prepared to work every week. A rotating roster is kept by the course monitor to insure fair participation for everyone in the course.

It is essential to be present for all of the classes, not just when you are scheduled to go up. Your participation, perseverance, and growth is universal. You are all teachers for one another. The instructor is the facilitator of your progress and is responsible for deepening and strengthening the knowledge and practice of your work. You are responsible for your motivation and commitment, and growth.

Weekend Workshops

Our intensive two-day workshops introduce the student to the Cameron Thor Studios approach to film acting. Participants are paired up by the instructor and assigned a scene from a film. They rehearse with their partners and present the first work of the scene on Saturday. The instructor will give them notes which they will incorporate into their second work on Sunday. The second works are “stop and go” in nature, keeping them close to the reality of actual shooting. Additional information on auditioning, script analysis and show business is included in the two eight-to-ten hour days.

On-Camera Course

This advanced course combines scene study with camera technique. Scenes are assigned, but not rehearsed. The idea is to recreate the dynamic of the set in the classroom. The instructor directs the actors for two cameras and the work is taped for further evaluation. Each student is also requested to find a “role of evolution,” several scenes from the same script, to work on creating an arc of a character through an entire story in addition to a particular scene. Participation in the on camera class is per Jock’s and/or Cameron’s approval. This class is held at various times and locations throughout the year.

 

What is it like being a member of the Studio? Preview Carter Thor classes and technique.