Embodied Text Analysis
Four 1-on-1 actor coaching sessions
Explore the Relationship Between You & the Text
Why perform this text, this story, now? Why does this text matter to you? Scoring a piece of text is all well and good, but textual clues go nowhere if they aren’t grounded in the meaning the text holds for you. Knowing why a piece of text matters to you, and the meaning you want to convey, can help you sustain and embody the performance of the text.
Whether you are brand-new, love it like the air you breathe, or avoid it like the plague, these four coaching sessions are designed to help you create an approach to text analysis that works for you.
What You Can Expect:
- Four sessions, each between 1 and 1.5 hours, according to your preference
- Option to meet on Zoom or in person at my home in Portland, OR
- Sessions 1 and 2 are typically* conversational, while sessions 3 and 4 are more physical
Please Prepare:
- A monologue: Shakespeare, ‘classical’, or contemporary pieces welcome
- Be prepared to be fully memorized before Session 3.
Embodied Text Analysis Session Outline*
Session 1:
- Reflection and discussion on why you’ve chosen this piece of text; what meaning does it hold for you? Why does it matter?
- Learn to identify clues in your text that you can use to make choices about your performance.
Session 2:
- Learn how to analyze a piece of text for different layers of intent. What’s the playwright’s intent? What is yours?
- What does the text reveal about your character or their circumstances?
Session 3:
- Begin to explore how you might embody the textual analysis we’ve done over the last two sessions. In other words, how does your textual analysis translate to performance? This session is playful and focuses on short chunks of memorized text.
Session 4:
- Begin to integrate your embodied textual analysis into a focused, audition-ready performance.
*Note that due to the student-centered nature of my work, this outline will shift to support the needs of each particular student.
Pricing:
$195
Payment Plans:
I am happy to work together to come up with a payment plan that works for you, at no extra cost. Here is one example of a payment plan you might use:
$32.50 / week for six weeks.
Reach out to discuss additional options.
Sources / Lineages of This Work:
- British American Dramatic Academy: W.A.I.S.T (Why Am I Still Talking?) & identifying textual clues in Shakespeare
- Susannah Martin
CONTACT
I work and live on the unceded lands of the Clackamas people, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people, known by its colonial name of Portland, OR.
© 2022 Caitlin Lushington
Rest & Love in Creative Living
Let's chat! In this email "newsletter," I respond to your questions on finding sustainability and creative fulfillment in our wild and challenging industry. I'll also send along stories, musings, and other bits of inspiration. Submit your questions to caitlinlushington@gmail.com.
