Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: discuss film as a visual medium; write short scenes incorporating conflict, objectives, relationships, sense of place, etc.; refine dialogue to the essentials of communication; create a three-dimensional character background; break a scene down into beats, assign an action to each beat, create an emotional arc, establish an objective, and develop strategies to overcome obstacles to achieving the objective; play an action; put to use dramatic action, observation, and characterization through scene work; execute the differences in performance requirements, approach to text and energy levels between soap opera, sit-com, commercial, and talk show formats; apply text analysis to scripted material; prepare two contrasting monologues; recognize regionalisms and apply the International Phonetic Alphabet to dialect work; increase flexibility through body awareness and yoga exercises; refine listening skills and ensemble playing through long-form improvisation; analyze a scene for the purpose of cold reading and define the essential elements for effective delivery of it in the absence of the complete narrative; create marketing tools essential for the actor, such as headshot, cover letter, postcards, etc. and a strategy for their implementation; use an understanding of type to maximize marketability; safely execute staged punches, falls, rolls, headlocks, slaps, punches, etc.; apply the skills learned in editing to executed work in the creation of a finished product that shows continuity, pace, rhythm, and the actor's emotional arc; use make-up to effect subtle changes in character.
