In the Moment

Mondays, March 27 through May 1
6:45–9:15 p.m. ET
In-Person: 516 8th Street SE, 3rd Floor Rehearsal Studio

Reserve by March 26, 11:59 p.m. ET

Instructor: Nancy Robinette
Prior experience: Not required

Tap into your own creativity and imagination to create and play motivated, dynamic characters in the moment. Through exercises and improvisations that engage the actor’s entire physical and vocal instrument, guided by Helen Hayes Award winner Nancy Robinette, students will learn new tools to develop more nuanced characters, form stronger scene partnerships, and take more risks while exploring contemporary characters and scenes.

Essential Question: How do we find the freedom and inspiration to fully play rehearsed scenes spontaneously?  How do we give ourselves permission to play?

Course Objectives: Participants will work on improvisational and other exercises and one monologue they have brought in, and one scene assigned by the instructor, from either classical or contemporary plays.

Course Outcomes: Participants will be able to explore some ideas and ways to open up a scene and bring it to spontaneous life. Participants will broaden their scope of theatrical literature and address some challenges in performance through exercises, improvisation, scene work, and observation of others.

Key Knowledge & Skills: Concentration, identification, improvisation, play, relaxation, and mindfulness as they pertain to scene work.

Enduring Understandings: Appreciation for spontaneous, imaginative play, and self-expression.

From the Syllabus:

Week One: Introductory exercises and cold-reading of monologues.

Week Two: Observation exercise. Present monologues with feedback and repeat.

Week Three: Concentration exercise. Present monologues/repeat. Instructor assigns scenes.

Week Four: First cold-reading of scenes.

Week Five: Additional exercises and scene work.

Week Six: Presentation of all scene work.

Last Seen In At STC: Everybody

Seen on Broadway In: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

What Her Students Say: “Nancy Robinette is a very generous teacher! Patient but knowledgeable when guiding us. The class was fun, interesting, and informative.”

“Nancy Robinette is awesome. Her gifts as a true artist comet through in her teaching style, which is patient, supportive, inventive, completely engaged. We all love her!