Discover Acting (Coursera)

This is an introductory course. You don’t need any previous experience or prior knowledge. You should have curiosity and enthusiasm, an interest in acting and a desire to gain a deeper understanding of the acting process. As the course is practical in nature, the deepest learning will occur in those that physically engage with the exercises introduced in the videos.
This course has been developed and is led by practitioners from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Syllabus

Who am I, what is an actor and what is acting?
Module 1
In week one we’ll focus on the key concepts of the course: What is an actor? What is acting? What do you offer that’s unique as an actor? We will also explore the notion of subjectivity and what makes certain acting choices effective. We'll look at the relationship between body, voice and imagination. In these early stages of the course you'll be invited to watch, listen and read about acting; before we act, we need to think about acting. As the course progresses you'll develop a technique that enables you to experiment with these ideas in practice.

Using your instrument as a tool for performance; integrating your mind, body, voice and imagination
Module 2
Key concepts: The interconnected role of the actor’s instrument: body, voice and mind. Building awareness of your own body, physical & vocal habits, and how this is affected by internal and external factors. Start to develop an awareness of the relationship between physical release, alignment, breath and why that is important for the actor. Questions to ask in order to establish the given circumstance and how changing the answer changes the playing.

Exploring the text
Module 3
Key concepts: Text analysis/diagnostic, given circumstances, objectives, caps, tactics, physical externals.

Adding detail to your performance
Module 4
Key concepts: Practical preparation for a performance. Performing and reflecting effectively on your performance. Reflect on the learning so far and next steps.