Maximizing Your Ensemble: Shoestring 101
Created by Michael Calderone
This seven-part series is designed to transform that gaggle of actors cluttering your backstage from cumbersome extras into nothing less than the very center of your production.
Instructor Michael Calderone leads this course, through games and exercises geared to maximize your ensemble for your next production. These lessons are based on the ensemble technique that he's been using for the last 30 years, called the shoestring method.
The ensemble has a responsibility to work as one, and no role is more important than another. Without each actor playing their part, the other actors cannot tell the story to the best of their abilities. So join Michael in learning more about this exciting, practical and dramatic method.
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1Lesson 1Introduction24:03 FREE PREVIEWLesson 1 introduces the course and the three As: actor, audience, and area.
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2Lesson 2Scenic Elements20:52 FREE PREVIEWThis lesson explores ways in which your ensemble can literally become part of the scenery rather than merely cluttering the background; using them as literal representations of physical scenery.
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3Lesson 3Crowd Scenes16:25This lesson focused on crowd scenes and environments, and discusses a wide range of applications in a variety of productions.
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4Lesson 4AEnvironments29:05Lesson 4A contains two exercises that focus on balancing the space – lateral space, meaning middle space only, and a three-dimensional space of air, floor, middle and lateral spaces.
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4Lesson 4BLiving Scenery17:19Lesson 4B focuses on turning your ensemble into a living backdrop.
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5Lesson 5Abstraction17:45Lesson 05 completes the acronym LACE with the letter A by backtracking and creating visual abstractions.
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6Lesson 6Percussion25:49This lesson covers the importance, responsibilities, and possibilities of a percussionist on stage.
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7Lesson 7Bonus Games22:25This final lesson includes bonus games and exercises to strengthen your ever-growing ensemble.
Standards Addressed
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - Grade 6
Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation - Grade 6
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - Grade 7
Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation - Grade 7
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - Grade 8
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Grade 6
Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation - Grade 6
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Grade 7
Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation - Grade 7
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Grade HS Accomplished
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Grade HS Advanced
Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation - Grade HS Advanced
Refine new work through play, drama processes and theatre experiences using critical analysis and experimentation - Grade HS Proficient
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