Course Descriptions

FIRST TERM

ACB110 Acting 1 
Students are introduced to the personal and group dynamics of actors’ work as well as to professional industry standards. Techniques    and
concepts include: warm-ups, risk-taking,
awareness/journaling, monologues and improvisation. The course also introduces techniques used throughout the program: essential Stanislavski, Michael Shurtleff, Sandford Meisner and Uta Hagen.  Students begin to build their toolboxes and to appreciate that their development will incorporate several disciplines.

ACB130 MOVEMENT 1
The body is the actor’s primary instrument of expression. This course will focus on various exercises to free the body to respond to its natural impulse to move.  Students are encouraged to risk and to discover in a non-performance, non-judgmental atmosphere. Ongoing reference to the Alexander Technique is a program element.

ACB120 VOICE 1
An actor requires as free and expressive a vocal instrument as possible. The purpose of work on the voice is to create a transparency for emotions, intentions, words, desires and images.  Using a variety of texts, students will explore techniques for approaching the written word, including the Linklater Technique warm-up.

ACB140 CAMERA ACTING 1
A fundamental requirement of film and television actors is the ability to adapt to different camera shots. Knowledge of how to “work the frame” gives actors a competitive edge at auditions and increases the likelihood that their work will end up in the final edit, rather than on the editing suite floor. In this first course in the Camera Acting sequence, students will work with fully blocked monologues, shot in wide shot, medium shot, and close-up.

FPC220 Film History 1
This course examines the development of the cinema, from its origins to the present day.  Students are introduced to the genres, techniques, and the work of film masters, all in the context for their acting careers.

ACC110 Performance History 1
Actors have inherited a rich and noble tradition.  This course traces the development of live performance, from its origin in tribal and religious ritual, through the communal and populist activity of the Middle Ages, the rise of humanism and the National Theatres in the Renaissance, and culminating in the revolutionary innovations of the 19th Century: modern acting method (Stanislavski), Psychological Naturalism (Chekhov), and the Theatre of Ideas (Ibsen).

SECOND TERM

ACB210 Acting 2
This course takes the skills explored during monologue work in Term One and integrates them into working in relationship – in scenes. We continue to explore the actor’s work in terms of the personal, the character, ensemble/group dynamics as well as professional industry standards. Technique and concept areas to be introduced include: warm-ups, risk-taking, listening, research, script analysis, character work, improvisations and storytelling. Students will be expected to do a fair amount of preparation work outside of the studio. Prerequisite: Acting 1

ACB230 Movement 2
Students will focus on creating a character through movement, emphasizing the physical manifestations
 of psychological considerations. The course introduces a comprehensive process for creating a character and the techniques for perceiving the inner world of the character.  Prerequisite: Movement 1

ACB220 VOICE 2
Voice 2 continues the work, introducing breath connection and exercises for the tongue, lips, soft palate and rib areas. Students will explore their personal connections to very different styles of text.  Prerequisite: Voice 1

ACB240 Camera Acting 2
Actors must learn to reveal the complexities of interaction, to manifest the arc of each scene, and to deal with the fractured jigsaw puzzle of cinematic construction. In this course, students will work on scenes, each of which will be fully blocked and shot in master shot with coverage shots. To reflect the realities of the industry, students will prepare for limited shots and for out-of-sequence shot coverage.  Prerequisite: Camera Acting 1

FCP110 ScriptWRITING
This course introduces dramatic structure, the language and economy of script format and the film storyboard.  Students explore the strengths and constraints of working in a visual medium.

FPC211 Film History 2
Students are introduced to the history and practices of the Canadian Film Industry, examining current trends and economic realities with a view to preparing the actor for a realistic and effective approach to the film workplace. Prerequisite: Film History 1

ACC120 Performance History 2
This course explores 20th century issues and idioms, as a rapid shift in social dynamics, including how political fragmentation and technological acceleration profoundly affects and redefines trends in performance.  In this course, students will examine the establishment of a range of “isms” which create conflicting concepts of the purpose of performance in a societal context.  This course also challenges students to begin to define for themselves their ethic and identity as contemporary actors and creative artists. Prerequisite: Performance History 1

THIRD TERM

ACB310 Acting 3
Actors must learn how to relate one scene to another to create a sustained character journey through the script.  In this course, students will work on brief scenes from different parts of a full-length script, playing the same character in each scene selected and developing strategies for constructing a cohesive arc of development.  Prerequisite: Acting 2

ACB330 Movement 3
An actor always works “in relationship”—in a weave of impulse, breath and sound. Students learn how to focus on their physical connection with others, exploring both trust and silence. Using breath to open the flow of internal movement, students will learn to express their impulses.  Prerequisite: Movement 2

ACB320 Voice 3
Students will explore vowels and consonants in terms of sound and movement and will learn how to identify areas of personal vocal and physical tension.  An assortment of assignments will be used to expand each student’s awareness of how they use their voice.  Prerequisite: Voice 2

ACB340 Camera Acting 3
In this course, students will be given several scenes in which they play the same character, and the scenes will be shot out of sequence. By understanding character changes and the relationship from scene to scene, students will learn how to organize their acting processes to create truthful character journey in the non-sequential shooting format.  Prerequisite: Camera Acting 2

ACF310 Directing FOR ACTING 1
In this course students are introduced to the role of the director and the issues that govern a shoot performance: frame selection, staying in character until “cut” is called and the deepening revelation of a character.  The course provides a hands-on experience with major on-set departments, including camera, sound, and continuity, all from the director’s point-of-view.

FOURTH TERM

ACB410 Improvisation
Improvisation is the basic approach to all authentic dramatic performance, and the ability to improvise is an essential skill for actors in commercials, in television and film and for the stage.  In this course, students will do scenic etudes to explore scripted material, as well as create original scenes through improvisation.  The course culminates in a cabaret or revue performance. Prerequisite: Acting 3 

ACB430 Movement 4
“Actors never make mistakes, they only make discoveries.”  In this course, students explore a wide range of movement/character with wild abandon, throwing out all the usual rules and self-restrictions.  Exercises include European Theatre Clown, the Laban Movement System and stage combat.  Prerequisite: Movement 3

ACB420 VOICEOVER
Students will learn how to apply dynamic control to a range of voiceover disciplines, including television and radio commercials, animation, documentary and corporate video narration, looping and ADR (additional dialogue replacement).  Prerequisite: Voice 3

ACB440 AUDITIONING FOR Camera
Auditioning is the essential skill for landing the opportunity to work in the film and television industry.  In this course, students will undergo practical auditions for film and television commercials, learning how to prepare for auditions, how to confidently demonstrate professional attitude and decorum and how to follow industry protocols.  Prerequisite: Camera Acting 3

ACF412 Directing FOR ACTING 2
This course examines the aesthetic theories and master works of major directors who have shaped the cinematic language, leading the actor to appreciate the sensibilities and innovations of film auteurs and practitioners.  Students also learn the progression of preproduction, production and post-production in the filmmaking process.  Prerequisite: Directing for Acting 1

FIFTH TERM

ACT510 STAGE PRODUCTION
In this capstone theatre course, students will stage a short play.  Pre-requisite: Satisfactory academic standing after 4 terms of study 

FCP221 SCRIPTWRITING 2
Students are introduced to the master shooting script format for a short film that they write and plan and script.  This short film script may be used for the 6th term Film Production capstone course.

ACF513 VIDEO EDITING 1
Students are introduced to the theories and techniques of video editing.  Working in the Toronto Film School’s computer lab, they learn to use editing software as a valuable tool in cinematic storytelling.

SIXTH TERM

ACF614 SHORT FILM PRODUCTION
In this capstone course for the film/television sequence, students work with their classmates to produce a short film.  Pre-requisite: Senior student status

ACF615 ARTIST MANAGEMENT & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Actors must take responsibility for managing their own careers in an effective and efficient manner. This course introduces an informed practical approach that includes understanding topics such as headshots, resumes, approaching an agent, working with casting directors, the activities of professional organizations and unions (ACTRA, EQUITY), self-accounting procedures, and the need for further and ongoing artistic training.  Pre-requisite: Senior student status