The Demidov School
Essentials
Course 0 - Demidov Etudes
COURSE 0 is composed of two sections: A 4 week beginning, and a 10 week conclusion.
Students who have completed both sections at least once are permitted to participate in COURSE 1.
Demidov Etudes is a foundational course that can and should be repeated. Its topics are key and central to every other application of the approach, and as such can never have too much practice. Reprise this course to free yourself of the pressure of seeking what some might call 'advanced' technique, and become even better at the skills that matter the most.
During the course, actors will explore the following aspects of the Demidov School:
• Assigning the text. Technique of the “beginning” – “non-restructuring.”
• The technique of “green-lighting.”
• The origin of “imaginary circumstances.”
• Approach to character: “Me” and “Not me.”
Students who have completed both sections at least once are permitted to participate in COURSE 1.
Demidov Etudes is a foundational course that can and should be repeated. Its topics are key and central to every other application of the approach, and as such can never have too much practice. Reprise this course to free yourself of the pressure of seeking what some might call 'advanced' technique, and become even better at the skills that matter the most.
During the course, actors will explore the following aspects of the Demidov School:
• Assigning the text. Technique of the “beginning” – “non-restructuring.”
• The technique of “green-lighting.”
• The origin of “imaginary circumstances.”
• Approach to character: “Me” and “Not me.”
Course 1 - Inexact Repetition
The old French root of rehearsal is rehercier, “go over again.” Originally, rehearsal simply meant “to say something over again.” In the mid-1500s it began to also mean “practising a play.” The word rehearsal translates from many languages as repetition. Repetition is at the heart of our art. In rehearsal, we repeat every scene and act (and finally the entire play) again and again. Then we do the same in performance. In front of the camera, we also repeat —take after take.
This integral part of our art deserves special training, and a course dedicated to it! At the heart of this course are Demidov’s cultures of freedom and spontaneity. When repeating, we don’t have to mechanize our performance. We don’t need to fixate it once and for all, thus freezing our characters’ growth. Repetition, even with fixated lines and stage directions, allows plenty of creativity and freedom. The text, however rigid, is also completely elastic, and it yields to multiple emotions and creative interpretations.
In this course, dedicated to the foundation of the Demidov School of Acting and its Organic Technique, actors are guided to liberate their creative individuality and “green-light” their artistic instincts. The Demidov technique of “inexact,” creative repetition trains actors to discover ultimate possibilities behind a given text. Moreover, it further develops their skill of living onstage spontaneously and freely.
This integral part of our art deserves special training, and a course dedicated to it! At the heart of this course are Demidov’s cultures of freedom and spontaneity. When repeating, we don’t have to mechanize our performance. We don’t need to fixate it once and for all, thus freezing our characters’ growth. Repetition, even with fixated lines and stage directions, allows plenty of creativity and freedom. The text, however rigid, is also completely elastic, and it yields to multiple emotions and creative interpretations.
In this course, dedicated to the foundation of the Demidov School of Acting and its Organic Technique, actors are guided to liberate their creative individuality and “green-light” their artistic instincts. The Demidov technique of “inexact,” creative repetition trains actors to discover ultimate possibilities behind a given text. Moreover, it further develops their skill of living onstage spontaneously and freely.
CoursE 2 - Circumstance
During the course, actors will train the following aspects of the Demidov School:
• Assigning “circumstances.”
• The magnetic power of “given circumstances.”
• How to specify and deepen “circumstances.”
• Relationship between “given circumstances” and character.
• “Given circumstances” and inexact (“creative”) repetition.
• Assigning “circumstances.”
• The magnetic power of “given circumstances.”
• How to specify and deepen “circumstances.”
• Relationship between “given circumstances” and character.
• “Given circumstances” and inexact (“creative”) repetition.
Course 3 - Character
During the course, actors will train the following aspects of the Demidov School:
• Treating the role’s “embryo”
• “Active” daydreaming
• “Just-Born Character”; green-lighting character’s “being”
• Character’s Eye and Center
• Emotional “Imitation” of Character
• How to “place yourself” under role’s circumstances
• Treating the role’s “embryo”
• “Active” daydreaming
• “Just-Born Character”; green-lighting character’s “being”
• Character’s Eye and Center
• Emotional “Imitation” of Character
• How to “place yourself” under role’s circumstances
Studio Member Applied Practice
Course 4 - ACting for the Camera
Can Demidov work in the highly regimented world of film? Yes, of course. But how, exactly?
Course 5 - Scene Study
Demidov's Etudes contain everything necessary to work on longer scenes. Take your creative freedom and nurture it within a lengthier dialogue, where every rehearsal is a revelation.
Course 6 - The Play and Role
How else can Demidov assist in forming a character and handling an entire play? Learn to facilitate your role's growth, not force it into existence.
