NTI Semester Courses
Click course title for detailed description
201 DIRECTING
All students direct a scene at least once and act in scenes directed by their peers. The emphasis is on the development of Western theater in its historical and literary context. Texts include modern and contemporary plays, the "golden ages" of Spanish and English theater in the 17th century, and the Greek classics. There are a number of related workshops in connection with this course.
202 PLAYWRITING
Through a variety of projects reflecting the range of contemporary theater, students develop skills as playwrights and play-listeners. The work of the class is active listening as each week's assignment is read aloud and discussed by the group. Assignments range from kitchen-sink American realism, to abstract themes, to radio plays and musicals. The course culminates in Playwrights Week - six days dedicated to readings and staged readings of students' 30 minute plays.
210 DESIGN
Closely related to the directing program in use of parallel texts, scene and costume design are studied in both a historical and practical context. There will be special workshops in stagecraft and stage lighting in connection with this course.
300 ACTING
The National Theater Institute offers training in a wide range of acting techniques and styles. Students learn to draw upon those appropriate to the individual text. Emphasis on the art and craft of acting designed to enable the students to free the imagination and enhance their versatility. Classes will include scene study, improvisation, audition preparation, and styles.
310 MOVEMENT & VOICE
Classes in both vocal technique and production, along with dance and movement techniques for the actor. Daily warm-ups, Biomechanics, improvisation, modern and African dances together with stage combat and special workshops in mask and mime. Voice training covers Linklater method, speech, dialect work, and singing in both group classes and individual lessons.
Workshops
ACTING WITH THE CAMERA
Through on-camera exercises using commercial copy or film scenes, students will analyze their particular qualities and develop a sense of comfort with the "language" of acting for film and television.
"BUSINESS OF THE BUSINESS" WORKSHOPS
Agents who cast for television, theater and film participate in workshops which provide students with first-hand information about networking, resume writing, and the realities of the business. Students will have opportunities to meet with representatives from Graduate Schools and training programs as well as NTI alumni who are making their way in the entertainment industry.
FOUND TEXT IN PERFORMANCE
Using journalistic techniques such as recorded interviews and investigative study, students structure works for performance exclusively from "found" sources. The spoken or written word is extrapolated from multiple viewpoints on a single subject. The work focuses on the purposeful juxtaposition of monologue, gesture, sound and imagery to create a theatrical piece in this burgeoning performance style.
GREEK THEATER
The Greek Theater Workshop focuses on the ensemble and invites the actor to experience the communal nature of the classical Greek theater. Students are encouraged to extend the boundaries of performance technique through voice and body. Working as a single entity, the Greek chorus utilizes a unique combination of ancient structures, meters, language and movement to activate a deeper synthesis of expression through chant, song, gesture, and dance.
PLAYWRIGHTS WEEK
Often noted as being one of the most intensive, exhausting, and creatively challenging five days of the NTI experience, this week-long enterprise is dedicated to the development, reading and staging of up to fifteen new plays created by students during the NTI semester.
FINAL PROJECT
Each semester ends with an ensemble project which draws together the major elements in acting, movement, and voice work. In recent years these projects have included performances of Antigone, The Genesis Project (created by the Spring 1999 NTI ensemble), Dante's Inferno (adapted by Fall 1999 ensemble), Waiting for Lefty, and Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches. This work-in-progress is shown to the public.
Advanced Directing Courses
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the Advanced Directing Program is contingent upon successful completion of the NTI semester.
354 HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DIRECTION
Students will serve as trainee directors within the NTI program. The course will cover aspects of: Western Theater, Elizabethan and Jacobean; Spanish and French Seventeenth Century; German Romantic Theater; Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw and Chekhov; O'Neill and American Theater from Albee to Mamet.
355 DIRECTOR'S TUTORIAL
Students create a director's notebook on a specified classical text, to analyze the intellectual content of the play and, most importantly, understand the play as a staged work rather than a reading exercise. Critical interpretation of text, notes on staging, analysis of probable original staging and performance style is required. The play must be understood in its literary, historical and theatrical context. Discussion of decor, costumes and blocking is required. Students have individual tutorials with the Directing Instructor and a variety of specialized course instructors on a regular basis.
451 DIRECTOR'S RESIDENCY
Students serve as a director's assistant in a selected regional theater in the U.S. or abroad for two weeks. They attend rehearsals of a production, meet regularly with the theater director and administrator, observe work in all departments of the producing organization. This course requires submission of a detailed journal and is supervised by the director or associate director of the selected theater.
452 DIRECTOR'S PROJECT
Students will work with the NTI ensemble on either a short play, or an extract from a larger work for final presentation in a staged workshop. This final work is subject to evaluation by a panel of professional directors and actors, drawn from the NTI faculty and special guest artists. Student directors will also work on the staging of plays written by NTI students in playwriting class.
