Bc.Authorial Acting

We are primarily concerned with the in-depth study of acting and authorship, and of their elements. In this effort, we perceive acting as the ability to act and perform (play), and authorship as an aptitude for original thinking and imagination.
We are further concerned with the study of the dramatic play as both the stimulus and objective of acting and authorship. We study the artificiality of these phenomena, because in artistic expression they are more evident and easier to grasp. At the same time, we study them with awareness not only of their aesthetic horizons, but also of their ethical, social, philosophical and psychological horizons.
In other words, we are concerned with the study of acting not in the sense of interpreting an assigned role, but in an authorial sense. This is to say that with respect to educating students we are explicitly concerned with cultivating creative personalities capable of standing behind their authorial achievements and of personally presenting and developing these achievements in a dialogue with the environment into which they enter – in both artistic and extra-artistic contexts.
The student must have sufficient stamina In order to engage in such creative activities, because existing in a common space places significant psychosomatic demands on every individual. For this reason, the study of Authorial Acting is based on acquiring experience in the main dimensions of human expression: voice, speech, movement, play and dialogical acting. The programme is thus focused on developing one’s own aptitudes for dramatic creativity and creation, and on the ability to be a partner. Its integrated disciplines are authorial reading and authorial presentation.
In selected psychosomatic disciplines, our students cover material similar to that learned by actors in so-called traditional theatre (in speech training one learns storytelling, fairy tales, short stories, verse, oration, etc.; in voice training one learns spoken and singing voice, songs, artistic song, duet, choir, recitative, etc.; in acting one learns monologue, dialogue, classical theatrical texts, directed improvisation, etc.), but here the emphasis is placed on psychosomatics (holism, individuation), a filiation with “real” action, the ability to bring these things to their original communicativeness and functionality.
Students gradually acquire stamina through a thorough experiential understanding of the psychosomatic disciplines and reflection on their issues. Students are first provided with an essential overview and then led to find a personal theme which they then capture on stage.
The theoretical subjects are selected so as to provide these skills with reflection and a broader horizon. Emphasis is also placed on transparency and public presentation (authorial reading and presentation, and the Autorská tvorba nablízko (“Authorial Creation Close-Up”) festival).

“Psychosomatic stamina begins to emerge gradually while studying the psychosomatic disciplines over the course of two, three or four years. This constitutes a certain maturity, preparedness, readiness and sometimes even a need, desire or urge to perform in public, to act, to behave, to experience directly, immediately, spontaneously, creatively and productively, freely and responsibly – and it provides key educational feedback.”
(Vyskočil, Ivan: Úvodem. In: Psychosomatický základ veřejného vystupování, jeho studium a výzkum, s. 7, Praha 2000)

The programme graduate is able not only to control his or her means of expression – voice, speech, gesture, movement, body, etc. – at a good level of technical proficiency and in an instrumental manner, but also and in particular to perceive, experience and act with these means of expression psychosomatically (holistically), i.e. as if using a natural part of his or her personality, and in both artistic and extra-artistic areas.
The programme graduate is able to invent, develop and execute authorial ideas at the level of small and medium-sized productions, both individually and in collaboration with others. He or she is also competent to lead a creative team authorially.
The programme graduate is able to deliver a high-quality public performance in theatrical and broader cultural spheres, as well as other areas of public life.
The programme graduate is able to write his or her own authorial texts with scenic potency, especially in small and medium-sized works.
The programme graduate is able to work authorially with other texts and stimuli generally, and to become involved in publishing.
Graduates become the authors of their own projects of a theatrical, visual, literary or other nature, or work in the media sphere, in education or in assistive professions.

In general:
Good physical and mental aptitudes.
Good aptitudes of talent and personality, capable of further development and cultivation.
Need and ability to learn, to study and to participate in a common curriculum and work.
Active knowledge of English is expected.

In particular:
We examine the level of each applicant’s talent and aptitude for development in the basic psychosomatic disciplines, i.e. voice, speech and movement. We also examine the applicant’s ability to differentiate stage events, to act playfully and in coordination with others, to react authentically and to improvise (aptitudes for acting). Finally, the ability to formulate authorial ideas (authorial texts) is also important.
The simple sum of these skills does not guarantee an authorial personality, however, and therefore the entrance examination also includes an interview with the applicant to understand his or her motivation, cultural orientation and knowledge in art, philosophy and current events, as well as to ascertain his or her personality dispositions generally.
Entrance examinations usually consist of only one round.

http://damu.cz/en