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12 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 31, 1990 Curtain call Local director holds method actin At first glance, it looks more like an exercise class. About 20 participants dressed in casual clothing are standing in a circle following their leader'sinstructions. The participants, with their heads bowed, are slowly allow- ing their bodies to inch forward until they are bent completely over at the waist with their heads at about knee level and their arms dangling. Then their bodies gradually regain their erect position as if their wei wl js being slowly drawn bac by strings. Alittlelater, the participants -- while still in the semi-circle formation -- are lying on the floor, tensing and relaxing eve- ry muscle from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads. Then their leader -- who has been pacing around the total circumference of the circle in perfect time -- instructs his charges to breath in deeply and then release the air in one steady note. An exalted "Aaaaahhhh" fills the town hall. These exercises are a mental workout for the mind and a study in concentration. The participants must block out the sound of passing traffic and the murmur of the weight watcher meeting being held in the base- ment. After the bizarre 20-minute workout, the instructor feels the participants are ready to move on to the second part of the session -- the schngpat. The instructor is John H. Foote and for the month of July he has been meeting with 25 people two times a week. Some of his charges are well- known local actors like Steve Foote, Taylor Price, Sherri Todd, Patti Gallant, Joe Szkeres, Chris Francom, Nor- ma Van Camp and Kellea Pass- more. But a few others had never set foot on a stage before. In the class "A study of char- acter -- Truth in acting", Mr. RL aa a rm Cola Foote covers a wide range of topics including improvisation, blocking, script work and cri- tiquing. or the improvisation seg- ment, the group is broken up into four smaller groups. Their assignment is to improvise a two minute pay, "There must be a crisis that is resolved by the end," Mr. Foote said. "And I don't want any shouting matches. That's easy." To put a hitch into the play, Mr. Foote said one actor cannot talk throughout the entire play, but the person must be part of the scene. The groups are given two minutes preparation time to come up with an idea. They have to think quick. "Fifteen seconds," Mr. Foote says. A few groups nervously giggle while a fury of conversa- tion continues among other groups who have still to come up with anidea. Finally, the instructor calls workshog me MEATING PLACE -- OPEN 7 DAYS a WEEK -- 180 Queen St., Port Perry 985-2818 BAKERY - DELICATESSEN - FRESH MEAT - COFFEE SHOP GUARANTEED INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES -- ANNUAL RATES -- Rates subject to change without notice. SCUGOG FINANCIAL SERVICES A DIVISION OF CRESSBROOK FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD. 250 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY - "Serving Scugog for Over 15 Years" PHONE 985-3832 Extra Large Pizza had | 00 per slice 4 TOPPINGS on 18" EXTRA LARGE $12 12 SLICES only ... Offer Valid August 1st to 5th, 1990 - 4 to 8 PM Pickup & Delivery. One Coupon per Pizza Open til 4 AM Thursday, Friday, Saturday. 985-2225 WATER ST. PORT PERRY time. All groups must be silent. The first group gets on stage and arranges a makeshift set, consisting of four stacking chairs and a table. Their sketch is about a daughter who finally gets up the courage to tell her parents she's pregnant. Other sketches include friends telling on a cheating husband, a doctor faced with telling parents that their child is dying and what happens to a man when he makes two dates on the same night. Mr. Foote is impressed with each group's effort and after giving them a well-deserved pat on the back, he points out a small error the third group made: One doctor said the child was dead and the other doctor said he wasn't really dead, just badly hurt. A full group improvisation follows. All class participants must be involved but the catch is there is no pre-planning. Two people are selected as "leaders." They must start the improvisa- tion and the others must find a way tofitin. The leaders play band leader and choir conductor. The con- flict revolved around whether the orchestra was drowning out the singers. As the improvisa- tion continued, the rest of the group came out as singers, mu- Lorraine Chisolo tenses up during the warm up exercises at the Borelians acting workshop. Deans, Janitors and backstage e The next element of the eve- ning is movie critiques. Two participants dissect movies "In The Heat Of The Night" and "Born On The Fourth Of July." The participants must give a complete overview, including plot summary, characteriza- tion, production and audience reaction, The object of the lesson is to make the participants more aware and more critical of what the actors are doing and saying on the screen. The last portion of the eve- ning is set aside for scene prep- aration. Mr. Foote has cast the participants in well-known plays and their end-of-term | NOW on VIDEO | CONNERY HOFFMAN BRODERICK "A terrific trio of actors...Sean Connery is terrific...Dustin Hoffman is brilliant... Matthew Broderick is wonderful" = Dennis Cusiningham, WCBSTV FAMILY BUSINESS © 1900 Atwork and Design ACA 'Columbia Pichures Home Video Af Fights Reserved 68 WATER STREET -- PORT PERRY -- 985-9888 76 BALDWIN STREET -- BROOKLIN -- 655-3306 1487 SIMCOE ST. N. -- OSHAWA -- 432-3727 project is to bring a scene to life. Participants will perform their scenes during the final classes this week. In an interview with the Star, Mr. Foote said he has seen drastic improvement by the seasoned veterans and the nov- ices. Mr. Foote uses the North American style of acting when teaching the students because he confesses he doesn't like the British style. Although Mr. Foote has taught many method acting seminars and has spoken to many groups on the topic of act- ing, this one month sequence of lessons encompassing an over- Turn to Page 30 I. oo 3