The DonnaDavis

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  Drama Workshop

A SAFE PLACE FOR RISK-TAKING

**NEXT SESSION STARTS JANUARY 31**

Expand your range--Develop your skills.

Study Scenes and Monologs

Practice Techniques for Memorizing and Auditioning

This is a variant of the Section III workshop.

  10 weeks

Saturday Mornings, 9 to noon

At Live Oak Theatre in Berkeley

Shattuck at Berryman

The workshop is custom-designed for each group of students.

Maximum enrollment is 10.
Each person works every time we meet.

30 hours..............$450

To register or ask questions, call 510-526-0671

Keep Reading!

 

 
Donna Davis

 

THE BASIC WORKSHOPS

 

Section One teaches techniques for Acting from Physical Truth®.

It includes individual and group exercises in Structured Improvisation, with specific work on:

  
 


~ voice, speech and movement techniques ~
~characterization and scene study ~

 

  
 

Section One is open to experienced actors and to beginners. Experienced actors will refine their skills while beginners are discovering theirs.
For more information on class formats, please see below.

  


Section Two is The Character-Study Project.

Each student will create an original character, using techniques and exercises founded on

***********************Acting from Physical Truth.***********************

This work enables the actor to expand the range of possible roles by finding and using previously inaccessible aspects of personality.

  
     

Section Three focuses on Scripted Scenes supported byStructured Improvisation.

It includes techniques for:

 
   
  • Characterization
  • Short-cuts to memorization
  • Playing against type
  
   
 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What method do you use?
Do you teach The Method?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I don't know of any two teachers who have the same definition of " The Method". Generally, what people want to know is whether or not my approach is similar to that of Stanislavsky. Well, yes and no.

The teaching lineage is this: My teacher was Mary Harris. Her teacher was Maria Ouspenskaya. Her teacher was Constantin Stanislavsky. His perspective has informed my work as an actor, a director and a teacher.

My own method has evolved through many years of figuring out what will help an actor progress from point A to point B. It is founded on the principle that acting is telling the truth. The actor must have a trained body and psyche so that the truth of a specific character in a specific circumstance can be made believable.

What do you mean by "Acting from Physical Truth®"?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increasing numbers of student actors show up who use their bodies only to carry their voices around. They don't know what their bodies are doing. They don't know what they are feeling. Having identified a feeling, they don't know where they are feeling it. This is like having a tool kit and not knowing the location or use of the tools. This is, incidentally, not surprising. Most of our education is focused on the intellect and is achieved while sitting. Much of what is valued in the world of ordinary work is intellectual, and is achieved while sitting. A major function of the Drama Workshop is to connect the body with the psyche.

This should not be construed as an anti-intellect stance. There is an often stated and misunderstood belief that actors are children. Those who use this as a put-down mean that actors don't use their brains. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Someone with a lazy brain might possibly become a performer, but never an actor. Actors must be alert to observe and learn constantly. Nothing in life is irrelevant to acting, and so the mind of an actor must be constantly paying attention. The positive aspect of being child-like is that actors also need to nourish and activate the capacity for playful uses of the imagination.

In my opinion, characterization must begin with finding the body of the character. In what ways are the actor and character alike and different? How does the character walk, and why? What change does the actor make in the body in order to shift gears and begin playing the scene? As the actor discovers the physical truth of the character, the psychological truth becomes credible. In the Workshop, especially in Section One, we do a lot of physical exploration combining movement with imagery.

Why do you mention that "every actor works every time we meet"?

 

 A very common format for acting classes has only one or two pairs of students working at each meeting. The Drama Workshop always includes group exercises and individual work, and when we do scripted scenes, all of them are worked every time we meet. This is the primary reason that the class size is limited to 10 persons.

Is it okay to take your workshop if my only previous acting experience was playing a turnip in third grade?

 It is okay to take Section One even if you have never been on stage at all. My workshops require you to work with your body and your mind and your imagination. You have been using these things all your life; the workshop will show you how to make more effective choices in how you use your equipment.

I am an experienced actor. If Section One is open to beginners, what am I going to get out of it?

 

 Whatever your stage of development, I will push you to move ahead and offer you the help you need in order to do that. No one has ever complained of being under-challenged in my classes. I think one of the most important tasks for any teacher is the careful and caring assessment of just how much pushing is right for each student.

I am an experienced actor. If I register for Section One, would beginning students critique my work?

 


 

 Other students will report to you what they understood and what they believed. They will not give you negative comments. If I think that you can do more or make better choices, I will explain clearly what I mean and give you a chance to try it again. I have never been heard to say, "That was awful! Do something else." I have had ample opportunity to observe that when an actor (or anyone else) receives 99 positive comments and one negative one, the negative comment is the only one that is remembered when the actor leaves the room. I go to considerable lengths to avoid that phenomenon.

What is the usual format of the workshop?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Section One, each meeting begins on the floor, with exercises for breathing, relaxation, focusing, and imagination. The imagination is like a muscle--it needs to be exercised in various ways. The second phase is movement, followed by many kinds of voice and speech exercises.
The balance of the time is spent on different approaches to characterization. During the eight weeks, the proportion of time spent on technique diminishes in relation to the time spent on characterization. All work, including homework, is improvised. The homework assignment gives students the opportunity to develop a scene more fully than is possible in an on-the-spot assignment.

In Section Two, we begin on the floor, and use exercises for technique as needed. The focus of the work is a character-study project, the goal of which is to make repressed aspects of the personality accessible to the actor. Again, all work, including homework, is improvised.

In Section Three, we begin on the floor, and use exercises for technique as needed. We work on scripted scenes, usually for two persons, some chosen by the actors and some by me. I usually assign roles against type. I want people to be able to play parts they have thought were beyond their range. During the eight weeks, most people work on two scenes. The characters are very thoroughly explored.

Is there any point in taking only Section One of the Workshop?

 Absolutely yes. Whatever you do next, the skills you develop in Section One will make you more effective, on stage and off.

What if I have to miss a week?

 Training is part of an actor's work. I expect students to give priority to the Workshop. In rare circumstances, I give students a chance to present two assignments. Even more rarely, I offer someone a private session to make up for the missed class.

What do I need to bring to class?

 

 A mat or towel. Soft, flat shoes. Clothing loose enough so that you can move and breathe. (No tight belts or waistbands!) Most importantly, a willingness to learn and grow and change, to work hard and to play.
 
   
   
     
Students from the workshop have gone on to act in a variety of productions
         

Photo by Charles G. Haacker
  
Photo by Ray Young
Misalliance Lost in Yonkers

 

COMMENTS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS
 


It more than lived up to my expectations--I developed abilities I didn't know I had.
Michael Talkovsky

A challenging, empowering environment in which diversity is nurtured into theatrical creativity
Michael Goico

This class is a work-out! Each week, I walk out of class energized. The most exciting thing is watching how quickly and how joyfully people learn to be better actors. Donna is the most creative drama teacher I know.
Liza Holmes

I have worked as an actress and taken acting workshops and classes from Maine to California. Donna's Drama Workshop has been the most positive learning experience I have had in my theater career. She and her students create an environment that is supportive and nurturing; it provides you with the opportunity to make exciting discoveries about the material you are working with as well as about yourself. Read any review in any paper, take any other class from any other teacher, and they'll tell you what you just did wrong. Donna has a NO NEGATIVITY rule; you are NOT allowed to comment on what you do not see, what you might think is "wrong" with the scene. You are only permitted to talk about what you DO see the actor doing. At first I did not understand how her policy could really work. Than as I watched actor after actor totally transform on stage, I realized that it is positive reinforcement that had guided those actors to make those transforming choices. It is amazing!
Paula M. Cassini
Member, AEA

I have taken Donna's workshop 4 times, and I know I will take it again. I get something new each time. Whether as a beginner or an experienced actor, one can always learn and hone their craft in this class.
Larry LePaule

For me, the workshop has been safe, non-homophobic, and enabled me to work on stage--a life-long fantasy. The workshop pushed me beyond my own limits.
Robert Frank

Donna Davis is an amazing guide to our inner stores of courage. She helps you get at the truth that lies locked in your physical body. She has a wonderfully diverse set of techniques that give you the tools to project yourself into the hearts and minds of your audience.
A. Stout

I feel that the many books I have read and (other) acting courses I have taken have been given life and nuance. I realized that tension is an important force for the actor: that the art is. . . in the learning to focus energy.
Mark Irwin

Powerful, exciting and transformative-all describe Donna Davis' work. After the workshop, I went to my first audition and won a role. After the performances, no one knew this had been my first play.
Kathy Owens

I always thought that 'acting' was about becoming someone else. But when I worked with Donna, I began to discover what is within me, and to learn how to bring forth a deeper richness of expression from within. Donna's guidance and support helped me connect in new ways with my body, my breath, my imagination…and helped me begin to realize new ways of being in the world. Thank you, Donna!
Candace Coar

Each lesson and assignment furthered individual growth and built on previously attained skills. Since she was aware of differing individual ability, she created a learning environment of acceptance, sensitivity and encouragement.
Nancy Voss Tucker

I almost couldn't believe the way I felt when I left class-from being so uptight, frightened, self-conscious, ill at ease, when I came in, to exit so relaxed, so carefree, so confident.
Selma Lofgren

Donna teaches with an enormous sense of integrity, and attention to detail, and she has a genuine caring for her students and their education.
David Grosblatt

Whatever your role, whatever the given circumstances, you learn to know and understand who you are, what you are doing, why you are doing it, and-most importantly-how you are doing it, so the proper responses can be recalled unfailingly time after time.
Jack Tucker

Donna teaches with a gentle and loving hand. She is persistent, yet never invasive of each actor's unique process. Through her sensitive guidance, I have been able to discover and explore new aspects of my acting.
Jennifer Pawlitschek

...I finally understand what they mean by technique. It's a very supportive environment where it is o.k. to fail and wonderful to succeed.
Skip Goodman

I know my work has grown as a result of learning to see what is valuable in others' work, and I am free to concentrate on my own work because I don't have to worry about defending myself from being trashed.
Sarah Ross

Studying with Donna Davis brought me the kind of joy that only comes from reaching in deep and doing my absolute best work possible. Using her great skill as a teacher, Donna gently demanded that I shine.
Esther Ehrlich

As a gay man, I know that anything that makes me feel better about my skills and talent will cross over into my life. The workshop made me a more astute observer and participant in life. Usually a minority person going into an acting class must overcome preconceptions about being gay or black or whatever. In this workshop, you don't have to deal with all those preconceptions--you can just start to work!
Ken Dixon, Artistic Director of Theatre Rhinoceros

I feel supported while I am challenged to grow. If you take your acting seriously, this workshop is the place to be.
Kit Baxter

 

  
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