No Acting Please

by Morris, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780962970931
• ISBN10: 096297093X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-04-01
• Publisher: Ermor Enterprises

Summary

A collection of 125 acting exercises that are based on journal excerpts and dialogues from Mr. Morris' classes. These exercises teach the actor to systematically eliminate his or her instrumental obstacles -- tensions, fears, inhibitions -- and explore the "being" state, where the actor does no more and no less than what he or she feels.As the title indicates, many of the techniques herein address the actor's need to avoid falling into the traps of concept and presentational acting. There is also a complete chapter on sense memory -- what it is, and how to practice it and apply it as an acting tool.Co-authored by Joan Hotchkis, and with a Foreword by Jack Nicholson.

Table of Contents

Being
On Being	1	(4)
Taped Excerpt From Being Exercise	5	(7)
Being Exercise Critique	12	(4)
From Joan's Journal, 1970	16	(1)
Being in Relation to Scene Work	17	(4)
From Joan's Journal, 1972	21	(1)
Different Being States	22	(3)
Being Exercises	25	(6)
Personal Inventory I	25	(1)
One-Person BEING	25	(2)
Personal Inventory	27	(1)
I Am, I Want, I Need, I Feel	28	(1)
What Do I Want?	28	(3)
Getting Ready To Get Ready
Tension: How it Affects the Actor	31	(3)
From Joan's Journal, Tuesday, April 4, 1972	34	(1)
Causes of Tension	35	(4)
The ``Actress''	39	(1)
Dealing with Tension	40	(3)
The Physical Relaxers	43	(4)
Tense and Relax	43	(1)
Logey	43	(1)
Rag Doll	43	(1)
Original BEING	44	(1)
Deep Breathing	44	(1)
Abandonment	44	(1)
Dump	45	(1)
Dealing with the Demon	45	(1)
Expose Innermost Feelings in Gibberish	46	(1)
The Ingestion Exercise	47	(1)
The Involvement Group	47	(1)
Taking Responsibility for Others	47	(1)
Total Selflessness	47	(1)
The Trivial Trio	48	(1)
Threshold of Interest	48	(1)
Internal Awareness	48	(1)
Personal Inventory I	49	(1)
Personal Inventory II	49	(1)
What Do I Want?	49	(1)
I Am, I Want, I Need, I Feel	49	(1)
External Awareness	49	(5)
Nature Walk	49	(1)
Awareness Levels	49	(1)
Observe, Wonder and Perceive I	50	(1)
Farmer's Market	50	(4)
Purposes of the Farmer's Market Exercise	54	(1)
Sensory Awareness	54	(5)
Sensory Inventory: How the Senses Work	55	(3)
Sensitizing	58	(1)
Getting to the Deeper Self	59	(6)
Stream of Consciousness	59	(1)
I'm Afraid That...	60	(1)
I Like That . . .	60	(1)
I Care, I Don't Care	60	(1)
Personal Point of View	60	(1)
Center Circle	60	(1)
Personal Inventory	60	(1)
Self Inventory	61	(4)
Getting Related to People on and off the Stage	65	(1)
The Round Exercises	66	(5)
Ego Reconstruction	66	(1)
Reluctancy	67	(2)
How I See Myself	69	(1)
Feedback	70	(1)
Two-People Relationship Exercise	71	(8)
Hold Hands and Look at Each Other	71	(1)
Two-People Touch	72	(1)
Relate as If for the First Time	72	(1)
Ask for What You Want	72	(1)
Double Exposure	73	(1)
Telepathy	73	(1)
Observe, Wonder and Perceive II	74	(2)
Two-People BEING	76	(1)
Rock and Stroke	77	(2)
Common Sensory Acting
Sense Memory	79	(3)
Sensory Inventory	80	(1)
The Sensory Game	81	(1)
Application of Sense Memory	82	(16)
The Sense Memory Exercise	82	(16)
About the Sense Memory Exercise	98	(1)
Sense Memory Checklist	99	(2)
Marathon: Sense Memory Round	101	(8)
Finding Your Best Time and Place to Work	109	(1)
Sensory Exploration and Experimentation	110	(4)
Sense Memory Looked Forward To	110	(1)
Feelies	110	(1)
Sense Memory Workout	110	(1)
What-Not Boxes	111	(1)
On-the-Spot Sense Memorizing	111	(1)
Kinesthetics	112	(1)
Sense Memory Guessing Games	112	(1)
Get a Sense of Being Naked	112	(1)
Recreate a Moment from Today	113	(1)
Animate an Inanimate Object	113	(1)
The Desert Exercise	113	(1)
Working with Meaningful Objects	114	(1)
Obligation and Choice	115	(2)
Using Sense Memory in Scene Work	117	(2)
The Rewards of Sense Memory	119	(4)
Preparation
``Methinks I Hear a Cannon''	123	(1)
Misunderst Anding Preparation	124	(2)
Begin by Being	126	(2)
One-Person BEING	25	(101)
Two-People BEING	126
Personal Inventories	49	(77)
The BEING Workout	126	(2)
Daily Practice	128	(2)
Instrumental Preparations	130	(1)
Preparations for Awarencess	130	(1)
The Cluster of Four	130	(1)
Super Consciousness	130
Farmer's Market	50	(81)
Observe, Wonder and Perceive	131	(1)
Dialogue on Craft	131	(9)
Sensory Inventory	55	(24)
Sense Memory	79	(53)
Sensuality	132	(1)
Ego Preparations	133	(2)
Get a Sense of What You Used To Be	135	(1)
Take Your Due	135	(1)
Sense of Worth	136	(1)
Don't Care	136	(1)
Positivity and Validation	137	(1)
Fun Exercises	137	(1)
Comparative Ego	138	(1)
Make Yourself Beautiful	138	(1)
Take-Over or Evangelist	138	(1)
Magic Pocket	139	(1)
Yeah! Yeah!	139	(1)
Feel and Affirm Self	139	(1)
Preparations for Vulnerability	140	(1)
Dialogue on Vulnerability	140	(18)
Group Vulnerability	142	(1)
Pique and Expose Needs	143	(1)
Evocative Words	143	(1)
Sensory Choice	144	(1)
Affection, Tenderness and Love	144	(1)
Fear, Love and Hate	145	(1)
Ask for Help	145	(1)
Imaginary Monologue	145	(1)
Abandonment Exercises for Vulnerability	146	(1)
Preparations for the Imagination	147	(1)
Pretend: Self and Two-People	148	(1)
Story Telling	149	(1)
Essences and Abstracts	149	(1)
Frontis Exercise	150	(1)
Fantas	150	(1)
Fantasies	150	(1)
Children's Games	151	(1)
Believability	151	(7)
Preparations for Relating to People, Objects and Places	158	(11)
Two-People Believability	159	(1)
Blind Investigate	160
Observe, Wonder and Perceive II	74	(86)
Talk About What You're Most Afraid Of	160	(1)
Non-Verbal Communication	161	(1)
Relate Moment-to-Moment with What You Feel	161	(1)
Share	161	(1)
Two-People Trick	161	(1)
Imaginary Monologue to a Real Partner but Talking to Someone Else	162	(1)
Imaginary Dialogue With Real Partner, Take Personally What's Said to You	163	(1)
Pick Up on Every-thing You Didn't Notice Before	163	(1)
Make Yourself Comfortable in this Place	163	(1)
Build a Beautiful Place Around You	163	(1)
Sensory Speculation	164	(1)
Affecting How You Already Feel	164	(2)
Affecting the Way You Feel About the Other Actor	166	(1)
Preparational Inventories	167	(1)
Create a Different Environment	168	(1)
Sensory Choice To Meet Obligation	168	(1)
Make Everything Around You More Important Than You	168	(1)
Say Words to Yourself Relating to a Meaningful Experience	169	(1)
Preparations for Doing the Role	169
From Joan's Journal: Using Preparation on the Job	169
Two-People Three-Part Relationship	171
Two-People Preparation	171
Group Preparation	172
Pretend Series	172
Character Background Preparation	173
Three-Step Monologue	173
Four-Part Word Preparation	173