Interpreting the Script

Interpreting the Script

Adv. Begin/Advanced - Online

Interpreting the Script

  • 8 Thursdays at 10:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific

  • Limit 8 actors. 

The dramatist or screenwriter only begins the process, offering hints and pointing the actor in a general direction, but it’s the actor’s job to uncover the clues in the text en route to a full-blooded portrait and an indelible character who can serve as a storytelling archetype.

Interpreting the Script offers the most precise, efficient and powerful process to go from the page to character choices. How do we first discover the clues embedded in the text and then begin to turn those clues into the dynamic, living being implied by the material? 

The many phases of script interpretation include reading the script, the first read, discovering text clues, understanding and interpreting the implications and resonance of text clues such as language, transitions, telling responses, unexpected turns of phrase, etc. Actors also learn to discover how to turn the evidence they uncover into choices for organic, rehearsal exploration.  

Students emerge with a clear process of discovery and a mastery of the early stages of exploration that eventually lead to a detailed and powerful characterization.  

8 weeks: $440. (or two installments of $220.)   

              10% Early Bird, Multi-class and Couples Discounts are available

    Early Bird discount for current and former students ends 5/24/24 at midnight

Write to [email protected] or call 805.451.6789 

to register, ask any questions or to schedule an interview 

N.B. All courses progress in a logical and consecutive sequence. Furthermore, students are frequently turned away once the maximum number of participants has been reached. For these reasons, students who begin the session agree to complete the entire session and are, therefore, financially responsible for that session.

Testimonials

"He taught more than any other teacher I had . . . is responsible for creating the kind of actor I am today. He taught me how to truly take risks in my work, invest authentically in my characters, and expect nothing but professionalism from myself and my colleagues. Peter’s standards were high and exacting, and as a student, I was thrilled to be held to them. It was the first time I had been treated like an actor, not just as a student. The method that Peter taught is still one that I use today – he gave me the tools to access, emotionally and intellectually, very dense material. He allowed me to see that with every character, every piece there is always a way that is deeper and truer than you first imagine.”
Julianne Moore, Actress

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