Courses
Acting for Screen and Stage-2025/2026
| Level 1 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| WRIT-1037 | Reason & Writing 1-Contemporary Media | 3 | ||
| This course will introduce contemporary media students to essential principles of reading, writing, and reasoning at the postsecondary level. Students will identify, summarize, analyze, and evaluate multiple short readings and write persuasive response essays to develop their vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, and critical thinking. | ||||
| ARTS-1095 | Acting Fundamentals | 3 | ||
| Students are introduced to the personal and group dynamics of actors' work, as well as, to professional industry standards. This course teaches the emerging actor foundational concepts and techniques: neutral mask work, zones of silence, the application of the essential questions based on Stanislavski's, Uta Hagen's and Meisner's methodologies. The emerging actor is also introduced to Viewpoints, a physical approach to acting. These techniques create the toolbox for the training process and a professional acting career. | ||||
| ARTS-1096 | Movement 1 | 2 | ||
| A heightened awareness is necessary to develop the actor's body. This course introduces the concept that the actor is the instrument and the container for stories. Through dance techniques, Elements of Dance and Authentic Movement, the aspiring actor develops a physical awareness without whole-body inhibitions that impede the imaginative process. The student begins to incorporate and practice warm-ups and full body work as part of the acting process. The understanding of the body as an instrument and in relation to space will be developed and explored. | ||||
| ARTS-1097 | Intro to Performance | 2 | ||
| This course introduces students to performance, exploring scenes and monologues from a variety of plays ranging from classical to contemporary works. Students will learn, then apply to their work, principles of relaxation, concentration, specificity, objectives, actions, and moment-to-moment spontaneity. History, significance, text analysis, performance practice, along with intensive background research will also be addressed. | ||||
| ARTS-1098 | Speech 1 | 2 | ||
| This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of a clear and healthy speech process. Students will learn to recognize and overcome unwanted habits and patterns of speech through exercises revealing and releasing physical tension, freeing the breath, and practicing natural articulation. Through an understanding of process, students will work to neutralize unwanted regionalisms or speech habits, opening up opportunities for the actor across various forms of media. | ||||
| DEVL-1063 | Development for Screen & Stage 1 | 1.5 | ||
| In this course, students will experience a variety of events related to and complementing the foundational basis of this term. With a focus on stage performance and careers, events will include guest speakers, workshops, and field trips. Students will also begin to develop their electronic portfolio. | ||||
| FILM-1001 | Film Criticism 1 | 3 | ||
| This course is designed to develop a critical approach to the medium of film; to examine individual creative expression in the films of important directors from various countries, with emphasis on cinematic history and theory; to develop the ability to identify technical aspects of film and to discern mediocre and excellent use of filmmaking technique. | ||||
| Level 2 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| COMM-3075 | Communications for Media | 3 | ||
| This course, designed for students who plan to work in the field of media, focuses on professional written and verbal communication skills. Students learn to prepare a variety of work-related documents. In addition, students learn about research methods and documentation formats. The principles of effective writing - organization, grammar, style, clarity, and tone - are reinforced throughout the course. The goal of the course is to prepare students for the communication tasks and considerations they will encounter in the media workplace in order to meet the needs of employers and/or the communities they will serve. | ||||
| ARTS-1099 | On Camera Skills 1 | 2 | ||
| In this course, the fundamentals of acting for a motion picture camera will be covered. Course topics will include screenplay fundamentals and analysis, set etiquette, who's who on a film set, filmmaking fundamentals (from the actor's perspective), 'working the frame,' and the elements of shooting a scene. The practical side of this course will involve rehearsing, blocking and shooting scenes that will be shot with 'coverage' (many takes, from many angles, with multiple frame sizes). | ||||
| ARTS-1100 | Speech 2 | 2 | ||
| In this course, we will continue to build on the foundational work learned in Speech 1. Students will practice natural articulation, expanding range and resonance, and centering impulse. Through a deepening understanding and application of process, we will continue to neutralize unwanted regionalisms and habits, creating opportunities for the actor across various forms of media, with an applied exploration of the differing requirements for speech in screen and stage work. | ||||
| ARTS-1101 | Movement 2 | 2 | ||
| Building on the skills presented in the previous term, students explore various forms of choreography, dance styles, physical creation and Viewpoints composition work. An emphasis is placed on actor as creator. Additionally, students will work deeply with alignment, self-awareness and neutral movement. The understanding of the body as an instrument in relation to space will be developed and explored. | ||||
| ARTS-1102 | Character Development | 2 | ||
| In this course students will work on two modules. In Meisner, students will learn and practice basic repetitions, behavourial repetitions and simple activities. In Improvisation, students apply the skills in development of comic and serious improvised scenes which will culminate in a final presentation. | ||||
| ARTS-1103 | Actor's Process | 2 | ||
| In this course, students will be cast in a role and skills acquired in the training will be applied to a specific project, a play, for the purpose of developing an actor's rehearsal process under professional standards. Applying script analysis, research, table reads and discussions, students will begin to make actor choices in the creation of a character. During rehearsals, students will experience taking direction, motivating blocking, embodying believable relationships and orchestrating the arc of their character. The class culminates in a public performance to experience the interplay of audience and actor. | ||||
| DEVL-1064 | Development for Screen & Stage 2 | 1.5 | ||
| Continuing on from Development 1, level 2 will see the students participate in more guest speaker series, workshops and field trips, this term, relating to both stage and screen industries. | ||||
| HIST-1056 | Theatre History: Survey of Theatre | 3 | ||
| When considering plays written in the English language-for good and for ill-one name stands above them all: William Shakespeare. What can we discover about the history of Western drama by positioning Shakespeare as the sun around which everything spins? This course will survey theatre in the Western tradition, establishing its origins (the time Before Shakespeare), profiling its disruption (the time During Shakespeare), and understanding what became possible for theatre as a result (the time After Shakespeare). We will reflect on social movement, political ideology, cultural zeitgeist, and historical moment. Close textual readings will apply diverse methodologies, anything from disability studies to postcolonial studies, to understand more deeply art's role-a role Shakespeare fashioned-in protest and dissent. | ||||
| Level 3 | ||||
| Gen Ed - Take a 3 credit General Education elective course. | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| ARTS-1104 | On Camera Skills 2 | 3 | ||
| This course will build upon the skills learned in On Camera skills 1, providing an in-depth look at breaking down screenplays, scenes, and characters to bring more to a story through the actor's craft. Students will work with motion picture directors and crew and gain hands-on experience in green-screen production. The acting student will leave the course with several examples of their work on camera to add to their portfolio. | ||||
| ARTS-1105 | Scene Study for Stage | 4 | ||
| Students discover how to put the actor's basic skills and tools to work by creating a dynamic and powerful scene for presentation. They use the skills acquired in the previous term to delve more deeply into creating an honest and authentic character. This course highlights how students can express themselves with confidence and serve their stories truthfully. They assume responsibility for their own creative growth and begin to follow impulse to discover surprises in honesty and engaged partnering. Through improvisation, acting exercises, research, and rehearsal techniques, students prepare and present a scene for evaluation at the end of the course. Performing for a larger audience at the end of term offers an opportunity to experience what a live audience does to the acting process. | ||||
| ARTS-3048 | Movement 3 | 2 | ||
| Grounded in physical awareness, the student actor continues to practice the sensitivity of their body as an instrument. The relationship with self and with the architecture of space in relation to other performers is deepened. Continued focused work is on alignment, self-awareness and a neutral body. Students will add to the skills learned in previous Movement courses and apply them to the creation of media projects and original work as an ensemble. | ||||
| ARTS-1106 | Voice Acting 1 | 2 | ||
| Students will learn the technical requirements and gain practical experience, including vocal care and script interpretation, in the vocal disciplines for animation, gaming and character voices. | ||||
| ENTP-1004 | Business Skills for the Actor | 1.5 | ||
| Acting is an entrepreneurial business and actors need a fundamental understanding of business management skills to manage their own time, money, taxes and resources. Topics to be discussed in this course include self-promotion and marketing, professional conduct and etiquette, and basic accounting and tax preparation as it relates to the industry. | ||||
| ARTS-1107 | Combat & Performance Capture | 1.5 | ||
| Combat and Performance Capture is designed to introduce basic actor combatant concepts of acted aggression for screen and stage. This course will give students the building blocks of armed and unarmed combat, stagecraft, safety techniques and core performance concepts to perform a scene with violence and dialogue for theatre, film, and digital motion capture. Students will experience the entire performance capture process from planning performances to recording face and body movements in real-time on a motion capture stage. | ||||
| DEVL-3014 | Development for Screen & Stage 3 | 1.5 | ||
| This course will offer more guest speakers, workshops and field trips, but this term the focus will be mainly on the media side of the actor's career. This course will include a 2-day field trip to Toronto where students will see and experience venues and events related to the Film & television, voice, animation and video gaming industries. | ||||
| Level 4 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| ARTS-1108 | Voice Acting 2 | 1.5 | ||
| Expanding upon skills developed in Voice Acting 1, students will learn the technical requirements and gain practical experience, including auditions and the business of voice acting, in the vocal disciplines for commercial, corporate, long- and short-form narration as well as live and recorded hosting. | ||||
| FILM-1025 | Scene Study for Film | 2 | ||
| In this course student actors will watch and analyze films and specific scenes as well as read and analyze screenplays in order to better understand their role in the cinematic storytelling process. Some on-camera work will be done in class. | ||||
| ENTP-1005 | Entrepreneurship & Auditions | 2 | ||
| Acting is an entrepreneurial business and actors need to know how to develop their own work and sell themselves and their service - in essence, create their own future. In this course, students will plan for their entry into the workforce and create a strong brand for themselves. They will also refine their resume and learn how to prepare and present themselves for a variety of auditions within the industry. | ||||
| ARTS-5031 | Collaborative Production | 7.1 | ||
| The student will have the opportunity to engage in a collaborative project involving one or more other programs where acting skills are needed in areas such as film, television, gaming and animation. The focus will be on replicating industry relationships and creating a real-world environment where actors must demonstrate awareness of the requirements of the medium in question, and the ability to work collaboratively within a team comprised of students from different disciplines. The actor's process, including research, rehearsal, performance, and reflective practice will form the basis of the student's capstone project. | ||||
| Gen Ed - Electives | ||||
| Take 3 General Education Credits - Normally taken in Level 3 | ||||
| Program Residency | ||||
| Students Must Complete a Minimum of 17 credits in this program at Fanshawe College to meet the Program Residency requirement and graduate from this program | ||||