Drama 1 Notes & Exercises

Acting One is a book written by Robert Cohen - A theater professor at the University of California in Irvine. I have used this book for the past seven years as a basis for my Drama One students. It is excellent! My notes are based on the information found in Acting One and on my classroom experiences. I have made several additions, including many exercises to accommodate a high school setting.

Acting Fundamentals

According to Robert Cohen, many young actors wish to leap into the classics, and into the extremes of farce and tragedy, well before they have even begun to master the basics of talking, listening, tactical interplay, physicalizing, building scenes and making good choices. The fundamentals should be set down first. These following lessons hold true for Shakespearean acting, comedy and/or television. If one gets a good handle on these basic fundamentals, he or she will be able to move into more advanced acting problems with confidence.