Assessment of a training programme for actors to make the shifts from theatre acting to film acting

Abstract

The lack of standardised and structured training, underscored by an academic discourse on film acting, necessitates the designing of a training programme that critically engages with this notion. This study aims to contribute to film acting as a field of study by designing, teaching and assessing the efficacy of a film acting training program. The film acting programme in question addresses the shifts between acting for theatre and acting for film, based on and contributing to scholarly discourse, whilst taking various learning preferences into account. This study makes use of mixed methods to answer the main research question – How does one teach the shifts from theatre acting to film acting? The answer to this question includes defining the shifts from theatre acting to film acting and the means through which these shifts can be taught to individual actors. Four sub-aims are consequently investigated. The first sub-aim examines the performance shifts from theatre acting to film acting. The commonalities in acting in both media are defined, so that the differences may become clear. The findings of sub-aim one serves as impetus for the second sub-aim, which explores several embodied acting approaches to determine how these approaches can be applied to the teaching of the differences between acting for theatre and acting for film. Pedagogical strategies pertaining to teaching and learning are consequently studied, and the elements of these strategies are incorporated in the designing and teaching of the film acting training programme in question (sub-aim three). The final aim focuses on the efficacy of the designed programme. Feedback from the facilitator, the participating actors and a panel of experts is discussed. It is concluded that this study offers a structured film acting training programme that facilitates the shifts from theatre acting to film acting while adhering to students’ thinking and learning preferences.