Louis Scheeder, the Director of the Classical Studio NYU, and co-author of Training of The American Actor lead a charged session focusing on Act I scene I, with special attention to his theories of the ‘performative utterance’.

- the idea that each line spoken is done so to actively change something in the person to which we are speaking. That if we play each line with the belief that we shall affect our desired change, to play to win, then the relationships and movements of the scene become clear and energized.

The group discovered that it is extremely important to dispel any preconceptions about a scene when approaching it, as we often attempt to play a preplanned idea of the action and character and are thus not open to the many contradictions in each moment that makes them so interesting and the characters so human.

Louis stated that he believes that almost every character contradicts themselves at least once in every scene.

Playing every sentence performatively, speaking it to affect change then and there means that we are entirely unaware of the coming contradiction but play it fully as it comes. The moment becomes all that matters. This focus us on achieving alleviates the need to act, allowing us merely to do.


Additionally we explored how the occurrence of incomplete lines in the verse can help towards finding moments of action and poignancy in the silence. What is occurring in those moments of the incomplete pentameter? Where does the silence fall, and why?