Christine Schmalor

The Vertical of the Role

self-preparation of the actor​

This course accompanies Actors to develop and create a vertical of the role.

Finally, it is all about the lightness of artistic being.

This course invites teachers and pedagogues to learn the methodological steps
for their own teaching practice

THE VERTICAL OF THE ROLE is already a classic in the European Theatre. The method was created by Dr. Jurij Alschitz 25 years ago. Over the years it has naturally changed, many steps have been adapted by me for online teaching and lead to even more self-reliance for the artists.

At the centre of the method is a very practical aim: the self-preparation of the role. You become the author of the role and thus the encounter with the director on the film set or on the first day of rehearsals in the theatre takes place at eye level. This method will help you prepare for a role throughout your life. The clear work steps give you certainty as to which tasks you can set yourself and in what order so that you can grasp a role in all its dimensions.

In particular, the Vertical of the Role points the way to the philosophical-spiritual core of the character and challenges actors to act as independent artists. The character, or rather the personage, embodies different themes. They are hers and the author’s. Which themes are they? What do they mean today – and for me? This is where the dialogue with my personage begins. I should prepare myself well for this dialogue so that it takes place on an equal level. Only then can the common path begin, on which I respectfully approach him/her and in the best case reach the moment of mutual fusion – and may experience the light of the role.

By working on a Vertical of the Role, I decide above all to change my own personal role: from that of a mere actor to that of an artist who – immediately recognisable to everyone – enters the stage with a specific weight. My acting moves beyond an everyday realism, actions pursue an inner theme that refers to philosophical dimensions. This change of my role makes the difference. It needs to be worked out individually and ultimately leads to my own specific stage language, for which new sources of energy will be opened up.

Welcome to dive into the cosmos of Anton Chekhov
welcome to bring your own project with you

While everyone works with a character of their choice from Chekhov’s central plays – The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard – we have the chance to explore his cosmos together. We experience how interesting and fruitful working on the Vertical can be in an ensemble. Everyone will benefit from sharing, inspiring and supporting each other’s work.

However, it is also possible to submit your own suggestion if you are currently preparing a role and would like to work on it.

8 online ​group sessions + 2 individual coachings

This online course consists of 8 joint meetings for the different steps of the work. For this, specific tasks are sent out in advance. At the end of the course you will create a Vertical – a monologue made of many findings and facets, which can be realised on stage.

During the course, your work will be individually supported in 2 one-to-one coaching sessions: with further exercises, feedback, hints for the composition of the vertical, in short, with a personal guidance of the process.

By its very nature, this course requires independent work, i.e. intensive engagement with the tasks from one meeting to the next. Each session is 3 hours long, which allows for a lot of practical exercises, experiments, individual trial and error, exchange and feedback.

Perspective

As a group, we may decide to organise an offline follow-up seminar in 2024. This could be in Berlin or at various, some very romantic locations of our partner organisations in Europe. It would be about the realisation of the Vertical on stage, but above all about the “vertical play” with a special training to achieve the moment of transcendence on stage.

You can already start working on the Vertical of the Role. Please get the book by Jurij Alschitz directly from our bookshop as print or e-pub version.

If you register for this course, the e-pub version is included in the course fee.

Teacher

Christine Schmalor

Number of participants

Maximum number of participants  8

Teaching Language

The course will be held in simple English, you work in your mother tongue.
The one-to-one sessions will be in English or German.

Format

Online course with practical tasks and exercises.
If circumstances permit, the course will lead to a second part on stage.

Mode of operation

8 sessions of 3 hours, once a week
participants will have 2 individual consultations of 1 hour during this time, date to be arranged.
If you cannot attend one of the sessions, you can watch it online until the next one.

Certification

A Certificate will be issued by the World Theatre Training Institute AKT-ZENT | Research Centre of the International Theatre Institute.
Conditions: active participation with at least 75% attendance in the online sessions (up to 25% can also be made up via recording if attendance is not possible).

Course fee

270 € | incl. the e-book in EN|DE|IT

Course dates and Registration

No event found!

The course is not scheduled in the moment. You can express your wish to be informed about future dates by filling out the contact form.