Christine Schmalor

The Vertical of the Role

self-preparation of the actor​

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

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. The actor becomes 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.

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

“If thoughts and ideas are to fly, we ourselves must take off from the earth, even if it is only a little bit.” J.A.

The Cosmos of Anton Chekhov

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.

7 online ​group sessions + 2 individual coachings

This online course consists of 7 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 I will support the work individually 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.

This course requires intensive work from one session to the next. Each session has 3 hours, which allows for a lot of practical exercises, experiments, individual trial and error, exchange and feedback.

Perspective

Depending on the Covid 19 situation, we are planning a workshop for the realisation of a Vertical on Stage for spring 2023. This will be about “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

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

Course fee

240 € | incl. the e-book in EN|DE|IT

Course dates and Registration

This course will be offered again soon, you can express your wish to be informed about future dates by filling out the contact form.

Your expression of interest helps us greatly in planning future courses.