Jurij Alschitz

45 Questions for the Role

A Method for self-preparation of the Actor, Director, Teacher

Dr Jurij Alschitz started asking questions of the role many years ago as a director and teacher and developed this primarily as a method for actors. Meanwhile, more and more questions have been added. The encounters with various world cultures in the course of research for the World Theatre Training Library have opened up new aspects and perspectives. His textbook became a bestseller in several languages.

In this online course, all questions will now be asked live and considered together. A project for the staying power: in 18 sessions the many ways of looking at a role are revealed and at the end we will hopefully have more questions than ever before.

Jurij Alschitz: “You probably want to know right away, in two words, what this course is about in order to decide whether it will be useful for you. You can say without a doubt, it will not be useful to you if you are not a professional actor, director, student or teacher at a drama school. You don’t need it at all if your profession as an actor has been clear to you for a long time and you’re happy with yourself and the theater you do.

But! This course can be very useful for you if you are ready to work independently – not under instruction, if you have a desire to be an independent artist, if you want to become the author of your own role.”

18 meetings

1

Basics and introduction to the method of questions.
In the beginning, there was chaos.
Where does the role come from?
What is the name of your role?
What are the different ages of the role?
What are the illusions and what are the realities of the role?

2

Wherein lies the beauty of the role?
How are the ethics and aesthetics of the role revealed?
What is the theatre gene of the role?
What is the integrity and infinity of the role?
Does the role seduce through its artistry?

3

On what foundation is the role built?
What is the background of the role?
What is the air that the role breathes? 
What is there in the empty space of the role?
How do the laws of gravity affect the role?

4

The role and its performer – The actor and his role.
Is this role written for you?
What is the uniqueness of the role?
What is the idea of the role and is it relevant?
What is the distance between the actor and the role?
What positions are taken by the actor and the role?

5

What is the plot of the role?
What is its theme? What are the themes of the role?
What is the myth of the role? The role as haiku.
The words of the role, the words of the text – are they the text of the role?
Multidimensional thinking in a role – a thousand and one roles.

6

What are the sources of energy for the role?
How do you find the sources of energy for the actor?
What are the tensions of the role based on?
What comparisons can we do with the role? Are they useful?

 

7

Do we find paradoxes in the role?
Why do we need truth, lies and mistakes in the role?
What is the secret of the role? What riddles does the role pose to us?
What about the humour of the role?

8

What composition of the role does the author propose?
How is the path of the role laid out by the actor?
One’s own path – the question of equality and respect for the author and the work of others.

9

The laws of the role: why do we need to know them and why do we need to violate them?  
The composition of the role and the composition of the play – in what way do they reflect each other?
What is the structure of the role? What is the structure of the actor? What is revealed in the performance?

10

How can you look at the role? As a line – corridor – plane – labyrinth – ornament – sphere?

What is a “rhizome” and how can this principle be used for the role?

11

What is the ” vertical of the role”?
A question leads to its own method of role preparation.
What musical forms and laws do we find in the role?
The musicality of the role.

session with Christine Schmalor

12

The Metaphysics of the Role.
How do you define the time and space of a role?
What is the karma of the role? How can it be formulated?
What language does the role have, and how does the language of the actor relate to it?
Is there a style of the role?
Which genre does the role have?

13

What are the facts and what are the events of the role?
From the line to the grid of events – how is the path?
What is the explicit and implicit sequence of events in the role?

14

The three hypostases of the role: The physical life of the role – The emotions of the role – The words of the role.
How are they born, live and kill each other?

15

How can one judge a role by what it does not say and what it does not do?

Does the role have humour?

16

What means ‘doublesystem’ of the role?
How does the stress test look like for a role? What stresses it?
Which imagines you find in a role?
The role as a centaur? As a ‘matryoshka’?

17

 

Moments of the role. The role under the microscope.
How many micro-scenes does the role have?
Does the role have to be taken literally? Is it love of detail or pedantry?
How can I deal with the role brutally and delicately?

18

Integrity and fragmentation of the role.
What are the perspectives beyond the role? Past – future?
How does the role expand?
Why does the role aspire to the Fujiyama?
Where is the role heading?

 

P.S. “If you read the content of the meetings carefully, you’ll realize that the role is a living being to be met with. Each meeting is a new dialogue. A new dialogue reveals to you a new facet of it. Thus, in discovering a role, you discover yourself. It’s not a shortcut, but it leads to success.”   J.A.

Teacher

Dr Jurij Alschitz

Number of participants

Minimum number of participants  10

Teaching Language

English

Format

Online lecture with practical tasks and exercises.

Mode of operation

18 sessions once a week | 3 hours

All courses are recorded and can be viewed by the participants. A missed date can therefore be made up.
Each meeting can also be booked separately.

Certification

A Certificate for the whole course will be issued by the World Theatre Training Institute AKT-ZENT | Research Centre of the International Theatre Institute.

Conditions: active participation with at least 50% attendance in the online sessions (up to 50% can also be made up via recording if attendance is not possible).

Cost

50 € single session
650 € whole course

Course dates and registration

This course will be re-scheduled. We will be glad to receive your expression of interest. Please use our contact form.