page six The Other Press Tuesday, December 9, 1980. ‘a pretty schizophrenic thing’ by JAYNE AKIZUKI Act(vb) 1:to perform by- action especially on the stage; also: feign, simulate pretend. “You spend your whole life trying to do what they put people in asylums for,’’ - Jane Fonda. Webster’s definition of acting is fairly accurate, althought there are some who would argue that acting is not pretending; it is being. Ms. Fonda definition though,;- captures the very essence of the acting profes- sion, as Fonda Points out, assuming someone else’s psyche for an audience is a pretty schizophrenic thing to do. Why then, would any- one with a shred of sanity want to act? At Douglas College, there are ten students all with reasonably notmal minds, who spend at least six classroom hours a week learning the basics of acting. They improvise scenes attend plays, analyze each others work and seem to have a great time doing it. There is no leader among them; they work well as a group and try to keep closely attuned to each other, rather like a dirt clot. However, they are acting for various reasons. Only three of the students - Mark Barron, Nigel Har- vey, and Your truly - are taking all four of the colleges theatre courses. Mark, who would like to try his hand at writing plays considers dra- ma ‘‘a good opportunity to grow as a person.’ He explained that his involve ment in high school drama helped him tobe ‘‘more uninhibited, self-confident, not as quiet.’’ Improved | self-confidence was cited by students and teachers alike as one of actings personal benefits. For Nigel Harvey, who is serious about an _ acting career, the other benefits are an outlet for his need for appreceation and attention, a greater degree of imgina- tion and sensitivity, and a ee MIGHTY GOOD BEER Columbia Extra Labatts. chance to express himself. Another thesbian, Laurel Cooper, says that she is now more outgoing and a better public speaker. Jim Sturgeon, a_ visual arts student, plans a career in film-making and is taking acting to better understand actors. Dawn Flanagan, who played Nora in last year’s Douglas College pro- duction of ‘‘Ah Wilder- ness,!’’ has a year to go before earning her teaching certificate from SFU. She wants to introduce elemen- tary school students to drama because ‘‘so much emphasis at school is placed on sports and not creativ- ity.”’ The acting students are taught by Lisa Manches. She is substituting for Dorothy Jones, the head of the college’s theatre depart- ment, who is on sabbatical leave this year. During her leave Jones is doing program develope- ment and researching the- atre training. Due to a lack of facilities and funding the theatre program is currently in a state of transition. There is no Set Construction course this year, nor a Play Production course (one of the acting students’ biggest beefs). Jones hopes to have an expanded, unique prog- ram ready for the opening of Douglas College’s new the- atre in 1982. The other theatre courses being offered next semester, besides Intermediate Acting, are Intermediate Speech, Intermediate Movement and History of Theatre. Students will be allowed to take the intermediate classes without having taken the basic courses, although they will only get credit for the latter. To the aspiring actor, speech and stage movement -are vital for basic training. Karen Greenhough, teach- es the Basic Movément class. A typical lesson be- gins with 45 minutes of warm-up and isolation exerc- ises. The remaining hour and a quarter is devoted to activities that help the stu- dents use their bodies as inStruments’ of expression and become aware of body control for the stage. As Greenhough puts it, much of the work done is anti-intell- ectual; that is the students follow the dictates of their bodies, not their minds. Greenhough was a high school drama teacher in Calgary. She has studied dance under Anna Wyman, and now works as an inde- pendent choreographer. She also teaches dance and movement at SFU. Basic Speech and History of Theatre are both taught by Gwyneth Harvey. For speech the students learn how to relax to produce a full voice. This is followed by exercises in breath con- trol, intoning, resonance, ar- ticulation, projection and in- terpretation, which has the students doing everything from crying on cue to recit- ing sonnets to repeating ‘‘Betty Botter bought some butter’ rapidly, five times. Harvey (no relation to Nigel) has been involved in the theatre nearly all her life. The daughter of a singer and elocutionist, she began dra- ma lessons at 12, directed a play at 16 and made her professional acting debut in Winnipeg at 18. She has many years experience in radio-broadcasting and com- munity theatre. Now into her sixth year a Douglas, Harvey says that “‘any student regardless of ultimate aim is going to benefit extremely from any one of our theatre classes.’’ If that statement puzzles you, stop and think about it. Speech classes can equip you with a pleasant voice, an asset to anyone and most people could stand to up- grade their speech habits. Basic Movement improves posture, coordination and flexibility. Acting concen- trates on developing imagin- ation, cooperation with oth- ers and communication skills. Acting has brought many a wallflower out of the woodwork. Confidence and self-discovery are bonuses you get from working hard at acting; and it is hard work; it is exhilarating and a genuine high.