Directing the Actor: A USC course with Nina Foch

Course Curriculum

Chapter 1: Introduction

Lecture 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Breaking Down The Script

Lecture 1: Story, Moral, and Spine

Lecture 2: Putting it into practice: "Casablanca"

Lecture 3: Scene Breakdown

Lecture 4: "Casablanca" clip

Chapter 3: Casting

Lecture 1: Analyzing the Headshot

Lecture 2: Meeting the Actor

Lecture 3: Evaluating the Actor

Lecture 4: Casting Session I

Lecture 5: Casting Session II

Lecture 6: Casting Session III

Chapter 4: Quick Tips: Casting

Lecture 1: Have a Good Gatekeeper

Lecture 2: Setting up the Room

Lecture 3: Sloppy Actors

Lecture 4: Grungy Actors

Lecture 5: Don't Help

Lecture 6: What Not to Say

Chapter 5: Class Exercises

Lecture 1: Partnering Exercise: Hot Objects

Lecture 2: Hot Objects: Examples

Lecture 3: Entrances & Exits: Airport Exercise

Lecture 4: Scene Adjustments: "Jerry Maguire"

Chapter 6: Video Scene Analysis

Lecture 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: "Eat Drink Man Woman"

Lecture 3: "Boogie Nights"

Lecture 4: "Notting Hill"

Lecture 5: "The Graduate"

Lecture 6: "Almost Famous"

Lecture 7: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"

Lecture 8: "Sex and the City"

Chapter 7: Directing Lessons

Lecture 1: Two Truths Coming Together

Lecture 2: What is "sexy"?

Lecture 3: Share Your Life

Lecture 4: Correcting Bad Habits

Lecture 5: Dialogue Handles

Lecture 6: Close Your Eyes and Listen

Lecture 7: Directing Narration

Lecture 8: Stick to the Script

Lecture 9: Don't Rush the Table Read

Lecture 10: Include the Writer

Lecture 11: Let the Script Guide You

Lecture 12: Learn the Actor's Craft

Lecture 13: Be Prepared

Lecture 14: I Can't Hear You

Lecture 15: Furniture Is Movable

Chapter 8: Quick Tips: Directing

Lecture 1: Win This Fight

Lecture 2: Actors Who Drink

Lecture 3: The Ten-minute Nap

Lecture 4: When an Actor Forgets Lines

Lecture 5: Don't Yawn

Lecture 6: Marking Props and Wardrobe

Chapter 9: Acting Lessons

Lecture 1: Don't Look Down

Lecture 2: Drunk, Drugged, or Insane

Lecture 3: Sources of Power

Lecture 4: Getting Turned On

Lecture 5: Filling Entrances and Exits

Lecture 6: Sequential Linkage

Lecture 7: Building Logical Character Beats

Lecture 8: Tap Dance Therapy

Lecture 9: Know the Setups

Lecture 10: Do Your Homework

Lecture 11: Make it Organic

Lecture 12: Lizards and Tarragon

Lecture 13: Going to a Zero

Lecture 14: Relaxation Techniques

Chapter 10: Quick Tips: Acting

Lecture 1: Funny Feet

Lecture 2: Filling the Entrance

Chapter 11: Showbiz Tales

Lecture 1: "An American in Paris"

Lecture 2: Billy Wilder

Lecture 3: Laurence Olivier on Being Foolish

Lecture 4: John Wayne Was Right

Lecture 5: Cecil B. DeMille

Lecture 6: William Holden and Lee J. Cobb

Lecture 7: Cloris Leachman's Banana

Lecture 8: There are no Small Parts

Lecture 9: Lillian Gish and the Poorhouse

Lecture 10: Coaching "The Diary of Anne Frank"

Lecture 11: Giselda Weberser Piffle

Lecture 12: Wherever I'm standing is the Center

Lecture 13: The Nina Foch Memorial Light

Chapter 12: Life Lessons

Lecture 1: Don't Be Late

Lecture 2: Failure is Your Friend

Lecture 3: Demand Your Best

Lecture 4: Be Brave

Chapter 13: Nina Foch Critiques Herself in "Illegal"