Edith was educated with a B.A. in Political Science from Millersville University, and a M.A. in Theater from New York University, with one semester at Bretton Hall College in England.

198641 Resource 100513 101704 101704 1204574068378 1204575713048 Controlled BREAKING THROUGH THE COOL, GETTING TO COMEDY

You’ve heard the saying: “Dying is hard. Comedy is harder.”

“To be cool” is the mantra of many teenagers. The monotone, the lack of obvious emotion, the whole tendency towards the laid-back slacker attitude—it’s all the antithesis of comedy. Getting middle school and high school students to break through the cool and act is one of the most difficult things for a director to do. When I teach or direct teenagers, I put it to them up front at the first rehearsal or class: “If you’re here to be cool, you’re in the wrong place. If you can play the fool without feeling foolish, you’ll begin to understand the essence of comedic acting.” I point out Jim Carey movies and how over the top he goes, or Saturday Night Live, where actors who “go for it” are the ones who get the most laughs.  Of course, this isn’t enough. In middle school and high school, and especially with beginning actors, their self-consciousness and fear of looking foolish paralyze them. Here is a technique I’ve used in rehearsal that made a big difference in helping them shed their self-consciousness: Once they are off book, after they’ve had a few runs and they really know the play, have them do a run of the show at double time.  Keep urging them to pick up the speed, to go faster and faster but keep all the lines and blocking intact, and suddenly they feel  what it’s like to have fun with the lines. Their need to be cool, their inhibitions and their self-consciousness go out the window in their attempt to speed through the run. There will be lots of laughs, and they will find new bits of acting and character. Often, they’ll find what the actual pace of the play should be! They will learn organically that a slow pace kills comedy—and if they’re not having fun, chances are the audience isn't either.Besides writing for the theatre, Edith Weiss also acts and directs in both children's and adult theatre. 9 application/xml false Comedy Edith Weiss Funny Plays For Kids New York University plays for churches Plays For Kids plays for teachers Edith was educated with a B.A. in Political Science from Millersville University, and a M.A. in Theater from New York University, with one semester at Bretton Hall College in England. Visit Edith's website to see more about her. http://www.edithweiss.com/ Backstage Theatre Presents Edith's HYRONOMOUS A. FROG http://www.backstagetheatre.org/pages/photos_Frog_thumb.htm Frog Prince of Spamalot Hyronomous A. Frog doesn't quite fit in among the other frogs in the bog. He?s incredibly large compared to the others and hates the taste of flies! http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=SPAMALOT All American Talent & Celebrity Network Edith's extensive background in improvisational comedy combined with her customized writing skills, have enabled Edith to win over crowds in even the most difficult environments. http://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/Edith-Weiss/6766 Tugboat Children's Theatre Theatre will present HYRONOMOUS this year http://www.renegadecomedy.org/ Edith performs in THE FOURTH WALL Nomad's The Fourth Wall opens to multiple levels. http://westword.com/2004-09-23/culture/a-room-with-a-viewpoint/ Excerpt from DANCING WITH THE JIHAD by Edith Weiss Performed at the THEATRE COMPANY of LAFAYETTE http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2007/1011/20071011_062152_Sputniksampler.pdf Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 mglassman 64.62.58.1 false true false false true 100513 blog blogsite/PioneerDrama/newsletter