ABSTRACT
Here the actual process of employing Études in the rehearsal studio or the classroom is covered. For most actors. working with this method will be new and perhaps challenging. But from the first day the director/teacher can ease the actors into the process with group improvisations, games, and physical exercises and then lead into Études. Knebel insisted that the first two or three days of rehearsal should be spent recognizing the Events of the play at a table, before moving to Études. Others contend that Events are discovered through Études as the company works through the play. A common way of beginning is to have the actors in a scene create their own floor plan on the spot, which immediately puts them “at home” in the scene. The first Études may be silent, finding the spatial relationships and activities of the characters. Paraphrased language can come on later rounds; this begins the sequence of Scenic Études, moving through the play Event by Event. Later come Auxiliary Études. Each Étude should bring the actors deeper into their roles and actions; it is useful to attempt two or three Scenic Études before moving on to the next. The chapter ends with a series of FAQs about making and executing Études.
