Scene Study - Acting Course (Oct.10 - Nov.28)

SCENE STUDY - Deep Cut

A 5-Session Course in Play & Scene Analysis, Beats & Play.

Facilitator: Nikolai Afanasev

Saturdays & Sunday (October 10th – November 7th) 6:00 – 8:00 pm

This course is about learning to read — a play, a scene, a partner, a moment, a choice — and to act on all of it, with total honesty and conviction.

Maybe you go quiet exactly when you need to speak up. Maybe you rehearse the same conversation in your head long after it's over, wishing you'd said it differently.
Maybe you're carrying a relationship, a situation, a feeling you'd like to finally release. This is where you find out what you're actually holding — and get to see it clearly enough to set it down.

Most of us walk into a room already half-guessing at what's happening, instead of actually seeing it.
This course trains that seeing — first in a scene, where it's safe to practice, then everywhere else.
No need to have taken Course 1 (Acting for Freedom) first; this stands complete on its own, though returning students will recognize the throughline and go deeper.

We build in one continuous line — Play → Scene → Beat → Action — one session per tool, closing with a fifth session of full integration and performance. You'll return to the same scene three times across the course, so you feel it deepen session to session, rather than starting over each week.

The focus is scene study — using dramatic projection to give voice to emotion and explore theme through character work. Expect to play, rehearse, get to know your scene partners, and learn what it feels like to receive feedback and be redirected, live.

We also play, improvise, and bond as a group along the way, and brush up against core principles of drama therapy — projection, role play, transformation, the life-drama connection ("why is it easier to say this as a character than as myself?"). This course is for artistic and personal growth, not a substitute for therapy — but the exercises, and the bonds formed with your partners, often have a genuinely healing effect. That's what theatre does.

You'll learn to:
— Read a play or a story through four lenses: origins, purpose, elements, content
— Find the shape of a dramatic change
— physical, mental, social, symbolic
— Build a scene from specific given circumstances instead of just its words
— Listen so completely your next choice actually changes
— Mark and score the beats of a scene
— where the wind changes direction
— Trade adjectives and feelings for strong, playable action verbs
— Explore other worlds, characters, and yourself, deeply (!)

No acting experience required — just willingness and openness.
What you leave with isn't only stage craft: it's a way of reading character, scene, and story that keeps paying off long after the course ends.

If you want more freedom, flexibility, agency, and fun — on stage and in life — this course is for you.

The course closes with a full performance of your scene, scored and actioned — but the real work happens across all five sessions, in a diary you'll keep throughout and it continues outside of the class.

Schedule:
October 10: (6-8 pm) Play Analysis: Reading the Shape of a Story October 17: (6-8 pm) Scene Analysis: Landing in the Moment (Pass 1)
October 24: (6-8 pm) Beat Analysis: Where the Wind Changes October 31: (1-3 pm) Actioning: Verbs, Not Adjectives (Pass 2)
November 7: (6-8 pm) Integration: The Full Score, in Performance (Last Pass)

To register or ask questions, RSVP as soon as feasible. Making a decision to grow is the key acting tool.

Investment: Early bird: $175 CAD — register by September 20th Full course: $200 CAD Drop-in: $40/session (possible, but not recommended — joining mid-way breaks continuity with your scene and partner, so the experience won't be as strong)

Please e-transfer to [nikolaiafanasev95@gmail.com](mailto:nikolaiafanasev95@gmail.com) to complete payment.

Space is limited to 12, intentionally small, so the work stays personal. (I may consider 2 more students if you send a sign-up form.)

To secure your spot, please fill out this form: Course Sign-Up Form

This is a safe, confidential, playful space, where every person belongs, exactly as they are, and the work we do together builds a web of interconnectedness.

You'll be encouraged to take risks and supported when you do — the scene becomes uniquely yours, and part of what we build together.
Prepare to reflect, take notes, do embodied work, and brainstorm.

"Every adventure requires a first step."