acting classes nyc: silent movie exercise

Acting is a fundamentally social art. In NYC acting schools we have the opportunity to do acting work in a group setting where we do games and exercises to sharpen our skills and work with our particular strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Every actor needs lots of opportunity to exercise their skills in a group setting. Mark Stolzenberg's beginner and advanced film acting classes in New York City offer the opportunities to do this essential work of acting.
In this exercise, "silent movie", actors work to develop their non-verbal communication skills. Quite simply: you set up a scene that is a "silent movie". Like any scene, it needs to have a story with the introduction of characters, a plot with a problem of some kind, and a resolution; but in this scene, the actors must communicate all of these things without the use of words. You may begin with some actions that express your character's personality, setting, and perhaps some of their story. An element is introduced (through some type of nonverbal action) to the story that causes a conflict or problem. We witness the characters in their physical and emotional response to the conflict, and its ultimate resolution.