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Unit 2 Elements of Acting
Chapter 5Movement • Whether you’re the lead or one of the supporting players, whether you have long monologues or no lines to speak at all, the one things you will be doing as an actor on stage is moving. How, when, and where to move takes some practice, so get moving!
Chapter 5Project Specs • Project Description: • With a partner, plan and present stage movement for a 2-4 minute scene. • Purpose: • To practice moving naturally onstage. • Materials: • A written scenario that details the movement needed for the scene, or the Movement Activity Sheet provided.
Chapter 5 • Terms: • Cheating out • Gestures • Muscular memory • Offstage • Onstage • Scenario • Stage business • Upstaging
Chapter 5The Magic of Movement • In some ways, an actor is a magician who must present to the audience a world they can’t help but accept and believe. • The actor must persuade the audience that the small environment onstage is whatever the scene calls for—whether it be a ship, a living room, a faraway galaxy, or a doctor’s waiting room– and that he or she is a real person interacting within that environment. • In daily life you probably don’t pay all that much attention to the way you move. To be physically believable and natural onstage, however, the instruction that follows should help you.
Chapter 5Moving on Stage • Entering: • Make sure you are in position and read to enter the stage at the appropriate time. Enter with your head up, unless your character demands otherwise. Know the exact point at which you become visible to the audience. You don’t want to be seen by the audience when you think you’re hidden offstage—it takes away from the magic of the performance.
Chapter 5Moving on Stage • Walking: • Your normal walking movement should be rhythmical and smooth. As you walk, look ahead. To portray certain characters, however, your walk may be slow, labored, jittery, etc. • Standing: • Keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Unless you have a motivated movement to make, stand still. An actor’s shuffling feet reveal nervousness and inexperience, and can make the audience uncomfortable.
Chapter 5Moving on Stage • Turning: • When turning on stage, keep the audience in mind and turn towards them. The only exception to this rule is when such a turn would be obviously awkward because you are already in a position facing mostly away from the audience. • Sitting: • If the scene calls for you to sit, place yourself in a comfortable position, but make sure you are poised to get up when you need to. Never slouch unless the role specifically calls for it. If you must back up to the chair to sit down, do so until you touch it with the back of your leg, and then sit.
Chapter 5Moving on Stage • Rising: • When getting up from your seat, anticipate the move by slowly easing forward on the chair. Keep your spine straight and rise with your weight on one foot and then shift it to the other to ensure balance. • Gesturing: • Gestures are expressive bodily actions, such as shrugging, pointing, or raising the eyebrows. Gestures should be definite and clear. Halfhearted or extraneous gestures are the mark of an inexperienced or unfocused actor.
Chapter 5Moving on Stage • Exiting: • Be sure you stay in character until you are offstage and invisible to the audience. As a student actor, you should practice these movement techniques until you can use them so effectively that they appear effortless to the audience. Only through sustained practice will you be able to move naturally onstage without having to think about it constantly. This constant repetition of motion helps you develop “muscular memory.”
Chapter 5 • Movement Exercises • Movement Activity Sheet • Stage Business Worksheet • Critique Sheet: Movement • Movement Quiz
Chapter 6Stage Directions • Don’t just stand there—do something! Theatre is all about dramatic action. The action and excitement in a play are both supported by—even created by—movement. Effective stage movement is an indispensable part of a gripping production, and the actor must know how to follow stage directions every step of the way.
Chapter 6Project Specs • Project Description: • You will plot 3 stage crosses for a classmate to execute and then perform a classmate’s 3 stage crosses in 2-3 minutes. • Purpose: • To learn to create and follow stage directions and to assume body positions accurately and with confidence. • Materials: • A drawing showing 3 stage crosses or the Stage Directions Activity Sheet provided.
Chapter 6 • Terms: • Backstage -Profile • Counter-cross -Quarter turn • Cross -Raked • Downstage -Sightlines • Upstage -Stage left • Full back -Stage right • Full front -Three-quarter turn
Chapter 6A Look at the Stage • The stage didn’t always look the way it does today. • Early in theatre history, players found that people could see them better on a raked surface, so they built their playing areas on an incline. • The back of the playing area was actually higher than the front. Thus, the back part of the stage became known as “upstage”, while the front part of the stage was called “downstage”.
Chapter 6A Look at the Stage • Back when the audience was on a flat level, the stage was raked. • As the audience seating became raked, as it is today, the stage got flatter. • Even today, some stages have a small incline, or rake to improve sightlines for the audience. • Whether they do or not, however, the tradition remains, and actors everywhere move away from the audience to be upstage and toward the audience to be downstage.
Chapter 6Where Am I? • When directors and choreographers sketch an acting area, they generally divide it into nine locations. • Generally, the downstage area is considered a “strong” position, or a position of power, because it is near the audience and thus has a greater impact than other positions.
Chapter 6Where Am I? • Stage right is a stronger position than stage left because Western audiences are conditioned by reading to look stage right for the flow of action or the drama’s movement. • Because of the strength of downstage and stage right, important scenes will often be played there, and strong characters will tend to settle there.
Chapter 6Where Am I? • The following body positions also affect the strength of one’s character onstage: • Actors who share a scene equally often use a quarter turn toward each other. This places their bodies so that the audience can easily see them. • If a scene becomes intense, actors may turn in profile to the audience. This tightens their focus on each other and the audience’s focus on them. • When one character’s lines a especially important, other actors might make a three-quarter turn toward that actor, in order to “give” that actor focus. • For monologues and asides to the audience, actors often stand full front, facing the audience. • In unusual circumstances, an actor might turn his or her full back to the audience.
Chapter 6Getting Your Bearings • A cross is a movement from one stage are to another. • The director will indicate a stage cross as an “X” on paper. • Generally, the actor takes the shortest, most direct route to his mark, which is straight across some portion of the stage. • Sometimes, a director will call for a complicated cross. • Straight crosses imply strength and decisiveness. Complicated crosses imply indecision, casualness, grace, or ease.
Chapter 6Getting Your Bearings • Following a complicated cross is not really that hard. • How many times have you gone to the fridge for a drink, stopping first at the cabinet for a glass and then pausing to look for something to eat? • Always practice your cross before performing it for an audience so that it looks natural.
Chapter 6Getting Your Bearings • Like people in all other walks of life, some actors learn through action. • They learn by doing the crosses they need to do. • Other actors learn visually. They are more comfortable seeing the movements on paper first.
Chapter 6Getting Your Bearings • In order to keep your body turned to the audience, begin a cross by stepping forward on the foot nearest your destination. • For example, if you are standing stage right and making a cross to stage left, you should take your first step with the left foot (most people do this naturally). • If you are speaking while you make your cross, go ahead and walk in front of the other characters. • Generally, it’s best to avoid moving when another character is talking, as your movement will steal attention away from the speaker, but if you need to cross when others are speaking, cross quietly behind them while staying in character.
Chapter 6 • Stage Directions Exercises • Stage Directions Activity Sheet • Moving in Character Worksheet • Critique Sheet: Stage Crosses • Stage Directions Quiz
Chapter 7Voice Production and Articulation • It has been said that good stage actors can make a “person in the last row wearing earplugs hear them clearly.” In this chapter, you will learn how to train and exercise your voice for just that purpose.
Chapter 7 Project Specs • Project Description: • For this assignment, you will have two minutes to perform a vocal exercise, or exercise for the voice, which will be one part of a foundation for daily vocal practice. • Purpose: • To build and use proper breathing and articulation and produce quality vocal tone. • Materials: • A written description of your chosen vocal exercise or the Voice Production and Articulation Activity Sheet provided.
Chapter 7 • Terms: • Articulators -Project • Audible -Rate • Circumflex -Resonance • Diaphragm -Resonators • Inflection -Volume • Larynx • Pitch
Chapter 7Your Voice is Your Key • As an actor, you know that your voice is a basic element of your craft. • In addition to having enough volume to be audible to the audience no matter what size the theatre, your voice must be flexible enough to add subtle layers of character, emotional texture, and meaning to your lines. • Your voice must be strong enough to withstand long rehearsals and intense performances.
Chapter 7Your Voice is Your Key • Unless you have serious vocal problems that need a specialist’s attention, you can do much to build vocal audibility and flexibility by practicing vocal exercises every day. • Some professional actors work for years with vocal coaches and teachers to develop the most versatile voice they can. • An actor’s training is continuous—the learning, practicing, and exercising go on for his or her whole career. • Even if you are not intent on becoming a professional actor, your voice will benefit from proper exercise.
Chapter 7Voice Production • Technically, speech sounds are produced by air that has been forced through the lungs by the action of certain rib muscles and the diaphragm. • The exhaled air vibrates the vocal cords in the larynx, which is found in the pharynx. • The sound produced is modified by the resonators and formed into vowels and consonants by the articulators.
Chapter 7 Voice Production • When exercising your voice you will be working to achieve controlled breathing and resonance. • In addition, variety in pitch, volume, inflection, and rate is important. • Clear articulation and proper pronunciation round out the important elements of voice production.
Chapter 7 Proper Breathing • Actors and singers know that to have the necessary air control for a performance, they must breathe from the diaphragm, this means that the chest cavity stays relatively still, while the waist expands and contracts, and the lower ribs rise and fall slightly. • Once you have mastered diaphragmatic breathing, you will notice that it requires less effort than chest breathing, allows you to breathe more deeply, and provides the control you need to project long passages without running out of breath. • That said, breathing from your diaphragm might feel strange at first. To get comfortable with this type of breathing, practice daily.
Chapter 7Richer Tone • Tone depends on many factors, including the shape and size of your vocal mechanism, which you will not be able to change. • However, you can learn to make the most of what you’ve got by keeping your throat open and controlling your breath. • If your voice sounds harsh or raspy, it is usually the result of a closed throat. If your voice sounds breathy, you are probably using more breath than you need.
Chapter 7Richer Tone • To relax your throat and improve your tone, try this: • Exaggerate a yawn. Take a deep breath, stretch, and then yawn again. With your throat open and relaxed, quietly, and slowly say the following while prolonging the vowel sounds “Ma-a-ah, blo-o-oh, fla-a-aw, pla-a-ay, be-e-e, to-o-o.” Yawn again to relax, then continue with other vowel sounds. Read a passage from a book, prolonging each vowel.
Chapter 7Richer Tone • Tone is the vocal element you use to create different emotional colors when you speak or sing. Try these simple techniques to experiment with tone: • Say each of these words—oh, yes, well, really, possibly—to convey each of these emotions or states of being: happiness, pride, fatigue, fright, anger, suspicion, innocence, pleading, and sorrow. • Reproduce the tone color of these words by making your voice sound like the word’s meaning: bang, crackle, swish, grunt, tinkle, roar, coo, thin, wheeze, bubble, buzzy, splash, clang, gurgle.
Chapter 7Pitch, Inflection, Volume, and Rate • Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of your voice. • You can produce a medium pitch by relaxing your throat. This is the easiest pitch to project and the easiest for an audience to listen to. • In acting, high pitch indicates nervousness, excitement, anger, or fear. A low pitch conveys despair or disgust.
Chapter 7Pitch, Inflection, Volume, and Rate • Inflection, in combination with pitch, allows you to glide from high to low on a single word, syllable, or phrase. • Rising inflection connotes questioning. Falling inflection signifies finality. • Circumflex is a combination of the two, expressing sarcasm, doubt, and innuendo.
Chapter 7Pitch, Inflection, Volume, and Rate • Volume is the relative loudness of your voice. • To project their voices to all areas of the theatre, performers often must speak very loudly, yet they must seem to the audience to be speaking at a normal volume. • Breathing from the diaphragm is the key to vocal projection.
Chapter 7Pitch, Inflection, Volume, and Rate • Rate is the speed at which you speak. • Rate of speech can indicate many things about a person or a character. • For example, a slow rate usually indicates old age, important ideas, and/or a state of sorrow or exhaustion. A faster rate indicates youth and/or the emotions of excitement, happiness, or anger.
Chapter 7Articulation and Pronunciation • Proper breathing technique, great tone, and perfect pitch will make no difference at all if you have poor articulation. • After all, the audience has to understand what you’re saying. Poor articulation is generally the result of carelessness and sluggish speech; it can make you sound as if you’re talking though a mouthful of oatmeal. • People can get by with this type of speech in real life; but on the stage, where every word counts, it can cause real problems.
Chapter 7Articulation and Pronunciation • Using proper pronunciation means making sure you know how to say each word you speak. • If you do not know the meaning of a word you read, or you are unsure of its pronunciation, look it up before you say it in front of an audience! • There is NO excuse for mispronouncing a word in performance.
Chapter 7 • Voice Production and Articulation Exercises • Voice Production and Articulation Activity Sheet • Vocal Exercises Worksheet • Critique Sheet: Vocal Exercise • Voice Production and Articulation Quiz
Chapter 8Ensemble Work • What if every night of your life were a one-person show? What if every conversation ended in a monologue? Life would be quite dull. Human beings are social creatures. We want to know all about the nooks and crannies of one another’s lives. We want to be involved in those lives too—not as helpers or onlookers, but as participants—as part of the ensemble.
Chapter 8Project Specs • Project Description: • For this assignment, you and several partners will perform a 3-5 minute improvised ensemble scene. • Purpose: • To develop the concentration, skill, teamwork, and courtesy necessary to work in an ensemble. • Materials: • An annotated list of your character’s relationship with other characters in a scene or the Ensemble Work Activity Sheet provided.
Chapter 8 • Terms: • Emoting • Ensemble ethic • Fall • Going up • Illusion of the first time • Interplay • Step on • Supporting roles
Chapter 8Ensemble Acting • Acting demands interplay between all of the characters. • To be realistic, characters must play off one another in an interactive way. • They must pay attention to everything going on around them. • Every time an actor speaks, his or her words should seem new and interesting to the others onstage. • The actor must communicate the illusion of the first time, which means that the action must seem spontaneous and fresh even after hours and hours of practice.
Chapter 8Ensemble Acting • When your character is not speaking, you must react as though you are hearing the other characters for the first time. It takes practice, but it’s not hard. • Watch carefully as the other actors speak and move. You’ll find yourself more engrossed in the nuances of what the other actors are doing than you are in yourself.
Chapter 8Ensemble Acting • When you interact purposefully with your fellow actors, you begin to develop a working relationship based on trust and respect. • You become not just an individual, but an important part of the whole. • That’s what ensemble ethic is all about.
Chapter 8The Ensemble Actor’s Safety Net • It is empowering to be part of a mutually supportive group onstage. • Interacting wholeheartedly with others offers the ensemble actor the benefits below. • Your close ties to the other characters won’t let you “fall” out of character or forget your lines. • You won’t have time for your own private speculations or fears. • If you have learned your lines well, the reality of your situation won’t allow you to forget them.
Chapter 8 • Ensemble Exercises • Ensemble Work Activity Sheet • Guidelines for the Ensemble Worksheet • Critique Sheet: Ensemble Work • Ensemble Work Quiz
