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Theatre THEATRE 102 Making Theatre Happen - Journal Name: ________________________________________ Period: __________ General Vocabulary (NCCAS) Use the powerpoint presentation to obtain the definitions. Create your own picture/synonym for each word. Word Character Traits Genre Gesture Inner Thoughts Motivation Script Analysis Scripted Drama Staging Theatrical Conventions 2 Definition Picture/Synonym Theatrical Conventions Complete the table from the presentation. Do 3 Don’t Articulation - THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD ARTICULATION FOR AN ACTOR The main job of an actor is to use their voice and to communicate to an audience ; particularly in a play where the lines will be a very important and integral part of the performance. Therefore it is very important for an actor to develop a good articulated voice as well as other voice skills . Every word that an actor speaks must be understood by an audience for the performance to be at its most effective, the lines are the very essence of the play. Comedy plays, for example, require extended vocal skills and particularly articulation because they are mostly fast-paced and the jokes must be accurately heard by the audience for it to be funny. Choral speaking would also call for a chorus of well articulated voices; this would be so that the chorus stay in unison with one another. For actors using a certain dialect or accent, articulation would be very useful; for some accents are very hard to understand if you are not familiar with it, therefore using good articulation would help anyone that was listening to understand much easier. Another type of play that would need articulation so the audience understand easier would be a Shakespeare performance, because of its unfamiliar language to today’s audience, good diction is essential to communicate the lines. What is articulation? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __ What do articulators do? ________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __ 4 What articulators does an actor have? ________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __ Projection Projecting is not about yelling, it’s about enlarging your voice so the audience can hear you. For some, this is a very scary thought but a necessary phobia to overcome. Having good projection is a skill that anyone can learn. What is projection? __________________________________________________________________ Why is it important? _________________________________________________________________ Subtext Watch the “Kevin Spacey talks about Subtext” video ( http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/videos/acting-workshop-with-kevin-spacey-dram atic-subtext ) and answer the questions. What is subtext? _____________________________________________________________________ Why is it important? _________________________________________________________________ 5 6 Blocking Blocking is the positioning and movement of the characters to tell the story in visual terms. This placement can suggest the attitudes of the characters toward one another so the story situation is conveyed to the audience with or without dialogue. It makes the audience understand, at times contrary to the dialogue, the inner meaning existing within and between characters. Blocking should make the dramatic or comedic purpose of the scene so clearly apparent to the viewer that even a deaf man could understand it. For example, silent films were almost all physical behavior. A whole generation grew up understanding and enjoying these films. The visual story reflects the moment to moment failure or success of each character’s struggle toward their objective, as well as the intensity (commitment) and focus (direction) of their emotions. Blocking is thus the accumulation of several components: the dramatic relationship, the character’s wants, what he feels, what stands in the way, and how is the conflict presently resolving. Now when I say winning or failing, I don’t mean whether the character achieves their end goal, but whether they are succeeding or failing at specific moments along the way. Blocking, is therefore, a comparative portrayal of strong and weak movements, and relative positions. This means that certain body positions; stage areas, planes, and levels along with character movements have definite values. They inject meaning into the picture and the telling of the story. What is blocking? ____________________________________________________________________ Why is it important? _________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 7 STAGE ORIENTATIONS AND EMPHASIS Lets look at the stage areas, the planes, levels, and their relative strengths. The stage is divided into various areas and notated from the actor’s perspective looking out towards the audience. In large opera productions, the back portion of the sloped stage is elevated to facilitate better viewing of the company. This is how the terms upstage and downstage evolved. The rest of the stage is subdivided up right center, down left center and so forth as indicated by the above layout. How did the terms Upstage and Downstage evolve? _______________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Stage directions are notated from who’s perspective? ______________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 8 Relative Strength of Movement Movement from or to various areas is indicative of its relative strength. The following chart provides the value of lines of movements of a moving figure not only in strong and weak stage movements but also in their relative degree of strength and weakness. Movements that are indicated by the number (1) are the strongest in each set. In this way, important dialogue and business can be strengthen making the character emphatic. On the other hand, a character kept in a weak area until the crucial moment will become stronger going from a weak area into a strong area. In fact, more so than if the character were in the strong area continuously. This principle, that of relative weakness and strength, is true in many areas of blocking. 9 5 Basic Body Positions There are five basic body positions relative to facing the audience or camera. In the Full Front , the actor faces the audience or camera and is considered to be the strongest of the body positions. The full front position and the one-quarter front position (facing slightly to left or right) are labeled as open positions. The Full Back position has the actor standing with his back to the camera or audience, usually for a brief period. This body position is usually used for dramatic effect. With the one-quarter front position, the body is turned a quarter away from the camera or audience either facing slightly left or right. Being an open (strong) position, it is the most frequently used and is also referred to as three-quarter front . When the actor stands or sits facing either to the left or to the right allowing the camera or audience to see only one side of the face and body, it is called the Profile Position . When two actors face one another in profile, they are said to be ‘sharing’ the scene. Also referred to as the half position, this body position is not particularly strong. In theatre, the actor looking to his right is said to be in “right profile” and the left side of the face and body is open to the audience. For the camera actor, facing to the right is actually the same as a camera left profile. This is because all positions for the screen actor are designated from the camera’s point of view. In the Three-Quarter Back Position , the actor turns his body nearly full back to the camera or audience, either left or right so only one side of the head and shoulder is visible. It is the weakest of the five positions. What are the 5 basic body positions? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Which is the strongest position? _______________________________________________ Which is the weakest position? _________________________________________________ 10 11