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Terminology

The actor most clearly personifies the stage for the general public

THE ACTOR IS theatre itself

The Actor’s Training and Means

In acting training, different aspects of acting are singled out

for specialized attention:

• Dancing (Ballet, Jazz, Folk Dances etc)

• Movement (Contact Impovisation, Movement Improvisation, Stage Fight, Tai Chi)

• Music (Theory of Music, Singing, Dictee)

• Speech & Articulation

• Drama Studies (Text Analysis, History of theatre)

• Make up & Costume Design, Stage Design

The Actor’s Instrument

Actors spend years mastering their instrument – themselves (Body – Voice – Acting Styles)

Body & Voice are the actor’s primary means of expression These must be flexible, disciplined and expressive

One of the actor’s primary challenges is to understand how the body and voice function

Work toward gaining control over one’s physical instrument

Eliminate any inhibiting tensions.

It is difficult to achieve physical and vocal freedom and expressiveness without some concern for the psychological processes that may create tension or block creative expression (No Sir I can not sing…)

Improvisational exercises or theatre games help overcome these obstacles

Movement, Gesture and Business

Actors need to feel comfortable with their blocking and movement

The actor must fill in many details of the character’s movementPhysical characterization often involves a basic three-step processConsider physical traits required by the action

Identify physical traits that may be dominate in any given beat

Apply appropriate distinctiveness through greater specificity

Observation and Imagination

Actors need to develop the habit of watching other people

Actors must also develop imagination in order to “feel their way” into the lives of others and into fictional situations

Identify the given circumstancesParticularize objects with the properties of real ones (hold the gun correctly)

Endow objects, places and people with the emotional significance and value they have for the character

Concentration

Actors must also learn to control, shape and

integrate their basic skills (Body & Voice) as

the script and the director demand.

One mark of control and discipline is concentration:

I. The ability to shut out all distractionsII. The ability to concentrate on present stimulus

as it occurs to create the illusion of “the first time”

Stage VocabularyMany routine tasks have been reduced to a set of conventions that actors are expected to know:Among the basic conventions is the division of the stage into areas:

Upstage – Downstage Stage right and stage left Up right, up center, up left Right, center, left Down right, down center, down left

The actor is also expected to be familiar with body positions as they relate to the audience Full front one-quarter one-half three-quarter full back

Other terminology may supplement designations of area and bodily position Open up Turn in, turn out Share a scene Give stage Focus Dress the stage

Some devices are used to emphasize or subordinate stage business A “planted” prop A masked, “cheated” or faked action

Actors normally strive to be graceful Movement should be precise and clear The more actors know about other aspects of production the better they

will be able to utilize these elements in their acting

Creating a role - Questionaire

The most basic task of acting is to understand the role Levels of characterization

a. Biological b. Sociological c. Psychological d. Ethical It is helpful to determine which traits are necessary within the dramatic

action The actor needs to understand the “spine” of the role

What the character wantsWhat the character is willing to do to get itHow these are manifested in each scene, beat by beat, and how they develop throughout the play

Actors also need to examine how their roles relate to the others in the play What does the character think of others? How does the character present him or herself to other characters? What does each of the others think of the character? What is the function of each of these variations within the dramatic action?

The actor needs to understand the script in terms of its: Themes Implied meanings Overall significance Subtext

Actors need to examine their roles in relation to the director’s interpretation of the script

Psychological and Emotional PreparationActors must be able to project themselves imaginatively into the world of the play, its the specific situations and their characters’ feelings and motivations

Experiments with ways of inducing empathic involvement have yielded various methods

Emotion memory Research and observe appropriate subjects Improvisation and theatre games

Vocal Characterization

Actors may modify their vocal patterns considerably for purposes of characterization Variable factors of voice

a. Pitchb. VolumeQuality

Variable factors of speech1. Articulation2. Pronunciation3. Duration4. Inflection 5. Audibility6. Intelligible7. Variety

Memorization and Line Readings

It is helpful to memorize speech and movement simultaneously because they reinforce each other

Memorization is aided by a few simple procedures:

a. Actors memorize their cues in connection with their linesb. Actors study the meaning and purpose of their linesc. Familiarity with the sequence of beats that make up each

scened. Actors require repetition for memorization - even if it is

provided by another simply holding a script copy and providing cues for the actor to repeat his or her lines over and over again

a.Actors form distinctive line readings through the controllable factors of voice and speech as filtered through an understanding of their characters

Dress Rehearsals and Performance

Actors are usually not able to work with all properties, settings, costumes, makeup and stage lighting until dress

rehearsal(s)

Of special importance are the costumes and makeup: These alter appearance, movement and gesture

Rehearsal garments are often helpful to the performers:① They help the actors understand how they might use their

costumes② They help the actors understand how their costumes might

affect their performances

The actors need to understand and be able to apply the makeup for their characters

Performance is the ultimate goal:1.Preparation equals confidence2.Stage fright is common3.Performers must guard against letdowns and mechanical

performances - especially in long runs