23rd September

Things for your blog this week...

• This week you should continue to develop your character profile work.

• Continue to break down and analyse your text.

• Learn your lines if you have not already.

I would still like us to speak about the social, historical, political and cultural research. We can do this on Tuesday in Language of Theatre.

Please make sure you have all completed a pink sheet for the work you were doing both in and out of the lesson.

Always come back to:

What have I developed as an actor? There should be continual reference to your growth and development this term.

Remember you blog is marked on:

UNIT 19: PRINCIPLES OF ACTING

Criteria:

 

P1 interpret and realise texts with an appreciation of performance demands

M1 interpret and realise texts demonstrating a sound appreciation of performance demands

D1 interpret and realise texts demonstrating a thorough appreciation of performance demands

 

P2 develop material for performance through research, rehearsal and characterisation

M2 develop material for performance through competent use of research, rehearsal and characterisation

D2 develop material for performance through confident and imaginative use of research, rehearsal and characterisation

 

P3 perform using vocal and movement skills appropriate to the role

M3 perform demonstrating good control of vocal and movement skills in a thoughtful interpretation of text and character

D3 perform demonstrating vocal and movement skills in an effective and imaginative manner to physically embody character and interpret text with clarity and intelligence

 

P4 communicate with an audience.

M4 communicate with an audience with clarity.

D4 communicate with an audience with complete focus and engagement.

 

16/9/14

Task 1:

Today's lesson started with a short exploration of Laban efforts.

• Why did we do this?
• What are the Laban efforts?
• What might you be able to use from this exercise to aid your character development?

Task 2:

You were then cast in sections of 'The Cherry Orchard'. (See casting note below)

Initially you discussed the scene you were cast in.

• What happens in the scene(s) you are in?
• You should bullet point the key moments/plot.
• What opportunities do you have in this scene?

Task 3:

You worked in character groups. You discussed the role you were sharing. 

You were asked to decided on the SUPER-OBJECTIVE for the character.

What did you discuss and decide upon? Give justifications - this might be through annotation of the text. 

You were then asked to discuss three lists:

What other people say about you...

What you say about others...

What you say about yourself...

You should continue to add to this list over the week - the answers are quotes from the texts. This will help you with having a clear understanding of the character. For example, if nothing is really said about your character by others, what could that tell you? You need to work hard actors...there are lots of clues in text to help you discover the character. This exploration and research phase should be exciting. 

Task 4:

We worked on creating a short opening  - reflect on this so far and the improvements that need to be made for it to becoming rooted in truth.

Task 5:

We started working on the scenes. If you were directed today - write a response to this. 

• How has blocking the text helped your understanding?
• What new things have you learnt about the character? 
• What relationships have you started to develop on stage.

TEXT PREPARATION TASK:

You need to do the following tasks to prepare your text.

OBJECTIVE:

Work out the objective for the scene you are in - what does your character want? What is their motivation? What do they want to achieve in that scene?

UNITS:

• Split the scene into units.
• Give each unit a title.
• Give each unit an objective

See page 128 of your Bella Merlin book to see how this can look.

Remember we spoke about this last week - you all started this on the A3 paper.

By knowing and understanding what you want and need in the scene - blocking the scene and being the character will happen so much easier for you.

I suggest you photocopy your lines - you might make a mistake or change your mind!

CHARACTER PROFILE / RESEARCH:

This will be an ongoing document and should include inspiration for your character, such as pictures, music, text etc.

Please see the WANT, DO, FEEL handout OR the post from last week. There are many questions for you to answer for your character...

Casting

Group 1

Lopahkin  - Ben

Dunyasha  - Keira

Yepikhodov – Felix*

Group 2

Anya - Sophie

Ranyevskaya – Willa*

Varya – Imogen

Gayev – Michael*

Dunyasha  - Maria

Group 3

Ranyerskaya – Willa

Firs – Beau

Gayev – Michael

Lopakhin – Brett        

Group 4

Lopakhin – Josh K

Ranyevskaya – Rhianne (all Ran involved in a moment)

Gayev – George

Yasha – Chem

Group 5

Trofimov – Jack

Ranyerskaya - Romy

Group 6

Yasha – Billy

Firs – Beau

Ranyevskaya – Robin

Anya – Sophie

Varya – Sachelle

Dunyasha – Andrea

Yepikhodov - Felix

Group 7

Ranyevskaya – Eloise

Lopahkin – Josh B

Gayev – George

Anya  - Tia

Group 9

Varya – Sachelle

Lophakin – Soloman

Ranyevskaya – Lauren

Anya – Tia

Gayev – George

Firs – Beau

Trofimov - Chem

Yep – Felix

Stan Glossary...

 Stanislavski Method

Objective An actor must always be active, externally or internally. One can be immobile externally, yet active psychologically, having inner action. All action must be justified; it must have a purpose and be logical.

“Magic If" : This "magic" word unleashes the imagination and starts the actor towards believing in what he is doing, and stimulates creativeness.

"Given Circumstances": All the conditions in which the actor works: the plot, the environment, the lighting, the people. An actor must become familiar with and a part of his environment.

Imagination: This must be "alert, rich and active" so that the actor can interpret the lines and fill them with the meaning that lies behind, the "subtext".

Circle of Attention : This keeps the actor focused on what he occurring, helps him relax, and helps direct the audience to where his attention is wanted

Relaxation of the Muscles: "Unless tense muscles are relaxed, an actor’s normal mental activity, and therefore the spiritual life of the character he portrays, is impossible."

Units and Objectives: An actor has various sequential objectives in his role. To help him accomplish these he should have break his presentation into units, each of which helps him accomplish an objective.

Actions or activities: What you are ‘doing’ to the other characters on stage to get what you want. Usually described as ‘I ………You   e.g I Tempt you, I order you, I hoodwink you. The actions are about getting to the subtext of the line, not about the line itself

Feeling of Truth and Belief: "If an actor while carrying out an action uses logical consecutiveness, justifies everything with the help of if, and thinks of the given circumstances, he will not overact and his action will be truthful. Without forcing himself, he will believe in what he is doing because he will be doing it as in real life."

"To find … truth, an actor must see, watch, absorb all possible impressions around him. An actor must learn to be aware of what surrounds him."

Emotional Memory: Stimulation of actor’s emotions through the recall of experienced ones.

Communion: An actor should hear, see and understand what is being said to him on stage, and should be sure others on stage hear, see and understand what he is saying. If an actor communicates consciously "he will be carried away and merge with the character he is playing. The actors must communicate with one another on the basis of living relationships between people, not by means of memorized behaviour nor formally and artificially.

Adaptation: Actors must adjust to one another on the stage and must creatively adapt himself to inspiration or to unexpected changes

Tempo-Rhythm: "There are tempo (speed) and rhythm (beats) within us as well as outside us… When an actor seeks a justified tempo-rhythm for what he is doing, he is directly approaching his emotions which will respond

Motive Forces of Psychological Life: The mind, the will and the emotions are the forces with which an actor performs and creates.

The Unbroken Line of a Role: The actor should create a complete image of a character he is playing using such help as the surroundings, the author, the play and his imagination so that he can see the world through the eyes of the character.

The Actor’s Inner life: Because of fear or other reasons, "faculties which functions naturally in life are often paralyzed on the stage… To be able to create a truthful character, an actor must revive all his faculties, which means that he must be in a normal functioning state

The Super-Objective and the Through-Line of Action: To carry across the main idea is the overriding objective of actors. All action, all aspects of the performance must be continuously oriented to accomplish this.

12SGL Theatre famalam...

9/9/14 Exploring Stan's System

Today we have explored Stan's system in a  number of ways.

You need to write about the exercises in lesson and how you can you these to become a better actor. Remember - don't just describe what we have done in the session, you need to analyse the work. Take photos of the annotated texts in the lessons and put these in your log or on your blog. 

Reflect on this question...

Q- What makes a truthful performance? Use examples from pieces of work you've seen and experiences you've had.

We started with a relaxation task, laying in semi-supine. 

Why did Stanislavski encourage relaxation? 

Magic If 

You thought of someone you saw on your journey to school.

You embodied them physically, paying attention to the fact you can't be them exactly, you are an actor, however you changed a range of physical elements about them to become them.

You experimented with how that person walked - weight, leading with what part of the body?

You were then given a a number of MAGIC IFS to respond to...

...what if you found £20 on the floor

...what if you stood in dogs shit

...what if you had a cup of coffee spilt over you

...what if you had lost your wallet

How did you respond and why? 

Why did Stanislavski use the MAGIC IF?

As an actor how did it get you to think and work? 

Developing characters 

In pairs you created a scene where the same character from the excerise previously was developed further.

You had to create a scene where these two people would exist.

We paused and introduced the GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 

What was this is in Stan's system? 

How did having an understanding the FACTS of the scene help you to become more truthful in your performance?

Next you were asked to think about...

WANT > DO > FEEL

You firstly explored the objective for your character in the scene. What did you decide on?

What is an objective in Stan's system?

How did knowing your objective help with developing the scene?

You were then asked to think about the ideas of physical actions for the lines you were saying.

How did this help to develop the scene? What were they? 

We watched some the scenes, how did having a sense of objective help the actors? Were we able  to work out objectives? 

HELLO

You then applied the above to a short script between A and B that started with each character saying hello.

Talk about the scene you created by adding objectives and actions. 

What odd others do, was it effective, why? 

Task - I Love You

Objectives and actions – how do they change a scene?

A: I love you.

B: What?

A: I love you.

B: I don’t feel the same.

We then started having a look at Act 1 of The Cherry Orchard, again working out the objectives for the characters.

We discussed UNITS. - what are these? Why are they useful to use? How have working both of these things out helped you to understand the text further? 

Task - Approaching the text

THIS TEXT PREPARATION IS CRUCIAL FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND TO ENSURE YOUR ACTING BECOMES INSTINCTIVE.

WANT! DO! FEEL!

In its simplest form Staninlavski’s system is: WANT, DO, FEEL…

I want something. Therefore I do something. Consequently I feel something.

What I WANT is an OBJECTIVE. What I DO is an ACTION. What I FEEL is an EMOTION.

Questions The eight questions, or W's, to ask about your character are:

·         WHO AM I?

·         WHERE AM I?

·         WHEN IS IT?

·         WHAT DO I NEED?

·         WHY DO I NEED IT NOW?

·         WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON’T GET WHAT I NEED?

·         WHAT DO I DO TO GET WHAT I NEED?

·         WHAT MUST I OVERCOME?

WHO AM I? What kind of person am I? How do I perceive myself? What is my background, my upbringing, influences, experiences, perceptions, accomplishments, attitudes, likes and dislikes, education, occupation, relationships and characteristics? How might my attitudes be influenced by social custom and habits that are part of the era in which I live and the world in which I move? I must make all these decisions personal and particular to me so that I can identify myself with my character in every possible way.

WHERE AM I? What kind of place is it? Is it indoors or out- doors? What sort of furniture is there? What colours, smell, or sounds? What does it mean to me? What objects are there in this place? Are they personal to me? What is the weather, temperature and climate?

WHEN IS IT? What time of day? What season, year?

WHERE HAVE I COME FROM? What has happened previously? How did I get here? What have I brought with me? Where am I going afterwards?

WHAT DO I NEED? This is my ACTION. It is what I will strive for. It is my motivating force, my desire, wish, and intention.

WHY DO I NEED IT? This is my justification for my Action. I must have a strong reasons for needing my Action.

WHY DO I NEED IT NOW? Answer the questions: Why now? Why not later, or before? I must justify why I need my Action now. All Actions are immediate.

What have you learnt that will help you to be a better actor?