Characterisation Acting techniques - PowerPoint Presentation

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CharacterisationActing techniquesActing styleStage proxemicsInteraction between characters

Use of voice and movementThe relationship between the spoken text and physical movement or gestureActor/ audience relationshipUse of costume/make- up/set/props

AS AN ACTOR

….

WHAT CAN I TALK ABOUT?Slide2

CHARACTERISATIONMANNERISMSBEHAVIOURHABITSGESTURESSTAGE PROXEMICSUse of space to create distance that can represent a relationshipACTING TECHNIQUES(MORE SPECIFIC THAN JUST VOICE AND MOVEMENT)PRACTITIONERS (IE. STANISLAVSKI SYSTEM, MEYERHOLD, BRECHT, GROTOWSKI…)METHOD ACTINGSYMBOLISMACTING STYLETHERE ARE ONLY TWO TO CHOOSE FROM…NATURALISTICORSTYLISEDVOICE & MOVEMENTArticulationFluencyIntonation Register ClarityPausePitchAccentPaceTimingToneVolumeEmphasisStanceBalance

Body LanguageGestureFacial ExpressionMimePosturePaceTimingSlow MotionBlockingMaskingUse of levelsUse of spaceRhythmSPOKEN TEXT VS PHYSICAL MOVEMENT Consider subtext and how to convey this physicallyINTERACTION BETWEEN CHARACTERSEYE CONTACTDIALOGUESUBTEXTMIRRORINGSUGGESTIONACTOR/AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIPAware of audience or not.Impact – emotion – dramatic effect – thought provokingSlide3

CHARACTERISATIONthe concept of creating characters There are two ways of conveying information about a character: Direct or explicit;The writer literally tells the audience/actor what a character is like. This may be done via the narrator, another character or by the character him or herself. You may therefore, as an actor, make use of textual references.Indirect or implicit;The actor must infer for themselves what the character is like through the character’s thoughts, actions, speech (choice of words, way of talking), looks and interaction with other characters, including other characters’ reactions to that particular person. This is the process of character development.Slide4

ACTOR/AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIPPresentational acting:Refers to a relationship that acknowledges the audience.Can be direct such as addressing them in a monologue or aside. Can also be indirect such as

general attitude or use of language/looks/gestures. Either way, it indicates that the character or actor is aware of the audience's presence.Representational acting:Refers to a relationship in which the audience is studiously ignored. Actors remain in-character and absorbed in the dramatic action whilst the audience simply look on and ‘spy’. The actor behaves as if a fourth wall was present, which maintains a divide of dramatic fiction from reality.Slide5

ACTING STYLENATURALISTICOr realistic; drama which replicates real life. See Stanislavski System – a system for encouraging actors to become emotionally and psychologically involved with their roles, in order to create a convincing, realistic performance. Some characteristics are; characters who act and talk like real people, settings that are real and from modern times like homes, workplaces, bars and restaurants, and the subject matter deals with real events and social/political issues. NON - NATURALISTICOr stylised; distinctly removed from truth, describing and portraying something that isn't necessarily there. Some characteristics could be playing with space, time or object.Non-realistic acting means that the actor in no way acts as he would do in real life. See Antonin Artaud

for inspiration.Slide6

ACTING TECHNIQUESSTANISLAVSKI SYSTEM; Aims to replicate real life, encouraging you to be ‘in the moment’ but always staying one step away from complete belief. Draws on personal emotion to portray character realistically. Here’s a reminder of what we did in class;We used ‘Belief’ to care for the ‘bird’We used ‘The Magic If’ to put ourselves in Pru’s shoes with the CorbiesWe practiced ‘cooking’ with or without ‘The Given Circumstances’MEYERHOLD; mixing psychological response with gestures and movement to express emotion. Physical movements should elicit

emotion in you rather than the other way round.Here’s a reminder of what we did in class;We choreographed a fight scene and evaluated the ‘action’. We then improvised a fight scene on the spot and evaluated the natural ‘reactions’Consider a moment where you might be spontaneous in your character and describe how you might do this.Slide7

Different endings:Actors retell the story of the play with several different endings. If the audience is shown a tragic ending, a happy ending and maybe even an absurd ending then the point that different outcomes are possible is made. The ending does not have to be inevitable and there is a possibility for social change.The Actor:Brecht required his actors to demonstrate what happened, what words were said, and demonstrate the actions of the character. They must not try and become any of the characters they portray. The actor or the audience should not identify with the character. BRECHTIAN TECHNIQUESUse of Song:Characters frequently and suddenly burst into song or formal commentary. They sing a song that is nothing to do with the emotion of action and everything to do with the intellectual message . Characters often become grotesque and unreal, performing in a dehumanised robotic manner. The songs broke the mood

of the scene to remind the audience that they were watching a play that had a message. Sometimes the actors actually stepped out of character and sang songs directly to the audience.Gesture:Brecht was influenced by Japanese and Chinese Theatre. He admired the way they used movement to tell a story in a stylised unemotional way. He encouraged his actors to learn the formal gestures of Chinese Theatre where a gesture that shows the character is crying is moving the finger up and down in front of the eyes. Brecht did not want his actors to actually weep tears.Voice:Brecht made enormous vocal demands on his actors: they were required to sing, chant, use mechanical and strange sounding voices, produce disconnected and non-human sounds and speak in a range of dialects and class accents. These techniques are used to produce alienation.Narration:Parts of the play are narrated rather than acting them. Most of Brecht's plays made use of a screen or large notices which gave the audience information about the play, introduced scenes or commented on the action, hammering home the message of the play. Where video projection is not available placards are used. Actors come on to stage carrying placards that announce the time and place of the action or any other information. These signs keep the audience removed from the action.Slide8

BRECHTIAN TECHNIQUESThe Actor:PRUDENCIA’S INABILITY TO BE HERSELFSWAPPING IN AND OUT OF ROLES AS ENSEMBLE (CORBIES)Voice: LINKS TO PRU - ALIENATION!!!Gesture: LINKS TO ENSEMBLECORBIES, LACK OF EMPATHY TOWARDS PRUDENCIA?Narration: LINKS TO THE WHOLE PLAY!Use of Song: LINKS TO;

COLIN FORCING MODERN MUSIC ON PRU, WHO PREFERS TRADITION. BREAKING TENSE MOMENTS – FOR EXAMPLE…HIGHLIGHTING THEME (TRADITION VS MODERN)Different endings: LINKS TO FINAL SCENE;- WHAT DOES IT MEAN?- STYLISED AND OPEN TO INTERPRETATION- EXPERIMENT WITH A VARIETY OF ENDINGS TO FIND THE TRUE MEANING – FOR YOUSlide9

ACTING TECHNIQUESTry doing some research on these styles and see if you can apply them to your own work as an actorSTRASBERG; Researching every aspect of your character, especially your backstory and personal life before the narrative of the show begins. You should become so familiar with your characters' lives, the characters would be just as constant as your own life.BRECHT; the theory that plays should not cause the audience to react emotionally with characters but to provoke self-reflection and critical views in the audience member themselves. MEISNER; To react truthfully rather than by manipulation.

METHOD ACTING; Living day to day as your character. Complete belief in who you are and what you are doing.SYMBOLISM; implies a greater meaning than the literal suggestion and is usually used to represent something other than what it is at face value. Completely stylised.Slide10

SPOKEN WORD VS PHYSICAL MOVEMENTSpoken word is the language used, or the performance of the words themselves. Consider dynamics, rhythm, repetition, pause, emphasis, slang or rhyme.In class we;Physical movement is non-verbal communication - use of the body to communicate particular messages. Consider facial expression, gesture, posture, body language and eye contact.In class we; Improvised a scene where Colin and Pru fell outWe exaggerated dialogue first then removed the words to focus only on the physical movement and emotions conveyedSlide11

SUBTEXTSubtext is content underneath the dialogue; it is what happens when spoken text and physical movement contrast, where other emotions are implied. Subtext is the unspoken thoughts and motives of characters - what they really think and believe. In class we;Acted as Pru and Colin within a variety of different contexts using only the phrase ‘Hello, how are you’ – ‘I’m fine thank you very much’ to experimented with the underlying subtext by considering use of voice and movement to imply something deeper Slide12

REMEMBER TO LINK IT TO THE QUESTION – IN THIS CASE…How would the actor use voice or movement to show strength/weakness? How would the actor interact with other characters to show strength/weakness? How would the actor interact with the audience to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use the space to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use their costume to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use props to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use make-up to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use props to show strength/weakness? How would the actor use the set to show strength/weakness?Slide13

VOICEArticulationFluencyIntonation Register ClarityPausePitchAccentPaceTimingToneVolumeEmphasis

MOVEMENTStanceBalanceBody LanguageGestureFacial ExpressionMimePosturePaceTimingSlow MotionBlockingMasking

CHARACTERISATION

- the process of developing a character fully

Character

Role Play

-exploring attitudes and beliefs

Thought Tracking

- when prompted the character says their thoughts out loud

Voice in the Head

Writing in Role

Hot Seating

Thought Tunnel

-character walks past other characters.

Those other characters speak their thoughts outloud

usually about the character walking past.

CONVENTIONS

alternative ways of presenting all or parts of a presentation

Slow motion

Tableau (C) / Frozen Picture (F)

Freeze Frame –action frozen in time

Soliloquy

Flashback/flash forward

Narration

Voice Over( recorded speech played during a drama)/

Voice in Head (recall words said by others about a character or situation)

Mime

Monologue

soliloquy

OTHER ACTING TECHNIQUES

Aside- to audience only

Stage whisperMasksstereotype

NAT 5 VOCAB

STILL APPLIES!Slide14

Lighting Follow SpotProfile SpotFresnelFlood Light(gauze)Barn DoorsGoboGel PyrotechnicsFocusing (the lights)Black outSlow fadeCross fadeSnap-to

SoundSound cueCross fadeRecorded voice over

Set

Back cloth

Cyclorama

Gauze

Flies

Door Flats

Window Flats

Flats

Scenery

Trapdoor

Rostra

Treads

Truck

Wings

Backstage

Staging

Venue

Thrust

Theatre in the round

End on

Proscenium Arch

Avenue

Auditorium

Revolving Stage

Ground plan

Key

Rake

Enter/exit

Audience

Sight lines Stage DirectionsStalls, balcony, dress circleCostume

Period Costume

Write in super detail for full marks

Props

objects used by actors

Personal Prop

Set prop

Make Up

liners

Wax/nose putty

Crepe hair

Fake blood

Latex

Spirit gum

Makeup pallets

Stipple sponge

Scarring

Skull cap

Tooth varnishSlide15

AActing StyleActor/Audience Relationship

B BLOCKINGCCentral CharacterComplex CharacterImportant CharacterMinor CharacterMain CharacterPivotal CharacterCharacterisationCharacter BehaviourCharacter MotivationCharacter DevelopmentCharacter InteractionRelationships between Character

D

Design Concepts

Dialogue

Drama Media

(aka projections, video, sound scapes)

Drama Process

Dramatic Feature

Dramatic Tension

Points of Tension

Moments of Tension

Dramatic Irony

Duologue

E

Episodic Structure

F

Focus

G

Given Circumstances

Ground Plans

K

Key Scene

Key Moment

HIGHER WORDS TO USE TO SOUND COOLER THAN YOU REALLY ARESlide16

SSetSettingSite Specific TheatreSpecial EffectsTextual EvidenceTraditional TheatreSpecial EffectsStage ImageryStatusStimulusSubtextSymbols and Imagery

TTextual EvidenceTraditional TheatreTarget AudienceTensionTextual AnalysisTheatrical BackgroundThemes and IssuesTime periodPassage of TimeShifts in Time

U

Use of levels

V

Venue

P

Performance Analysis

Performance Concepts

Pre-Show

Plot

Plot Twists

Protagonist/Antagonist

Purpose

Stage Proxemics

Positioning

M

Message

Mood