1. Pre show Use of Production Skills Acting style Stage proxemics/Positioning Character interactions/ characterisation choices Use of levels Voice and movement techniques Special effects Actor/audience relationship Drama media (projections, video footage, soundscapes,etc.) AS A DIRECTOR…. WHAT CAN I TALK ABOUT?

2. STAGE PROXEMICS/USE OF LEVELS/POSITIONING Use of space/height to create distance that can represent a relationship/status/tension/class/conflict/attitudes VOICE & MOVEMENT Articulation Fluency Intonation Register Clarity Pause Pitch Accent Pace Timing Tone Volume Emphasis Stance Balance Body Language Gesture Facial Expression Mime Posture Pace Timing Slow Motion Blocking Masking Use of levels/ space Rhythm INTERACTION BETWEEN CHARACTERS EYE CONTACT DIALOGUE SUBTEXT MIRRORING SUGGESTION CHARACTERISATION CHOICES INTERPRETATION MANNERISMS BEHAVIOUR HABITS GESTURES ACTING STYLE NATURALISTIC OR STYLISED And to what effect? AS A DIRECTOR, YOU WOULD GIVE DIRECTION ON THE FOLLOWING; THE DIRECTION WOULD COME FROM EXPLORATION DURING REHEARSAL USING REHEARSAL TECHNIQUES. A REHEARSAL IS NOT JUST ‘ Blocking, learning lines, running scenes’. SOME OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES MIGHT BE RELEVANT….

3. EXPLORING MOVEMENT; consider experimenting with voice techniques to arrive at decisions Movement Circle Cast stands in a circle. One person moves into the middle and begins to walk. A second person enters the circle behind the first, imitating their walk. The first steps out, seeing how their walk looks on another person. Then the second actor exaggerates one aspect of the walk, creating a character. Tableau Create a picture that visualizes the main theme of the play Moving Tableau Create a picture that visualizes the main theme of the play, and then encourage the actors to move in character. How do they move? Where? Have the group create a tableau for the beginning of the play and then transform into a tableau for the end of the play. How does the picture change? How do the characters change within the picture? Movement Dialogue In pairs, have actors try to carry on a conversation in gesture and movement only. Are they able to? Let the group watch each conversation and try to figure out what is being said. Movement Walk Start each rehearsal by playing a piece of music and have the actors create movement directly inspired by the music. Same but different: Environment walk, have the actors move within a specific environment: change the weather, change The location, change the air, be absurd! Same but different: Change the tempo the group moves in, change the level – Have them move in a high space, then a low space. Change the amount of space they try to take up as they move. Tempo Rhythm Pupils should walk around the room, without bumping into each other. Begin to clap a slow rhythm and tell pupils to walk to the beat. Gradually make this faster. As you clap, narrate the following: “you are stressed, frantic important people with important work”. Explain you just took them through a short improvisation where the rhythm dictated movement. They are to continue walking to a fast beat and you will be throwing them into more improvisations: a) An office, b) London Underground at rush hour c) A & E d) a thunder storm e) a funeral f) after an exhausting day

4. EXPLORING VOICE; consider experimenting with voice techniques to arrive at decisions Change the Tone Choose one scene and have the actors come up with a variety of emotions (at least five) to play throughout the scene. Have the whole cast work on the same scene in the beginning of the rehearsal process to emphasise the need for tonal variety. What choices do they make? Do they find it impossible to change the tone? ‘Hello, how are you?’; Playing a variety of characters to experiment with voice in character and introduce tone, pitch, pace, volume and accent. Scale of 1 – 10 Take a simple line and practice speaking it with different levels on the scale. Shakespearean Insults “Thou danking dizzy-eyed maggot-pie!” “Thou yeasty sheep-biting harpy!” “Thou rank onion-eyed bum-bailey!” Make pairs so everyone has someone in particularly they can “insult”. In turn, ask the pairs/members of the team to step forward and hurl an insult at their partner. They should make an effort to project it as clearly as possible – spit out every syllable and put as much venom into the silly sentiments as they can muster. ALPHABET CONVERSATIONS; Have pupils improvise short scenes where scenarios might include; giving/receiving terrible news; dumping a girlfriend/boyfriend; the best gossip ever; a formal job interview; an encounter with an old enemy…etc. Present and consider use of voice. Now repeat the exercise using letters of the alphabet only. Encourage use of the voice techniques to convey the correct emotion and expression of the scenario despite the lack of dialogue.

5. EXPLORING CHARACTERISATION; develop characters to better inform interpretation and directorial choices IMPROVISATION; The more the actors feel the character and story exist outside the world of the play, the better they'll be able to create that world for the audience. Improv the moment before the play begins Improv the first meeting between characters Improv an important childhood moment that might affect they way they act in the play Improv scenes that happen during the play but aren't shown. HOT SEATING; A great way to find out how much the actors know about their character, what they think about their character. It can really help a director to get an inside view. One at a time, each actor sits in a chair in front of the others. They are in character. The other actors must each ask a question, something they would like to know about the character. BLOCKING; How well do the actors know their blocking? Take the lines out of the scene and play the scene only performing the actions, substituting gibberish for dialogue. EXPLORING AND DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS; A communication exercise. In pairs, one person describes an object (without saying what it is) and the second person has to draw it. What is the outcome? How do the pairs communicate?

6. EXPLORING LANGUAGE; Do your actors understand exactly what they are saying? Do they understand the story they are telling? Here are some t echniques for experimenting with difficult language or rhythm Visualisation Create tableaux of the most important sections of text. How well can the cast visualize the text? Physicalisation Each actor comes up with a list of words in the text that describes their character. Taking each character in turn, Involve the whole cast to create a physical stance based on that word. How does the actor playing the character see themselves? How do others? Diction Tongue twisters! The easiest way to get to grips with rhyme and rhythm. Play with Pauses Have your actors read a scene. Play the scene with no pauses. With five second pauses between lines. Ten Second pauses. Thirty second pauses. One minute pauses. Mix it up. How do the pauses change the scene and the rhythm?

7. PRE SHOW Use of set, sound, lighting, props, actors. What do the audience see/hear/feel as they enter the space? Can also link with actor/audience relationship – can the actors interact with the audience before the show? For what effect? Think; Establishing Setting Context Implication Dramatic Irony Clues/Suggestion Symbolism ACTOR/AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP Are the actors aware of the audience or not? Consider impact on audience (emotional, dramatic, thought provoking, moral dilemma, etc.) Consider Site Specific VS Traditional (so very apt for Pru in particular!) Consider audience interaction/participation – can you get them involved? How? For what effect? USE OF PRODUCTION SKILLS/SPECIAL EFFECTS/DRAMA MEDIA - Sound - Lighting - Props - Set - Set Dressings - Costume - Make up - Media projection - Film Footage - Soundscapes Remember you must justify clearly your choices by explaining how they will impact on your interpretation

8. VOICE Articulation Fluency Intonation Register Clarity Pause Pitch Accent Pace Timing Tone Volume Emphasis MOVEMENT Stance Balance Body Language Gesture Facial Expression Mime Posture Pace Timing Slow Motion Blocking Masking 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 whisper Masks stereotype NAT 5 VOCAB STILL APPLIES!

9. Lighting Follow Spot Profile Spot Fresnel Flood Light (gauze) Barn Doors Gobo Gel Pyrotechnics Focusing (the lights) Black out Slow fade Cross fade Snap-to Sound Sound cue Cross fade Recorded 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 Directions Stalls, balcony, dress circle Costume 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 varnish

10. A Acting Style Actor/Audience Relationship B BLOCKING C Central Character Complex Character Important Character Minor Character Main Character Pivotal Character Characterisation Character Behaviour Character Motivation Character Development Character Interaction Relationships 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 ARE

11. S Set Setting Site Specific Theatre Special Effects Textual Evidence Traditional Theatre Special Effects Stage Imagery Status Stimulus Subtext Symbols and Imagery T Textual Evidence Traditional Theatre Target Audience Tension Textual Analysis Theatrical Background Themes and Issues Time period Passage of Time Shifts 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