TIP OF THE DAY PT.2Semester Two

Journal 1 Describe you day so far in as much detail as

you can from… Waking up Getting ready for school Breakfast What you did or who you saw when you got to

school What you did and felt going to first class What you wish you were doing instead

1.Acting While They are Talking

Acting does not stop after you’ve spoken your line. You must be reacting to what is being said to you. That is part of the listening process.

Do not over-act a reaction, but realize that you are the second part of an equation which equals the whole.

This is just as important if there are a large number of actors on stage and you have only a few lines. You are always reacting to what is said.

Journal Two Which movie do you think

should have been on the Oscar list but wasn’t and why?

2.Loud and Soft There is a basic tone for the volume you

speak on stage which allows everyone to hear above that is loud and below that is soft.

Too much loud is grating, too much soft strains the listener or goes unheard.

You must find the basic tone in rehearsal and use loud and soft variety for your emotional changes. Never become too soft. (try different tones in class)

Journal 3 Who should win best actor and why? You can choose anyone you want for

this award but you must explain your choice. Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Gary

Oldman are the only ones you might know who are nominated.

3. The Stage Whisper The stage whisper is a voiced

aspirated whisper which is loud enough for the audience to understand what you are saying all the way to the back of the house.

They accept you are whispering even though you really aren’t.

Articulate the whisper so consonants are clearly spoken. (try it!)

Journal 4 Describe the character you are

playing in your fairy tale. What makes them do the things they do? What are their motivations? How do those motivations activate your character’s actions?

4. Faster or Slower Rate of line delivery is important to pace

and emotional delivery. In a comedy, lines spoken too slowly will kill the momentum. In drama, lines too fast will diminish the power of what you want to say.

Rate can also affect mood. You need to slow down for emotional moments and speed up for tense ones. (let’s experiment)

5.Throwing a line away

This is an act of de-emphasizing a line to give variety or to show a character trying to evade an emotional challenge.

You do this by laying the line out there without particular empasis, casually, as if you were just throwing an offhanded remark at someone.

It’s a good way to insert sarcasm. (think of an example)

6.Dropping the End of a Line

American actors infamously drop our energy and volume at the end of a line. This is bad because it interferes with understanding and a great deal of meaning is invested at the end of lines, especially in Shakespeare and verse plays.

It also makes it hard for your other actors to hear the cue. Practice keeping your energy through the end of a line.

7.More listening… OK, so Mr. C says I need to listen. To what?

What for? Listen for sense Listen for action Listen for agreement or disagreement Listen for tone Listen for the reason you react (Try a

Meisner game)

8.Rhythm Rhythm on stage comprises of quick,

medium and slow, plus loud, medium and soft, plus pauses of any length and how we come out of them.

A playwright creates a rhythm to emphasis or lead to certain events. Shakespeare was the best at it.

Try to be aware of the playwright’s rhythm choices in the play.

9. Torque In an engine, torque is the maximum

drive in the machine at full rev. In acting it when you reach your

emotional intensity. It’s when you put the pedal to the metal

and let it all hang out full bore.

10.Keeping the lid on Keeping the lid on something boiling

increases the pressure and the anticipation. It’s the same in acting choices. The longer

you let a moment simmer to boil the more potent the moment when the energy is released.

This also works in love scenes. Anticipation and restraint makes the moment of a touch more powerful and meaningful.

11.Self Reacting This refers to leaving yourself open to

reacting to things you say as if sometimes they surprise you. We often say things that just come straight from heart and are not filtered.

Your character needs to be able to react and reflect on the things they say after the words have left their source.

This self awareness makes your character more three dimentional

12. Agree/Not/ Neutral When someone is giving you information

you either agree, disagree or are unsure. You need to make you choices clear the audience in any event. This drives you into listening which is the biggest key to good acting.

You need to make those decisions in the early reading part of rehearsal and try different methods of reacting based on how the other characters speak to you.

13.Finding your light It is a key technical ability for an actor

to be able to feel his light on stage. Designers and directors have gone to great length to light areas you will be acting in, but it is to no avail if the actor continually misses his mark and stands out of the light.

Learn to know the warmth of that light on your face.

14. Costume life A good costumer will be going to

great care and trouble to put you in a costume that speaks for your character. Use the costume to help bring life to your creation.

The costume obviously helps you feel the part, but how you show it off and use it makes the picture complete

15. Repetition It is through repetition that we acquire

the freedom to act naturally. It is the primary goal of the rehearsal process no matter how tedious it may seem. Repetition of lines, of movement, of intentions, of reactions, engrains the flow into your body, so you can eventually feel free to be spontaneous on stage.

16. Simplify In early rehearsals it is good to push the

boundaries of your character. Go as far as you can…but then at some point the director will ask you to bring it back.

As Thoreau says, Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Know where to pull back and when it is helpful. When it is character and when it is vanity.

17.Technique Technique is your studied approach to

creating a character which creates tangible results.

You learn technique in classes but often you can learn the most by watching professionals who are successful at the craft.

Watch how they use their body, their emotional tools, and their “technique” to acquire a successful character and learn form it.

18. Small vs. large Space

A stage actor will eventually be required to act on stages of all different sizes for audiences of all different sizes. Learn to gage you performance for the space you are working in.

Film and small stages are always much smaller and more internal. Big stages require larger gestures and a lot more vocal energy.

19.Space and relationships

An actor needs to understand and utilize the nature of space in relationships. How close can you be to someone before you are too close…how far do you want to be from someone.

Actors also need to work on utilizing space when building a picture for the audience. Sometimes distance is needed to tell the story of a scene or create a good stage picture.

20.Entrances Entrances are one of the most important yet

often overlooked parts of building a scene. You should know what your character has been doing at least five minutes before you enter the scene so you bring that energy on stage with you when you make the entrance.

You come on stage for a reason…let the audience see that energy when you enter the scene.

Own the scene when you enter.

21.Exiting As with entrances, make your exit

count. Try to be as close to your exit position as possible on you last or exit lines. If you have to close a door…try to do before or after the next line in the play.

Make sure you stay in character all the way out of the scene until you are well out of sight of any audience members including the ones on the far right and left of the audience.

22. Stone Hands Use your hands expressively on

stage. Find the touch that re-assures and does not transmit your nervousness or the cold reality of your aggression.

Commit to the touch. Make the touch communicate the action you intend

23. Scaring people The things in that theatre truly scare are

the ones that build to that moment of fear. Think of that music in “Jaws” that builds the tension before we even see the shark. The same is true in playing a character that must frighten an audience. It is the restraint that builds the tension until the moment of action…then don’t hold back…go for it.

24. Physical Line Good directors frame a play moment to

moment creating pictures for the audience that communicate the play’s message. Actor’s need to be aware of how their body communicates the plays physical reality. Be aware of your own physical life on stage and the line your body adds to the frame of the theatrical moment

25. Mind/body connection

Allow your impulses to transmit through your body. Respond instinctively to the stimuli on stage as you would to the stimuli in the real world.

Take in the stimulus of someone’s line to you and let your body react to the impulse it suggests.

Journal 5 Discuss your character’s backstory

in your scene. Make up a mini-biography of who they are and what got them to the place in the scene you are doing. Who are these people?

26.Impulse and blocking

Know the scene well you are blocking in blocking rehearsals and be ready to let you impulses help the director by moving instinctually.

It is really hard to direct an actor made of stone…be in tune with where the scene is going and move yourself accordingly.

27.Take the part to the body

Many actors are good facial actors but a true actor takes his character through his entire body. How does your character walk, stand, sit, move in space. These are important aspects of building a character.

28.Break the straight line

A straight line is the shortest distance between two spaces but it also the most boring on stage. Find ways to walk in an arc, or break up the straight line by being distracted by something in the room that changes your gait or direct line to your ending location.

29.Reading the script When you are auditioning you read the script When you are cast you read the script and

high light your part. Then you read the script to understand what

other’s say about you and your relationships Then you read the script to ask questions

about what your objectives are and your character “arc”.

Then you should read the whole script at least once per week during the rehearsal process

30.Punctuation Watch and use punctuation to help you

get the rhythm of lines correctly. End at the period, pause at a comma, question at a ? Mark.

This is especially important when doing verse plays such as Shakespeare. Don’t stop at the end of lines. Read through to the punctuated stop.

Don’t change an author’s intent by changing punctuation stops in a play

31.Lanuage Learn to use colorful or rich language with

relish. Look for the key words in a sentence to

amplify and emphasize for effect. Verbs are often very important but

adjectives can be very rich when explaining a situation or making a line more clear.

32.Key words To choose key words in a phrase or set of

lines, look at the circumstances of the scene. Where is the climax to the dramatic beat? What is the main idea of what you are trying to convey? What words will carry the greatest impact of your character’s objectives?

Find these key words and emphasize them where they are most useful.

33. Searching for the word

practice (quote) “I don’t like the change that’s come

over you in the last year” We are now going to say this line doing the

following.. Put 2 beat pause before “change”…then do that

with like and then… try other variations of the line

Mark your script with pauses and emphasis you want to employ in your script

34.Verbal vs. Action When doing elevated literature on stage

such as Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, and the Greeks, let the language tell the story as much as possible. Keep physical action to minimum because it will detract from the author’s brilliant work in the text which is most important in the classics anyway.

35.Repeated words When words are repeated together in a

text such as… “Then, then, then he walked toward the door.” Find a different way to say each of the repeated words to give them more value and increase tenstion and variety.

36. What do I do with my hands?

Strange but true, most actors, once they’ve learned their lines and get out on stage, wonder what the heck to do with their hands. You need to avoid over gesturing and want to seem natural.

A trick is to bring on a prop your character might have, a hat, a toothpick, a book, something that needs to be dealt with and you will find the problem of what to do with your hands often finds an answer.

37.Blocking Rule 1 Always have a pencil and your script at

rehearsals. Always write you blocking in the text using

the abbreviations of the stage. U – Upstage, UL – Up left, D- Downstage, DR

down right….etc. Having your blocking written is important if

someone has to step in for you. It will be written for the actor to be able to follow in an emergency

38. Secondary roles OK, so you didn’t get the lead…but even a

part with two lines is an integral part of the story and needs to played with the same care as the lead role does. You are a part of the larger mosaic or a thread in the fabric and without that thread the whole does not hold together.

Do not try to show boat with a small role. Do your job and make the play’s success your goal.

39.Vocal variety Yelling is boring if it is carried on too long

on stage. It’s all one level and shows no progression to the peak of the scene.

Gauge yourself and your vocal peaks to build to the moments where volume is the most useful. If you reach your peak too soon, you have no where to go in the climax of the scene.

40.Director’s Notes Always have a pen or pencil for director’s

notes to write them down or you’ll forget. Never question the director when he or she is

giving notes. If you have a question or disagreement, discuss it later when alone with the director. You waste other’s time with discussing during notes

Take the note and work on it for the next rehearsal so you don’t get embarrassed by getting the same note a second time.

41.Learning Lines Underline the last sentence before your

line and learn it as your cue Write the cue and your line on a card so

you can separate the two. Cover your line and learn the cue, then say your line.

If you mess up, go to the top and start again doing all the cues and lines until you know it by heart, Then go on to the next scene and do it the same,

42.Bit parts or cameo’s

Be prepared to sit at rehearsal for long periods with nothing to do…bring a book or knitting or something.

Be a positive comrade to the cast. Always pitch in and help other actors learn their lines. Be first to learn yours!!!

Never belittle the play because you have a small role. Bring your best game to the table every time.

43. Shtick These are actor tricks to get attention

and are often frowned upon because they don’t necessarily come from a truthful reading of the text.

But sometimes, in some shows, it’s good to have a little good old fashioned shtick or over acting to make something work the way it’s supposed to , so don’t throw out the tool bag.

All the popular movies today are full of it.

44.Do it Twice Always try a director’s suggestion and try

it at least twice before you say it won’t work and make the director and yourself find another solution.

The director usually knows what he wants to see in a scene and your willingness to try anything offered will go a long way to helping create your reputation as someone who is easy to work with.

45.Danger signs Actor’s are frequently asked to do tasks that

could endanger themselves or someone else. Always take the time to get these elements

exactly right and rehearse fight choreography before every show.

Notice things on a set or backstage that might be dangerous and let the stage manager know about them so no one gets injured needlessly.

46.Rehearsal Clothes First…always dress comfortably for rehearsal so

you can work without thinking about ruining something you are wearing.

Wear clothes that feel like something your character would wear…a rehearsal skirt or a jacket…and shoes similar to what your character might wear.

The more you feel like the character, the easier it will be to become the character when you get the costume.

47.Kissing Hey, people kiss…it happens in life and it

happens on stage. There are stage kiss techniques, but most of

the time in professional theatre, you kiss the person you are supposed to kiss. NO TONGUE EVER.

If a partner is going too far in the kiss, pull back and let them know or the director know. It’s make believe after all.

48.Killing Laughs Sometimes you’ll have a line in a play

that draws a laugh at an inappropriate moment or something happens accidentally onstage that draws laughter at an inappropriate time.

You can kill the laugh by rushing into the next line or throwing focus away from the thing that is causing the inappropriate laughter.

49.Set up, Joke, Reaction

This is the standard form of a joke told in comedy.

Set-up should be crisp, clear and fairly loud The joke can be both thrown away or nailed

depending on the circumstance The reaction, which could get a second

laugh, should be visible, appropriate and timed to the action of the moment.

50.Holding for the laugh

Learn how to manipulate the laugh curve. Don’t cut off the audience laughter or they will be hesitant to laugh on other comic bits.

Stay in character and time your reaction to the laugh curve…you don’t stop acting to wait for the audience to finish laughing.

Never wait until they are totally finished laughing to begin…start as the laughter falls away.

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