Acting

Indictation

• use of stereotypical gestures

• a physical shorthand to simplify complex moment of human experience

• inappropriate acknowledgement of audience

Problems: 1. Interrupts audience’s willing suspension or disbelief 2. insults audience’s intelligence

Concentration

• the focusing of an actor’s attention (task, person, object…)

immediate circle - small area, actor in center

Intermediate - several people, furniture

distant - everything an actor can see on stage

Public Solitude

actor only focusing on the actions on stage and not the audience

Magic IF

“What if I were the character in these circumstances…”

Sense Memory/recall

The recall and recreation of sensory experiences to aid actor create sensations of the moment.

Given Circumstances

all that the character encounters living in the environment of the play, influences…

Place

immediate location of the scene and conditioning forces that arise (sensory, temp, smell, sounds) (characters relationship with the place)

Spine

character’s life goal

Super Objective

character’s overarching goal for the play

Intention

objective

specific purpose for character to be on stage. give meaning behind the actor’s words.

Beat/Beat Action

What changes occur in the scene

Obstacles

Impediments (problems) to the achievement of the objective

Tactic

Approach to the solution of the problem

Strategy

character’s overall plan to achieve the objective

Discovery

when the character discovers new knowledge or understanding

Sense of the “first time”

when character appears to be experiencing the events of the scene for the first time

Subtext

the true inner thoughts and feelings of the character that are not communicated with words

Moment Before

preparation technique to get the motor going for a scene

Relationship

the state of affairs between characters (factual and feeling)

Stakes/Importance

circumstances which make prospect of failure a serious problem and success a high achievement.

Sense of truth

something that is not in existence but could happen.