Audience
down
Up
Draw a rectangular stage and label the Audience, Center, Down Left and Up Right
What do you think it might it signify when an actor comes closer to the audience rather than moving farther away from the audience?
On a raked stage an actor who is further from the audience is higher than an actor who is closer to the audience. This led to the theatre positions "upstage" and "downstage", meaning, respectively, further from or closer to the audience.
Explain where the audience is in Proscenium Stage vs. a Thrust Stage vs. Theater in the Round?
Proscenium Stage- the audience is arched around the stage
Thrust Stage- the audience is on 3 sides of the square stage
Theater in the Round-audience is completing surrounding the circular stage
What is the most common type of stage?
Proscenium Stage
Where is the orchestra often located in a traditional theater?
Under the stage
What is the challenge of performing in a Theater-in-the Round space?
The actors have to make sure that all the audience equally sees what’s going on and not one section of the audience is always facing the back of the actors
What is the difference between projection and enunciation?
Projection-The placement and delivery of volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice for communicating to an audience.
Enunciation- pronouncing your words clearly
Why are gestures and facial expressions important to actors? What do they do?
They help the audience feel the mood and emotion of the actors so that they better understand the play.
What is the difference between a prop and a set piece and a costume piece? Give examples of each.
Props- objects actors use in scenes
Set piece- A piece of scenery that stands independently in a scene.
What is the difference between a play and a musical?
play-The stage representation of an action or a story; a dramatic composition.
Musical- a story written out with lots of music
What is a sitzprobe?
sitzprobe- a rehearsal where the singers sing with the orchestra
How can music set a tone for a scene? Give an example.
The type of music being played. Such as fast passed music could be an action scene or a scene that evokes anxiety and sad music can make the scene sad are serious
What is devised theater?
Loosely based on improving and the cast collaborates on it
What is a follow spotlight and give an example of when a director or lighting designer might like to use a follow spot? (2 pts)
It’s a spotlight that follows a specific actor during a scene it could be used when an actor is saying something long/monologuing so the audiences undivided attention is on that specific actor and his/her words
When speaking on stage, even in a stage whisper, actors need to --------- in order for the audience to hear the lines being spoken.
What is the difference between a monologue and dialogue spoken in a scene?
A monologue is where an actor is talking to himself whereas dialogue is two or more people communication
What is improv? In improv, why should actors never say "no"?
Improv is where you come up with the script on the spot and you should never say any because it leaves the actors in a spot where they cant come up with creative material after someone says no. it cuts off the scene. This is why in improv you always say yes and
If you forget what to say while rehearsing scenes, you say “line,” and the stage manager, director, or whoever is on a book will prompt you. During an actual performance, what should you do?
You should stay calm, try to remember your last lines exemphfi ease
What is motivation and why is it important to character development?
motivation-the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
This is important in character development because it tells us why we are following a story at a certain point in time
What is the given circumstances of a scene?
refers to the “who, where, what, when, why, and how”
What words are usually written in italics in a script and refer to blocking, emotion, or other elements besides lines?
Stage directions
Why might a director ask actors to consider and/or invent a backstory for their characters?
So that the actors can “Be” the character and produce real emotions based on the character
In order to be best seen by the audience, a director may ask actors to alter the way they are standing or positioned by asking them to --------------------.
What pace should actors generally use when speaking lines (except under special circumstances)?
Medium pace speaking, comedy usually are faster paced
What is a common problem that inexperienced actors have regarding the pacing/tempo of lines?
They usually pick up the pace and talk too fast
How are costumes used in creating character? Use a specific example of a character you have seen and how costumes were used to communicate something about the role to the audience.
The usually personify the charter- ex. An outgoing charter would probably wear very colorful colors and wacky clothes
What is blocking? Where should blocking get recorded (written down) while rehearsing?
Blocking is the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera.
Some plays require actors to contribute some original lines, often as filler. What is this called when actors put in original lines not written in their scripts?
improv/ ad lib
Reaction is just as important as delivering lines. Why?
It helps the audience know what to react to when a scene is confusing
Where are the wings and the backstage on a proscenium type of stage?
Behind the curtains
What is a curtain and a cyclorama in a traditional stage? Why don't we have those in the Black Box?
It blocks parts of the stage during transition scenes or to change the size of the stage. Black boxes don’t have curtains because they are meant to be reconstructed so you can use other things in place of a curtain
What is a prologue and an epilogue in a play?
prologue-a separate introductory section of a literary or musical work\
epilogue-a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.
What is a flashback?
It is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story.
Who is Constantin Stanislavski and why is he important to modern-day theater?
Constantin Stanislavski is a Russian actor and director and he is important because He was a cofounder of the Moscow Art Theater, where his productions achieved the zenith in 20th-century naturalism.
What are Uta Hagen's 9 Questions that actors should ask themselves about their
characters and scenes?
Explain what a goal and an obstacle is in acting and how they create tension.
The goal in acting is what the actors are trying to accomplish and the obstacles are the things that stop them from accomplishing their goals this creates tension because you want to see them solve the obstacles to get to their goal
Explain the difference between a protagonist and an antagonist.
The protagonist is the main character, often a hero. The antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist, often a villain.
What is an overture in a musical?
usually the orchestral introduction to a musical work (often dramatic), but also an independent instrumental work.
Explain the difference between a producer, technical director, director, musical director, and stage manager in professional theater.
A director the person who oversees the entire process of staging a production.A stage manager is responsible for the running of each performance. A technical director is a possesses the highest level of skill within a specific technical field. A musical director is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. A producer is a person who oversees film production.
What is a raked stage?
an actor who is further from the audience is higher than an actor who is closer to the audience.
What is type casting?
Is when you cast a person and they always play the same the same kind of roll
Who is Lorraine Hansberry and what is she famous for?
She was a was a playwright and writer. She wrote A Raisin in the Sun, was the first black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics' Circle award.
