Theatre Ch. 7

Acting

Impersonating a character in a dramatic presentation before an audience

Cold Reading

actors read from the script with little or no preparation

Emotional Memory

an acting technique pioneered by Konstantin Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls the visual and auditory images, or physical circumstances, of a real-life (or imagined) event in order to relive the emotions accompanying it

Character Flaw

an inner flaw that hampers a character's good judgment and leads the character to make unfortunate choices

Tragic Flaw

an unchangeable trait in a character that brings about his own ruin

Cattle Call

anyone may audition-limited audition time-hundreds of actors may audition

Cold Reading

audition in which actors read from a script without any preparation

Given Circumstances

character-analysis approach that begins with the examining characters' life circumstances: their situations, problems, and the limits life has placed on the. Can include general background such as upbringing, religion, and social standing, as well as what happened to the character the moment before entering the scene.

Konstantin Stanislavsky

co-founder of the Moscow Art Theater

Synthespian

digital actor created by computer animators

Equity Waiver

loophole allowing equity members to work (free, limited to 12 performances, 99 seat house)

Empathy

the ability to understand and identify with another's situation to the extent of experiencing that person's emotion

Motivation

the conscious or subconscious reason a character takes a particular action

Final Dress Rehearsal

the last rehearsal before an audience is invited

Dark Night

the one night of the week when a play is not performed and the theatre is closed; typically Monday night.

Off Book Rehearsal

the rehearsal when the actors must have their lines memorized because they no longer have the script with them on stage

Less Than 5000 per year

average film actor salary

Outside-In

changing yourself physically (on the outside) to change how you feel on the inside

Lee Strasberg

co-founder of the Group Theatre

Synthespians

digital actors

Super-Objective/Spine

the driving force that governs a character's actions throughout the play

Superobjective

the driving force that governs a character's actions throughout the play

Dress Rehearsal

the final rehearsals, when costumes and makeup and are added, before the play opens

Table Work

the first step in the rehearsal process; that actors read through the play while seated around a table. Afterward, the director and actors discuss the characters, motivations, and meaning, and the designers may present their ideas to the cast

To acquire both physical and vocal that stage performances demand; master the CRAFT of acting. To make characters believable To combine the craft with believability

Three Challenges of Acting

Mind, Body, and Voice

Three Tools of an Actor

Spontaneity

Through a great deal of preparatory work, the actor can achieve...

Special Rehearsal

a rehearsal for a special element, such as fight scenes, musical numbers, dance numbers, or dialects

Run-Through

a rehearsal to go through an act or the entire play from beginning to end with as few interruptions as possible

Blocking Rehearsal

a series of rehearsals in which the director and actors work out the blocking, or the movement of the actors on stage during the play

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

a system for transcribing the sounds of speech that is independent of any particular language but applicable to all languages

Inner Life of an actor himself The actor's observations of the outside world

Stanislavsky believed in two sources of material for an actor's creative work:

1558 weekly

Rate for Broadway

Emotional Memory

Stanislavsky, the actor thinks of a past event which leads to an emotion similar to that which the character is supposed to feel in the play

Magic If

a technique pioneered by K. Stanislavsky for developing empathy with a character. It involves searching for the answers to the question, "What would I do IF I were this character in these circumstances?" It magic if allows actors to find similarities between themselves and a character and to explore the intimate emotions and thoughts that result

Technical Approach

acting from the outside in, concentrating on physical details.

Callback

actor is selected to return to continue the audition process

Blue Screen Technique

actors perform in front of a blank blue backdrop, and digital characters and/or background are added in post-production

Method Acting

also known as "the method" this system of realistic acting was distilled by followers of K. Stanislavsky and has been taught primarily since the 1930s in Amercia

Inner Conflict

some sort of unfinished business that is so compelling that it handicaps the character until it is confronted

Actors must be in SHAPE. Actors must learn how to PREPARE properly. Actors must be able to CONTROL their physical and vocal skills.

Mastering the Craft of Acting (3)

General Working Rehearsal

rehearsals during which the director and actors work on individual scenes and concentrate on understanding the characters' motivation, emotions, and personality

Tech Rehearsal

rehearsals that include the lights, sound, costumes, more complex props, and final set pieces

Substitution

replacing a character's emotions with unrelated personal emotions; a technique used when the actor has not had the experience or emotional reaction of the character

Screen Actor's Guild (SAG)

represents movie and television artists

Actor's Equity Association (AEA)

represents stage actors

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)

represents talk-show hosts, announcers, singers, disc jockeys, news and sportscasters and stunt people