Reading Between the Lines

Before I start this post, let me remind everybody that you need to be commenting here at least 2x a week. If I ask you to post something (like those survey results or your monologue selection), that counts toward your 2x. But I'm also looking for you to be commenting on other people's comments and on posts like this one.
And remember that 2x a week = B+. Comment more often or impress me with your thoughtfulness if you want an A for the week.

Be sure you read Friday's post about your monologue project.

*****

"Read between the lines." I bet you've all heard that one.

And I bet you've had one of those conversations where the other person is saying one thing, but their body language, tone of voice, or facial expression is saying the exact opposite. Like,

"No, no. It's fine. Don't worry about losing my favorite pen." *rolls eyes, stomps off*

Some people practice the art of implying far more than they say. They expect you to "pick up" on their hinted meaning. You guys out there probably think girls operate this way all the time ... and we kind of do. Girls are far more likely to "read" social signals, watching for subtle hints in body language or vocal inflection that suddenly become huge issues. But I've known my share of men who try to do this too.

Wife: "Honey, did you like dinner?"
Husband: "It was fine."
Wife turns to the dishes in the sink and starts crying
Husband, puzzled: "What on earth is wrong?"
Wife: "You hate my cooking!"

Don't laugh too much at that until you've been married. ;)

In real life, you need to put the brakes on hint-dropping and reading between the lines. Anyone (guy or girl) who tries to "read the signals" will get it wrong at least half the time -- and I've witnessed plenty of broken relationships and angry fights when kids or adults think they can base confrontations on intuition.

But in acting . . .
You need to think about the "between the lines" part of your text. This is called subtexting. What fails in real life to produce godly relationships (because we mis-read the hints) is actually vital to the actor.

If you don't give your character motives, emotions, and opinions to back up the words on the page, your characterization will be "flat." The audience will hear all the words but yawn in the listening. You've got to fill in the gaps with subtext ... and then base your physical acting (gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, movement) on the subtext. And it's the subtext that makes your interpretation of a text different than mine ... and that's good. =)

We'll talk this week about filling in the gaps.

Question for you to ponder:
Look at your monologue text.
What emotions do you see there? How does a person feeling that way often act?

Monologue Project: Instructions

Our first performance project! Woop!

The monologue texts are available on my website (see the link in the post below this one). I posted HTML copies now, so you don't have to download the entire Word document to find a monologue.

1. Post a comment here and tell me which monologue you plan to do.
2. Work on your scene analysis sheet and turn it in as soon as you finish.
3. Start working on memorization.
4. Long monologues can be cut down (try to keep at least 25 lines). Talk to me about it before you alter the text that you're memorizing. . .

PROJECT INFO
Scene analysis due: Wednesday, August 31st
Workshop days: September 8 or 9th (you'll have class one day and SH the next, unless you want to just come listen to the workshops)
Monologue performance: September 22 or 23 (attendance required on both days)

*Expect this performance to be for a wider audience than just your class. More details later when I've worked them out.


We'll spend the next several class periods working on specific skills you'll need to do well on the monologue, including subtexting and gestures.

And in case you think I'm getting off too easy by making you do all this work, I'm going to do one of these myself. And you'll get to critique me in both the workshop and performance stages. It's only fair . . . . =)

Monologue Texts

Go to my English class web site (the drama page) to find the Word 2000 document of the Shakespeare monologues that you can choose from.

If you don't want to wade through the Word document, give me a couple of hours and I'll post an HTML version later tonight.

I loved drama class today and am looking forward to tomorrow. Got a great game planned ....
=)

Lying Truthfully

Have you ever considered how we humans "act" all the time?

You have a "role" to play at school, a "role" to play at home, a "role" to play in special social situations. Most of us can "put on a happy face" even when we're feeling bad, pretend nothing is wrong when it really is, or make someone think we're interested in what they're saying even if we're bored to death.

Someone has defined acting as "lying truthfully." You've got to convince your audience that you really are the character you're playing. That doesn't mean that you become the character -- you'll never fool your brain into believing that you are someone else. But you can create the illusion of someone else's persona.

So ... talk to me:
Tell me about one of the "roles" you play in real life.
Be specific.
What "role" is it?
How do you talk? behave? respond? change your posture/facial expression to suit the role?

Some ideas: the happily obedient child (when you don't feel like it); confident guy (in front of the ladies); suave girl (in front of the guys); the interested older sibling (when your little brother/sister is talking your ears off) ...


I'll go first so you have an example (look in the comments section)



Cheerio till Thursday!

Drama Survey

Please post your answers in a comment by Wednesday, August 24th.

You can copy/paste from the blog entry to make your life easier. =)

Name?

Interesting or weird fact about you that I don?t know yet:

Do you like doing theater work?

Are you more of a performer or a behind-the-scenes person?

Have you ever been in a full production (as actor or stage hand)?

If so, which one(s) and how long ago?

Who is the best male actor and best female actor, in your opinion?

I would rather die than do _______________ [fill in] onstage in a role.

If I were to land my dream acting role, it would be _______________ [can be a particular role or just a type of person].

What scares me the most about theater work is ?.

The last live play you saw:

The best movie you?ve seen recently:

Once you all have posted answers, I?ll give you mine. =)

Welcome Students!

I bet you're here because I sent you here for drama class. ;)

Yep, this is it. Make yourself comfy; leave a comment. And make SURE you put your name in your comments, or I'll have no idea who you are (unless you have a Blogger account).


Please read EVERYTHING below so you're up to speed.
See you in class!

PS. Don't miss the TAG chatterbox on the right -- it's a great place for the "little messages," like saying Hi to your classmates or being witty.

Drama I: Course Overview

For drama students who are too curious for their own good:

I posted the course overview (list of topics we're going to cover) on my website. Go check it out! ;)

And we've got a whole stack of brand-spankin'-new copies of Midsummer Night's Dream to set out on the tables for the book sale. Makes me happy... and reminds me:

If you're not a high schooler and you want to be in Midsummer, you need to read a copy of the play before November.