Last Things

I've enjoyed seeing your scenes these past few days and look forward to how they'll improve over the next week as you work hard at rehearsing them. (*ahem*) =)


Reminders that everybody needs to heed:

SLOW DOWN
Your words, that is.

You know the lines. That's good.
Stop flying through them like they're memorized. That's bad. The audience will not be able to understand you -- especially the little kids!!!

You've got to give some words more "weight" or stress than others ... s t r e t c h them out!

Don't read your lines in one big clump. Sometimes you need to pause ... to let your partner react ... to chew over something you just said or he/she just said.

slow down in rehearsal
slow down in performance
just plain slow down!

you are ALWAYS speaking faster than you realize.


TALK LOUDER
You've got a diaphragm. Use it. =)

Everyone so far has been far too quiet to project from the stage to the back rows. I realize you feel funny speaking loudly in a small room like the drama room. But you've got to. If you don't train your voice now to speak OUT and speak UP, you'll totally forget to do it in performance.

If the audience can't HEAR you, they don't CARE what you say.

Speak from your belly -- make your stomach muscles tighten & expel air forcefully when you talk. Your whole "gut" should be moving as you say your lines. Put your hand there once in a while and check ...


OVER-ACT
You're never projecting as strongly as it seems to you, the actor.

What you think is "intense emotion" often comes across as a mere emotional blip from the stage. The audience isn't sitting in your lap-- they're 10 or 20 feet away. And they don't know the scene.

You have to push the emotions out across the space into their faces. For some of you, that's uncomfortable -- you don't like to show emotion. But you've got to do it. .. it looks sillier to say words that should carry emotion -- without feeling.

If you actually manage to "overdo" it, I will tell you to pull back.
But I haven't seen anyone yet who's even come close to going too far.


Practice those three things in rehearsal this week, every rehearsal (even ones at half- energy -- which you should do sometimes to give yourself a break).


Slow down, speak up, and "overdo" it.
Push your partner to do the same. Hold each other accountable.