Staying "in the moment"

I've seen a few of your scenes, and already I like what I see. The work we've been doing in drama class on subtexting, objectives, and characterization is showing up in your scenes -- that makes me happy. ;)

A few tips:

1. You don't always have to run the entire scene from beginning to end. People with longer scenes might want to break your script into 2 or 3 parts and sometimes work on only one part during a particular rehearsal.
Try to break the script at a "natural" place -- not in the middle of the "flow."


2. I'll try to point this out as I see you rehearse but ...
Get an idea of where the audience will be in relation to your stage setup. Put chairs there if necessary to remind yourself "that's where the people are." It's OK to turn your back to the audience IF YOU HAVE A REALLY GOOD REASON.

It is NOT a good thing to block the audience's view of your partner! Be mindful of where you are "on the stage."


3. Next week while you're trying to get "off book," consider just running lines with each other -- no emotion or expression, just say your parts line by line with a 3rd person in the room to listen and mark where you're messing up.

A "lines rehearsal" like that will help those of you who struggle with memorization. (And that's just about all of us, to be honest.)


4. The challenge will be to keep the subtext in mind as you say the lines (which will soon become so familiar that you'll have a hard time making them sound "fresh"). Ideally, your audience will BELIEVE that this is the very first time these words ever came out of your mouth (in a good way -- not like you're stumbling over them. :)

which leads me to . . .

"IN THE MOMENT"

Train your brain to really focus on exactly what your character is thinking and feeling during each moment of the scene, whether you're speaking or not.

This is called "staying in the moment" --not letting your mind wander or focusing on "what's my next line?"

If you spend your onstage time thinking about what's coming next, your performance will feel very "mechanical." The lines & gestures will be there, and might even look good, but the audience will know your heart isn't in it.

Instead, once you really know your lines, you can start "thinking" your character's thoughts (subtext!) as you say the lines and REACT to your partner. Acting isn't about memorizing "how" to feel or "how" to make your face look as soon as your partner says a particular word. It's about molding yourself into the shape of another character who is then free to REACT to what happens around you ...

I strongly recommend throwing something new at your partner once in a while.
Change the way you say a line.
Move to a new spot on the stage.
Hold an object and do something with it that's unexpected ...

MAKE each other REACT instead of just falling into a rut.


enjoy!
these are gonna be awesome ....


*****
MND audition info will go online at rameyweb.com/english/drama later tonight (Wed). The rumors are true: all drama students MUST audition for at least one role, and expect to be either onstage or backstage. Most of you will work onstage.