Rehearsal Techniques

Inner Thoughts

O I would ask my actors to rehearse,

although at any given point I would call

“Inner thought?” and they must respond,

spontaneously revealing their characters’

inner thoughts.

Hot-seat

O I would do a hot-seating exercise with my

actor. The actor must remain in character

whilst being asked a series of questions

which elaborate on life experiences. This

will help create more realistic characters.

Temporal Divisions

O I would ask my actor to identify the

emotions and objectives within this “unit”,

breaking it down into “bits”, in the way of

Stanislavski. I would then ask them to

focus on those emotions. This will help to

create an emotive performance for both

the actor and audience.

Super-Objectives

O I would ask my actors to consider their

objectives within this “unit” – which is their

motivation behind these actions/words -

and then ask them to consider their super-

objective, which relates to their role in the

play. This is in the way of Stanislavski.

This would help them to portray clearly the

content and events of the play, and to

remain as a “detached” character.

Bigger and Bigger

O I would ask my actor to identify the beats

and units, as would Stanislavski. Then I

would ask them to play the character with

huge emotions. I would command “bigger”

and, each time, the actor must respond by

exaggerating. This will help create

comedy.

Flashback

O I would ask my actors to think of where

their character was a few moments ago, a

day ago and perhaps a week ago. In turn,

I would ask them to move in slow-motion

to create a tableau which represents this.

This will help deepen characterization for

the actor, and help hone their physicality.

Flash-forward

O I would ask my actors to think of where

their character will be in a few moments

time, in a day’s time and perhaps in a

year’s time. In turn, I would ask them to

move in slow-motion to create a tableau

which represents this. This will help the

actors consider what message they want

to leave the audience with.

LeCoq’s “Emotional Movement with a Stick”

O I would ask the pair to hold either end of a metre-stick and to push and pull each other through the space with it, varying with dynamism and melodrama. I would ask my actors to familiarize themselves with the emotions and mood of the different movements and paces. I would then ask them to repeat the exercise, this time removing the stick and adding in their lines, trying to replicate the atmosphere, particularly of conflict. This would show the audience the tension of the characters through Proxemics, and help the actors to make full use of the space.

LeCoq’s Melodrama

O I would ask the actors to consider the strongest emotion of the character in the scene and then to mime this scene with exaggerated movement for the chosen emotion. I would then identify the most melodramatic aspects of this mime such as large arm gesture or vivid facial expressions and ask my actors to retain these when adding their lines back in. This will help to create dramatic tension physically between the characters. It will also help unblock self-conscious movements.

LeCoq’s “Choral Line”

O I would ask two people to stand in a line.

The person at the back must whisper their

lines, line by line, and it is echoed by the

person in front. The line gradually gets

longer, with an actor joining at the back

each time and those in front repeating

their line together. This will help establish

the character of the Chorus Leader and

help the Chorus work as an ensemble.

Tempo/Volume Line

O I would ask my actors playing the Chorus to arrange themselves in a line, where one end represented a very slow tempo and the other represented a very fast tempo. I would ask them to chant a line in unison, and then I would move along the line and stop at a certain point. They must decide together, yet without speaking, on the appropriate tempo with which to now chant the line. I would repeat the exercise for volume. This will greatly improve the cohesion of the Chorus, and open up new approaches for the choral lines.

Unified Walking Pace

O I would ask the actors to walk around the

room and stop without saying anything or

any command. This will improve focus

and establish a relationship with other

members of the group.

Keeping Time by Counting to 60

O I would ask my actors to stand in a circle and close their eyes. Each one must count to one minute in their head. At one minute, they must step forward. I would be keeping track of the order in which they step. Once everyone has stepped forward, I would be able to identify who has the slowest track of time, the fastest and those who are just on. I would then repeat by asking them to say an extract in their head, with those aware of who needs to slow down and speed up. This will help eliminate problems of trying to speak in unison.

Non-Verbal Language

O I would ask my actors to think of an idea

that they want to communicate to each

other in the extract. Then I would ask

them to communicate this idea without

any words at all, though they may use any

sound (e.g. whistling) or any gestures

(e.g. pointing a finger). This will help the

two actors to focus upon how they could

use a wordless, universal language when

in role.

Play Around with Vocal Exercises

O I would ask my actors to rehearse their

lines with no movements whatsoever, so

that they may concentrate solely on the

voice. I would first ask them to say the line

as neutrally as possible and then ask

them to experiment with tone in which

they say it. I would then ask them to

repeat the exercise, but varying their

tempo, speed, rhythm and then volume to

create different expressions.

Explore Ways to Touch

O I would ask my actors to find a way to

touch the other person that was

appropriate to the line. I would ask them

to rely on instinct and not to think it

through too much. This will create

something visually interesting and

perhaps unusual for the audience,

perhaps bring out elements of comedy,

and draw out the actor’s “physical

language”.

Ladders Exercise

O I would position two ladders side-by-side

and ask each actor to step onto their

ladder: one must be at the top and the

other at the bottom. As they recite their

lines they must decided whether to move

up or down on the ladders so that by the

close of the scene, they are on an equal

position on their ladders.

Steps

O As each line is said, the actors must

experiment with their Proxemics, either

moving closer or further away from the

other speaker, depending on their

relationship

LeCoq’s Masks and Neutrality

O I would ask my actors to focus on their

physicality. The actors should wear a

mask and then act the scene. The loss of

facial expressions will drive them to

communicate meaning through their

physical movements.

LeCoq’s “Valley of the Giants”

O I would ask the actor to pretend he is a

giant. He must interact with the other

actors and props as if they were much

smaller. He will take heavy steps, push

and pull with his body and enjoy playing at

being big, which was vital to be an actor

under LeCoq. This will give an elevated

status to this character.

“One Handed Conversation”

O I would ask my actors to hold a

conversation each using only the actions

of one hand and thus limiting

communication ability. It forces the actors

to become expressive with their hands

and face, to communicate in ways other

than words and to draw upon their own

physical impulses.

Rehearsal Techniques for Woyzeck Prezi

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interpretation/