Fundementals of Drama

Question 1

Posture (Voice)

Answer 1

Neutral Posture

1. Feet shoulder width apart
2. Feet beneath knees, heels under hips
3. Knees are ‘soft’
4. Straight back
5. Arms hung loose
6. Soft / Relaxed shoulders
7. Loose neck

Question 2

Breathing

Answer 2

Breathe using your diaphragm

Question 3

Pace

Answer 3

Speed at which an actor/actress speaks (must link to character)

Question 4

Pitch

Answer 4

– Level of highness or lowness at which the voice is placed.

– Changes in pitch can occur frequently depending on character emotions / the events of the play.

Question 5

Pause

Answer 5

– Gap in the vocal sound

– Use of pause effects the meaning of the dialogue

Question 6

Projection

Answer 6

– Volume of sound needed for other characters and audience members to effectively hear dialogue.

Question 7

Phrasing

Answer 7

– The way in which the words of a sentance, part of a sentence or even short sentances are grouped together and expressed as a single entity.

Question 8

Tone

Answer 8

Reflects character emotions and reveals insights about their feelings and inner life

Question 9

Accents

Answer 9

Reflection of characters hertiage

Question 10

Voice in representational drama

Answer 10

Voice must imitate life in order for the performance to be life like.

Question 11

Voice in realism

Answer 11

Voice in realist drama must be true to life in order to make a performance seem real to the audience.

Question 12

Facial Expressions

Answer 12

Outward display of the internal state of someone on their face.
Face can communicate a characters: feelings, thoughts, values, beliefs, dreams and desires.

Question 13

Posture (Movement)

Answer 13

How a person positions their body.
Good posture can equate to openness.
Bad posture can suggest being closed off and tense.

Question 14

Gesture

Answer 14

Gesture can be used in three ways:

1. To emphasis and support dialogue.
2. Explain something that can’t be explained through verbalisation.
3. Involuntary actions that reveal feelings, thoughts and attitudes, e.g a reaction to someone or something.

Question 15

Gait

Answer 15

Manner in which an actor moves or walks through a space, this could be altered by injuries or characteristics.

Question 16

Weight

Answer 16

The varying downward force within movement in response to mood and gravity.

Question 17

Space

Answer 17

Three dimensional areas that are phyisically inhabited and not inhabited by the actors body.
– Standing or walking space
– Height space e.g lying on something or standing on something

Question 18

Time

Answer 18

Time is in movement what pace is in vocalisation.

The rate of speed at which an actor moves and the duration of a movement.

Question 19

Energy

Answer 19

Energy is the internal sense of vitality and vibrancy that an actor experiences, which will fuel their roleor characters mindful thoughts and external movement.

Question 20

Proxemics

Answer 20

Distance between two characters, and these instinctive feelings or through that these individuals experience towards the other.

Question 21

Emphatic gesture

Answer 21

Strong decisiove gestures e.g clenching fist and hitting it against palm signifying anger.

Question 22

Iconic gesture

Answer 22

Interacting with the space around the speaker to support what they are saying e.g holding up hands to indicate a persons height.

Question 23

Metamorphic gesture

Answer 23

Using hands or body parts to re-create the shape of the object being spoken about.

Question 24

Physical Weight

Answer 24

Matter that makes up character, how you walk or hold yourself can be used to construct a characters physical weight.

Question 25

Internal Impact of Weight

Answer 25

The match of internal struggles to physical weight, characters can move as if they carry the weight of the world.

Question 26

Stanislavski’s system

Answer 26

Fundemental Questions
Magic If
Emotional recall
Method of Physical actions
Circles of Attention

Question 27

Fundemental Questions

Answer 27

1. Who am I?
2. Where am I?
3. When am I here?
4. Why am i here? or What do I want in the future now that I am here?
5. For what am I here? or What do I want in the future now that I am here?
6. How will I go about getting it?
7. What is my objective?
8. What is my super objective?

Question 28

Magic If

Answer 28

What IF I was in this situation? What would I do?

Question 29

Emotional Recall

Answer 29

Bank of emotions to call upon

Question 30

Method of Physical actions

Answer 30

Actor uses physical actions to represent emotions in a life like way. Muscular memory link to emotion. Actor explores gestures used: with specific emotions, at specific times, in specific places.

Question 31

Circles of Attention

Answer 31

When an actor is completely focused and living in the relevant moment and context of the inner world of the play (solitude), despite being onstage and in view of the audience (public).

Question 32

Emblematic gesture

Answer 32

Physicalisations to replace speech e.g thumbs up or a shrug

Question 33

Deitic gesture

Answer 33

Indicating or pointing

Question 34

Affective gesture

Answer 34

Gestures connected to emotions, that relevant unconcious feelings or objective e.g flicking hair = flirtation.

Question 35

Adaptive gesture

Answer 35

Habits e.g crossing legs, picking fingernails