Metamorphisis- Directing Flashcards
Directorial Effects on the Audience for TOTAL Theatre
To Amuse, Shock, Amaze, Scare
Group of actors referred to as
Ensemble Chorus
Physical actions for a group in Total Theatre
Background movement, repetitive actions and mime
Physical Actions for a Performer
Repetitive actions, mime, acrobatics, freezes, stylised expression of emotion, facial expression, gesture, posture, gait
Delivery of specific lines –or other characters
Interaction with other characters vocally and/or physically i.e Performer holds, touches another character or vocally effects others through how they deliver a line.
What a performer will use physically
Eye contact, spatial relationships, physical contact; use of stage space
Berkoff General Style
Non-naturalistic, often focusing on movement rather that voice
Purpose of Directing in Berkoff style 1
All vocal and physical skills choregraphed to convey mood or message
Purpose of Directing in Berkoff style 2
Create extreme moods and an overwhelming experience for the audience
Purpose of the directed actor in Total Theatre
Establish themselves as story tellers through their choregraphed words, position and physical attitudes
Directing using Expressionism because Berkoff was influenced by it -1
• Stereotypical and caricatures of real life
• Actors can appear as grotesque and unreal…
Directing using Expressionism because Berkoff was influenced by it -1
• Stereotypical and caricatures of real life
• Actors can appear as grotesque and unreal…
Directing using Expressionism because Berkoff was influenced by it -2
• Dialogue becomes poetical, febrile (feverish), rhapsodic, lyrical – highly emotional
• Staccato -short phrases- clipped
• Rapid – breathless
• Unusually long pauses
Directing using Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre style should emphasise -3
An appearance of overacting
Broad mechanical movements – like a puppet
Ecstatic
Robotic
The significance of the spatial relationship between the performers
Intense emotions
Performing applying Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre - 4
Action of the play – intense/violent/ tormented emotion
Performing using Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre - 5
Reveal inner psychological reality of a characters through movement, (slow motion or extremely fast, gesture,
How to Direct actors in Berkoff style (techniques)
Tableaux -Chorus- Cryptos - Ensemble -
Grotesque - Jo Ha Kyo -Marche Sur Place -Mie
Attitudes -Base Pulse -Pantomime - Cartoon Mime -Figurative Mime -Storytelling Mime-
Mimage
How to direct in Berkoff style to communicate a Kafkaesque nightmare (techniques)
Express the anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness of a situation
Performance Effects on the Audience for TOTAL Theatre
To Amuse, Shock, Amaze, Scare
Performance Effects on the Audience for TOTAL Theatre
To Amuse, Shock, Amaze, Scare
Characters physical appearance consisting of…
Age, height, build, colouring – white face paint, facial features, athleticism, use of costume, make-up
Physical Actions for a Performer
Repetitive actions, mime, acrobatics, freezes, stylised expression of emotion, facial expression, gesture, posture, gait
Delivery of specific lines –or other characters
Interaction with other characters vocally and/or physically i.e Performer holds, touches another character or vocally effects others through how they deliver a line.
What a performer will use physically
Eye contact, spatial relationships, physical contact; use of stage space
Berkoff General Style
Non-naturalistic, often focusing on movement rather that voice
Purpose of Performer in Berkoff 1
All vocal and physical skills choregraphed to convey mood or message
Purpose of Performer in Berkoff 2
Create extreme moods and an overwhelming experience for the audience
Purpose of the Performer in Total Theatre
Establish themselves as story tellers through their choregraphed words, position and physical attitude
Performing using Expressionism because Berkoff was influenced by it -1
• Stereotypical and caricatures of real life
• Actors can appear as grotesque and unreal…
Performing using Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre style should emphasise -3
An appearance of overacting
Broad mechanical movements – like a puppet
Ecstatic
Robotic
The spatial relationship between the performers
Intense emotions
Performing applying Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre - 4
Action of the play – intense/violent/ tormented emotion
Gesture urgent - energetic
Performing using Total Theatre and Expressionist theatre - 5
Reveal inner psychological reality of a characters through movement, (slow motion or extremely fast, gesture,
How to perform as actors in Berkoff style (techniques)
- Cryptos -Grotesque- Jo Ha Kyo
Marche Sur Place – Attitudes -
Action Mime – Pantomime -Cartoon Mime
Figurative Mime- - Mimage – Neutral mask
How to perform as actors in Berkoff style to communicate a Kafkaesque (techniques)
Express the anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness of a character
How to perform as actors in Berkoff style to communicate a Kafkaesque (techniques) 2
Characters are crushed by nonsensical, blind authority (Gregor is, see effect of Clerk on the family)
Performance Effects of the Design on the Audience for TOTAL Theatre
To Amuse, Shock, Amaze, Scare
ATMOSPHERE/ MOOD/MESSAGE created by the design
Mood -Create extreme moods and an overwhelming experience for the audience.
Atmosphere- Nightmare, dreamlike, surreal.
Message- Isolation, self-sacrificing, Kafka
Symbolism- symbolising the inner feelings of a character/s
SET links to Total Theatre
Often minimalist, with bare stages - focus remains on the physical movement
SET links to Expressionist theatre
Often minimalist, with bare stages - focus remains on the physical movement
Scenery is significant by its absence.
Settings are virtually abstract and unlocalized, and the scene frequently appears angular and distorted, suggesting a bad dream.
SET terminology
Construction: Flats, steel decks, trucks, rostra, stairs, gauze, material, platform, furnishings, texture, colours.
•Positioning: Scale, perspective, sightlines, levels, entrances/exits, location on stage (SL/SR/CS/US/DS), relationship with chosen stage space (proscenium, in the round, traverse, thrust, promenade, end-on, studio).
•Stage: Hydraulics, revolve, tracks, cyclorama, fly tower, facilities of different theatre spaces.
•Furniture: Style, period, material.
•Effect: Location, proxemics, relationship with actors, action, traffic of stage, lighting, projection, scene changes.
•Suggests to audience: mood, character relationships, location, event (what is happening on stage in that moment), atmosphere
SOUND Links to Expressionist theatre
truncated
•clipped
•fragmented
•poetic and lyrical
SOUND terminology
•Live sound: actor voice, sound of on-stage action, live instruments, vocals.
•Recorded sound: music, sound effects, soundscape.
•Output: Auditorium/front of house speakers, on-stage speakers, speakers hidden in props/set, rigged above or situated elsewhere.
•Music: Style, atmosphere, effect, bass, treble, tempo.
•Effects: Echo, distortion, volume, amplification, pitch, reverb, fade, crossfade.
•Microphones: Radio mics, microphones/stands, hanging mics.
•Suggest to audience: Location/time, event, mood/atmosphere, relationship to audience (see lighting section above)
LIGHTING Berkoff and Expressionist Theatre
lighting was often stark, illuminating key areas of the stage space
deliberate use of shadow
Lighting Terminology
•Lanterns: par cans, fresnels, (barn doors), profiles, moving spot, birdies, floodlights.
•Source: floor lights, side lights, backlit, rig (front, overhead, behind, side, diagonal), angle, practical lights (in props/set).
•Focus: area of stage (US/DS/SC/SL/SR), on a character/ location/set/item.
•Intensity: blackout, dim, harsh, bright, full intensity, medium intensity.
•Beam: Wash, spot, hard/soft edge, shape/size.
•Colour: Coloured gels, warm, cold (steel).
•Mood/atmosphere: Clinical, sterile, tense, ominous, eerie, foreboding, merry, peaceful, serene, calm, tranquil, intimacy, claustrophobic…
•Effect: Fade/snap.
•Specials: Projection, gobo, shadow/silhouette, moving LEDs.
•Suggest to audience: location/time (e.g. night/day). Character relationships, mood, atmosphere, an event (specific moment in a scene)
PROJECTION link to Total theatre
use of monochrome images to focus on physical movement
PROJECTION link to Expressionist theatre
shadow/silhouette, moving still, symbolism, colour/monochrome, warped, distorted, Suggest to audience: location/time (e.g. night/day). Character relationships, mood, atmosphere, an event (specific moment in a scene)
COSTUME Link to Total theatre
Be able to work physically in. Flexible and not restrictive. Monochrome – focus on the meaning of the movement.
What is gauze
a thin curtain that can be lit either from the front to make it opaque, or from behind to make it transparent.
What is cyclorama
background device employed to cover the back and sometimes the sides of the stage and used with special lighting to create the illusion of sky, open space, or great distance at the rear of the stage setting.
What is flats
a flat piece of theatrical scenery which is painted and positioned on stage so as to give the appearance of buildings or other background.
What is hydraulics
The upward and downward movement of the theatre stage
What is revolve stage
Stage which turns in a circle.
What is trucks
Piece of scenery on wheels for
ease of movement.
What is fly tower
Area above the stage from where
scenery/actors are flown in on
pulleys
What is traffic of stage
Highlight the terms in Green, Orange
and Red to indicate how well you know
or understand them to help organise
revision time
What is a proscenium arch stage
The action takes place on a raised stage with a prominent
arch around the top of the end on stage
what is an end on stage
The audience are seated at the end of the acting area
What is truncated
