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textbook //Everything About Theatre!// notes
 * Ch. ONE Learning Your Way Around
 * Ch. TWO Introduction to Acting
 * acting is hard work
 * ad lib: make up words or actions to cover a mistake
 * at rise: when the curtain goes up, lights on
 * black out: end of act or play, scene
 * blcoking: movement of characters on stage
 * breaking character: oops! not being the character, being yourself
 * cue: line spoken before yours
 * discovered: already on stage when the scene begins
 * gesture: action with hands, arms, head
 * holding for a laugh: pause
 * indicating: telling instead of showing audience something
 * interior monologue: the thought a character thinks aloud on stage
 * projecting: making sure your performance is seen and heard in house
 * upstaging: getting in the way of another actor's space/view to audience


 * Ch. THREE Theatre's Family Album: Ancient Theatre
 * in ancient Egypt plays were for religious and entertainment and healing purposes
 * best known Abydos' //Passion Play//
 * tragedy was a compettion for a prize in ancient Greece---the laurel wreath
 * 5 BC Thespis invented acting---that's why actors are called 'thespians'
 * ancient Greek theatres were carved from hillsides with a circular platform in the middle called the orchestra


 * CH. FOUR Improvisation
 * `improv is making stuff up as you go along
 * you can use it for rehearsal or a form of instant entertainment
 * also good to develop student actors--get a sense of reality on stage
 * in improv--make up the who, when, where of your story


 * Ch. FIVE Basic Stagecraft
 * many tools for scenery
 * measuring, cutting, and assembling are the categories
 * stage craft has two kinds of measurements: angles and lengths
 * cutting tools--saws--for metal and wood
 * assemling tools--hammer, wrench, pliers, drill, staple guns, screw driver
 * types of set design
 * flat
 * basic
 * three-D
 * Ch. SIX Your Vocal Instrument
 * 4 parts of speech--respiration, phonation, resonation, articulation
 * know how to use voice in strength --loud, quiet
 * 8 types of being loud or quiet
 * quietest--whisper (can't hear)
 * next--stage whisper (exaggerated whisper, can hear)
 * then--hushed conversation (can't hear distinct words, just the noise)
 * then--normal conversation--regular voice
 * then--heated conversatoin--voice raises
 * next--calling across the room (you get it)
 * next--calling across campus--much louder
 * finally--strongest possible shout--yell from roof to ground
 * accents and dialects---see p. 47 to see how to form mouth for different dialects


 * Ch. SEVEN Reading the Wrighting
 * different fonts for different types of speaking
 * ALL CAPS or **bold lettering** for character names
 * //italics// are stage directions
 * standard text--actual dialogue
 * see p. 54 for structure of a play
 * types of plays--tragedy, drama, morality, melodrama, satire, comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, farce
 * styles of plays--naturalism, realism, expressionism, theatricalism

>> evaluate your performance
 * Ch. EIGHT Meeting the Monolog
 * three sources of monolog
 * write it yourself--showcase strengths
 * special monolog books--written for auditions, so they are 'fresh'
 * published plays--large plays performed for theatre
 * 9 steps to the rehearsal process
 * 1: read script, check understanding
 * 2: understand scene events
 * 3: use pencil, paper to design set
 * 4: plan blocking (movement on stage)
 * 5: walk through stage with script and pencil
 * 6: repeat step 5...again..again..
 * 7: work on lines without looking at script
 * 8: keep practicing (no paper) with friend--say 'line' for help
 * 9: write a brief intro for your monolog
 * never apologize for your work!
 * if you forget a line, keep going--audience will not know!
 * ** take advantage of class time given for rehearsal **
 * Ch. NINE Family Album, Part II: Medieval and Renaissance Theatre
 * Roman theatre--golden age of Greek drama
 * plays of Plautus and Terence--wrote plays before Rome had any permanent theaters
 * most Roman plays adapted or reworked the Greek tragedies
 * when Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, theater ended (because they thought it was sinful)
 * Medieval theatre--the church allowed theater to start up again in middle of the times
 * Catholic church became the unifying force
 * small plays--tropes--mad eit easier for the congregation to learn and appreciate the message
 * first may have been the Easter play---about Mary finding the tomb of Christ
 * 3 litergical polays
 * mystery
 * miracle
 * morality
 * all were about teaching the people something
 * Renaissance of Italy and Spain
 * late 14th c, early 15th c
 * many famous artists--Botticelli, Michelangelo, Davinci
 * street performances--traveling troupes
 * Ch. TEN Stage Lighting
 * 4 junctions of stage lighting
 * visibility
 * plausibility
 * composition
 * mood
 * 4 properties
 * intensity
 * color--filter
 * distribution
 * movement
 * whilte light--all wave lengths
 * bending lights--reflection---can design own, refraction
 * 3 reflector designs
 * spherical
 * parabolic
 * ellipsodial
 * concave mirror acts as a magnifier
 * convext reduces size of objects reflected
 * stage lightsing--two categories
 * general
 * specific


 * Ch. ELEVEN Doing the Duo
 * getting along with another actor/actress is key to making it work
 * choose people you are not friends with so you get to know new people
 * use exercises to get to know partner
 * talk to each other
 * get to know who you each are
 * worst possible choice is to pick friend for partner--you might not be able to focus on your work
 * rehearsal process is like chapter 8
 * choose partner, scene
 * read both roles, decide who gets which one
 * determine the nature of the conflict
 * plan/block script
 * walk through scene with script
 * revise blocking if needed
 * go through scene again, check blocking
 * always LOOK at each other when you say your lines
 * practice off stage, memorize lines
 * go off script as soon as possible
 * repeat ...repeat...repeat


 * Ch. TWELVE Family Album, Part III: Elizabethan and French Neoclassic Theatre
 * earliest were John Lily and Thomas Kyd
 * greatest play wright--Chrstopher Marlowe
 * Ben Johnson, Shakespeare's time
 * invention of printing press made plays available to all
 * Richard II, Richard III, King John, Henry VIII--Shakespeare
 * Lawerence Olivier made film versions of these plays in 1930s and 1940s
 * Ch. THIRTEEN Theatrical Makeup
 * H--hereditary--characer's inherent traits
 * E--environment--determines what you look like
 * A--age--can be deceptive
 * R--race--important
 * T--temperant--personality
 * H--health--affrects your looks
 * clear understanding of face is important to being able to apply make up
 * audeince judges a character's personality by how they look
 * your personality traits can be determined by your facial features
 * chin--weak chin+ weak personality
 * squinty eyes--distrustful person
 * makeup
 * pancake--dry, easy to remove
 * grease--oldest, easy to blend
 * cream--combination of both--newest most common
 * apply make up in stages
 * base
 * nasal foids
 * crows feet'
 * nose
 * eyes
 * eyeliner
 * forehead
 * jowls
 * hollow cheeks
 * powder--LAST, to set make up
 * powder--LAST, to set make up


 * Ch. FOURTEEN Directing for the Stage
 * the director does everything
 * guides all aspects of production
 * coordinates activities
 * plan, rehearse actions
 * read script at least 3 times
 * basic idea--plot, characters, mood
 * pay attention to what each scene is about
 * take notes, underline passages
 * most important element is balance
 * set, the actors on stage, all balanced
 * use eyes to see if staging works
 * plan actions to have it say what you want it to say without the words
 * can't force the audience, need to guide them
 * audience tends ot look at taller actors, actors facing full front
 * center stage is the best place to stand
 * slightly brighter light helps audience to focus on that person
 * different is focused on
 * prompt books remind director of all that's going on
 * encourage actors to experiment with scripts, to memorize lines
 * Ch. FIFTEEN Scene Design and Painting
 * . SIXTEEN Family Album, Part IV: Romanticism to Realism
 * Ch. SEVENTEEN Props, Costumes, and Sound
 * Ch. SEVENTEEN Props, Costumes, and Sound