unit 1-4 unit 2

UAL - Level 3 PaPA - Acting Pathway - Unit 1 - 4

~Ilonka Flora

Unit 2

The audience is what we describe a group of people who have gathered to in certain place and time to watch a performance. The drama audiences are described as 'artistically self-aware' as they have given permission for the art to be displayed before them just by attending a show. It's like they are agreeing to see what is not really there, which is the story they are being told,  the performers have permission to take them into a world that is not physically there. The audience, however, is still the public so they range from all types of people, sometimes the audience is a certain group such as younger children or mature adults. nonetheless, they are open and willing to use their imagination.

It's crucial to be aware of stage spaces. If it's done and planned properly, you can present a professional piece.In order to achieve this, first, you must know your stage space, (Centre stage, Upstage right, downstage right), after this you can begin to talk about levels, this adds a range of visual interests. Levels are also used to communicate the status of each character, for example, a servant could be kneeling down scrubbing the floor whilst other characters of a higher status take the stage. The audience will instantly understand this without question that the person on the floor as the least power.

 When Performing on stage actors must be careful not to completely turn away from the audience when performing to the other actors, when this happens the audience are blocked out. They must also say their lines towards the audience, that's the aim. In order to avoid this common mistake, actors must always remember to 'remain open' to the audience, footing also plays a big part here, a trick used in the drama community is cheating with your feet. One foot facing the audience and the other facing the actor you're talking to. Your body will still be facing the audience and so will your voice. 

Another great way to present a great performance is to always think that pictures are being created constantly throughout the play, not just when you're standing still but also when you're moving, be sure to be sure, be confident in everything you do to convince the audience of who you are and of your motives. If you don't feel confident in your role the audience will sense that and will feel uncomfortable. Always try to angle these 'pictures' to the audience, and use all the space on stage. Being dramatic is what the audience wants to see, that's what they appreciate, so always go the extra mile to please. Always try your best not to block other actors/be blocked, you may not even realise if it happens which is why you must be aware of the space. Keep your distance from each other, there must be a motive to be so close to another character, which is why they call it 'kiss or kill'. 

Rehearsing on the stage that you will be performing on is extremely helpful in helping you decide how many steps you can take to cross the stage, how much space you'll have for big events such as fights or many actors on stage.


There are alternative methods used to convey meaning to the audience. The first method I'm going to talk about is Make-up. Make-up can help the audience instantly decipher who and what kind of person is being presented by the actor. From make-up you can possibly be able to tell the age group the person belongs to as make-up can be used to age actors, it can change the actor's gender. If the character is mythical or an animal, using makeup can create the illusion that the person is not human e.g lion King. 

Costumes are another method to convey meaning to the audience and usually the main choice when thinking about character development. This can help the audience understand when the play is set, it could be modern day, period clothing or maybe even futuristic and fantasy type clothing. sometimes it doesn't need to be detailed, it could be a minimalistic wardrobe for the entire cast such as all black. From the clothing, you're also able to tell the character's age, class and gender. 

In our production of Romeo and Juliet, we used props to add and emphasise characters, Romeo had a camera around his neck to show his nerdy character, and Juliet had a red rose in her hair to indicate youth and love. 
Using masks, again, another method to use in order to convey meaning to an audience. Normally masks are used when there is an inhuman character, it could be a mysterious creature, gods or demons. Wigs can also be used but it's not the main focus unless we are cross-dressing.  

Sound and music help the audience understand the play in ways we can't always show, such as the passing of time, add a certain atmosphere whether it's a tranquil or heavy one, it can help emphasise any big events happening on stage, it can help set the scene too.
Lighting plays a crucial part in theatre, it helps set the scene, as well as grabbing the audience's attention towards a certain character. Different lighting help create its own effects. A spotlight is used to highlight a certain character, colours can also be used to set a certain mood and atmosphere. A Fresnel light is a 'softer-edged' light and can be a general light when used with more actors on stage. A floodlight is like a fresnel except it's not soft around the edges of the light, it's like a beam. Strobe lights are usually used to set a more vintage feel to the play when used on it's on because it's 'jerky'.

Movement is very important in covering many things such as moving upstage/downstage or preventing being blocked. It contributes to characterisation, how does the character move? How does the character move towards certain people (enemies or love interests)? 
Miming is also another way of conveying meaning to the audience without saying a full sentence. An example is applying makeup or cooking or kicking a ball. 
Gestures are similar to miming except you don't make a sound at all and your gesture should be clear enough for the audience to understand. Usually, actors only use their arms in order to create gestures and barely ever use legs. Some examples include pointing at an event or clasping hands at the forehead to plead.

Voice is also one of the most important methods of conveying meaning to the audience, You need to know you are saying your lines in the right context in order to get a  certain point across to the audience. Your tone should be appropriate for your characters motive and actions, your voice can be soft or harsh and it needs to be suitable for the character that you are portraying. If they were angry would they use a more passive-aggressive calm voice or would they blow a fuse whilst shouting with anger (volume)? Is the character's pitch right? If they are described as a serious and sensible voice would they have a squeaky or low voice? 
The pace is how fast or sow you say your lines. It's important that the audience understands what's going on and what is being said so speaking too fast will cause a majority of the audience to mishear, if you speak too slow, the audience will easily lose focus. Last but not least clarity, it is very important that you can pronounce your words clearly so that the audience understands if you cannot pronounce certain words correctly, practice!

Language is also essential to know what kind of language to use when you're playing a certain character, e.g. if you're playing a king it's not sensible to speak in slang. Who you're speaking to also matters if someone holds more significant power and status to your character you will not speak so casually to them. The language in our play is clearly Shakespearean where we must understand words and metaphors in order to convey the actual meaning to the audience.

All these methods above can contribute to creating tools such as flashbacks or illusion of reality. If thought out carefully and performed properly according to rehearsals, the piece will be glorified as a masterpiece.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z26bjxs/revision/3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/drama/exploring/drama_mediumrev1.shtml
https://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/audthea.htm