UNIT II. Stage Technique
Moving and standing on stage/stage conventions
MAIN OBJECTIVES:
1) Continue team building
2) Learn basic stage directions and parts of the stage
3) Learn how to “freeze” on stage and how to make good stage pictures
1. WARM-UPS
Texas Shakedown (Physical Warm-up) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
Throw Your Voice on “Hah” (Vocal Warm-up) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS
Sound Ball (Physical/Vocal Warm-up) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
2. SKILL BUILDING
Me May Ma Moe Review proper breath support for projection. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
Stage Directions and Parts of the Stage (Stage Conventions) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
Explain and demonstrate the terms upstage, downstage, stage right and stage left.
Explain and demonstrate the nine areas of the stage.
Explain the term “blocking”—which is simply the set of instructions that tell an actor when and where to move on stage—and the word “cross”—which means to move from one place to another on stage.
Have the students stand on stage as you call out blocking directions. E.g. “Everyone point stage left!”, “Everyone point stage right!”, “Everyone take one step downstage.”
Ask for volunteer pairs. With two students on stage, call out stage directions for each one. E.g. “Tom, take two steps down right.” “Jessica, cross up center.”, “Tom, now cross to upstage left.” “Jessica, take three steps toward center right.” Etc.
Freeze Demonstration (Body Awareness, Stage Technique) Show the students how to hold a “freeze” on stage—as though they are a statue. They must be completely unmoving, but it will be more interesting if the statue is posed in the midst of an action. It’s also essential that they have their eyes focused on a single point. Stress that—while it’s O.K. to blink—their eyes should not be moving from side to side.
Tableaux (Body Awareness, Teamwork, Stage Technique) Introduce the basic concepts of what contributes to a good stage picture–namely interaction and levels. Students should use their newly acquired freezing skills. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
Body Sculpture Statues (Body Awareness, Teamwork, Stage Technique) It’s possible to communicate ideas and emotion with just your body. Encourage the students to practice good “freeze” technique and to use what they’ve learned about stage pictures as they create individual and group sculptures. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
Group Sculpture Masterpiece (Body Awareness, Teamwork, Stage Technique) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
3. CLOSING ACTIVITY
Night at the Museum (Concentration, Body Awareness) Students pose as statues in a museum as a “Security Guard” tries to catch them moving. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO
© 2023, Friends of the Groom Theater Company
Curtains Up Curriculum by Friends of the Groom Theater Co. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Curtains Up is a training program designed for young actors, sponsored by Friends of the Groom Theater Company.
It is available to the general public for free under the terms of the Creative Commons License above.