STTAGED READING-A BETTER WAY
Fri, 8 Nov 2002, 05:41 amWalter Plinge1 post in thread
STTAGED READING-A BETTER WAY
Fri, 8 Nov 2002, 05:41 amTHE TECHNIQUE MENTIONED BELOW CAN BE FREELY DOWNLOADED AT
http://www.newschoolacting.com
my theatre company in NYC does this for authors and they go crazy for it. it is a fantastic creative experience for actors and audience, try it, it's great fun.
I put the two mini thing in as a bonus.
good luck, if you try it please let me know
jeremy
WRT - THE STAGED READING
Staged readings-sometimes they are backer's auditions, is when a playwright/producer or director gets some actors together to read a play or movie script. Business people sometimes come to check out the show as a possible investment, or writers might want to see how it looks and sounds for their own reasons. Before the WRT existed, actors sat around and read the script to an audience, or they got up, scripts in hand, and tried to give the thing some life by moving around. If there's something more distracting than watching an actor fill in for a missing performer with a script in hand, it's watching a bunch of actors trying to move through a whole play in this awkward fashion. I don't think you have to be a show biz genius to see how much more the backer or playwright could get out of this ritual if all the actors were without scripts, looking at each other, handling props with ease, making physical contact, and achieving all the other advantages that are part of the Whelan Recording Technique.(this was tape technique-but it's all digi now)
So forget staged readings. This technique is obviously a better way. Let the WRT do it. I was hired to direct a reading of a new play. I didn't tell the producer or the playwright that I was going to use the technique, either had ever seen it. I explained it to the actors after I had recorded their traditional reading. The producer and playwright were appreciatively stunned by how much more they saw, and the actors were awed by their own performances.
After the run through, open discussion with cast and class.
Homework: Emotions Chart + Research
Plan 34
Objective: To explore student creativity through a challenging exercise while investigating another variation of the WRT.
PHYSICAL & VOCAL WARM UP
EMOTIONS HOMEWORK
REHEARSAL USING TWO OR MORE MINI'S
This is an interesting variation using two or more mini-cassette recorders, each with a single earplug. Take another short play and four actors who also showed skill with the technique and have them record the play simultaneously and then give it a shot. You might actually want to just do a two hander to begin this experiment/investigation. If you think back to the monologue section, this is like that except each actor has a mini in her pocket. I did this with a five character piece in my classes at Orlando College and it was great fun as well as a wonderful learning experience.
The important thing to stress here is that no matter what happens, no one is to break character. It can get a little choppy, but if they stay in character, much insight will be gained and a new and useful technique will have been explored. Each actor has his/her single earplug inserted. Sets, props, costumes etc. are in place. All four recorders are started simultaneously. Actors' will hear the other actors lines twice or overlapping, once on the recording and again as the actor verbalizes the line. When the actor hears his/her own line he/she says it out loud.
Some actors wait for the line to finish and then they say it, but that puts them behind as the next line is already coming from another actor. Trying to say it after hearing the line can work but it's iffy, and it's absolute murder when speeches are long. It is best if actors say the line as they hear it. It might sound difficult, but I believe I've already said that if you've sung with your walkman, you can do this. Besides a few days of practicing this technique on monologues should make it, if not a piece of cake, certainly do-able.
It can be made clear that this is an experiment and nobody is looking for or expects perfection, although I'll bet everybody is excited by the results. Remember, the actors will not have seen that script until ten minutes before doing it. Whatever you will see is bound to impress you. The cast acts out the play in this manner. By putting the small recorders in their pockets, they have their hands free. The actors' responses in many places will be rich with the feeling generated by the emotional content of the line they heard and the line they said. With the WRT Basic they have the place, the props and the Repels-Impels-Compels, but here they add the dimension of the live voice.
Story: Two of my students were doing this variation in one of my LA classes. One actor had a hole in his pocket, and the recorder slipped into his pant leg. It was great. He calmly unplugged his earphone, fished around in his pant cuff until he pulled out the recorder, plugged in his ear piece, rewound the record to the right place, and, having never fully left character, continued. The other actor never left character. In fact, he came up with some extremely interesting activity while his partner made the necessary technical adjustment.
Tip: The pause button becomes an important tool in this exercise.
Note: Actors who have worked the Pause Technique will never be thrown if a cue doesn't come ``on time.'' Just stay involved with what you (as the character) are feeling from whatever happened before the technical problem came up. I've used this variation with six actors. I suppose a cast of ten could pull this off with some work. This variation is usually worked after the WRT BASIC has been run for awhile, but for this session it will be an interesting experiment.
One of the major advantages of the WRT I s removing all the actors' obligations, except staying in contact with the other characters and their characters' emotions. The obligation to remember what they just heard and to find the proper emotional tone to vocalize the line would negate that advantage.This application offers many benefits to the actor, but it's also just plain fun. Two or three actors can grab any script and do it instantly. Don't forget how valuable the pause button can be. The only rule, as in all acting, is not to break character for any reason.Open Discussion at the end of this should be fruitful.
HOMEWORK: EMOTIONS CHART + RESEARCH
this is from my book New School Acting II NSA III will be ready hopefully in three months.
http://www.newschoolacting.com
my theatre company in NYC does this for authors and they go crazy for it. it is a fantastic creative experience for actors and audience, try it, it's great fun.
I put the two mini thing in as a bonus.
good luck, if you try it please let me know
jeremy
WRT - THE STAGED READING
Staged readings-sometimes they are backer's auditions, is when a playwright/producer or director gets some actors together to read a play or movie script. Business people sometimes come to check out the show as a possible investment, or writers might want to see how it looks and sounds for their own reasons. Before the WRT existed, actors sat around and read the script to an audience, or they got up, scripts in hand, and tried to give the thing some life by moving around. If there's something more distracting than watching an actor fill in for a missing performer with a script in hand, it's watching a bunch of actors trying to move through a whole play in this awkward fashion. I don't think you have to be a show biz genius to see how much more the backer or playwright could get out of this ritual if all the actors were without scripts, looking at each other, handling props with ease, making physical contact, and achieving all the other advantages that are part of the Whelan Recording Technique.(this was tape technique-but it's all digi now)
So forget staged readings. This technique is obviously a better way. Let the WRT do it. I was hired to direct a reading of a new play. I didn't tell the producer or the playwright that I was going to use the technique, either had ever seen it. I explained it to the actors after I had recorded their traditional reading. The producer and playwright were appreciatively stunned by how much more they saw, and the actors were awed by their own performances.
After the run through, open discussion with cast and class.
Homework: Emotions Chart + Research
Plan 34
Objective: To explore student creativity through a challenging exercise while investigating another variation of the WRT.
PHYSICAL & VOCAL WARM UP
EMOTIONS HOMEWORK
REHEARSAL USING TWO OR MORE MINI'S
This is an interesting variation using two or more mini-cassette recorders, each with a single earplug. Take another short play and four actors who also showed skill with the technique and have them record the play simultaneously and then give it a shot. You might actually want to just do a two hander to begin this experiment/investigation. If you think back to the monologue section, this is like that except each actor has a mini in her pocket. I did this with a five character piece in my classes at Orlando College and it was great fun as well as a wonderful learning experience.
The important thing to stress here is that no matter what happens, no one is to break character. It can get a little choppy, but if they stay in character, much insight will be gained and a new and useful technique will have been explored. Each actor has his/her single earplug inserted. Sets, props, costumes etc. are in place. All four recorders are started simultaneously. Actors' will hear the other actors lines twice or overlapping, once on the recording and again as the actor verbalizes the line. When the actor hears his/her own line he/she says it out loud.
Some actors wait for the line to finish and then they say it, but that puts them behind as the next line is already coming from another actor. Trying to say it after hearing the line can work but it's iffy, and it's absolute murder when speeches are long. It is best if actors say the line as they hear it. It might sound difficult, but I believe I've already said that if you've sung with your walkman, you can do this. Besides a few days of practicing this technique on monologues should make it, if not a piece of cake, certainly do-able.
It can be made clear that this is an experiment and nobody is looking for or expects perfection, although I'll bet everybody is excited by the results. Remember, the actors will not have seen that script until ten minutes before doing it. Whatever you will see is bound to impress you. The cast acts out the play in this manner. By putting the small recorders in their pockets, they have their hands free. The actors' responses in many places will be rich with the feeling generated by the emotional content of the line they heard and the line they said. With the WRT Basic they have the place, the props and the Repels-Impels-Compels, but here they add the dimension of the live voice.
Story: Two of my students were doing this variation in one of my LA classes. One actor had a hole in his pocket, and the recorder slipped into his pant leg. It was great. He calmly unplugged his earphone, fished around in his pant cuff until he pulled out the recorder, plugged in his ear piece, rewound the record to the right place, and, having never fully left character, continued. The other actor never left character. In fact, he came up with some extremely interesting activity while his partner made the necessary technical adjustment.
Tip: The pause button becomes an important tool in this exercise.
Note: Actors who have worked the Pause Technique will never be thrown if a cue doesn't come ``on time.'' Just stay involved with what you (as the character) are feeling from whatever happened before the technical problem came up. I've used this variation with six actors. I suppose a cast of ten could pull this off with some work. This variation is usually worked after the WRT BASIC has been run for awhile, but for this session it will be an interesting experiment.
One of the major advantages of the WRT I s removing all the actors' obligations, except staying in contact with the other characters and their characters' emotions. The obligation to remember what they just heard and to find the proper emotional tone to vocalize the line would negate that advantage.This application offers many benefits to the actor, but it's also just plain fun. Two or three actors can grab any script and do it instantly. Don't forget how valuable the pause button can be. The only rule, as in all acting, is not to break character for any reason.Open Discussion at the end of this should be fruitful.
HOMEWORK: EMOTIONS CHART + RESEARCH
this is from my book New School Acting II NSA III will be ready hopefully in three months.