1. Please have a seat and get your Theatre Notebook out for Bell Work!
Heyyyy!!
Please have a seat and get your Theatre Notebook out for Bell Work!

2. Bell Work
What is a narrator? What’s their job in a story or in a play?
Why is it important to see someone’s face when they are speaking?

3. Warm-Up
The Secret Leader

4. The Fourth Wall
Imagine a room onstage. How many walls are there?

5. The Fourth Wall The invisible fourth wall is important.
The actors need to know that the action on stage must be seen by those sitting on the other side of the fourth wall.

6. Real Life vs. Acting What happens onstage should feel real
But, it should also be seen and heard by all
An Actor’s body position is very important

7. Let’s have an everyday conversation just as we would in real life.
One volunteer, please
Let’s have an everyday conversation just as we would in real life.

8. Cheating Out
Notice how when the actors change their body position, it is easier to hear and understand their dialogue

9. So… Audience Members… Actors…
Was it easier to see their faces and expressions?
Could you hear them slightly better? Or maybe more clearly?
Could you still communicate with each other effectively?

10. Why do we call it “cheating out”?

11. “Cheat Out!!!”
Let’s all try it

12. Motivation Walks
Actors don’t simply move around on stage “just because”. Their character has motivation to move.

13. 3 volunteers, please.

14. Remember your motivation
Let your motivation MOVE you.
You should travel from one side of the stage to the other

15. To greet a long lost friend

16. To pick up money lying on the ground

17. To catch the bus

18. To ask for an apology

19. To go onstage to sing in front of thousands

20. To make an announcement to the press

21. To sneak up on someone

22. To find your way in the dark

23. To get a close up picture of a wild animal

24. To sneak back into your house at 3am

25. Have a seat and get out your Theatre Notebooks for Bell work, please
CONGRATS CMS WRESTLING!!!!
Hi!
Have a seat and get out your Theatre Notebooks for Bell work, please

26. Bell Work
If you want to put attention on an object or a person… what do you do/say to get people to look?
What if YOU want attention? What do you do to make yourself stand out?

27. What are your plans this weekend??
Bell work
What are your plans this weekend??

28. Giants, Knights, Wizards
Warm-Up

29. Stage Pictures
What’s that????

30. Stage Pictures
A term used to describe where the actors are positioned in relation to each other
The idea is to keep the focus on the most important onstage action
It is usually the directors job to create these pictures BUT good actors develop an awareness of how they can contribute at any moment

31. What’s the purpose?
Stage pictures are made to create focus/attention on the most important action happening in the scene

32. Ways to Create Focus in a Stage Picture…

33. A character who is isolated
One character is alone at one end of the stage while the rest of the actors are relatively grouped together at another area of the stage.
OR add levels: one character could be kneeling while the others are standing

34. A character who is down stage or lifted/lowered
Usually, the audience will focus on what is closer to them or on an extreme lower/lifted level

35. Characters who have more light on them or are in colorful costume
Technical elements such as lighting or costuming can heighten the focus on a certain character

36. A character with a stronger objective
If a scene calls for one character to pursue something strongly in a scene, they naturally draw more attention

37. A character who is facing the audience
Standing square-on or facing full front can evoke a feeling of intimacy with the character. This is often used for monologues, asides and soliloquies

38. A character who is being pointed at

39. A character who is moving, or moving in a different pattern from the others onstage

40. A character who upstages
This refers to actors who steal attention away from the true focus of the scene. This should be avoided. Upstaging can happen when the actors positions him/herself in such a way that puts the attention on them instead of the main focus. This also happens when they make a movement or vocalization that steals focus.

41. Find the focus…

42. Wicked

43. The Lion King

44. The Odd Couple

45. Everyone in the scene has a purpose
The scene wouldn’t make as much sense if the other character’s weren’t dedicated to putting focus on the action
Everyone in the scene has a purpose

46. Wicked

47. The Lion King

48. The Odd Couple

49. Let’s Make our own Stage Pictures…
Who/what is the main focus of the scene?
How can our body positioning and position on the stage put the focus on the main action?
What factors should we consider?
Levels
Body positions
Position onstage (cheat out)
Emotional response from the character

50. Let’s see… What is happening? Who/what is the main focus?
Can we see everyone’s face/expression?
Is any one person drawing attention from the focus? (upstaging)
Can we make the stage picture more powerful? How?
Let’s see…

51. Extra challenge!
What happens next? Create your same stage picture and then transform it into the next major action that happens to create a whole new stage picture

52. Hello! Please have a seat and take out your theatre notebooks 

53. Bell Work 8/22/16 Please put this bell work on a new page
(blank on both sides)
In at least 3 complete sentences:
What are some things you have learned about stage presence, motivation for movement and stage pictures? What does it mean to move down stage? What does it mean to upstage another actor? What are some ways the director puts focus on a particular actor or action onstage?
Bell Work 8/22/16

54. Warm-Up The Wave http://safeshare.tv/x/ss57ba6e0e4959c
-arms –heads –claps -spin

56. Extra challenge!
What happens next? Create your same stage picture and then transform it into the next major action that happens to create a whole new stage picture!