1. COLOUR CODE
RED= CHARACTERISATION YELLOW= RELATIONSHIPS GREEN= EXITS/ENTRANCES/STAGE SPACE BLUE = CHORUS AND ENSEMBLE PURPLE = LANGUAGE/TEXT
Rehearsal Techniques

2. TECHNIQUES INCLUDED Still Image and Thought Tracking
Stanislavski’s Circles of Attention
Non Verbal Actioning
Animal Traits
Card Status
LeCoq’s Masks
Lie, Sit or Stand
Personal Pronoun Point
Gallop the Rhythm
Line Grab
Punctuation
Vocal Tone Placards
Magic If
Magnet Task
Pace
School of Fish
Leader
Jacque LeCoq – Chorus Line
Role-on-wall
Hot Seating
Conscience Alley
String Exercise
LeCoq Emotional Stick
Rehearsal Techniques

3. ROLE ON WALL
AIM: Helps actor to visualize the elements surrounding their role, and the effect they have on the internal processes of the character. HOW TO: Inside the shape, write all the thoughts and feelings that the character has about themselves/the situation Outside the shape, write the factors that have contributed to this state of mind. EQUIPTMENT: Paper, pens.
Rehearsal Techniques

4. CONSCIENCE ALLEY
AIM: This helps actors to deepen understanding of situation, develop empathy, consider and voice differing view points.
Allows students to discuss and reflect on character motivation and actions
HOW TO: Cast select character from specific point in text. Cast create alley, by standing in two lines facing one another in their role. One actor, in role as selected character walks down ‘alley’. Cast say out loud their character thoughts/feelings about character . When selected character arrives at end of alley, the speak aloud their reactions to what they heard.
EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

5. HOT SEATING
AIM: Helps create realistic portrayal and characters back story. Helps to explore a characters emotive responses and influences.
HOW TO: One actor, in role, sits in front of group. The actor must sustain their role. Group ask a series of questions in order to discover more about the characters life experiences/opinions/thoughts/feeling emotions. The actor must respond in role.
EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

6. PACE EXERCISE
AIM: By using pace you can create a sense of unity, even is all members of the chorus are doing different activities.
HOW TO: Begin by asking all actors to move around the space at a neutral pace. Without any verbal communication, the pace must increase until they are at a run. This help develop a sense of unity.
Then introduce a scale of is still, 1 is slow motion moving through to 7 which is fast. Talk the cast through all stages in order to identify different sensations of the stages. This helps them to identify how the chorus can use pace to express meaning.
Then you can introduce the text, identifying a scale number for significant lines. Try giving individuals contrasting numbers on the scale to explore how it shifts perceptions.
EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

7. SCHOOL OF FISH
AIM: Based on the movements of large schools of fish. Helps to develop unity through pace and movement Helps to distribute leadership, removing one key focus HOW TO: Director gathers cast together in tight clump, shoulder to shoulder. No lines. Director holds out palm. All cast must follow the palm, keeping their points of contact with the group. Palm travels left and right, then up and down. Once connection established, directors can walk around the space, with the group following. Depending on where the directors moves, the group will twist/turn to follow, creating new people at ‘front’ of group. EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

8. LEADER EXERCISE
AIM: By using movement you can create a sense of unity by moving as one. HOW TO: Actors stand in a group, facing in one direction with some space in between. It is important that no lines are used. Person at the front of the group, slowly starts doing a movement with their arms. The group follows this movement carefully. Each movement is done a number of times, and each time the accuracy of movement is developed. The leader then turns to their left or right. The group follows. The leader stops when they see someone in the corner of their eye. That person is then the new leader. The activity is repeated, gradually becoming more ambitious with movements. Encourage leader to challenge group – they can do more than you may think. Leader can begin to add elements of characters, or story to their movements. You can add music and text to this exercise. EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

9. LECOQ’S CHORAL LINE
AIMS: Helps establish the character of the chorus, and allows them to work as an ensemble. Helps develop voice and unity with delivery of lines. Helps remove idea of “leader”
HOW TO: Two people stand in a line, person A behind person B. Person A whispers line to person B, who loudly repeats it.
Person C joins behind person B. Person C whispers line, and A and B repeat it loudly together. Keep adding people
EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

10. STILL IMAGES AND THOUGHT TRACKING
AIMS: Helps actors to gain an overview of the dynamic between two characters in a scene Helps actors to block their staging of the scene Helps actors to identify the internal thoughts/emotions of their character in each moment HOW TO: Actors identify main changes in relationship in the text. Actors create a still image for each of the moments, using levels and proxemics to explore the changes/power dynamics. Directors then instructs actors to add a thought track for each still images, in own words, based on text. EQUIPTMENT: none
How could he be so bold!
Oh my! He’s not happy I asked his age!
Rehearsal Techniques

11. STRING EXERCISE
AIM: Good at visually establishing relationships and changing attitudes between two characters. Useful way of exploring movement to communicate relationships. HOW TO: Use a piece of string to connect two actors together. Pick a theme, such as power, attraction, persuasion or sympathy based on the text. Read through parts of the script and decide based on text whether they should move up the string towards one another or away, and by how much. EQUIPTMENT: string (2-5 metres)
Rehearsal Techniques

12. JACQUE LECOQ’S EMOTIONAL MOVEMENT WITH A STICK.
AIM: Particularly good for dialogue concerning conflict. Helps establish who is in control at each stage of the text. Good for identifying power/status struggles
HOW TO: Pair hold each end of a meter stick. Push and pull each other through the space. Push/be pushed, or pull/be pulled as you speak your lines
Explore the effect it has on the delivery of the line/relationship with the other actor
EQUIPTMENT: long stick
Rehearsal Techniques

13. NON-VERBAL ACTIONING
AIMS: Helps focus on physicalisation and non- verbal communication. Helps actors to identify character intention.
HOW TO: For each line, actor identifies an objective/emotion. Actor gives this an action when reading the line. Actors then remove the text and “recite” lines using only actions. Gradually begin to add back the text, selecting the key lines to begin with.
EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

14. LIE, SIT OR STAND
AIMS: Helps the actors to explore how status is effected by others, and can be shown through non verbal positioning. Helps to explore staging and use of levels/proxemics to communicate role/relationships. HOW TO: Run a scene with three people minimum. At any given time, only one actor is able to stand, sit or lie. If one actors choses to sit, the other must find a new, appropriate level. EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

15. CARD STATUS
AIMS: Helps identify status/relationships. Helps to show status through non verbal expression. Helps explore physicalisation HOW TO: Actors select a card at random from a deck. They must play their role with the status level signified on the card through use of levels, body language, voice etc. Most powerful (KING) and least (ACE). Actors explore a range, selecting the one that’s most appropriate for their role. EQUIPTMENT: playing cards
Rehearsal Techniques

16. ANIMAL TRAITS
AIMS: Helps actors with physicality of character. Helps actors with non-verbal communication of role. Helps explore relationships on stage HOW TO: Ask the actor to identify which animal closest represents their character’s personality traits. Example: Greed – a pig Without the script, actors must then embody the animal physically, and explore how the animal interacts with the other ‘actor animals’ of the group. The actor then slowly starts to add human behaviors to their animal, so that some traces remain, finally adding the text. EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

17. STANISLAVSKI: CIRCLES OF ATTENTION
AIMS: Helps the actors to explore proxemics on stage and explore status, relationship on stage through space. Allows actors to identify moments in text which are solitary for the character, or shared. Helps actors to explore dynamics.
HOW TO: An actor could focus by concentrating on a small circle, himself and one other actor or prop.
The actor, once focused on this small circle, extends his attention to a medium circle that includes more actors or larger props and a larger area of stage. Can use voice to ‘fill’ this new space.
After this, the actor can extend the focus of the large circle of attention to cover the entire stage and set. Can explore with using a ‘small circle’ voice, or a ‘large circle voice’.
Can use the same technique to introduce other actors onto the stage.
EQUIPTMENT: none
AUDIENCE
Rehearsal Techniques

18. JACQUE LECOQ’S MASK AND NEUTRALITY
AIMS: Loss of facial expression helps to focus on physicality. Encouraging actors to communicate meaning through physical action, not words or facial expression HOW TO: Actors given masks and told to stand in neutral. Teacher guide them through physicalising their character, extending and exaggerating the gesture/posture. Actors then ‘walk’ their character around the space, focusing on how they are communicating the role physically. EQUIPTMENT: masks
Rehearsal Techniques

19. PERSONAL PRONOUN POINT
AIM: Helps actor to explore the relationship between the speakers, and the power dynamic. Can help explore subtext. HOW TO: Actors identify the personal pronouns in the text (me, I, us, you, he, she, thou, thee, thine, myself, your etc). As they speak the line they must point to the other actor/themselves on the pronoun. Add a stress to ‘you’ or ‘I’ to explore meaning. Add movement forwards or backwards for the action with the point. EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

20. GALLOP THE RHYTHM
AIM: Helps actors to use rhythm to help with delivery of lines, highlighting the imagery/meaning of the lines.
HOW TO: Useful for prose, and iambic pentameter in his work. Actors read the lines, identifying the rhythmic pattern by clapping it as they speak.
Actors then gallop round the space using the rhythm as they recite the lines.
This technique is useful for helping the actors to explore their role vocally.
EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

21. PUNCTUATION
AIMS: Helps actors to identify rhythms in the text. Helps the actor to identify the units of action in the text, and the meaning behind the phrases. Helps the actor explore space/proxemics when reading the text.
HOW TO: The actor walks as they read the script. At each punctuation mark they must change direction. At each punctuation mark they must change their speed of movement. At each punctuation mark they must change their level
EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

22. VOCAL TONE PLACARDS
AIMS: Helps explore a range of vocal skills when investigating role/text. Helps explore how vocal elements can change meaning. HOW TO: Director has several placards, on which written “slow” “fast” “low” “high” “breathy” etc. Actors select up to three placards and must use them when delivering lines. Mix up combinations to see how they produce different meanings in the lines. Actors selects what they feel is best for the text. EQUIPTMENT: placards (see additional resources)
Rehearsal Techniques

23. LINE GRAB
AIMS: Helps actors to explore how pace and timing can create tension. Helps actors to identify correct speed for meaning of text/dialogue. HOW TO: Useful for dialogue and sections with speech between two or more actors. Actors stand opposite one another in the stage space. First actor begins by saying their opening line quickly but clearly. The next actor must start their lines before the first actor has finished. Gradually increase/decrease speed. Apply movement. EQUIPTMENT: text
Rehearsal Techniques

24. MAGNET TASK
AIMS: Helps to examine relationships between characters. Uses proxemics and movement to communicate attachment/detachment to other characters.
HOW TO: Actors stand in the space and embody the role. Instruct them to walk at a steady pitch round the room. Tell them to try and narrow the proxemics between themselves and the character their role feels closest to. Additionally tell them to widen the proxemics between themselves and the character their role dislikes the most. Can change depending on section/extract being examined.
EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques

25. KONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKI ‘MAGIC IF’
AIMS: Helps the actor to investigate their character in situations outside of those given in the text, deepening their understanding. HOW TO: Stanislavski said that the character should answer the question, 'What would I do if I was in this situation?' Group makes suggestion for the improvisation ”what if they were excited about a guest arriving?”, “what if they are suspicious of someone in the room”. The actors, in role, then stimulate the motivation to enable the actor to explore what their character would do in each situation. EQUIPTMENT: none
Rehearsal Techniques