Studying Repertoire

Unit Overview

Extract of Hedda Gabler

Extract of Hedda Gabler.pdf

Full play of Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler (Full Play).pdf

Overview

While working on this unit, you will continue to build on the skills required for the Coursework performances and also develop the knowledge and some of the skills required for the Written Examination.

Coursework

After acquiring some experience of an individual performance based on a monologue extract from a play in Unit 1 The Actor's Craft, this second unit Studying Repertoire will provide you with experience in a group performance based on an extract from a play.

You will continue to build on the vocal and physical skills you developed in Unit 1 and which were assessed against IGCSE criteria AO3 Performance skills. In this unit, you will further develop your understanding and experience of the process by which you bring your character to life based on your understanding of the bigger context of the play Hedda Gabler.

You will learn the Stanislavski acting method as one approach which will allow you to consolidate the process of characterisation, which will introduce a new IGCSE criteria AO1 Knowledge and understanding of repertoire.

Written Examination

For the final IGCSE Written Examination, you will be asked to prepare two play extracts from the perspectives of director, designer and performer. In this unit you will learn how to approach an existing play as a director. Furthermore, you will acquire some of the Drama terminology relevant to directing.

You will then practise how to communicate ideas you have been exploring in class to respond to short-answer questions. During this unit, this will simply provide an idea of your abilities, strengths and areas for growth. This will then determine how we will best prepare the final Written Examination assessment taking place next year.

In Form 5, you will then further refine and develop the skills required to approach and plan how to stage a play from a director's perspective when working on the play extracts which will be shared by Cambridge.

Directing

The director works with the script to develop their own interpretation of the play and this will determine the interpretation and direction of that production which all others - designers and actors - will adopt.

This interpretation must be based on the play that the playwright created and the director cannot change, add, delete or modify the dialogue.

Your Definition

The director is someone who gives structure to the play and unites all the aspects of the play like the actors, technical team and the designer. They keep the play organised and allow for the play to be successful. Without a director, the play would be chaos and there would be no structure or organisation to the rehearsals or the final performance.

IGCSE Definition

A director is the person responsible for deciding the artistic interpretation of a performance of a play; they work with actors and designers to bring their vision to the stage. A director will usually decide on staging or blocking, and will guide or assist actors in developing an effective performance of their role.

A directorial concept is the approach and overarching idea that a director has for the interpretation of particular play.

Additional resources on Directing

Production 1

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/oct/24/hedda-gabler-review-sherman-cardiff-ibsens-stormy-heroine-checks-her-privilege

Production 2

Source:https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/theatre/hedda-gabler-review-a-clear-and-vigorous-interpretation-1.3420927

Trailer of Production 1

Trailer of Production 2

Directorial concept of Production 1

Directorial concept of Production 2

Copy of NTLive Hedda Gabler Interview with Ivo van Hove.mkv

Steps of the director's work

Read the play
Determine the main themes from the play and what the intentions of the playwright might have been
Identify the style and/or genre of drama
Select a stage configuration (usually with design team)
Determine the visual identity of the production
Determine the atmosphere, mood and tone of the production (have an awareness of your target audience)
Formulate the impact you want your production to have on the audience
Write the directorial concept.

Stage Configurations

Other directing terms

Blocking A traditional term used to describe the path traced by an actor’s movement on stage, including entrances and exits. It is usually determined by the director with assistance from the actor, and often noted in the script during rehearsal.

Staging A general term for the choices made by directors and actors about using or adapting performance spaces as in ‘staging a play’. It can also refer to the movement and positioning of actors to communicate character relationships and create interesting stage pictures.

Other drama terms relevant for directors

Genre The type of drama, for example tragedy, comedy, satire, melodrama.

Tragedy A form of drama based on human suffering that stimulates a mixture of sympathy and horror in the audience at the inevitable downfall, usually death, of the protagonist. Classical tragedy is a form of drama that originated in Ancient Greece and treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events suffered or caused by a heroic individual.

Comedy A play that treats characters and situations in a humorous way. In Shakespeare’s time, a comedy typically revolved around complex relationships and potentially disastrous situations but with a happy ending. In Ancient Greece, comedies dealt almost exclusively with contemporary figures and problems.

Low comedy is physical rather than intellectual comedy; high comedy is more sophisticated, emphasising verbal wit more than physical action.

Satire A play in which irony, exaggerated characters and ridicule are used to expose or attack such aspects of society as foolishness, social snobbery or hypocrisy. Often used to criticise political figures or regimes.

Melodrama A style of play which developed in the nineteenth century, relying heavily on sensationalism and sentimentality. Melodramas tend to feature action more than motivation, stock characters and a strict view of morality in which good triumphs over evil. Also central to the impact achieved by melodrama is the heightened use of music to underpin the action.

Naturalism A style of drama that developed in the late nineteenth century as an attempt to escape the artificial theatricality of contemporary forms of playwriting and acting. Its prime objective was to portray reality on stage. Its greatest exponent was Stanislavski. Naturalism evolved into realism.

Realism A modified form of naturalism. Language and dialogue, movement and settings would ideally reflect everyday life situations without any sense of artificiality. Henrik Ibsen is an exemplar of the movement.