Embedded Files
“Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext.” – Stanislavski
“Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext.” – Stanislavski
Subtext is simply the thoughts and feelings of the character which will colour the way a line is spoken. This may seem simple and obvious, however, the whole issue of subtext takes on new layers of difficulty when put alongside the development of a character in the play.
Subtext is simply the thoughts and feelings of the character which will colour the way a line is spoken. This may seem simple and obvious, however, the whole issue of subtext takes on new layers of difficulty when put alongside the development of a character in the play.
The realisation of the importance of sub-text was one of those moments of inspiration in Stanislavski's own understanding about the requirements of an actor. When working on Chekhov's plays he realised that what the characters said was not half so important as what they were feeling at that moment in the play, which would influence how the line came out.
The realisation of the importance of sub-text was one of those moments of inspiration in Stanislavski's own understanding about the requirements of an actor. When working on Chekhov's plays he realised that what the characters said was not half so important as what they were feeling at that moment in the play, which would influence how the line came out.
Exercises that train subtext:
- Have a student pretend it is the last day of school and thank the class for their support throughout their time together. (Neutral, limited emotion) Keep repeating the same words, but with the following contexts: The student has been expelled – it is sincere, but upsetting, the student has been expelled – they blame the classmates (dripping with sarcasm), etc.
- Take a bland line like “I’ve never done that before” – everyone in the class use it in a different context.
- Inflection – say the line “O” – angry, surprised, awed, suspicious, etc
- Using the line “I didn’t say he killed our king” – have 7 different students say the line – each one inflecting a different word. What is the effect?
JOURNAL QUESTIONS:
JOURNAL QUESTIONS:
How could these exercises help the training of subtext?
How could these exercises help the training of subtext?
What effect did they have on you? Give a few examples.
What effect did they have on you? Give a few examples.
How have these exercises demonstrated that subtext is important when performing?
How have these exercises demonstrated that subtext is important when performing?
Report abuse