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Spectacle: Stage Combat
Spectacle: Stage Combat
The Victim is in Control of the Action.
Safe distance is more than double arm length
Watch your angles / sight lines
Work with speed in percentages: 25% speed, 50% speed, etc. Fastest you'd ever go is 80% (leave room for the adrenaline)
Theatrical Design: Vocabulary, Purpose, Tools and Practitioners
Theatrical Design: Vocabulary, Purpose, Tools and Practitioners
Costumes / Make up / Hair
Costumes / Make up / Hair
- Period piece (of a different time period)
- Colors, Textures, Patterns
- warm vs. cold, weight
- Realistic (subtle) vs. Symbolic (blatant)
- archetype/symbol
- "real clothes"
- Measurements, fittings
- Theatrical costume etiquette
Lights/Projections
Lights/Projections
- Realistic (subtle) vs. Symbolic (blatant)
- amber & blue
- Symbolic color
- Practicals & Justification
- Intensity, hue, focus, angle
- Setting: primaries and washes
- Function: signal beginning, intermission & end
American Theatre Wing has produced a series of videos outlining the design counterpoint to theatre. While the actors are onstage, designers are creating costumes, properties, lights, sets, sound, and projections throughout the rehearsal process (and before rehearsals begin in many cases) to support the action onstage as well as the Given Circumstances.
Set & Props
Set & Props
- Period piece (of a different time period)
- Colors, textures, patterns, materials
- warm vs. cold, weight
- Properties etiquette
- Realistic (subtle) vs. Symbolic (blatant)
Sound
Sound
- Realistic (subtle) vs. Symbolic (blatant)
- Atmospheric, underscoring
- Practicals & Justification
- Volume, panning, equalization, mixing, speaker plot
- Actor Microphones & mixing
- Sound effects, libretto
- House music
Let's Start with a little Art (Theatre) Theory.
Let's Start with a little Art (Theatre) Theory.
Despite language, nationality, skin color, gender, or any characteristic that we recognize as differences, one experience that binds us all together is Struggle. To be Human is to Struggle.
All art is an attempt to communicate Struggle from one human to another: "I understand your struggle, and you are not alone."
Whether the artist is creating music, dance, visual art or theatre, our purpose - for the most part - is to Empathize: "I understand your struggle, and you are not alone."
How you share your concept of struggle is up to the indvidiual artist.
The Building Blocks of all Art Ever
The Building Blocks of all Art Ever
THIS (event, moment) + THIS (event, moment) = THIS communication
THIS (event, moment) + THIS (event, moment) = THIS communication
In order to understand that Struggle, artists use comparison:
Visual Artists compare color, shapes and composition against each other;
Musicians use notes, chords and different instruments against each other;
Dancers use shape, tempo, duration and topography against each other;
Theatrical Designers use color, material, volume/intensity and many other tools against each other to explain and support a play's Given Circumstances.
Given Circumstances
Given Circumstances
Traditionally, theatrical plays are created by the Playwright. The Playwright is the progenitor of the theatrical artform, and all other theatre practitioners are considered interpretors.
Improvisation and devising theatre are recent exceptions to this tradition.
But for the most part, many practitioners' work begins with an understanding of the play's Given Circumstances.
Given Circumstances are the play's irrefutable facts: we may not change them, we may not ignore them. These facts - rules - are tied into the DNA of the play; if we were to change the facts, we'd change to play.
How the theatrical practitioner chooses to portray the given circumstance is through Comparison.
We understand the concept of authority through a comparison of, say, red and blue lights; or maybe a comparison of gold badge to dark blue uniform.
We understand rich from the comparison of brand name and actor body shape.
THEME is what differentiates Art from Real Life. Real life - mundane, unorganized/arranged, unpredictable - hasn't a theme. Our lives aren't themed. Once you apply theme to an observed action, theatre emerges. Theme is the purpose, theme is message.
FUNCTION is purpose-minded. Nothing to do with Aesthetic; all to do with what it does.
Ted Talks: Effective Function, underwhelming Form. "Derek Goldman: How theater matters -- from formation to transformation in 5 acts"
GCs of the play vs. Rules of Performance
GCs of the play vs. Rules of Performance
Nobody said anything about 2 sets of rules:
Rules governing YOUR CONTENT (Given Circumstances, unchangeable)
Rules governing YOUR PERFORMANCE. This set of rules is called "style" or "theory"
Style/Theory dictates principles by which the expression is most effective: do you want to have a BIG emotional effect on your audience? Best way to do that is using American Musical. Do you want to teach and change your audience's viewpoint on something? Use Brecht.
FORM vs. FUNCTION
Aesthetic: The look or FORM of any given expression. Sometimes Art is ONLY form, thereby judged by its subjective "beauty".
Making it pleasing-looking - or cool, or gross, chaotic - is a good way to get people to watch your Art.
Safety Protocol for Lights and Sound in a Theater
"GOING DARK"
When you're about the blackout the lights in the theater, say "Going Dark" loud and proud, wait a moment, then turn the lights off. The response is "Thank you Lights" to acknowledge the communication as well as inform others who may not have heard the original call.
"SOUND IN THE HOUSE"
When you're about to test sound in a theater, zero out your volume, say "Sound in the House" loud and proud, then slowly raise your volume to the level you desire. Then replay the cue at the level you set. The response is "Thank you Sound" to acknowledge the communication as well as inform others who may not have heard the original call.
How Theatre (and Art) Communicate with an Audience
How Theatre (and Art) Communicate with an Audience
All art is an attempt to communicate with its audience to create empathy: "I understand what you mean." Art - thereby performance and theatrical design - communicates by comparing "THIS" to "THAT," then having your audience come to same conclusion you had.
THIS (event, moment) + THIS (event, moment) = THIS communication
THIS (event, moment) + THIS (event, moment) = THIS communication
...and it's not as simple as that. Sometimes the comparison is between these million things + these million things; or this thing at the beginning + this thing at the end !
FORM vs. FUNCTION
Aesthetic: The look or FORM of any given expression. Sometimes Art is ONLY form, thereby judged by its subjective "beauty".
Making it pleasing-looking - or cool, or gross, chaotic - is a good way to get people to watch your Art.
Flash Mob: Neat Form, covert Function. Improv Everywhere, "Frozen Grand Central"
Given Circumstances
Given Circumstances
For the Theatre, all our work - the Director, Designers, Actors - starts with finding the rules of the performance, or the Given Circumstances.
These are the irrefutable facts on which the mechanics of the play work: a violation of the rules changes the expression of the play. BUT- it's up to the director and their vision as to how the given circumstances and the action is portrayed.
American Theatre Wing has produced a series of videos outlining the varied Roles that make theatre possible. While the actors are onstage, designers are creating costumes, properties, lights, sets, sound, and projections; directors are ensuring the production is unified; playwrights are conceptualizing Aesthetic and Theme.
THEME is what differentiates Art from Real Life. Real life - mundane, unorganized/arranged, unpredictable - hasn't a theme. Our lives aren't themed. Once you apply theme to an observed action, theatre emerges. Theme is the purpose, theme is message.
FUNCTION is purpose-minded. Nothing to do with Aesthetic; all to do with what it does.
Ted Talks: Effective Function, underwhelming Form. "Derek Goldman: How theater matters -- from formation to transformation in 5 acts"
GCs of the play vs. Rules of Performance
GCs of the play vs. Rules of Performance
Nobody said anything about 2 sets of rules:
Rules governing YOUR CONTENT (Given Circumstances, unchangeable)
Rules governing YOUR PERFORMANCE. This set of rules is called "style" or "theory"
Style/Theory dictates principles by which the expression is most effective: do you want to have a BIG emotional effect on your audience? Best way to do that is using American Musical. Do you want to teach and change your audience's viewpoint on something? Use Brecht.
Design communicates Theme
Design communicates Theme
Theme is what your play is about: Its Message, its Purpose. Whether your theme is second to your story or theme is front and center, theme is what turns mundane life into an experience worthy of an audience.
Realistic <------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brecht's Line ------------------------------------------------------------------------------>Symbolic
Story > ThemeStory (narrative)-based Subtle hints of theme "after the fact"
Story < ThemeMessage-based Theme is blatant (maybe not obvious)
subtle message --------------------------------------> Blatant message
subtle message --------------------------------------> Blatant message
Low Use of Symbol High Use of Symbol
Performance Assignment: Creating Design from Theme
Performance Assignment: Creating Design from Theme
Create a scene that has
plot: A1 - A5 Narrative
character: objective/obstacle/strategy
theme: decide on the meaning or the motivation behind your expression by
acknowledging and building from given circumstances: extrapolate the rest of your given circumstances from the description of "Jo"
using TWO different aspects of design
communicating theme through design: colors, materials, time period, comparison, etc.
Spectacle: a "moment of magic" for maximum impact on your audience. Big moment for the story; effective communication of Theme.
Your Design Choices:
Your Design Choices:
- Costumes / Make up / Hair
- Set & Props
- Lights & Projection
- Sound
Your Protagonist's GCs:
[JO has an IQ hovering around 119 and finds conformity to school difficult. Independence is important. Has difficulty trusting others. Some may think they're rude, but others think they're pretty funny.]
Starting Questions to extrapolate GCs:
Starting Questions to extrapolate GCs:
Do you want to teach or emotionally influence the audience?
What does Jo's room look like?
What bands is Jo into? What's their spotify playlist look like?
What era of time or genre do you - the designer - love? The 80s? The "future"? Which is best to make the audience "get it"?
What other role/symbol makes school difficult? Makes it hard to trust others?
What happened in their life that make it hard for Jo to conform and prefer independence?
Pro Tip: The world of the protagonist is typically in opposition - or contrast, or juxtaposed - against the protagonist itself. If the protagonist is happy, the world is sad. :)
Director: "The most skilled audience member in the room"
Director: "The most skilled audience member in the room"
The super powers that make you a good director:
The super powers that make you a good director:
broad knowledge of style, of cultural references
setting expectations
broad knowledge of content structure
experience with / knowledge of stage picture (composition)
ability to see where a scene "should be" and where it is, including the ability to bridge the gap
vocabulary in all design disciplines
Are you a Boss or a Leader?
Are you a Boss or a Leader?
The boss accomplishes goals by demanding compliance from its ensemble and doing all the work;
The leader accomplishes by encouraging and fostering its ensemble and editing others' work.
A Stage Manager handles logistics (time, location/space, communication between departments), discipline, attendance, record-keeping.
A Director handles unification of theme between design/design, performance/design, performance/performance.
The Art of a Director
The Art of a Director
At the Artistic helm of Design and Performance, the Director's job is to apply a Performance Theory to content, thereby expressing theme and narrative in a balance appropriate to the content and particular audience.
Realistic <-------------------------------------------------------- Brecht Line ---------------------------------------------------------> Symbolic
Create the most believeable narrative experience for your audienceFosters actor empathy and imagination to generate tension Mediates colleagueshipMotivational blocking & stage picture
Create an experience that keeps the audience on messageClarifies actor's expression to an efficient communication of messagePresentational blocking & stage picture
Directing in the Heightened Form
Directing in the Heightened Form
The Art of Pretend is concerned with the Product.
The Art of Pretend is concerned with the Product.
The director didn't join the party until the 1840s. The director was the last one to join the ensemble. An evolved, mashed-together form of the Stage Manager and Teacher, by the 20th century the director quickly took control of production.
As the Most Skilled Audience Member In The Room, the director who works in this form creates and arranges the production to the most Perfect Version:
The "Perfect" Break up
The "Perfect" Story
What do you mean by Perfect?
What do you mean by Perfect?
I mean our society's understanding of what a break up looks like: one is serious, the other is crying uncontrollably; there's a quiver of the lip, there's the close up on the final goodbye. You've probably seen a few versions of This Event in different contexts.
If you're concerned with the final product, how do you direct in the Heightened Form?
If you're concerned with the final product, how do you direct in the Heightened Form?
It's about how accurate your production is to what your audience expects.
If you support and remind them of every other time they've watched a break up in a movie, they'll call your work GOOD.
Do your research.
So you have to know what those look like. Throughout time. Director has to plan everything: how do moments before yours look? Set? Costumes? The Actors? How did they sound?
Tell them what they have to do and look like. Explain as specific as you can.
Clear and efficient communication of your vision is paramount: success hinges on how precise you are in imitation with design and performance.
"Can you be MORE happy?" Although this directive is product-oriented, its vagueness and its weakness put the actor in the hot seat to read your mind: The actor says, "How am I supposed to be more happy? How am I not happy enough?"
"Take a look at this." Show them an example. If you don't have a picture or song, act it for them.
Directing in the Realistic Form
Directing in the Realistic Form
The Art of Realism is concerned with the Process.
Realism became popular as the director's role in production evolved: created by an actor-turned-teacher and director, realistic technique became popular at the height of psychoanalysis and interest in the human mind.
Constantine Stanislavski, the "inventor" of realistic acting technique, was consumed by the believability that the actor's performance could actually happen in real life. He detested the fake, melodramatic performance of the heightened actor. In his research, he found the more the audience believed in the realness of the performance, the more they connected.
As the most Skilled Audience Member in the Room, the director isn't chasing what it should look like, but rather what it should feel like.
What do you mean by what it should feel like?
What do you mean by what it should feel like?
Stanislavski's exercises explored the actor's mind through meditation, experiences Living in the Moment, and analysis of subtextual motivations. Performance is based on interacting with a partner while triggered from past or invented trauma.
If you're concerned with how it feels, how do you direct in the Realistic Form?
If you're concerned with how it feels, how do you direct in the Realistic Form?
Get to know your actors. Take care of them.
Your actors are vulnerable, shell-less humans that can be damaged. You want them vulnerable, so you need to shepherd them. They must trust you and you must be trustworthy with their vulnerability.
Do your homework.
What the audience sees is more like a boxing match than a presentation: a presentation is directed, structured, controlled; a boxing match, on the other hand, is a free for all where the participants move because of training. Same with the realistic stage:
You are the Dungeon Master. Know your given circumstances, objectives, motivations. Have a plan in mind, despite its fakeness.
Have a logical understanding of how the fight might go: "given this, then this"
Design must be in support of what the actor needs when "fighting in the ring."
Be patient.
This is the Actor's medium: they're building from a trauma they're very connected to; it's their experience onstage that creates performance. Actors need time for preparation as well as finding behavior in the moment.
Actors must be trained and prepared to be aware of their partners and environment. They must know their lines implicitly to be able to pay attention to what's going on around them.
"Let's go back to one, please." As they rehearse, be aware that your next moment comes from the stimulus of the previous moment. Make sure they are paying attention; make sure they have what they need. Build from stimulus to stimulus; go back to rehearse.
Stage Directions and Blocking
Stage Directions and Blocking
In addition to their lines, until they're memorized and rehearsed actors must notate their scripts to remember when and where to move, who to interact with, which prop is theirs... there's a lot to keep in mind while you're building a performance!
Stage Managers- the boss, the hefe, the organizational powerhouse - annotate their entire script with ALL movement, cues, props, set piece being used: a theatrical production is a grand concert of movement and timing.
Know your blocking - where you're supposed to be and when!
A prompt book is a stage-manager-only expanded script that contains all blocking, prop/set inventories, lights/sound cues etc.
Performance Vocabulary
Performance Vocabulary
In order to be understood by and collaborate with all theatre artists, we must use the language of our artform. To the right is a non-definitive glossary of the most important terms. I will use them throughout the year: by May you'll be an expert just like me!
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