Written Report

(The Stage as an Actor Medium)

Submitted to:
Ms. Erlinel Galano

Submitted by:
Bautista, Lyneth P.
Ecal, Shirley
Gavilanes, Fatima B.
Palermo, Leah P.
Sambajon, Marie Grace
THE ACTORS MEDIUM: ON STAGE
 The Actors are being watched every second, live and up-close. The audience stays with
the actors and their performance based on how effective their instrument works. A great
performance by an actor will often forgive bad writing, distract from weak sets, and disregard
poor directing. The audiences remember most are the actors moments, the truth of their
characters.
THE ACTORS PRINCIPAL MEANS OF EXPRESSION
The actor is the principal means of expression and the stage is the platform.
The Actor- a person who behaves in the manner of a character, usually by reciting scripted
dialogue, in order to entertain an audience.
Performance- The expressiveness of the Actor.
According to Tyrone Guthrie, a British theatre director, criticized Strasberg for his lack
of interest in vocal training. Now the actors principal means of expression is the voice. The
expression of eyes, of the whole body, is important too; but it is on the breath stream and by
means of sounds and more particularly, the organization of sounds into first syllables then words
then sentences, that the most subtle and the most articulate communication occurs between
human creature
Three agents of expression
Voice, gesture and speech considered gesture to be the direct agent of the heart the
fit manifestation of feeling the revealer of thought and the commentator upon speech.

HOW TO DELIVER DIALOGUES

Dialogue delivery is the initial focus, concentrating on the obvious techniques of
projection, articulation, and phrasing. These vocal skills are essential to properly communicate
the spoken word to the audience and one should spend considerable time in perfecting them.
Nevertheless, dramatic aspects are the choices that help bring the play and its characters to life.
Choices, which propel the story to its optimum potential and create the desired illusion within the
mind of the audience.
When people speak in real life, they follow, for the most part, certain unconscious principles of
delivery. Principles which give logic and meaning to their words, and the intentions behind them.
Actors should strive for the same credibility by understanding these principles and using them to
make concise dramatic choices. Choices that provide readable behavior, character definition, and
complement the theme of the story.

PAUSES
In dialogue delivery, the number one rule is Never pause for reasons of punctuation. Dialogue
flows from idea to idea. Where does one pause? The answer is the same places that people pause
in real life. Here are the most common reasons:

1. at the completion of a thought. Dialogue flows mainly from ideas to idea. In analyzing and
breaking down the script, identify the ideas, especially in long speeches.

2. To take a breath. When the character is calm and in a controlled state, this will usually occur at
the end of a thought. When in a tense or unstable situation, breathing pauses are more random
and can occur within a thought.

3. When searching for a particular word or thought. The feel, think, act process should be evident
and the words should not always come easily.

4. When interrupted or distracted by another person or by ones own unspoken thoughts or

realizations.

5. Pausing to place special emphasis on an up-coming line. This could be a quote, dialogue as
another character, or setting up a laugh line. Likewise, a pause used after a key word helps to
reinforce the idea suggested by the word.

TEMPO OR PACE
Primarily, tempo or pace is governed by a very simple dramatic principle. If its
important and of interest to the audience, you slow down so the audience can better grasp the
information. Key phrases are often given at a slower rate of delivery while less important ones
are often spoken more rapidly. Tempo will also vary according to the emotional attitude of the
character. A rapid pace is often associated with nervous, high-energy types, and can also be used
to express anger, hate, fear, jealousy, determination, exaltation, or exhilaration. A slow pace can
denote the characters internalizations, deep thoughts, illness, loneliness, depression, or a
persons indecisive as to a course of action.

An evenly paced speech conveys an impression of control, poise, and self-confidence. A

change of pace is a good transitional devise when going to a new thought or emotion. When used
in conjunction with a pause or look away, it can add considerable impact to the dialogue. One
should also consider the rate at which the tempo or pace changes. There will be times when a
sudden change is required and at other times when a slow acceleration or de-acceleration would
work better.

EMPHASIS, DYNAMICS, AND CONTRAST

Emphasis is the stress placed upon a syllable, word, or a group of words. Emphasis helps
to clarify meaning, and dramatize the writers ideas. These ideas can be made to stand out in a
number of ways: delivering a word or words with greater force, extended by stretching out the
vowel sounds, lifting or lowering the pitch, pausing before and/or after delivery of a key word or
phrase.
 Dynamics has to do with projection and loudness. Being heard and understood are
important, but other choices in dynamics are likewise relevant.
Contrast is helpful in holding the interest of the audience. Changes, comparisons,
differences, and the unexpected are what make drama exciting. Look on contrast as the musical
aspects of dialogue, the inter-relationship between the characters, their ideas and emotions, and
the unpredictable unfolding of their confrontations and resolutions.
MEMORIZATION SKILLS
First, place the mind in a relaxed state, where awareness and concentration can take place. Make
a commitment to learning the process and applying the memory techniques. Memorization is a
must and it this industry, learning the script quickly and concisely is the entry requirement for
good professional roles. Neglect of this skill, as with the other rudimentary elements of the
dramatic performance, can slow progress and deter you from reaching your career objectives.
The basic memory principles are association, imagination, and organization.

Association refers to how we connect new information with something that we already
know. The human brain tries to create connections or patterns between and among the millions
and millions of bits of information it stores. If we want to memorize something, we need to
associate it with something that is already firmly implanted in our memory.

Imagination is necessary to make the mental association a strong one. With imagination,
the ordinary can be transformed into the extraordinary and it is always easier to remember the
extraordinary.

Organization refers to the ability to approach things in a systematic, orderly fashion. It

requires paying attention to the way in which things are put together. For the actor, this entails
breaking up long dialogue scenes, or even an entire play, into smaller manageable blocks where
purpose and content are firmly established. Organization, likewise, frees the dramatic spirit and
enables one to be creative by design.

TIPS TO EFFECT A MORE POWERFUL CHARACTERIZATION

The most powerful way to reach an audience is through the characters' emotions. For only when
we connect with the characters on an emotional level, does the interaction become deep and
meaningful? Well-written scenes that include characters' emotions allow the audience to
viscerally take part in the story and bond with the characters.
Indirect characterization is the process by which the writer shows the character's personality
through speech, actions and appearance.
The Five Methods of Indirect Characterization
To remember the five methods of indirect characterization, think of the word STEAL. It stands
for the five methods:
1. Speech: What does the character say and how does he/she speak?
 2. Thoughts: What shown about the character through his/her private thoughts and
feelings?
3. Effect: What effect does the character have on other people? How do they feel or react to
him/her?
4. Actions: What does the character do? How does the character act in different situations?
5. Looks: What does the character's appearance say about his/her personality

PREPARATION TO BECOME AN IMPRESSIVE AND EXPRESSIVE

PERFORMER
Body language
When the actor step onstage they should feel comfortable to let a beat or two go by, take a
breath, and anchor their feet before beginning. Have the actor rehearse standing still.
Work on physicalizing the talk gestures can help the actor emphasize important points. Script
and memorization: Record, transcribe, edit, and repeat. The actor may benefit from hearing
themselves speak.
When the actor sounds too rehearsed, theyre not done rehearsing. They should run through
the talk again and again, until they dont have to think about that fact that theyre reciting a
script. Rehearse until the words feel like an integral part of your being. Alternatively, let go of
the plan and rely on the fact that you understand the idea better than anyone else does. This
depends on the actor.
Emotion and tone: The actor must find a conversational tone. Thereof, the actor must be
honest to his target emotion, contagious emotions during their talk wonder, optimism, anger,
surprise, etc.

EMPOWERING ONES PERFORMANCE SKILLS THE ROOTS OF

THEATRICAL MOVEMENTS

BODY POSITIONS

There are five basic body positions relative to facing the audience or camera. In the Full
Front, the actor faces the audience or camera and consider the strongest of the body positions.
The full front position and the one-quarter front position (facing slightly to left or right) label as
open positions.
The Full Back position has the actor standing with his back to the camera or audience,
usually for a brief period. This body position usually use for dramatic effect.
With the one-quarter front position, the body turn a quarter away from the camera or audience
facing either slightly left or right. Being an open (strong) position, it is the most frequently used
and refer to as three-quarter front. When the actor stands or sits facing either to the left or to the
right allowing the camera or audience to see only one side of the face and body, it is called
the Profile Position. When two actors face one another in profile, they said to be sharing the
scene. Also referred to as the half position, this body position is not particularly strong. In
theatre, the actor looking to his right said to be in right profile and the left side of the face and
body is open to the audience. For the camera actor, facing to the right is actually the same as a
camera left profile. This is because all positions for the screen actor designated from the
cameras point of view.
In the Three-Quarter Back Position, the actor turns his body nearly full back to the
camera or audience, either left or right so only one side of the head and shoulder is visible. It is
the weakest of the five positions.

BLOCKING POSITIONS

Blocking positions are the positions of the characters relative to one another and to the
audience. Here again, each position has a strong or weak value and affords opportunities to
emphasize certain dramatic elements of the characters, their relationships, and the story. To
facilitate understanding of basic principles of this topic, we will use only two characters in these
examples. When more characters add to the scene, blocking positions usually determined by
ones relationship to the character dominating the thrust of the story at that moment.

BASIC ACTING EFFORTS, QUALITY OF THE DELIVERY OF ACTION.

MOVEMENT AND PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR

For instance, a strong movement of a figure is one rising from a chair, straightening up,
placing weight on the forward foot, raising the arm, or walking forward. A weak movement, on
the other hand, is stepping backward, slouching, placing the weight on the rear foot, sitting
down, lowering the arm, walking backward, or turning around and walking away from a figure
or object.
 We could also define, in general, whether physical behavior is strong or weak, whether it
signifies a winning attitude or one of struggle or failure.

STRONG, WINNING ATTITUDES: Confident, direct, controlled, active role, good eye focus
and control, definite goals or wants, aggressive, assertive, strong speech patterns, concise
movement, firm, stands ground, good self-image, relaxed, dominate, independent, resilient, self-
sufficient, wanting something, control over lifes choices, emotions open, changing for the
better, growing, sincere.

WEAK, STRUGGLING OR FAILING ATTITUDES: Uncertain, lacking confidence, hesitant,

not in control, reactionary, unsure or second thoughts about goals, emotionally tense, submissive,
intimidated, evasive eyes, suffering in pain, masking or hiding emotions, giving ground
retreating, reliant, needing something, indecisive, fragile, static, regressing, little or no control
over lifes choices.

REFERENCES:
http://www.erikseanmcgiven.com/writings/acting/dialogue-delivery/
http://www.nohoartsdistrict.com/industry-art/actors-advice/item/2439-acting-stage-the-actor-s-
medium
http://www.sewanhaka.k12.ny.us/cms/lib3/NY01001491/Centricity/Domain/2088/TheatreTerms3.pdf