Please talk here instead of in the Sign Ups thread- so it doesn't bombard the sign up purpose. Will also post lessons here as well.

This is for Theatre Arts, A Class- a OOC minilesson class thing- participation is not required at all. Course can be found here.

Covering a few branches of Theater- then going in depth over the year- Acting, Directing/Producing, and Technical Theater

A Theater Notebook

A Theater Notebook simply consists of whatever you want to put into it (as long as it has to do with performance generally). For this purpose however, it will have four sections to it. Just use a simple notebook- or a three ring binder with notebook paper in it with dividers. Write however you want. It's a record of every theater related occurance you've seen- been a part of- or really wish to attend/be part of. It's also used to write down critic-like information- there are several formats you could utilize- as followed in Playgoing Log.

Playgoing Log- A log of performances you attend. What counts as performances if you wanna log it- (as it counts towards audience response- but not exactly all will be accepted within the performance art world- dependng on who you talk to) would be sports, plays, musicals, movies, tv- etc. When you look at the Log, you might even be able to tell what kind of performance you prefer! For example, my Playgoing Log shows that I prefer musicals (even if I can't sing)- and has very few things that has to do with sports. It could then be logged with drawings, comments, etc. That would be considered informal- but still acceptable. Here (in reducio) are some methods to keep as proof and memorbilia- or to better judge- note something!There are a few different formats you could use for your Playgoing log- but two are simpler and therefore what I will use here. The two formats are called "Ledger" and "ABC".

The Ledger Format- a little more detailed- but includes more areas to cover the production- in contrast to the ABC format.

Reducio

Date	Jan 17 2050
Theatre	The Hogwartsian Theatre
Play & Author	Footloose - Concord Theatrics
Plot	Ren, a city boy from Chicago, move to a small town named Bomont- to discover that the town prohibits fun in any way- due to the death of several kids- one being the son of the reverend- and finally manages to convince the reverend to let them have prom for the first time in five years.
Characters	Ren, Ariel, Shaw, Principal Clark, etc
Setting	Small town named Bomont (80s)
Theme	Isolation, disruption, unresolved grief, trauma, narrow-minded thinking, etc
Style	It's all music and singing- not too realistic- not like everyone randomly joins in to dance something no one knows
Language	Full of cussing- obviously- but pretty depressing yet humorous.
Production	The set looked good- candles lit in the right place at the right time- etc
Music/Dance (If relevant)	Most of the songs/dances were a tad inappropriate- but still rather entertaining to watch.
General Comments	yada yada your opinion on the show- etc

The ABC Format- write brief statements about the production- emphasing on Action, Basic human situation, and main Character of a play.

Reducio

Date: August 15 1999
Theatre: Hogwartsian Highschool Theater
Play: Beauty and the Beast by Disney/Broadway (MTI Licensing)
Action Statement: For Belle to free her father- for Gaston to marry Belle- for the Beast to be set free
Basic Human Situation: The townspeople worship Gaston but Gaston mistreats them. The Beast wants to marry Belle, but keeps sheltering his feelings- forcing the enchanted objects to assist.
Belle also puts herself in danger by approaching the Beast for the first time just to try to free her imprisoned father and then trade herself away so her father could be free.
Main Character: Belle, Beast, Gaston
General Comment: yada yada your opinions here- etc.

Acting Notes- meant for you to record your experience as an actor/actress. For the below format (Three Column Format) I will list my experiences. This is really just a simple segment. Make sure you ask for feedback on certain aspects of your acting so you can make an objective and see if you can meet that objective- perfecting it. The format used for this is called the Three Column Format.

Three Column Format- Do this for every scene you're in- for all the actions you do- every blocking. I will include one of my blockings from Footloose as an example. Include Objectives as a goal to meet. Then include Response- to see if you met that objective.

Reducio

Scene 4: Hallway

Action Cue: final "still" to "I Can't Stand Still" --- Enter CSR (center stage right) with "Young Man, Young Man" then turn and stop at DSC (down stage center) before continuing dialogue Objective Make it to DSC in 10 seconds Response Done- took 3 hours to perfect- and make the line sound good.

Directing and Producing Notes- usually documented on a scrap paper- or along the margins of a script- alongside the set design idea- for each scene- along with who goes where what the cues are- this also includes all the lighting and sound cues. This also includes notes for each individual person should they need notes for their acting (nothing bad ofc- if you get a note about it- use the Three Column Format). There is no format for this- literally just jot down notes and pretty much anything that has to do with the production in general. (Also does include fundraiser ideas and rehersal dates sometimes)

Technical Theatre Notes- Pretty much similar to a Director's notes- except for anything that's needed backstage (makeup, costume, set, etc) or for tech (sound/light- etc) and can include set ideas found somewhere- like graffiti on a wall- or a store that set up one of their stands a certain way. Note them! No format for this either- just jot them down.

Disclamer- I'm aware of a few facts here- so I removed them- theyre on the docs- but removed them- so it's cleaner.

A Brief History

The 6th Century
Theater can be traced back to the 6th Centruy, primarily when the Ancient Greeks had dynamic presentations- shows- even graphic matters. Their plays- featuring masks- were often dramatic, and included the gods and goddesses in their play. Often performed in means to honor Dionysus, the Greek god of Theater.

Roman Theater- produced in means of large entertainment- usually had tragic stories- with blood and gore. This era was pretty much the start of reciting something for theater (like you would a Monologue)- rather than performing it.

692 AD
The Church opposed Theatre, and outlawed it- forming the end of classical theater in the West.

Sanskrit Theatre- Theater in India is ancient! It's dated back to 200 AD, and the Study of Dramaturgy (for them- Natyasastra) was the first official guide to Makeup, Costumes, and dance!). Sanskrit plays were never tragedies- unlike it's counterparts in the Roman and Greek theaters. It was all usually pretty much a "good triumphs evil" kind of thing.

Medieval Theater- during the Medieval ages, there were three major types of plays; Mystery (scenes from the bible)- Miracle (decipting the Saints and martyr)- and Mortality (showing morals). This evolved as a religious ritual, from the Easter Liturgy of the Church. It was a bunch of drama pretty much, inside the Church when women and priests and select members of the audience would recite their lines- recreating bible scenes. (the Easter Liturgy was from when Jesus was in the tomb)

1300s
In Japan, two actors created something called "Noh Drama" and this is pretty much when actors wear a mask and dance and tell a story of death, ghosts, life, etc.

1500s
When Elizabeth I was Queen, she banned religious plays- introducing new genres to the plays created! Yes, a lot happened within these years- I know. This also created English Drama- some no more notible than Shakesphere's work of arts- though they're towards the end of the 1500s and towards the beginning of the 1600s.

1700s
BALLAD OPERAS were created when the popularity of Italian Opera has skyrocketed, and has several dialogue and pretty much popular tunes. (Remind you of Musical Theater yet?)

German Romantic Drama- Perhaps one of the most iconic plays would be "Sturm und Drang" (Storm and Stress)- idolizing some of Shakesphere's works.

1800s
Special Effects were introduced, ghosts were created by the technology they had then. A notible innovator, would be an american producer- David Belasco- who specialized in Theater Technology, and took insporation from all the other plays done in the past and what occured in history.

There are a lot more dates- but I just highlighted some of the important ones.

Self-Awareness

Being "Self-Aware" of yourself is vital- when you need to acknowledge the character you're playing- even if they have a name like "Tree #1" or "Boy #4"- it's only a part of acting- and no matter how many lines your character has- think about how your character could act. How does it correspond to the play? What scene is your role in?

If you're part of ensemble (musical) and have a # role- take me for example in Footloose (omg I have a lot of examples)- I was Boy #2 in the opening, and the scene was when Ren (main character) was still in Chicago, and Boy #1, #2, #3 talk to him about him moving. I had a line- but not many compared to the otehr two. It was simply "Ren's moving, you're moving?" I took it as being a concerned close friend with Ren. The audience loved it.

A summary of the previous paragraph- read through the script and consider how you should ask, if you are not 100% certain as to how you should act- let your theater teacher, director, producer- or whoever is blocking you onstage. Utilize your Actor's Notebook- document every blocking you make- and every scene. Be specific- and include lines that you have, if any.

Practice in front of a mirror or with a friend, or film yourself rehearsing your scene. I should also probably mention- if you're supposed to stand still, stand still. Stage directions will be covered in a later lesson.

I am going to give you 2 sample scenes- remember- some characters may be outside of your comfort zone- theater is all about stepping outside of the comfort zone and embracing yourself. These will be a practice for you all if you'd like to give them a try-
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Practice 1: Fashionistas (Dramatic) (Excerpt) by Janet Allard
Scene Description
As the fashion elite prepare for the runway show of the season, Calliope plots
to destroy it—P.E.T.A.-style. She attempts to enlist Echo’s help, but finds her
thoughts turned more toward the handsome Narcissus than animal rights.

Reducio

(CALLIOPE and ECHO in the ladies room.
ECHO picks at her electric guitar.
CALLIOPE pours red paint [that looks like blood] into water balloons.)
CALLIOPE. Okay this time, it’s gonna work. We’re gonna take out the whole line of models in the finale. You’re gonna help me right?
ECHO. (Not listening.) Right.
CALLIOPE. Water-balloons full of blood. I’m a genius.
ECHO. Genius.
CALLIOPE. You know, the thing is—Donatella wouldn’t club a baby seal, she wouldn’t have the stomach for it. I bet she doesn’t even cook her own meat for dinner, I bet she thinks veal is a vegetable. But, she can wear animal’s skin to get a compliment. Hypocrite. She doesn’t see the blood she’s shedding. All the blood. Who gave us the right to kill for fashion? People are so disgusting. What if someone took your baby and skinned it and made it into a coat, how would you feel, we don’t even think like that, we’re so absorbed with ourselves and how we look, so in love with ourselves we’ll kill a furry little cute animal just to get a compliment. It’s social survival, survival of the fittest, and if you want to take down a fashionista you’ve got to hit ’em where it hurts. Public humiliation. That’s the name of the game.

Practice 2: College Interview (genre) (Excerpt) by Ian Mcwethy
Scene Description
An Interviewer must find one extra student to attend the university at which
he works for or he will be fired. So far, his day has not been going well; all the
potential students he’s interviewed have been insane, awkward, and beyond
dumb. It is at this point the Interviewer meets Ben, who seems to be a dream
candidate…

Reducio

(The INTERVIEWER and BEN are in mid laugh.)
BEN. And the entire audience is COMPLETELY drenched!
INTERVIEWER. Oh man! Wow!
BEN. Needless to say that was the LAST time I ever went to Sea World.
(The laughter peters out.)
INTERVIEWER. Well I’ve gotta tell you Ben, everything looks great. Solid SATs, GPA high above our school’s average, and your essay was…well to
be honest, quite moving.
BEN. Well, this is such a great university, I’d be honored to attend.
(They stand up and shake hands.)
INTERVIEWER. Hey, we’d be lucky to have you. Are you applying to any
other schools?
BEN. Nope. Just here.
INTERVIEWER. Oh, okay, great. Great.
(Beat.)
BEN. So…
INTERVIEWER. Uh…yes?
BEN. I’m in then?
INTERVIEWER. Well, no. I mean not yet. I have to pass this along to my supervisors and…
(BEN releases his hand and sits down. Has a cold, calculating look on his face.)
INTERVIEWER. It’s a process, you know, I can’t officially—

Ensemble Ethics and Basic Movements

Two fairly short topics- combined since they're compatible. What is an "Ensemble Ethic"? Think about what you learned for Self Awareness. Now, consider infusing positivitity. And the other major thing- GIVE IT YOUR ALL! GET INTO THE FLOW! GET INTO YOUR CHARACTER! Pretty much the ensemble ethic- giving it your all and more... and the positivity- and your Self Awareness.

Now, let's get into some basic movements! These are some of the movements that will test and see how well your stretching and exercises for this would be. It helps to extend some of the limitations that have developed in your body- and so, it helps to get to practice better balancing yourself. Starting off with Posture- a good way for balancing. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, and imagine as if you were a puppet on a string- a Marionette. Stand as if your heel was touching the wall, the back and butt were as well- and the head resting comfortably. This is a relaxing- yet balanced pose.

Before you start the exercises- follow some quick tips- do the following... make sure there are at least some space cleared or enough room for you to do the exercises. Make sure you wear clothes that stretch or are fairly comfortable to wear. (Let me mention something- as most students performing last semester wore boxers underneath their costume- it's preferred you have spandex or something that isn't your underwear... especially when you have to wear tights or tight fitting clothes.) Either wear tennis shoes or go barefoot- it's much preferred that you wear tennis shoes.Please respect others opinions and such- I was faced with this problem several times- literally was asked what to do about it. My response- "ask them to respect your opinions and your space. If anything worse, let me know."

Now, Breathing! Perform "Posture" (while thats not the literal name- it's what I'm calling it)- but now, start taking deep breaths, your shoulders moving up and down with each breath inhaled and exhaled. Simply the movement right there!

The next exercise utilizes the Breathing technique- but with a few changes... keep your body straight, turn your head towards one of the shoulder. Now, get the opposite arm, and put it out in front of you, and act like you're petting a dog or a cat- but keep your body straight, and your head facing the opposite direction. Now, switch! The head faces the other direction and the other arm is used. Make sure you're acting like you're petting a dog with the arm.

Next up, a vocal exercise while running in place. Sing the alphabet while running in place- if you want to do the variation of running instead of running in place- simply do the same. What this does is helps you in a musical or in a play- when you have to move and talk- or talk and dance- or sing at the same time.

There are more movements and warmups- but ill be covered in later lessons.
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Practice: Perform one of the exercises, and summarize the Ensemble Ethic

Pantomime

So, what is Pantomiming? Pantomime is a word used to cover three things- if not more... the three I will use is, (1) any movement resembling your character... (2) movement that is told in a silent way- think Silent Films... (3) movement that requires no special items... like miming.

To demonstrate a successful "pantomime"- a few things should be understood. A good facial expression is fantastic and would help tremondously throughout this activity. Use your body language and motions to demonstrate physical occurances, and emotional occurances to... well- everything! Last, when using imaginary objects, pretend they're really there, like... let's say you're holding an imaginary bowling ball. Would you be able to toss it around like a basketball? No. You would need to signify the weight and all- all of the unique charactristics the ball has.

Here's something fun to think about- when attempting to save space onstage, you can give the illusion that something is there, by pantomiming. Like a implied door- or going up a mountain when you don't have a mountain- or cooking- or delivering a newspaper!

I have a few activities for you all! This is simply a short lesson, but ending the Acting portion of... ehh let's call it unit one, shall we? Because we have another Acting segment coming up in a bit.

Activity One: Magic Ball

Reducio

How you do this, is... you'll literally stick your hand in your pocket... then pull that hand out, acting like you just grabbed a ball.

Next, you'll play around with the ball- (imaginary if that wasn't clear x.x) and show that it changes sizes and weight!

It could be a basketball, a baseball, a bowling ball, a football... It's a magic ball after all!

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What the purpose of this, is for you to demonstrate the accurate size and weight of an object, a ball for example. Which is what this lesson is all about. Let's say you randomly picked a Ping Pong ball... it wouldn't be a heavy ball, and it wouldn't go *too* far without a hard hit, or force. While a bowling ball... wouldn't go far unless you rolled it or shot it out of a cannon- but not the purpose of this activity.

The point is, consider size and weight of each of the balls.

Activity Two: Ready? Action! It's Scene...

Reducio

Examples/Or just pick one:
Watching a movie
Baking a cake
Going to a circus
Eating an ice cream cone
Making pizza
Sewing
Eating at a restaurant
Talking on the phone
Washing a dog
Directing traffic
Setting the table
Picking apples
Cutting someone’s hair
Directing an orchestra
Getting ready for school
Walking a tightrope
Catching a fish
Decorating a Christmas tree
Swatting flies
Trying to mount a horse
Riding a rollercoaster
Selecting a TV show
Buying a pair of shoes
Hanging curtains
Painting a building
Driving a race car
Watching a sports event
Waiting in the dentist’s office
Burglarizing a home
Reading a good book
Taming a lion
Roasting marshmallows
Performing magic
Walking a dog
ironing