Theatre in Practice: A Student's Handbook

273 Pages·2012·1.881 MB·English

by  Nick O'Brien, Annie Sutton

THEATRE

IN PRACTICE
A STUDENT’S
HANDBOOK
NICK O’BRIEN
ANNIE SUTTON
Theatre in Practice
Theatre in Practiceprovides students with all of the ‘must have’ drama skills
required for A level, International Baccalaureate, BTEC and beyond.
Practical, step-by-step exercises and diagrams give access to the key figures
and processes central to drama, including:
(cid:129) Stanislavski, Brecht, Lecoq and Berkoff
(cid:129) devising theatre
(cid:129) rehearsing and performing monologues and duologues
(cid:129) how to approach directing a play
(cid:129) improvising.
Each chapter offers advice for both students and teachers, with notes and
follow-on exercises ideal for individual study and practice. Written by
specialists with extensive experience leading workshops for the ‘post-16’ age
group, Theatre in Practiceis a thorough and imaginative resource that speaks
directly to students.
Nick O’Brien trained as an Actor and Director for four years under Sam
Kogan, who was a pupil of Maria Knebel, one of Stanislavski’s pupils at the
Moscow Art Theatre. He has a PGCE in Drama from Keele University. Nick
taught Stanislavski-based Acting Technique at Excel School of Performing
Arts and B.S.A. He is Head of Drama at the New London Performing Arts
Centre and has worked for Edexcel for a number of years as an exam iner
and moderator. Nick founded and runs the Stanislavski Experience, a
drama workshop company. He is the author of Stanislavski in Practice, also
published by Routledge.
Annie Sutton trained with Desmond Jones at his School of Mime and
Physical Theatre and at École Jacques Lecoq. She has a PGCE (distinction)
in Film and Drama. Annie is a theatre maker and currently leads projects
for Hornchurch Queen’s Theatre. She has worked for Hampstead Theatre,
The Royal Court Theatre, the Globe, Theatre Centre, Unicorn and Chelten -
ham Literature Festival as a freelance practitioner.

Theatre in
Practice
A student’s handbook
NICK O’BRIEN
ANNIE SUTTON
Illustrations by Mayumi Ogiwara
Photography by Matt Cooper
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Nick O’Brien and Annie Sutton
Illustrations © 2013 Mayumi Ogiwari
Photographs © 2013 Matt Cooper
The right of Nick O’Brien and Annie Sutton to be identified as the authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-50853-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12542-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Charter ITC and Folio
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
FOR YULI
FOR PORKY SUTTON

Contents
List of figures xiii
List of tables xv
Acknowledgements xvi
Introduction 1
PART 1
Key practitioners 9
1 Stanislavski and the system 11
Understanding Stanislavski through practice: work on
the actor 12
1 Imagination 12
2 Creating pictures and impressions 14
3 Free body relaxation 16
4 Concentration 20
5 Communication 21
Understanding Stanislavski through practice: work
on a role 25
6 The six W’s 25
7 The objective 26
8 The action 29
9 The super objective 32
10 The germ 33
11 Tempo-rhythm 34
Using Stanislavski with text 37
12 Reading the play 37
13 My character’s past 37
viii contents
14 Pinning down my character 38
15 Dividing up the play 39
16 Objectives and actions 40
17 Active analysis 41
18 Mise en scène 43
19 The final run 44
Summary: Stanislavski and the system 44
2 Brecht 46
Understanding Brecht through practice 47
20 The narrator 47
21 Turbulent times 49
22 Class 50
23 The taxi driver 52
24 Folding linen 55
25 Characterisation of a fellow actor 57
26 V-effect 58
27 Gestus 60
Using Brecht with a text 62
28 The ensemble read through 62
29 First reactions 63
30 The set 64
31 Casting the play 65
32 Episodes 65
33 The message of the play 66
34 Epization 67
35 Feeding lines 69
36 Freeze and gestus 70
37 Stylising 71
38 Banners 72
39 Lighting 73
40 Sound, song and music 73
41 Voicing the part 74
42 Epic theatre 76
Summary: Brecht 77
3 Lecoq 78
Before you start: warm-ups and technique exercises 80
43 Physical warm-up 1: roll and stretch 80
44 Physical warm-up 2: ensemble awareness 81
contents ix
45 Physical warm-up 3: the ball 82
46 Technique 1: with attitude – stage one 82
47 Technique 2: with attitude – stage two 83
48 Technique 3: acting the mask – advanced revision 84
49 Technique 4: hunger 84
50 Technique 5: push and pull/love and hate 85
Understanding Lecoq through practice 88
51 Improvisation: individual 88
52 Improvisation: group 90
53 The neutral mask 92
54 Expressive masks 95
55 Core technique: action mime 97
56 Dramatic context 99
Using Lecoq when devising 100
57 Improvisation for devising 100
58 The neutral mask and devising 101
59 Poetic journeys 103
60 Urban ID 104
61 Character swap 105
62 Expressive masks and devising 107
63 Storytelling and expressive masks 108
64 The language of gesture 109
65 The dramatic territories: human comedy 112
66 Lecoq’s creative questions 115
Summary: Lecoq 116
4 Berkoff 118
Understanding Berkoff through practice 120
67 The base pulse 120
68 The Greek chorus 122
69 Bouffon 125
70 The spoken word 129
71 East End sport 131
Using Berkoff with a text 134
72 Character, motif and gesture 135
73 The family as a chorus 138
74 Enacting the ceremony 139
75 The miniature stage 142