Chapter Five
Stage Directing
Rehearsing: Staging, Shaping and
Polishing
(© Jim Patterson, 2004)
OVERVIEW
BLOCKING THE ACTORS
INVENTING BUSINESS
DEVELOP THE ACTORS BODY LANGUAGE
ESTABLISH TEMPO
SHAPE THE PRODUCTION
POLISH THE PRODUCTION
A PLANNING STRATEGY
Devise a production schedule that manages time
efficiently
Follow these guidelines in devising schedule
- Study and conceptualization
- Organization
- A safety net
- One hour rehearsal for every minute of playing time
-Spread rehearsals over time
REHEARSAL PROCESS
Rehearsal is primarily about the actors
Set realistic goals for each rehearsal
Divide the rehearsal schedule into thirds
- Explore the script (table work)
- Memorization and Blocking
- Polishing and Technicals
Get help...a dedicated assistant is indispensable
STAGE BASICS
The actors on the proscenium stage...divide the floor
into Upstage/Downstage/Right/Left in a grid
SIX basic acting positions
- Open
- Closed
- Half open
- Three-quarters open
- Three quarters closed
- Shared
Taking, Giving, Sharing
Take means to open to another actor
Give means to close to another actor
Share means ¾ or profile
Crossing generally requires countering
Open (flat) and closed (circle) turns
Prompt Book Shorthand
X = cross
@ = at
// = pause
S = sofa
C = chair
T = table
W = window
Ex = exit
Ent = enter
Non-proscenium stages
Entrances and exits are often through tunnels or voms
US and DS are sometimes faces of a clock
In arena, alley and thrust: position actors away from
one another so that individuals can be seen
Composing the action
Composition is the technical aspect of blocking that
allows the audience to see what the director believes to
be important, like a snapshot or freeze-frame
Picturization is the storytelling aspect of blocking and
is revealed through movement, like a storyboard, frame
by frame
Effective staging is influenced by the space, concept
size of the audience and the playscript
Blocking
Ensure that actors are visible to the audience
Blocking should be pointed
Expressive
Fluid
Lively
Varied
Elements of composition
What character or characters should the audience
focus on?
Are the characters pleasingly arranged?
Is symmetry or asymmetry more important to balance?
How is the acting are defined?
8 elements of focus
Dominance through body position (dominance)
Arrangement of characters in groups (grouping)
Space around central characters (space)
Visual and actual lines (line)
Stage position (area)
Height of characters or group (level)
Contrast
Lighting
Studies in composition
Ford Madox Brown (1855) Jesus Washing Peters Feet
Hans Baldung Grein (1512) The Crucifixion
Matthias Gruenwald (1515) The Crucifixion
Jacopo Bassano (1542) The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci (1498) The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci (1498) The Last Supper
Jan Van Eyck (1434) Arnolfini Wedding Portrait
Leonardo da Vinci (1504) La Joconde
Vincent Van Gogh (1888) The Night Café
Edward Hopper (1942) Night Hawks
Salvador Dali (1931) Persistence of Time
Pieter Bruegel (1565) Hunters in the Snow
Pieter Bruegel (1568) Peasant Wedding
Ford Madox Brown (1860) Work
Edouard Manet (1863) The Luncheon on the Grass
Henri Matisse (1910) The Dance
Pablo Picasso (1905) Family of Saltimbanques
Pablo Picasso (1907) Les Demoiselle d’Avignon
Pablo Picasso (1937) Guernica
Georges Seaurat (1885) Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grand Jatte
Henri de Toulous-Lautrec (1892) At the Moulin Rouge
Vincent Van Gogh (1889) Room at Arles
Ford Madox Brown (1851) Seeds and Fruits of English Poetry
Focus through Lighting
Proscenium
Actor-audience relationship
Center areas are stronger than R and L
2. Character closest to audience is more emphatic
3. SR is usually more emphatic than SL
4. DS areas are generally stronger than US
1.
o
Balance
Symmetry suggests equilibrium
2. Sometimes asymmetry can be unsettling
1.
Picturing the acting
Picturization and composition make up STAGING
Some STAGE AREAS are stronger than others
BODY LANGUAGE should support dramatic action
BUSINESS is what the actor handles
MOVEMENT attracts attention
MOVEMENT
Different plays have different requirements
Director should decide if play should be seen or heard
Movement animates play and provides vitality
Movement cannot be artificially imposed
Movement can be weak or strong
Movement can affect perception of LINE
When NOT to Move
Don’t cross on another actor’s line unless you want to
pull focus away from the speaker
Limit a speaking character’s movement while speaking
so as not to detract from the line
Important lines might not be clearly understood if the
actor says them while moving
Don’t permit business while another actor is speaking
unless you want to direct the audience’s attention to
the business
Business & Movement Create Meaning
Spatial relationships (proximity carries meaning)
Kinds of movement (direction conveys meaning)
Business activities (everything a character does has
meaning)
The “stamp of the director” (DON’T indulge)
Staging and Dramatic Action
Communicates director’s understanding of the script
Variety is important to movement
Dramatic action must propel staging choices
Movement should not seem forced or arbitrary
Rehearsal allows directors to “work” scenes to get them
right
Blocking
Functional groundplan is essential
Blocking is director-centered (pre-blocking) or
collaborative (shared with actors) or actor-centered
(time consuming and improvisational)
Use the method that gives the best results
Beginning directors need to use a combination style
Flexibility is the key to success
Patterson’s Blocking Checklist
Are actors empowered
Are the characters fully revealed
Does the staging communicate dramatic action
Is it interesting
Does it sustain the action
Are all areas of the stage used
Is there depth in composition and picturization
Shape the Production
Master the words
Develop tempo and pace
Determined by play’s action – Analagous to heartbeat
Pace is a variety of tempos to keep audience interest
Pace varies from unit to unit
Pace should not be arbitrary
Intensifying the Action
Actors need to play their wants fully
Director must multitask
For actor, rehearsal should go from general to specific
Actors and objectives
Express as an active (transitive) verb
Main action is superobjective
Additional objectives are discovered in each unit
If scene is not working, look at objectives
OBJECTIVES
Must be playable
Actors cannot play verbs of “being”
Actors cannot play the audience’s response (be funny)
Lead actors to translate adjectives, adverbs and nouns
to “actable verbs”
GIVING NOTES
Encourage actors to intensify
Give notes to clarify objectives, wants and goals
At techs, give acting notes separate from tech notes
Making Choices
No right or wrong objectives, only poorly phrased
objectives
Re-examine choices if something doesn’t work
Sometimes progress is slow, sometimes immediate
Lead actors away from INDICATING
Side-coaching can be helpful in intensifying
Polishing rehearsals require a different approach
DISCOVERIES
Actor’s Discovery
Director’s Discovery
Continuity
Storytelling
Connections
Characters & relationships
Clarity
Climaxes
Entrances & exits
Shape
Confidence
Transitions
Relish
Business
Curtain Calls
Tied to tradition and etiquette
Clear break between end of play and bows
Technical and Dress Rehearsals
Allow sufficient time to integrate the physical
production with the acting.