Learning to prepare an artistic work for performance takes practice, and we have the perfect resources to build those skills.  Duet scenes, whether on the stage or in the classroom, create a unique connection that invites a pair of actors to respond directly to each other’s meaning and intent.  These duet scenes are perfect for Thespian festivals, forensic competitions, and classroom work on scene and character development.

Scene study involves actors taking a specific scene from a movie, television or play and working on it in front of an acting instructor or a group of peers.  The goal is to receive specific constructive feedback that helps the actor improve their craft and their abilities in specific roles. Scene Study is a way for actors to continually work on their craft and discover their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a great way to take all the exercises and techniques they have learned to create characters, connect to the emotions of the part, and fight for what they need and put them into a performance.

Blocking 

So, how do you make the blocking good?

Suggestion One:  Work on angles and triangles.  In most blocking, there is too much back and forth and not enough up and down.

Suggestion Two:  If you are working on a proscenium stage, don’t be afraid to let actors who are not the moment’s focus have their backs to the audience.  For a bit.  It’s not illegal.

Suggestion Three:  Actors who are playing to another actor should have their feet pointed directly at that actor.  Amateurish blocking has everybody facing front, which was fine for the 18th century.

Suggestion Four:  Do you have the lead actors “eating the stage”?  An actor playing a leading role should have been everywhere on the set before the play is over.  Did she sit on the stairs?  Did she ever get down on the floor?  Has she been in every chair the set provides?  Use what you’ve got.

Suggestion Five:  This might even be a rule.  Make sure that sometimes more than one actor is moving at a time.  Otherwise, you have:  I move, then he moves, then she moves — which is the kindergarten of blocking.

Suggestion Six:  Don’t always have the actor move off the end of the line.  Sometimes move them in the middle of the line.  Otherwise, it’s stilted.

Suggestion Seven:  Watch dance.  Watch ballet.  They have much to teach us about movement.

Fortunately for anyone who now thinks to themselves, “Well, I’m not good at memorizing anything,” your brain is a muscle and can be trained. Your brain memorizes information in four steps: attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Scene study involves actors taking a specific scene from a movie, television or play and working on it in front of an acting instructor or a group of peers.  The goal is to receive specific constructive feedback that helps the actor improve their craft and their abilities in specific roles. Scene Study is a way for actors to continually work on their craft and discover their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a great way to take all the exercises and techniques they have learned to create characters, connect to the emotions of the part, and fight for what they need and put them into a performance.”

Thespian- Another word for an actor or an actress. 

Scene Study- Working on a scene with a partner or alone so that you learn the scene and improve your craft. 

Acting Instructor- The theatre teacher 

Techniques- Different strategies that you can use to improve your acting skills and keep the audience entertained. 

Characters- The people, animals, and other things in a play that speak. 

Performance- Presenting a scene or a show in front of an audience, sometimes on a stage. 

Blocking- The movement patterns of a show, where each character moves when he/she speaks. 

Proscenium- The frame or arch separating the stage from the audience with a curtain, through which the action of a play is viewed.

Audience- The place in the theatre where the people watch to play or scene from. 

Set- The building, furniture, and scenery constructed on the stage that the actors perform in and on during a show. 

Lines- The dialogue that each character speaks during the show. 

So, how do you make the blocking good?

Suggestion One:  Work on angles and triangles.  In most blocking, there is too much back and forth and not enough up and down.

Suggestion Two:  If you are working on a proscenium stage, don’t be afraid to let actors who are not the moment’s focus have their backs to the audience.  For a bit.  It’s not illegal.

Suggestion Three:  Actors who are playing to another actor should have their feet pointed directly at that actor.  Amateurish blocking has everybody facing front, which was fine for the 18th century.

Suggestion Four:  Do you have the lead actors “eating the stage”?  An actor playing a leading role should have been everywhere on the set before the play is over.  Did she sit on the stairs?  Did she ever get down on the floor?  Has she been in every chair the set provides?  Use what you’ve got.

Suggestion Five:  This might even be a rule.  Make sure that sometimes more than one actor is moving at a time.  Otherwise, you have:  I move, then he moves, then she moves — which is the kindergarten of blocking.

Suggestion Six:  Don’t always have the actor move off the end of the line.  Sometimes move them in the middle of the line.  Otherwise, it’s stilted.

Suggestion Seven:  Watch dance.  Watch ballet.  They have much to teach us about movement.“

Learning to prepare an artistic work for performance takes practice, and we have the perfect resources to build those skills.  Duet scenes, whether on the stage or in the classroom, create a unique connection that invites a pair of actors to respond directly to each other’s meaning and intent.  These duet scenes are perfect for Thespian festivals, forensic competitions, and classroom work on scene and character development.”

Blooms Questions: 
Remembering- Where are duet scenes good to be performed at?

Applying- How would you go about a duet scene?

Creating- What duet scene would you do if given the choice?

Analyzing- How is a duet scene similar to and different from a monologue? 

Fortunately for anyone who now thinks to themselves, “Well, I’m not good at memorizing anything,” your brain is a muscle and can be trained. Your brain memorizes information in four steps: attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval.”

Cloze Passage:
“___________

Fortunately for anyone who now _____ to themselves, “Well, I’m not _____ at memorizing anything,” your ______ is a muscle and can be _______. Your brain memorizes _______ in four steps: attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval.”

Word Bank:
Brain, Memorization, Trained, Good, Thinks, Information 

Book:

Acting One

By: Robert Cohen