Transcript
So You Think You Can Direct?Yes, you can!!!
Arts Every Day Presentation
By Professor Kim Morin CSUF 2012
The School Play
• What are some of your memories?
• Were you ever in a play when you were in elementary school?
• Have you ever directed or helped with a school production?
• What impressions do you have of student performances?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrDgucW45dE
Pirates of Grammar IslandBad Wolf Press
First Step – Know Your Stage Terms!
• Downstage
– Toward the audience
• Upstage
– Away from the audience
• Stage Right
– The actor’s right when facing the audience
• Stage Left
– The actor’s left when facing the audience
Stage Positions
Upstage Right Upstage Upstage Left
Stage Right Center Stage Left
Downstage Right
Downstage
Downstage Left
Audience
A Director’s Four Friends
1. Triangles
2. Levels
3. Focus
4. Tableaux
Triangles
• Provide angles
• Add visual interest
Levels
• Add variety
• Enable visibility
• Give importance
– generally highest point draws the eye
FOCUS
• You can break up a line or semi-circle by facing different directions
FOCUS
• Individual vs. Group
– Space
– Movement
– Color
Let’s Try it Out!
• Divide into 4 groups– Spring
– Summer
– Fall
– Winter
• Each group will do a mini Reader’s Theatre staging of their stanza from Sing a Song of Seasons
• Follow the blocking directions at the bottom of the slide
Sing a Song of Seasons
Alice Ellison
It's spring!
Such a hippity, happity, hoppity
First spring day.
Let's play! Let's play! Let's play!
1
Source:
McCaslin, Nellie. "The Possibilities in Poetry," Creative Drama in the Classroom and
Beyond. New York: Addison, Wesley & Longman, Inc. 2000.
Directions: Stand in a straight line
Sing a Song of Seasons
Alice Ellison
It's summer!
Such swingy, swazy, lazy
First hot day.
Let's play! Let's play! Let's play!
2
Source:
McCaslin, Nellie. "The Possibilities in Poetry," Creative Drama in the Classroom and
Beyond. New York: Addison, Wesley & Longman, Inc. 2000.
Directions: Stand in a triangle formation
Sing a Song of Seasons
Alice Ellison
It's fall!
Such a brisky, frisky, crispy
First fall day.
Let's play! Let's play! Let's play!
3
Source:
McCaslin, Nellie. "The Possibilities in Poetry," Creative Drama in the Classroom and
Beyond. New York: Addison, Wesley & Longman, Inc. 2000.
Directions: Use different levels (sitting, standing, etc)
Sing a Song of Seasons
Alice Ellison
It's winter!
Such a blowy, snowy, joy
First winter day.
Let's play! Let's play! Let's play!
4
Source:
McCaslin, Nellie. "The Possibilities in Poetry," Creative Drama in the Classroom and
Beyond. New York: Addison, Wesley & Longman, Inc. 2000.
Directions: All face upstage. Each speaker turns to face the
audience, then turns back when finished.
Tableau Review
1. TURN AND FREEZE - Players stand in a circle facing out. On a count of 1-2-3-Freeze – players turn into the circle and freeze in a pose.
2. COUNT AND FREEZE - Count from 1-5. Players begin in neutral and grow from small to bigger to biggest and freeze on 5.
Work on FOCUS
• Hold the “freeze” like a statue. • Where are the eyes looking? Are they
keeping true to the pose? (no roaming eyes like the Haunted Mansion!)
• Focus may not come right away.• It’s okay to practice!
Create a Tableau
• Individual
– Games from each season
• Partners
– Game from the season of your group
• Small Groups
– Each Season works together as a group
Quick Tableau Checklist
Different Levels- High, Medium, Low
Different Body Shapes- Open/closed
Effective use of physical space/ Able to see everyone
Focus (eye contact) is clear and visible
Emotions shown through body language and facial expressions
Expand to TPT-Tableau/Pantomime/Tableau Scenes
• Each group practices going from their opening tableau to a pantomime of the action, to the ending tableau
– Unison Play
– Share scenes
– Hold the freeze at the end!
Stepping Out of the Action
• Group begins in Tableau
• Group pantomimes an environment
• Group freezes in a tableau
• Speaker steps forward and says lines
• Speaker returns to the group Tableau
• Group resumes the pantomime
• Repeat for each speaker.
Imaging Quick-write Part 1 –
Teacher writes He went down the street. on the board and has S copy it. Then says,
We are going to use our imagination and senses to find out more about this person who went down the street. Close your eyes and silently draw a picture in your mind as I ask you some questions.
Imaging Quick-write Part 3 –
1. Quick-write including as many details as possible.
2. Quick-sketch of the picture from mind’s eye.3. Think-pair-share or small groups discuss
different versions.4. Pantomime different versions.5. Write stories based on what they imagined.6. Great follow-up book – And To Think That I
Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
Imaging Quick-write Part 2 –
We know “He went down the street.” How old was he? (little boy, teenager, grandfather) What time of day was it? (morning, lunchtime, midnight) Where was the street? (city, country, neighborhood?)
What kind of street was it? (paved, dirt, gravel, highway) How did he go? Did he walk, ride a bicycle, drive a car? What was the weather like? What was he wearing? Why did he go down the road? Where was he going? How did he feel?
Now We Are Ready To Stage Our Work!
• Review Stage Positions
• Act out a Reader’s Theatre scene using movement through TPT (Tableau-Pantomime-Tableau)
OR
• Demonstrate “Stepping Out of the Action” using TPT scenes and sentences written from the quick-writes.
Uses Poses to Practice Stage Directions
1.Students spread out on stage in "self space.”
2.Leader calls out a stage Direction.3.Players face that direction on a clap or
other signal.
Next step: Players cross four steps in the direction that is called out and Freeze facing that students used to locomotor movements)
Stage Positions
Audience
Sing a Song of Seasons
Reader’s Theatre Resource
Reader’s Theatre Resource
Resources:
– Santa Maria Bonita School District Reading Resources for Houghton Mifflin http://www.smbsd.org/page.cfm?p=2413
– Bad Wolf Press http://www.badwolfpress.com/– Examples of BWP on
YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBF21511427433CF7
– Jazz Chant Fairy Tales by Carolyn Graham– Multicultural Folktales for the Feltboard and Reader’s
Theatre by Judy Sierra
And me of course! kimm@csufresno.edu
Yes, You Can Be a Director
• Join the fun!
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