Issue 52
Acting Camp

Welcome!

This month, I'm teaching a one week Acting Camp for a theatre company. The aim of the camp is to work on acting skills and of course have some fun! Since everyone is heading back to school soon, sooner or soonest, I thought it would be interesting to share the outline with you. Some skill building exercises and some fun make for a great way to start the school year.

In This Issue

• WARM UPS, GAMES, MOVEMENT
  Every day at Camp begins and ends the same way.
• IMPROV
  Improv games based on the day's focus
• DAY ONE: PHYSICAL
  Acting with the body: tableaux, movement, character physicalization
• DAY TWO: VOCAL
  Explore sound, diction, articulation, projection, what characters sound like.
• DAY THREE: CHARACTER
  Creating a character from scratch.
• DAY FOUR: SCENE WORK
  Choosing and working on scenes for the showcase
• DAY FIVE: SHOWCASE
  Showcasing the work done all week!
• STAY CONNECTED
  Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
• FREE RESOURCES
  Some amazing (and free!) resources for drama teachers.
• CONFERENCE ALERT
  Meet us in person.
• IN THE NEXT ISSUE
  What you can expect next.
• STAY IN TOUCH
  How to reach us.

Warm Ups, Games, Movement

Ritual and repetition are important, especially when you're working with a group that you don't know, doesn't know you and don't know each other. Knowing that every day starts in a circle and ends in a circle can be something to hold on to.

And for that reason games are important too. Drama is often criticized for its 'game' element, but there's so much more going on. Team building skills, building confidence, building an ability to think creatively and quickly. This is what theatre games do!

Warm ups and games are also a great way to bring the participants into the world of whatever focus you want the day to have. Throw young performers into a monologue exercise two seconds after they walk in the door, and the results will be scattered because the participants are scattered.

Each day begin with 30 minutes of Warm Ups: Physical and Vocal, Game play, Movement.

Sample Physical/Vocal Exercises

Physical: Move to music. Explode and contract the body. Stretch the body and then stretch individual body parts. Shake the body and then shake individual body parts.

Vocal: Yawn and Chew. Yawn and Chew with sound. Scrunch and expand the face. Buzz the lips. Exhale on a note. Tongue Twisters.

Name Games and Circle Games

These games get participants thinking and interacting. I incorporate a different circle game each day (instead of repeated the same one) and name game variations. Throughout the week, the name games get more and more complicated. Instead of having to remember the name of the person beside them, participants must remember everyone's name. Or everyone's action.

Sample Name Game

Everyone goes around the circle introducing themselves with an accompanying action. (I say Leaping Lindsay – as I jump in the air).

Sample Circle Games

Gesture Grow: The first person in a circle mimes an action. The second repeats the action, making it a little bit bigger. The third repeats the action making it a little bit bigger. And so on.

Who's the leader: One person is chosen as “it” and they are sent from the room. A second person is chosen to lead a sound pattern. The “it” re-enters and stands in the middle of the circle. The job of the leader is to change the pattern without It seeing. The job of It is to find the leader.

Eye Contact Scream: Everyone looks down. On the count of three, everyone looks up and looks another person in the eye. If that person is also looking at you, scream and step out of the circle. The game continues until there is only one person left.

Movement

Because participants have been standing in a circle I also incorporate movement into the opening half hour. This allows participants to let out some energy and have fun with the theatrical aspects of moving.

Sample Movement

• Move about the space and respond to the prompts: form groups of 2, 4, 7 ½

• Walk around leading with your nose, your shoulders, your chest, your knees, your organs!

• Walk around as if in the desert, a wind storm, through Jell-O, through quick dry cement.

Concentration Games

Lastly, participants are brought back to the circle for concentration games. These allow participants to focus and ready themselves for the tasks ahead. Concentration games are much harder to accomplish than circle games so I repeat the same games each day. This gives participants something to work at improving over the course of the week.

Sample Concentration Game

My absolute favourite concentration game is You. It's really hard but also a lot of fun. An excellent listening game. Person one makes eye contact with person two and says You. Person two makes eye contact with person three and says You. This continues on till the pattern makes it back to the first person. Practice this until the pattern is smooth. Once that pattern is under your belts, practise a second pattern, having everyone make eye contact with a different person. Once that's smooth, it's time to get tricky. Start the first pattern, and two beats later start the second pattern.

Once you really get quick, add a second topic such as animals. And then a third such as flowers.

End of the day

Each day ends also with circle time. This allows everyone to come together, review what's happening the next day and end on a fun note.

At the end of the day, the exercises depend on what's been happening in the afternoon. After an intense afternoon creating a character and writing a monologue, improv games are a great choice. If there's been a lot of energetic movement, I go with a visualization.

Rainstorm

This is a lovely visualization.

Everyone sits in a circle. The aim is to re-create a rainstorm. Everyone starts by rubbing their hands together to suggest a light rain. This moves to snapping, then clapping, then slapping the thighs, then everyone stomps their feet on the group. Then move backwards from feet to thighs to clapping to snapping, to rubbing the hands together. When you go backwards take more and more time with the gentler sounds to bring the activity, and the day, to a calm end.

Improv

After the warm ups, there's a half an hour of improv games each day. Really, you can't have an acting camp for youth without including improv. They love it, it makes them happy. Remember the camp is supposed to be fun too!

Because there's a building skills element to the week, I choose games that feed into the day's focus. For example:

Day One – The Physical. Using the body in Acting.

The improv games for today are mostly non verbal, playing with objects, creating tableaux

Sample Games

Photograph: The first person comes up with a location. They enter the space and freeze in a pose that would make sense in a specific location. The second person adds to the picture, freezing in their own pose that would make sense in the location. Everyone adds their own pose to the picture until everyone is involved.

Alphabet Body: The leader calls out different alphabet letters and participants must try to form that letter with their body. After doing a few individually, participants form pairs and try to make the letters together.

The great thing about starting with non-verbal improvs is that participants don't feel the pressure to be improvisational experts able to speak off the cuff. It works well to grow into improv scenes day by day:

Day Two - Sound Improvs: Gibberish Commands, Sound Effects, One Word Story

Day Three - Character Improvs: Taxi Cab, Emotional party

Day Four – Scene Improvs: It's not till here that I include improv scenes based on suggestions.

I use the Encyclopedia of Improv Games as my resource for games. It's the best. The games are divided into numerous categories, and all come with descriptions.

Improv Rules

When including improv, it's important with young performers to lay out some ground rules. It's easy to make mistakes in improv and be judged by those mistakes.

The rules:

• Look at what's happening. Listen to what's happening. (stay in the moment)

• Accept what's happening. (never say no)

• And Love what's happening. (no wrong answers in improv)

Day One: Physical

Day One is all about the physical side of acting. Telling a story with just the body. Using movement. Using the body to show character. Using the body to show an emotion. Actors often forget to act with their bodies and it can be the most powerful tool they have.

The day is broken up the following way:

Physical Exercises

• Warm up games with a specific focus on the physical.

Using the Body to show an emotion

• Show enthusiasm in your eyebrows, your shoulders, your fingers, your knees, your feet

• Come up with a physical pose for an emotion: What happens to the body when you're happy, mad, sad, scared, proud.

Using the body to show environment

• Weather Tableaux. In groups show the weather in a picture pose.

• Entrance and Exits. Show where you've been and where you're going through action

Using the body to tell a story

• Photobooth Tell a story using four pictures Make sure there is a beginning, middle and end.

Using the body to show character

• Participants move about the room varying the space they take up, the speed they move, the weight with which they move. Each time, they form characters who move the way they are moving.

• The leader presents different character types. Participants form poses – how would each character stand?

Projects

Every day of the camp had an afternoon project. The goal of the projects is to build up a repertoire of activities to be used for the showcase on the last day of camp.

First Project – Machine

This is a well worn physical activity but so great for exploring non-human action. We do several variations:

• Create a machine individually

• Create a machine in pairs with a focus on interlocking action.

• Create a machine in groups – have every group member act as a moving part in a well known machine.

• Create a new machine in groups – come up with a machine that everyone needs that hasn't been created

Second Project – Mime Scene

This project brings back into play the physical elements worked on earlier in the day.

• As a group participants work on the step by step process of putting together a scene without words. What are the exact steps in making a sandwich? What's the very first step?

• The group is then divided into smaller teams. Each team comes up with the story they want to tell and who's in the story. Create a snapshot of character poses.

• Next, a three picture tableau of the beginning, middle, end of the story.

• Lastly, add movement to the scene, taking care to show the step by step process.

Projects are presented at the end of day to the group.

Day Two: Vocal

Today the focus is playing with sound and using the voice. There are a lot of skills to using the voice as an actor: an audience has to hear, understand and be interested in what the actor has to say.

It's a good idea to define some of the words used in vocal work. The words articulation, diction and projection are often thrown around in acting classes, but what do they refer to specifically?

Diction: The art of speaking clearly and being understood – correctly pronouncing words for example.

Articulation: The way you speak so that you're clear and understood.

Projection: Being heard.

The day is broken up in the following way:

Vocal Exercises

• Warm up exercises focusing on the voice such as Emotional Orchestra: Divide into small groups. Each group is a section of orchestra and represents a certain emotion. Each section will come up with a series of sounds to show the emotion. Everyone comes together and the orchestra is conducted.

Pitch/Volume/Tempo/Tone/Articulation/Projection

• Speak high/low, loud/soft, fast/slow using Row Row Row Your Boat. Change between each line.

• Sound as Gesture. Using the alphabet as dialogue, 'do' the following things with the voice: bite, throw, chop wood, blow a feather, paint, push a piece of furniture

• In pairs participants have a conversation up close, and then from across the room. What's involved in projecting the voice? What does it take to be heard and understood?

• Tongue Twisters galore. Find challenging twisters and then have participants compete: who can speak them the quickest with the most clarity?
  
  Here's a couple of doozies:

Dorthy Dickenson dutifully dusting
Dainty and diligent, dark and demure
Dusting the dishes and dining room dresser
Dirty dry dust is a deal to endure

She is a thistle sifter, and she has a sieve of sifted thistles and a sieve of unsifted thistles, because she is a thistle sifter.

Six thick thistle sticks (ten times fast!)

Subtext

The way you say dialogue will change depending on the subtext – the underlying meaning. Lots of lines of dialogue say one thing but mean something totally different.

In two lines, participants will walk toward each other and say 'hello' in the following ways:

• it's someone they know a secret about

• someone they really dislike

• someone they'd rather not say hello to

• someone they wish they could talk more to

Oh Jane

In pairs, create a scene where you only have one line – the name of the other person. What's the underlying story?

Vocal Project

The afternoon vocal project for today is Choral Speaking. There are three pieces, each with growing difficulty and each showcasing varying vocal elements.

• Ode to a slice of pizza: unison speaking

• The Stupid Overture: speaking with emotion and in character, using vocal sound effects

• Modern Major General: Gilbert and Sullivan is awesome for articulation and pace

Click here to download these pieces.

At the end of the day each piece is presented to the group.

Day Three: Character

Today the focus is building characters. I think having an interesting character is the most important part of a play. Characters tell the story. The audience always looks for someone to connect to on stage. And playing a great character can be the funnest part of acting.

The day is broken down as follows:

Character Exercises

• Warm up exercises with a character focus such as: Who's Knocking. One person goes outside and knocks on the door in a way that suggests a certain character. Can we guess the character based on the knock?

Character Building – Physical

• Imitation. One participant walks inside the circle, everyone watches how they walk. Another walks behind and imitates the walk. The first person drops out to see what the second is doing. Then the second exaggerates something about the walk. What does that look like? We all walk differently, and when you play a character you want to give them a specific walk.

• Shoulders. The easiest way to create a physical side to a character is to think about the shoulders. Create a confident character. Where are their shoulders? How does it change the way you walk? Create a tense character. Where are their shoulders? Create a shy character. A relaxed character. Choose the one you like the most. Give this character a name, who are they, what do they do? Mingle in the group in character.

Character Building – Vocal

• Specific voices Characters also have specific voices. We're working with four types: confident, relaxed, tense, shy. Thinking about what we did before with voice how would some one confident speak – fast or slow? Everyone mingles as confident characters, speaking first fast then slow. Loud then soft. Do the same for relaxed, tense, and shy.

Character Building – Details

Fairy Tale After:

• Choose a fairy tale character (or a superhero).

• Decide how they move physically and sound vocally.

• Introduce themselves to the group.

• Take the character outside the world of the story. Fairy Tale housework scenario – how does the character clean house?

• Decide on some details, NOT in the story everyone knows. Come up with a secret, a favourite food, least favourite food, most hated song, favourite pet, best birthday present ever, worst birthday present.

• In groups create a scene where one of the new details comes out.

Character Project – Part One

Participants will create a non-human character, creating physical and vocal elements.

• Focus on animals or objects that all exist in the same place (the zoo, the refrigerator, a classroom, a restaurant, a pet store)

• Pick an animal/object and think about their personality. What's their name?

• Create the physical for the character. Come up with a pose. Everyone forms a group tableau.

• Create movement & sound. How would they walk? Talk? Do this even if it's an object. Be creative.

• Come up with a secret they have for themselves, and one they have on someone else.

• In groups, everyone will further solidify who they are by creating a short scene. Everyone talks about who they are. Don't forget the secrets!

Character Project – Part Two

• Based on everything they've come up with, participants will now write a monologue for their character. Half page at the most.

• Monologues will be rehearsed, keeping physical and vocal aspects in mind.

• Monologues will be presented at the end of the day

Day Four: Scene Work

The focus for today is twofold:

• Choosing and working on short scenes to be performed during the showcase. Each participant gets to be in two scenes – a large group scene and then a smaller two-hander scene. The larger scenes are 3-5 minutes in length and the shorter scenes are 1-2 minutes in length.

• Revisiting and rehearsing all projects from the week and deciding which of those will be in the showcase.

As participants rehearse their scenes, bring back the skill work from over the week into the scenes. That's what this all builds up to: using skills to make acting in plays the best it can be. There should be time alloted to:

• do physical and vocal character work

• practice articulation/projection exercises

• improv short scenes in character

Showcases are pretty much a necessary evil. Parents want to see what their children have been up to – it's understandable. And also, participants like having something to work up to. A week is a bit of a time crunch to get things done, but sometimes a time crunch is good. It makes a difference when everyone knows there's only a day and a half to get ready.

Some participants will be able to work quickly on their scenes and others will not. Memorization will come easier to some. While it's essential to take participants to the edge of their abilities, to see what their capable of, pushing harder than necessary just to make the scenes perfect for the parents will damage any and all improvements made over the week.

• Choose scenes that are manageable. Allow participants to find success in a shorter length.

• Have music stands available so that if need be the scenes can be performed as reader's theatre and the lines don't have to be memorized.

• This is a heavy day and it's important to break up the rehearsing with tension breakers. This is supposed to be a fun week. Have improv scenarios at the ready when participants need a release.

Day Five: Showcase

The final day! This day starts out like all the others: warm up, games and movement. Don't change the pattern just because something different and exciting is going to happen at the end. Keep the ritual in place, and allow participants to suggest their favourite games from the week. This will help calm some nerves.

Alternate during the day between the scripted scenes, and the projects from the past week. This will alleviate any boredom that seeps in from having to repeat the scenes over and over. And at any time, take a break, do something fun.

As the leader, it's important to set the emotional example. If you're relaxed but committed to the showcase, then so will the participants. Don't be so relaxed that students think they don't have to try – that's where the committed part comes in. If you're tense, the participants will be tense and they won't enjoy the showcase. They'll already be tense, performing for family is tense. So set the tone.

Set the tone with the audience as well. Let family know that everyone worked very hard but that it's also been a fun experience. Having fun is a good thing.

And that's a great goal to have for the end of the week. Everyone worked hard, everyone had fun.

DOWNLOADS

I used all these references during the week. It's useful for me to have lists at the ready to refer to, so I don't have to rely coming up with something on the spot. My brain doesn't always work that fast!

In this file there is an

• Objects Chart

• Character Chart

• Actions Chart

• Locations Chart

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In the Next Issue

The Great Idea. How do you not only find a great idea for a play, how do you make it theatrical? How do you make it sustainable? How do you turn it into a play? Stay tuned next month!

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