Acting Technique

Ensemble Definition A unit or group of complementary parts that contributes to a single effect; all the parts of something considered together and in relation to the whole; the general or total...

All right! You’ve decided on the show your school is going to produce this year. You’ve obtained the performance rights and paid for the royalties. You’ve got the show dates in place, and you’ve...

Spoken word is poetry that is meant to be performed for an audience, rather than just read on a page. Spoken word has a freedom to it. Spoken word poems can use alliteration, rhyme, repetition,...

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays About…Characters you will only find in the theatre. You want unique characters for your students? We got them! Cat hair, archetypes, Shakespearean, and a severed head...

The “show circle” is one of my go-to theatre techniques, no matter whether I’m teaching a drama class or directing a production. Whenever it’s time for class or rehearsal to start, the first words...

Episode 160: Student Voices: Competition The topic this week is competition. Lindsay interviews four groups of students who competed with scenes at the Florida State Thespian Festival. How does...

One thing that often comes up in student writing is that characters only seem to exist from the first page to the last page. Students don’t think of their characters as having lives outside the...

If you want students to learn the elements of a theatre history era, there’s no better way than to study a scene from a play that exemplifies that era. For example, look at the principles of the...

Commedia dell’arte is a style of theatre that was popular in Italy during the 1500’s. It was recognized for being comedic, improvised, and having clear elements: • Stock characters including...

If you are working on a play or musical with a large ensemble, those actors can sometimes feel “less than” the named characters or the leads. I’m just in the ensemble. I don’t matter. You want to...

Uta Hagen held a lot of influence in 20th century American Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in 1938 in Anton Chekov’s The Seagull. She also acted against Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named...

One approach to character development is to identify the difference between what characters want and what they need. Sometimes students get the two mixed up. Which is more important? Do plays...

Characters come to life in the small details, the little things like personal preference, food, or music choices. These two exercises can help student actors discover those details and really get...

Student actors are frequently cast into a role that is totally outside their comfort zone. They might have to portray someone completely different than themselves, with radically different beliefs...

Monologues. The word can send shivers down the spine of the bravest actor! It’s just you up there on stage with all those words. When faced with a monologue, will you sink like a rock or shine like...

As an actor, character research is part of your job. Doing research gives you the foundation and background to help make your character believable to an audience. Research helps you understand a...

Figuring out what your character wants will help you add depth and interest for your character, making them more realistic and believable. A character that doesn’t want anything is a boring...

If you want your students to physicalize their characters, get them thinking about status. What is status?Answer this question for yourself. Write down a couple of different answers yourself, then...