Devising Celebration

S A F E T Y
The practical work involved in devising celebrations requires the occupational health and safety practices associated with the visual and performing arts. Always put safety first.

Worksheets

These worksheets have proven useful for practitioners on a variety of levels. Amongst these would be:

For forging a common vocabulary amongst company members within any given production.
This vocabulary can grow a grammar which can be practiced in rehearsal and tested as a multi-dimensional communication with audience.
For the value of their implicit challenge to theatre-makers to create...!
For their potential to enrich perceptions concerning of artistic agency and degrees of thoughtful creative control that are necessary to communicate ideas, themes, moods, etc.
For their value as a reminder of concepts that we have "forgotten" we "know" ...

Of course, this vocabulary is joined by other terms that can assist people to reflexively yet critically engage their theatre-making as a production praxis. Those terms will emerge from within the group experience and should be a topic for a dialogue that is tested in improvisation and in rehearsal.

So the ways in which you use these documents will vary according to need, purpose, theatre convention or genre... Experiment!

The worksheets are also available for DOWNLOAD as a Word document.

Contents:

Activity statements
Categorisation of form
Worksheet for play analysis
Political-dramatic themes
Laban - Analysis of effort
Stanislavski methods

Activity Statements

Discovering Ideas:

apprehend	attend to	be aware of	be conscious of	collect
compare	conceive of	consider	detect	discern
distinguish	draw upon	encounter	examine	experience
experiment with	explore	feel	fantasise	find
get the idea	grasp	handle	hear	identify
imagine	interview	investigate	know	let
listen	look	make out	notice	observe
perceive	react	recall	recognise	record
respond to	search for	see	sense	smell
survey	taste	touch	undergo	use
view	watch	witness	work with

Transforming Ideas:

adapt	adopt	alter	amplify	change
compose	convert	create	distort	elaborate
enlarge	exaggerate	expand	experiment	express
extend	generate	hypothesise	imagine	improve
improvise	interpret	invent	invite	modify
originate	plan	propose	rearrange	redesign
refine	reorder	represent	reshape	revise
select	shift	simplify	symbolise	test
				try out

Working with Media:

assemble	build	collect	combine	complete
construct	control	devise	do	employ
erect	execute	explore	fashion	form
join	make	manipulate	operate	practice
produce	put together	render	select	shape
test	try out	use

Perceiving and Describing Performance:

account for	analyse	apprehend	attend to	be aware of
be interested in	categorise	classify	compare	differentiate
discern	distinguish	examine	emphasise	encounter
group	identify	look	mention	name
note	notice	observe	pair	point out
recognise	respond	see	select	sense
				view

Interpreting Performance:

ascribe meaning to	attibute meaning to	characterise	cite
declare	determine	disclose	explain
form an opinion	get the idea	give meaning to	generalise
hypothesise	imagine	invent	infer
propose	speculate	suggest	theorise
translate	understand	verify

Judging Performance:

accept	admire	appraise	appreciate	approve
argue	assess	cite	criticise	debate
decide	determine	disapprove	estimate	evaluate
favour	form an opinion	give reason for	justify	like
order	prize	rate	reject	respect
think highly of	weigh

Forms of Unity:

*of CONTINUATION*	*of UNION*	*of COLLECTION*
of Continuation	of Tying	of Grouping
of Expansion	of Binding	of Gathering
of Openness	of Weaving	of Piling
of Dilation	of Joining	of Layering
	of Bracing	of Heaping
	of Matching	of Bundling
	of Stopping	of Tightening
		of Grasping
		of Felting

*of ARRANGEMENT*	*of ENCLOSURE*
of Pairing	of Wrapping
of Distribution	of Enclosing
of Complement	which Surround
of Surfeit	of Encirclement
of Discard	which Hide
of Scattering	which Cover

Forms of Adaptation:

*of FLUIDITY*	*of THE NATURAL*
which Droop	of Natural Things
which Flow	of Inlay
which Swirl	of Firing
which Rotate	of Texture
which Smear	of Impression

Forms of Change:

of *REDUCTION*	by *TWISTING*	of *SEVERING*	of *TRANSFIGUATION*
which Are Rolled	of Twisting	of Tearing	of Simplification
which Are Creased	of Twining	of Chipping	of Difference
which Are Folded	of Dappling	of Splitting	of Disarrangement
of Scoring	of Cumpling	of Cutting	of Dancing
of Bending	of Shavings	of Severing	of Shading
of Shortening		of Dropping	of Open-Work
		of Removing	of Splashing

Forms of Force:

*of SUPPORT*	*of CURVE*
which Support	of Circling
which Hook	of Curve
of Tension	of Curvature
which Suspend	which Rise
which Hang
which Spread

Worksheet for Play Analysis

I. Given Circumstances

A. Environmental facts. Discuss under the following headings:

1. Geographical location, including climate

2. Date: year, season, time of day

3. Economic environment

4. Political environment

5. Social environment

6. Religious environment

B. Previous Action

C. Polar attitudes of the principal characters, both in the beginning and at the ending.

II. Dialogue

A. Choice of words

B. Choice of phrases and sentence structures

C. Choice of images

D. Choice of peculiar characteristics, e.g., dialect

E. The sound of the dialogue

F. Structure of lines and speeches

III. Dramatic Action

A. Titles of the units. Number the units in the scene or play and give a nominative phrase as a title for each unit.

B. Detailed breakdown of the action. Do this before going on to (C) because the verbs will help you do the summarising of the units. Separate the action into numbered units. Express the action in ach line speech) by using the initial of each character followed by a present-tense verb. Example: N pleads, P simpers, M barks with authority.

C. Summary of the action. Summarises the action of each unit by following the number of the unit with a compound sentence expressing reciprocal action. Example: A (present-tense verb) to B and,

B (present-tense verb) to A.

IV. Characters

Treat each character under the following headings:

A. Desire

B. Will

C. Moral stance

D. Decorum

E. Summary list of adjectives

F. Initial character-mood-intensity at the scene-opening expressed as:

1. Heartbeat: rate

2. Perspiration: Heavy, light, etc.

3. Stomach condition

4. Muscle tension

5. Breathing: rate, depth

V. Idea

A. Meaning of the title

B. Philosophical statements in the play: Cite actual quotations

C. Implications of the action

D. For the scene in preparation: Cite its purpose and use in the play

VI. Tempos

After the number of each unit, designate the rate of speed for that unit by using a rate word. Examples: fast, medium slow, largo. Also make a horizontal graph of the tempo re ationships by inserting connecting perpendicular lines to a horizontal line in order to show the peaks and valleys of tempo change.

TEMPOS

UNITS

VII. Moods

After the number of each unit express the mood for that unit in two categories:

A. A list of mood adjectives with one for each of the senses

B. A mood image

Politics

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.	Supplication Deliverance Crime pursued by vengence Vengence taken kindred upon kindred Pursuit Disaster
		7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.	Misfortune or cruelty Revolt Daring enterprise Abduction Enigma Effort ot obtain
				13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.	Hatred of kin Rivalry of Parents Adulterous murder Madness Fatal imprudence Involuntary crime of love
						19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.	Slaying of unrecognised kinsman Self-sacrifice for an ideal Sacrifice of a loved one Everything sacrificed for one passion Necessary sacrifice of loved ones involuntarily Superior and inferior rivalry
								25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.	Adultery Crimes of love Discovery of loved oneâs dishonour Thwarted lovers Loving an enemy Ambition
										31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36.	Wresting against the divinity Mistaken jealousy Error of judgement Remorse Revering of a lost one Losing a loved one

Laban

EFFORT	TEMPO	DIRECTION	DEGREE of WEIGHT
*FLOAT*	Sustained	Flexible	Light
*SLASH*	Sudden	Flexible	Heavy
*GLIDE*	Sustained	Direct	Light
*WRING*	Sustained	Flexible	Heavy
*DAB*	Sudden	Direct	Light
*THRUST*	Sudden	Direct	Heavy
*FLICK*	Sudden	Flexible	Light
*PRESS*	Sustained	Direct	Heavy

Consider: "Certain movements can be considered derivatives of basic actions." (p. 69)

*Basic Action*	*Derivatives*
Float	Strew, Stir, Stroke
Slash	Beat, Throw, Whip
Glide	Smooth, Smear, Smudge
Wring	Pull, Pluck, Stretch
Dab	Pat, Tap, Shake
Thrust	Shove, Punch, Poke
Flick	Flip, Flap, Jerk
Press	Crush, Cut, Squeeze

Consider: "As an experiment... try to pronounce the word "No" to express different shades of meaning... with the following actions, each producing a different sound qua ity and expression." (p. 94)

"No" with a	Floating action	Gentle	Sustained	Flexible
"No" with a	Slashing action	Firm	Sudden	Flexible
"No" with a	Gliding action	Gentle	Sustained	Direct
"No" with a	Wringing action	Firm	Sustained	Flexible
"No" with a	Dabbing action	Gentle	Sudden	Direct
"No" with a	Thrusting action	Firm	Sudden	Direct
"No" with a	Flicking action	Gentle	Sudden	Flexible
"No" with a	Pressing action	Firm	Sustained	Direct

"By accompanying each of these sound expressions with a gesture of the quality indicated, the reader will become aware of the connection between audible and visible movements." (p. 94)

SPACE

Elementary Aspects Needed for the Observation of Bodily Actions

Directions:

left-forward

left

left-backward

forward

backward

right-forward

right

right-backward

Levels:

high

medium

deep

Extensions:

near

small

normal

far

big

Path:

straight - angular - curved

EFFORT

Survey of the Aspects of Weight, time, Space and Flow Needed for the Understanding of Effort

Motion

Effort Elements

Measurable Aspects

Classifiable Aspects

Factors

(fighting)

(yielding)

(objective function)

(movement sensation)

Weight

firm

gentle

Resistance:

strong (or lesser degrees to weak )

Levity:

light (or lesser degrees to heavy )

Time

sudden

sustained

Speed:

quick (or lesser degrees to slow )

Duration:

long (or lesser degrees to short )

Space

direct

flexible

Direction:

straight (or lesser degrees to wavy )

Expansion:

pliant (or lesser degrees to threadlike)

Flow

bound

free

Control:

stopping (or lesser degrees to releasing )

Fluency:

fluid (or lesser degrees to pausing )

Stanislavski-based Rehearsal Methodology

1. Write out a personal history:

A. Born 15 ??

18 ??

19 ??

This personal history must be based on research.

B. Relate your personal history to:

Political - Economic - Social - Cultural factors relating to your time.

Ask yourself:

how have these things affected me?

... if not, then why not? (this is just as important!)

how have these things affected others? Why? What is the difference between us (yourself and other characters) because of these factors?

why to I think/feel/talk the way I do?

C. Allow this material to feed your imagination as you:

claim aspects of your character; and

endow other characters with certain qualities

start to see the world that way;

let go of your own perceptions, ideas, etc., and start to become your character;

start to bring aspects of this into you day-to-day affairs; note the difference between what you think and what your character would think (guard against thinking that you completed this process!)

Listen to others (with your eyes & mind) from the standpoint of your character.

Compare your daily routines to the way your character would deal with them; experiment by altering between yourself and your character in the way that you approach these daily activities... experiment.

2. Keep rough notes on HOW and WHY you have the RELATIONSHIPS that you have with the other characters:

What is your general status?

What is your specific status in a given unit?

Why does it change? Does it change?

What value does a given relationship have for your character?

be specific: friendship, love, family, sexual, lustful but unrequited, commerce, envy of wealth, convenience,

nuisance, elder or youth to elder...? etc., etc.

Has this relationship always had such value/s? If not, why? How did it change? When? Why? What are the consequences of these changes?

What is the dynamic of any given relationship in the source of the play? (make your analysis from unit to unit here)

Compare notes with the other actors. Discuss extensively and argue your position from the evidence of the text and on the basis of your research into time, place, and culture.

3. Approaching the Play:

Get to your "now" of the play... by getting to your "now" of each unit.

Start to play with choices

Can you justify a given choice to serve the intentions of the action?

The Linear Sense... what do "I the character" mean by these lines? These words? Am "I the actor" sure of this judgment?

What is the Objective Sense? Use a dictionary (where you are even slightly unsure of word meanings) ...for what seems obvious - especially for what seems obvious.

What value do I give these words? How do I claim them for me? Or is it, ÎI would never have said that or put it that wayâ... If this is the case, why is that so?

What shape does the speech have? (builds to a point, makes point then explains, etc.)

Find the IMPULSE for:

your words

your physical actions

your behaviour

your silences, and observations

4. Preparation for a Unit or Units:

What is my objective? (be specific: i.e., what do I want to achieve?)

What are the obstacles? (identify them as being internal/external)

What are my actions? (these are linked to your characterâs objectives*)

This is time consuming but necessary. Find one for every line of thought... i.e., "To [active verb]... affect another and/or others."

(NB: Usually the best verbs cue very physical ones).

Use a Thesaurus and/or a Dictionary and build up your list of ACTION words.

Given my specific objective within a unit of action... what is my super-objective? (There should be an inner logic running through to the super-objective).

When these issues are defined... do my objectives give me a "spine" that "stands", of have I twisted the "shape" of my character? (If your answer is the latter then you need to redefine, "realign" your objectives. Your character must be free to "stand", i.e., you "have the right to be here" - irregardless of how other characters (or the audience) see you.

In brief: establish your through-line with great care.

What is the main event of the unit? (make an ACTIVE choice)

How does your character relate to this event?

What is your story in relation to this event?

Within any given unit you should ask yourself (as character):

How did I get here?

Where did I come from?

What time is it? (Does that matter? Be specific!)

Why am I here?

As you travel on your journey through the play distinguish between on-stage & off-stage reality... and recognise that two minutes on-stage could be six months in the lifetime of your character... define/be clear about the plasticity of these on-stage/off-stage moments.

Generally:

Given Circumstances: Who am I?

Where am I

When is it?

What do I want?

How do I get it?

What is in my way?

What is my right to be here?

Respect your fellow actorsâ right to make their own explorations, especially during rehearsal.

There is no need to be solemn backstage. But donât be frivolous... Donât allow your concentration to lapse!! Each actor will have her/his own approach here: Respect one another.

4. On Learning Lines & Stage Directions:

Most serious actors like to get lines down quickly in order to be free of the book and ready to make creative explorations. Dividing the play into units of action allows us to do this reasonably easily.

Each person will learn lines differently (e.g., read, re-read, run them with someone esle, tape them, write them out, paraphrase their meaning, etc.).The main point is to get them securely in your memory and to do this early on in the rehearsal phase so that the company can attend to more important matters relating to their creative interpretation.

It is particularly good to get your lines "reflexed" into your subconscious by running them as you go to sleep, or while you are doing something else like washing the dishes. Thus, even should you "dry" on stage - the fact that your lines have become "reflexed" - you will enable you to have a better chance of clicking into "automatic pilot" in the sense that they will take care of themselves by bubbling to the surface of your consciousness.

© Copyright Charles Sturt University & NSW Department of Education and Training
Informed by original material © Copyright John Fox & Sue Gill (Welfare State International)