Rehearsal Techniques

Rehearsal Techniques

1. Gestus

   • finding the right combination of facial expression, vocal intonation and body language to express the difference between characters

2. role-on-the-wall

   • usually an outline of a person with information inside about the character you are exploring and questions around the outside

3. still image / freeze-frame

   • one person acts as the 'sculptor' and creates 'images' by positioning individuals in relation to one another OR a group creates a still image, building up one actor at a time OR a scene is stopped at a key moment when it is being rehearsed to allow for that point in the scene to be reviewed

4. the magic 'if'

   • actors put themselves in the character's position and talk about how they would respond / what would happen 'if' scenarios occurred

5. hot-seating

   • someone in the 'hot-seat' must answer questions posed by other members of the group while they are in role

6. inner thoughts / thought-tracking

   • while acting a scene, director calls out 'inner thoughts' and the actors explain their thoughts and feelings at that point

7. tension states

   • an actor is given an emotion with which to act out a scene

8. animalisation

   • an actor takes on the characteristics of a specific animal which can affect their physicality and speech e.g. lion, mouse, snake

9. the hand of charisma

   • Actors follow the outstretched hand of a fellow actor. Practices focus and physical control. The hand could also be used to indicate emotion

10. Bamboo Sticks

    • Actors balance a bamboo stick between each other and walk around the space as they rehearse the scene to explore power, status, dominance and tension

11. conscience alley

    • for exploring a dilemma faced by a character, an actor walks between two lines of people, who give different pieces of advice. Once the walking actor has completed the 'alley', they make their decision

12. bigger and bigger

    • actors identify the beats and units (Stanislavski). They act and the director commands 'bigger' and 'bigger'. In response, the actors exaggerate their actions, facial expressions and emotions.

13. repetition

    • Actors study each other and repeat what they observe about each other, e.g. ‘you raised your eyebrow’, ‘I raised my eyebrow’, ‘You took a step back’, ‘I took a step back’… (Sanford Meisner)

14. levels

    • actors explore status, hierarchy and power through their levels during a scene

15. the ladder exercise

    • Actors stand on ladders and move up and down as a scene progresses to convey varying levels of power and status

16. string

    • Similar to bamboo sticks, actors have string tied to their wrists to explore proxemics and stage space as a scene progresses

17. shoaling

    • a group assembles and sets off as one, keeping speed constant. When an obstacle is reached, whole group turns and new leader is the person at the front, with the aim of maintaining fluidity and movement as a group

18. choric speaking

    • One person speaks a line or lines and is recorded. Rest of the group listens to recording and speaks the lines as the first actor does. Aim is for the chorus to sound like one person with many voices, rather than many different people.

19. master and servant

    • Off-text, one character becomes the 'master', giving orders which the other characters must follow, to explore power and relationships as well as vocal pitch, intonant and volume when giving the orders