arts

ABC of AM Dram – B

Posted on by Scripts4Stage.com

Amateur Drama tips by Bev Clark

am dram theatre a to z of amateur drama tipsB is for …

BELIEF – believe in yourself and they will believe in you! Self-belief is confidence in your ability but not to the point of being over confident and trying to steal the show. Make your performance honest and truthful – even if it’s a farce or an absurd comedy – because the audience must believe you are real in the character you portray.

BLOCKING – That thing the director does when he or she tells you where to stand and when to move.

DON’T get blocked in or down by blocking. A good director will let the actors find their way around the stage naturally before laying down any firm moves. Of course, the bigger the cast (and set) the more ridged you have to be with your shaping. When to move and when to stand still is very important. Make sure as actors you don’t pace or hover or rock from side to side. Make a move a proper move with purpose – not just for the sake of it.

BODY-LANGUAGE – So important because so often the actor’s words say one thing but their body language is saying something else.

Think about the way your character would sit, stand and walk. Would they move quickly or slowly? Not only does the character determine this but also the mood and emotion as well as the environment they find themselves in, Directors need to be doing useful exercises on movement and characterisation to make the character’s body language as well as their voice believable.

BREATHING – speaking of the Voice, actors need to feel competent that they can sustain their breath enough throughout a performance. It is not just about projection – throwing the voice – but learning how to control the voice in emotion. It is easy for the emotion to take hold and the words to become inaudible. This may be realistic but no good in a performance if a whole speech is lost.

Breathing exercises can help an actor through the emotional roller-coaster of soft and loud and for all those long speeches. Warming up the voice is just as important to an actor as it is to a singer in the same way a dancer wouldn’t go on stage without warming up their limbs.

Bev Clark is a Playwright, Director & Drama adjudicator who has worked all over England in both professional and community theatre. She has been writing drama scripts and directing plays for many years.

Some of her original drama play scripts are published for licencing on Scripts4Stage.com

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A B C of AM Dram – A

A B C Of Am Dram – A

Posted on by Scripts4Stage.com

English: Plymouth : Theatre Royal A view of th...

(Photo credit: Lewis Clarke – Wikipedia)

A B C of AM DRAM

by Bev Clark

So here’s a little run through the alphabet for all those amateur groups planning on putting on a show.

A IS FOR AMATEUR but that doesn’t mean there has to be anything low-grade about your production or your performances. Just because you don’t get paid you can still give a professional performance and be as good and sometimes even better. Remember – the Titanic was built by professionals and the Ark was built by amateurs so believe in success.

A IS FOR AUDIENCE who should always be your first consideration. They are paying to come and support you and they deserve the best you can offer. You may not have the money for elaborate sets and costumes but if they can see you have put hard work and effort in and are enjoying what you do, they will come back again. Make their experience a good one from the time they enter the theatre.

A IS FOR AUDITORIUM Whether it’s a village hall seating a hundred or a state of the art theatre. If it’s a studio space or an outdoor venue the auditorium must allow the audience to be comfortable and to see and hear the performers on the ACTING AREA — which may not be a stage in the traditional proscenium –arch sense. If you are able, think of interesting ways you can present your production by using theatre-in-the round, traverse, thrust or promenade.

A IS FOR ACTION. It is often forgotten that to act comes from action. Quite often directors have their actors sitting opposite each other talking, without considering how boring this can be for an audience to watch. Of course a great script and brilliant actors can captivate an audience without moving but most plays need movement to drive the action of the plot along. Always consider – is the audience going to be entertained or moved by what’s happening in the plot?

Bev Clark is a Playwright, Director & Drama adjudicator who has worked all over England in both professional and community theatre. She has been writing drama scripts and directing plays for many years.

Some of her original drama play scripts are published for licencing on Scripts4Stage.com

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