Acting I

Front 1

physical action

Back 1

the actual things a character does on stage. They demonstrate what a character is thinking and feeling as well as make the story clear to an audience.

Front 2

Uta Hagen

Back 2

a famous American acting teacher who played Blanch in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Front 3

spine

Back 3

a term coined by Harold Clurman reffering to the central idea of a play that, like a spine, serves to hold the play together while all other parts are connected to it

Front 4

conflict

Back 4

when two opposing forces collide; the engine that drives all drama; the first element actors must discover about the story they are telling

Front 5

actor's score

Back 5

a map of an actor's role in a play, or the process of developing such a map, composed of the sequential listing of actions and objectives to be played, along with other pertinent information

Front 6

obstacles

Back 6

the things in a scene or a play that keep a character from fulfilling his/her objectives. They provide conflict and heighten the stakes of a situation by creating conflict and upping the risk factor.

Front 7

transitions

Back 7

the actable moments when one objective is given up and replaced with a new one. The transitions occurs when objective is won, lost, or abandoned because of a discovery, an interruption, or the arrival of new information.

Front 8

Stanislavsky

Back 8

the Russian theatre director, actor, and teacher most responsible for the manner and technique in which acting craft is taught

Front 9

given circumstances

Back 9

the who, what, when, and where of a play or scene

Front 10

super-objective

Back 10

the overall need that an actor as character pursues during the course of a play

Front 11

beat

Back 11

the section of a script during which a single objective is played

Front 12

Magic If

Back 12

an acting tool invented by Stanislavsky in which the actor asks, "What would I do if I were the character in this situation?"

Front 13

motivation

Back 13

the reason a character pursues a particular super-objective. The motivation cannot be played directly; rather, it can be used as a detective device to find the need

Front 14

blocking

Back 14

the physical ingredients of storytelling onstage - the movement, gestures, and business

Front 15

objectives

Back 15

the needs an actor playing a character pursues at all times while onstage

Front 16

tactics

Back 16

the specific things an actor as character does to get what he or she needs from another character. These tactics can be quickly replaced by the actor if they prove ineffective

Front 17

subtext

Back 17

the meaning of a line of dialogue in terms of the acting objective being pursued.

Front 18

action

Back 18

the physical or psychological activity an actor usually engages in; the trhoughline of dramatic action in a play

Front 19

stakes

Back 19

what is at risk for the actor as character at any given moment or overall in the play. They make the acting situation more interesting.

Front 20

Lee Strasberg

Back 20

The legendary American acting teacher who developed the "Method."