Acting I Midterm

Front 1

Arena stage

Back 1

a stage surrounded by the audience

Front 2

Audition

Back 2

the process whereby actors are seen and heard by directors during casting

Front 3

Beat

Back 3

smallest unit of meaning that can be clearly communicated to an audience by an actor (slight pause)

Front 4

Blocking

Back 4

the pattern of actor-movement in a play, usually created and guided by the director

Front 5

Block Notation

Back 5

an abbreviated method used by actors, director and stage managers to record the blocking

Front 6

D.S.

Back 6

Downstage

Front 7

U.S.

Back 7

Upstage

Front 8

C.S.

Back 8

Center stage

Front 9

R.

Back 9

Right

Front 10

L.

Back 10

Left

Front 11

X

Back 11

Cross

Front 12

Counter-cross

Back 12

when 2 actors are on opposite sides of the stage before they being the cross; they essentially switch spots

Front 13

Ensemble

Back 13

the group of actors who put a play together; metaphorically, the rapport and shared sense of purpose that binds the group together

Front 14

Emotional/Memory Recall

Back 14

a term created by Konstantin Stanislavski; works with the difficulty of finding a substitution in order to release an emotional moment that is required by the text

Front 15

Given Circumstances

Back 15

the circumstances, events, emotions, thoughts that occur prior to the moment the character enters the stage

Front 16

Green Room

Back 16

a room near the stage where actors may sit comfortably before and after the show, or during scenes they don't appear on stage

Front 17

House

Back 17

portion of the theater where the audience sits

Front 18

Improvisation

Back 18

the act of composing dialogue, movement, sound and/or pantomine extemporaneously

Front 19

Method Acting

Back 19

Stanislavski; taught that the actor must live the life of the character he portrays

Front 20

Mime

Back 20

stylized art of acting without words

Front 21

Objective

Back 21

something aimed at or striven for by the character

Front 22

Super Objective

Back 22

character's overall objective for the play

Front 23

Main Objective

Back 23

the character's objection for the entire scene

Front 24

Immediate Objective

Back 24

the character's objective within the scene

Front 25

Obstacle

Back 25

an obstruction to the character's objective; can be physical, emotional, and/or mental

Front 26

Picking up your cue

Back 26

implies that the actor remove any pauses between the previous actor's line and his/her spoken line

Front 27

Prop.

Back 27

a piece of furniture, or an item, used on stage in a play

Front 28

Proscenium stage

Back 28

the picture frame stage, in which the whole stage is framed by an arch

Front 29

Raked Stage

Back 29

a stage that is tilted toward the audience; with the back part raised

Front 30

Rehearsal

Back 30

the gathering of actors and director to put a play into production

Front 31

Set

Back 31

the fixed (stable) stage scenery

Front 32

Set piece

Back 32

any individual part of the stage scenery; usually a free standing item

Front 33

Stage Business

Back 33

behavior invented by the actor and used in performance to create a sense of characterization apart from the dialogue

Front 34

Konstantin Stanislavsky

Back 34

(1865-1938) Russian director, actor, and teacher; one of the most important theorists of the 20th century theater

Front 35

Thrust stage

Back 35

a stage area without a proscenium (arch) that has the audience on three sides of the stage

Front 36

Unit of action

Back 36

a single dramatic event; contains the character's immediate objective

Front 37

Uta Hagen: Step 1 of 6

Back 37

Who am I?
What is my present state of being?
How do I perceive myself?
What am I wearing?

Front 38

Uta Hagen: Step 2 of 6

Back 38

What are the circumstances?
What time is it? (year/season/day? what time does my selected life begin?)
Where am I? (city/neighborhood/building/room? or what landscape?)
What surrounds me? (immediate landscape/weather/condition of the place & nature of the objects in it?)
What are my immediate circumstances? (what just happened/is happening? what do I expect or plan to happen next/later on?)

Front 39

Uta Hagen: Step 3 of 6

Back 39

What are my relationships?
How do I stand in relation to the circumstances, the place, the objects, and the other people related to my circumstances?

Front 40

Uta Hagen: Step 4 of 6

Back 40

What do I want?
What is my main objective? My immediate need or objective?

Front 41

Uta Hagen: Step 5 of 6

Back 41

What is my obstacle?
What is in the way of what I want?
How do I overcome it?

Front 42

Uta Hagen: Step 6 of 6

Back 42

What do I do to get what I want?
How can I achieve my objective?
What's my behavior?
What are my actions?