HOT IDEAS FOR CLASS OPENINGS:

1. Get a bottle of bubbles. Hand out slips of paper that say: bubble catcher or observer or observer
of observers. When all of the students have arrived and been able to have a moment to follow
their slip of paper, use the activity to introduce a lesson on: different styles (how were the bubbles
caught?), participation vs. observation (role of the audience, role of a minor character),
action/reaction (motivation for response) etc.

2. Give out numbers as the students enter the room. Each number will match a picture of characters
with varying ages and occupations posted on the walls. Students will go to the pictures and write
something about the character. Use music to tell them when to move—play it while they are
writing; when it stops they are to go to the next picture. You may have them do a handful of
pictures or all of them as time permits. You may have them go back to the original person and
recreate that character in an improv.

3. Create a maze at the entrance of the room that keeps the students from seeing the other end.
(Use a sheet, curtain or flat.) Move all the desks/chairs to allow for a large area and as each
student exits the maze have them add on to the obstacles. By the time the final student arrives, all
the students have created a “machine” to use to introduce ensemble. Use music or a mix in the
background and have a sidebar about the tempo and how it effects their choices as they add on.

4. Cut an index card into two pieces tat cannot be matched except with the original other half. As
students enter have them draw a card and then search for the “perfect match.” When everyone is
paired, give the assignment that requires working in pairs.

5. Make cards with the name of an object in the room. Give a card to each student as they enter.
Have them create an overview, front, side and rear view of the object, to scale, as an exercise for
tech. These drawings can be used as templates for renderings, at a later date.

6. Vary the scavenger hunt theme: as students enter, give each a handout that requires them to
perform a variety of activities in each area of the stage. (The sequence of activities should vary.)
Have the room divided into these areas and assign the first student to sign off on the handouts
when jobs are completed. (EX- Whistle the school fight song DR) This activity tests knowledge of
stage areas and actor positions. Variation: Work in pairs with each verifying the other.

7. Provide safety pins for each student as they enter. Have them draw a dialect you have studied, a
character from a play seen or read, a character to improv, etc. They will adopt this role for the
duration of the class period or whatever length of time you set. When instruction is given to begin,
students may claim the pin of anyone who drops the dialect or character. At the end, recognize the
student with the most pins. Be sure the lesson allows for all students to interact. Breaks of
character could be physical as well as vocal, depending on the focus of the lesson.

8. Cut a square into geometric shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles). Give each student a puzzle
piece as they enter. Keep the groups to a manageable number by cutting several puzzles, each
from a different color of paper. Students may not talk or touch other puzzle pieces. Reward the
group that solves their puzzle first. Use to introduce the concept of sharing on stage,
communicating, ensemble work, etc. An extension can occur when a group finishes first, separates
and helps other groups without taking or talking. This can be used as an example of the
interdependence of parts of theatre.

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 Theatre Arts Energizers
Texas Middle School Association Convention, February 1996
Presented by Michelle Jett, Bailey Middle School, Austin I.S.D.

WARM-UP ACTIVITIES
OBJECTIVE: prepare the students to perform, allow each student to lead the class, enhance learning,
spark creativity, and allow the teacher time to check roll and do necessary beginning of class paper
work.

ACTIVITY: Warm-ups are done at the very beginning of class each day. For full year classes, assign
each student a week that they will lead warm-ups. Write this in a chart and post it in the classroom.
Teach how to do warm-ups for the first week or two and add new warm-ups after covering it in class
during the year. For example; while teaching improvisation do an activity (like freeze) and inform the
class that they can now due it for a warm-up. Each day of the week is assigned a different type of
warm-up that the student leader may choose from:

Monday: Stretching exercises

Tuesday: Full Class Games
Wednesday: Full Class Warm-ups
Thursday: Performer / Audience
Friday: Leader’s choice

FULL CLASS GAMES

LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS
OBJECTIVE: To control the body, to react quickly, to create energy.
GOAL: To avoid being the only person without a chair.
ACTIVITY:
Have everyone sit in chairs in a circle with an "it" in the center. Each person is assigned a "lion, tiger,
or bear." "It" calls out "Lion, Tiger, Bear, or Zoo." If "it" calls out lions, all lions run to find a vacated seat
including the "it." If he calls out Zoo, everyone must get up and find a new seat at least 2 chairs away.
Person left out is the new "it."

DARLING IF YOU LOVE ME, SMILE

OBJECTIVE: To control the body, to stay in character, to focus
GOAL: To not smile or laugh
ACTIVITY:
1. Have everyone sit or stand in a circle with an "it" in the center.
2. The "it" will go up to a "person" in the circle and say "Darling, if you love me smile." three times.
They may use vocal, facial, and body expressions (as long as it is "G" rated) as they say it. The "it"
may not touch the "person" in any way. The "person must look at the "it" without covering their mouth.
3. The "person" will respond by saying, "Darling, I love you but I just can't smile." If the "person" laughs
or smiles they become the new "it." If they do not, the "it" must try again.

YES CIRCLE
OBJECTIVE: Warm up and quick reactions
GOAL: To think and move before someone takes your place
ACTIVITY:
Have all students stand in a circle. One person starts by saying "yes" and pointing to someone in the
circle. Then they walk directly towards that person. The new person must then say "yes," point, and
move before the original person gets to his place.
VARIATION: choose a category instead of just saying "yes" Ex. colors, colleges, lines from the play

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ZOOM IRK
OBJECTIVE: To listen and respond without hesitation, and to react spontaneously
GOAL: To avoid messing up and ending in the mush pot
ACTIVITY:
Actors sit in a circle facing center. One person starts by saying zoom to the person next to him. That
person says so on to the next person as quickly as possible keeping the established rhythm going. To
change the direction of the zoom, a person may say irk. to skip the next person a player may make an
explosion sound. You are out if you change the rhythm, say the wrong word, hesitate, or pass the
wrong direction.

MURDER
OBJECTIVE: To communicate non-verbally, to concentrate, to become aware
GOAL: To figure out who the murderer is before getting killed
ACTIVITY:
Actors sit in a circle facing in. Everyone closes their eyes while the leader picks the Murderer.
Everyone opens their eyes. The murder kills people by winking at them. If you are winked at, you must
do an elaborate death and lay down. The others are trying to figure out who the murderer is. If you
think you know, raise, your hand and tell the leader. If you guess wrong, you are dead.

SHUFFLE YOUR BOOTIE

OBJECTIVE: To have a seat to sit in
GOAL: To control the body, to react quickly and to energize
ACTIVITY:
Arrange chairs (2-4 extra than students) in a very tight circle. The “it” stands in the middle and says,
“Hi, I’m ______.” The students in the circle say, “Hi ______.” The “it” says, “shuffle your bootie.” The
students in the circle start scooting around clockwise trying not to leave space between anyone. The
“it” tries to sit down in the moving circle. The person the “it” sits in front of becomes the new “it.”

FULL CLASS WARM UPS

OBJECTIVES: To prepare all actors to perform, loosen up, and relax

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

ACTIVITY:
Students sing “Singin’ in the rain. . .” Leader says “Thumbs up” while holding thumbs up, then
everyone repeats it. Repeat all, Leader adds a body part each time the song is sung. "Elbows back",
"Knees bent", "Knees together", "toes too", "Butt out", "Chest out", "Head back", "Tongue out."

HOKEY POKEY
You know this one. If you don't, go roller-skating.
RELAXATION
Have students lie on their backs while the leader tells them to relax each body part, one at a time.

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 ARISTOTLE’S ELEMENTS OF THEATRE
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher who described the elements of theatre in
The Poetics.

I. All drama should:

A. Have dramatic conflict. This can be conflict between people, between individuals
and an outside force or conflict within a person.
B. Have a beginning, middle and an end.
C. Be purposeful, organized to evoke a specific response from the audience.
D. Be complete and self-contained, having everything necessary for understanding.
E. Have dramatic action that is:
1. Varied.
2. Engaging and able to maintain the interest of the audience.
3. Probable. – All elements should be logical and consistent.

II. The elements of theatre provide the structure for drama. By Aristotle’s ranking, the
elements from most to least important are:
A. PLOT – The overall structure of the play.
1. Initial incident – the first important event that starts the plot moving. (Includes
plot and character exposition.)
2. Rising action – the series of events following the initial incident, leads to the
climax.
3. Climax – the turning point of the action; the moment that determines the
outcome of the conflict.
4. Falling action – the series of events following the climax.
5. Conclusion (resolution or denouement) – the end of the play; must be the
logical outcome of all that has gone before.

B. CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION – The playwright’s means of showing the

difference between persons.
1. The levels of characterization are:
a. Physical
b. Social (relationships)
c. Psychological
d. Moral
2. Character traits are revealed through:
a. Descriptions in stage directions, prefaces, and other explanatory material.
b. What the character says.
c. What the character does – actions.
d. What other characters say about the character.

C. THOUGHT – The theme or over-all meaning of the play.

1. Theme is present in all plays, even the most lighthearted.
2. This is the specific idea that gives unity and purpose to everything that happens
in the play.
3. Theme should not be confused with a moral.

D. DIALOGUE – Diction or language is the playwright’s primary means of expression.

1. The dialogue serves the following purposes:

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 a. To impart information about the story, setting and characters.
b. To direct attention to important plot elements.
c. To reveal the theme.
d. To establish tone or mood, tempo and rhythm.
2. The language in a play must be appropriate to the characters, the situation, the
time period, the levels of probability and the genre of the play.

E. MELODY or RHYTHM (MUSIC) – All patterned sound and its tempo. Rhythm is an
important ingredient in every production and can serve the following functions:
1. Establish mood and enhance expectations.
2. Establish the level of probability.
3. Condense or speed up characterization and exposition.
4. Lend variety.
5. Give pleasure for its beauty alone.

F. SPECTACLE – All the visual elements of a production such as the movement and
spatial relations of the characters, the lighting, scenery, costumes, makeup,
properties, and special effects. Spectacle can serve the following purposes:
1. Provide information about setting and background for the action.
2. Aid establishment of character.
3. Set mood and atmosphere.

PLAY REVIEW

One Play Review due for each grading period. The due dates will be:

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 1st____________________________ 2 nd ___________________________

3rd____________________________ 4 th ___________________________

Your play reviews should be written in ESSAY FORM and include the following information:

Paragraph I - General Information

Play title and playwright

Location and date you saw the play
The Setting – place, time, atmosphere/mood of the play
The Characters – List and tell something about each of the major characters.

Paragraph II The Plot – Identify the following:

The Initial Incident

Rising Action, 3 to 4 instances
Climax
Falling Action
Conclusion

Paragraph III Theme(s) - discuss the theme in depth. Support your choices with
evidence from the plays.

Paragraph IV Production Elements - Discuss the effectiveness of the following:

Set
Costumes
Makeup
Lighting
Sound

Paragraph V Give your opinion of the actors’ performances and your over-all impression of
the play.

You may Review:

Any live play you see while enrolled in this class.
A movie based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play. (See list.)

~~Type or write in blue or black ink and only use the front side of the paper.~

SCENE CUTTING
Cover Sheet

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Please answer the following questions. You must type this report on your own paper. Remember to
enclose two copies of your proposed scene. Do NOT staple these together.

1. Play Title: ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Playwright: ____________________________________________________________________________

3. Play Publisher: _________________________________________________________________________

4. This scene includes: Page ____________________ to Page # ______________________

5. Which characters are involved?(describe them in age, looks, personality, mood etc.)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which character is your favorite? Why? __________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Why did you choose this particular scene? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is happening in the scene you have picked? ______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Would you recommend this play to anyone to read? Why or Why not?___________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Could this play be produced on the high school stage? Why or Why not? ________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

THE STAGE
apron - part of the stage projecting past the curtain line toward
the audience.
backstage - area that the audience cannot see; off.

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 centerstage - middle portion of the stage area.

curtain line - imaginary line on the stage below the grand drape.

downstage, down - portion of the stage closest to the audience; toward the
audience.
house - the audience; place where the audience sits; front, out
front.
left, stage left - actor's left when facing the audience.

proscenium - permanent framed opening through which the

audience sees a play.
right, stage right - actor's right when facing the audience.

stage - part of the theater where actors perform; acting area,

boards, deck, on, playing area.
theatre in the round - theatre facility where the audience surrounds the stage
on the all sides; arena stage.
thrust stage - stage that extends well past the proscenium arch so
that the audience surrounds it on three sides.

up, upstage - portion of the stage farthest from the audience; away
from the audience.

wings - backstage area on either side of the stage.

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 BLOCKING GUIDELINES

1. BLOCKING is the basic movement of the actor.

2. Make turns toward the audience.

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3. When two people are walking together, the upstage actor should be slightly ahead.

4. Make a cross with the foot nearest your destination (usually the upstage foot).

5. Cross in front of another actor when you are speaking.

6. Avoid moving when another actor is speaking.

7. Don't establish eye contact with the audience.

8. Avoid standing directly behind another actor. It is the upstage actor's responsibility to
move unless he is seated.

9. Use the upstage hand for props and-gestures.

10. Don't upstage another actor.

11. Drama is life. If something falls, pick it up.

12. To open to the audience is to face them. The more open the character's position, the
more attention he receives. Usually full front more emphatic, followed by one quarter
profile, three quarter, and full back.

13. During the course of the scene use as much of the stage as possible. Use the depth
(up and down stage) as well as the width (right and left).

14. Dominant (most important) - position should be considered when blocking a scene. A
standing position is usually more dominant than a sitting position; sitting is more
emphatic than lying.

15. Plan purposeful movement. Know the motivating desire of the character and his
objective (what he expects to accomplish) with the scene.

16. Avoid straight lines on stage; unless characters are marching, this is unnatural.

17. The actor speaking dominates unless there is movement on stage.

18. Down center strongest area of the stage. Use for emphasis.

19. The higher level a character is on, the more attention he/she receives.

20. Remember, variety in positioning movement, use of stage and character function is
the key to an interesting scene.

* ALSO, REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE YOUR SCRIPT AND A PENCIL

WHEN PRACTICING YOUR SCENE.
STAGE PICTURES – DIRECTING ASSIGNMENT
Plan 5-6 stage pictures that will tell a story. You will compose these pictures using 3-5 of your
classmates as the actors. Determine whether the actors needs to be a male, female or can be
either one. You will tell your cast where to be on stage (UR, DL, C, DC, etc), actor position

7-10
(full-front, profile L, etc.). You will also tell them how to position their bodies (standing, sitting,
kneeling, lying, leaning, etc.), and other needed information such as hands on hips, reaching
to the left with your right hand, left hand over mouth, head bowed, etc. Use the chart below to
record your pictures. Prepare to use stage terms to move your actors from one picture to
another.

ACTOR NAME STAGE AREA ACTOR POSITION BODY POSITION ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(M1, M2, F1, F2) (DR,UC,DL,RC) (ff,1/4R, profL,3/4L, fb) (sit, stand, kneel) (head, arm, hand, leg, foot positions)

PANTOMIME
What is pantomime? Pantomime is acting without talking.

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 The word pantomime comes from the Greek word pantominios
which means “all” “imitator” or imitate all.

Why study pantomime? The study of pantomime helps the performer develop a very
powerful tool, the human body.

Is pantomime important? The language of action is universal. A smile means the same thing
everywhere in the world. Pantomime is not limited by language
barriers. Because actors are seen before being heard or
understood, the art of acting without speech is the first phase of
acting training. On stage especially, actions speak louder than
words.

What is the history

of pantomime? Pantomime is the oldest means of dramatic expression. Early man
imitated the significant events in their lives after those events took
place. Successful hunts, victorious battles and responses to earth
quenching rains were typical of the events acted out within a circle
of viewers. The first actors began to pantomime, dance and chant
their hopes for future events. In ancient Rome, pantomime
performances were interspersed between longer plays. Elizabethan
period pantomimes were called “dumb shows” and were very
popular with audiences. The popularity of silent movies was partly
due to the skill of Charlie Chaplin, a great pantomimist. In the
1950’s, a French mime artist, Marcel Marceau, made the art of
classic mime popular world wide. Marceau calls pantomime “the
language of the heart.”

Principles of Pantomime

1. The chest is the key to bodily movement. Positive emotions such as love, honor, pride,
courage and sympathy expand the body and tend toward a high chest and head, free
movement, broad gestures, and animated features. Negative emotions such as hate,

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 greed, fear, and suffering contract the body and tend toward a shrunken chest, tense
movements, restricted gestures, and drawn facial features.
2. Make all gestures with the upstage arm whenever possible. Avoid any tendency to cover
the face while expressing an emotion.
3. Always keep the audience in mind and direct the actions to them.
4. All movement should be clearly motivated.
5. Use the posture and movements that are expected of the character you are representing.
Acquainting ourselves with other postures is like using other dialects. It helps us to
improve our own posture.
6. To create the illusion of an object in pantomime we must use it. Creating an object in
pantomime requires several steps. Using all four steps below helps us to cleanly,
believably create objects that the audience can “see.”
*Visualize the object. See it in your mind.
*Approach the object. Move toward it.
*Take the object. Make contact with the object. Tell the audience its location, size,
shape, weight, etc.
*Release the object. Take your hand away from the object – let go.
7. Concentrate!!
8. Practice! Practice! Practice!!!
Begin your pantomime performance by standing down center, facing the audience. State your
title clearly and distinctly and follow by bowing only your head. Perform you pantomime,
keeping in mind the above guidelines. End your pantomime by returning to down center and
bow your head again.
DOs and DON’Ts
DO exaggerate facial expression.
DO show the shape, size, weight, etc. of objects.
DO focus fully on the task.
DO show the audience who you are, where you are and what is happening.
DO plan a beginning, middle and end to the pantomime.
DO include conflict or a problem in your pantomime.
DON’T mouth words.
DON’T make any noise or props
DON’T include any body contact.
DON’T include any violence, weapons, or inappropriateness in your pantomime.
Names _____________________________________________________________________

Theatre Arts I Period ________ Date __________ Title __________________________

DUET PANTOMIME PLANNING SHEET

Performance criteria:
1. The audience should be able to tell who you are, where you are, and what you are doing.
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2. Your scene should be complete, having a beginning, a middle, and an end. There must
be a conflict that is resolved -- after the rising action -- happily or unhappily.
3. The two parts should be equal in importance and size.
4. Every movement should be motivated and clear to the audience.
5. Use concentration, sensory recall and emotional recall to make your performance
believable.
6. Plan and rehearse the action in your scene so that you react to each other, work well
together and give and take the scene.

I. Who will you be?

Describe character 1 played by ________________________

Describe character 2 played by ________________________

II. Where will your scene take place?

_____________________________________________
Draw a bird’s eye view diagram of your “set” below. Place doors, furniture, trees, cars,
etc.

III. List, by character, the emotions you will portray, the objects you will establish and the
sensory reactions you will display.

Emotions Objects Senses

Character 1

Character 2

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IV. Outline the action in your scene:
Opening (exposition – How will you tell the audience who, where, what, etc.?)

Conflict or problem

Rising action – Plan at least 3 ways the problem gets worse, more complicated or
extends.

Conclusion or Resolution

VOCAL WARM UPS

Trinidad, and the big Mississippi
And the town Honolulu
And the Lake Tee-tee-ka-ka.
The Popatatapital is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico.
Canada, Monogull, Remedy, Bremecy,
Canada, Monogull, Remedy, Bremecy,
Canada, Monogull, Remedy, Bremecy.
Yes, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet.

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Nagasaki, Yokahama, Nagasaki, Yokahama.
Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet -- Trinidad

To sit in solemn silence on a dull, dark dock

In a pestilential prison with a life long lock
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.
A big black block, a short, sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.
(from The Mikado by W. S. Gilbert)

What a tadoo to die today at a minute or two ‘till two.

A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do.
We’ll beat a tatoo at twenty ‘till two and a rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat two.
And the dragon will come when he hears the drum
At a minute or two ‘till two today,
At a minute or two ‘till two.

Fat black bucks in a wine barrel room

Barrel house kings with feet unstable
Sagged and reeled and pounded on the table.
Pounded on the table.
Beat an empty barrel with the handle of a broom,
Hard as they were able.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a silk umbrella and the handle of a broom.
Boom – lay, boom - lay, boom - lay boom!
from “The Congo” by Vachel Linsay

Moses supposes his toeses are roses,but Moses supposes erroneously.

For Moses he knowes his toes aren’t roses, as Moses supposes his toeses to be.

Biggity, baggity, bacon and beans,

A bucket of butter, a basket of greens,
A bottle for baby, some berries for Bess,
And a big block of beef for big brother Jess.

A tutor who tooted the flute

Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
“Is it harder to toot
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter

But said she, “This butter’s bitter.
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better.”
So Betty bought a bit of better butter
(Much better than the bitter butter)
And it made her batter better.

A fly and a flea in a flue

Were imprisoned so what could they do?

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Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
“Let us fly!” said the flea.
And they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Whether the weather be fine

Or whether the weather be hot,
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be not,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.

Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter,

In sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles,
Thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.
See that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles
Thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.

Jiggle it a little. It’ll open. Jiggle it a little. It’ll open.

Ten tiny toddling tots testily trying to train their tongues to trill.

A big black bug bit a big black bear.

Better buy the bigger rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Fine art is that in which the hand, the head and the heart go together.

What whim led Whitey Whitney to whisper, whimper, whittle and whistle?

Aluminum, Linoleum, Aluminum, Linoleum, Aluminum, Linoleum.

Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat.

Red leather, Yellow leather; Red leather, Yellow leather;

Red leather, Yellow leather.

Synonym, Cinnamon, Synonym, Cinnamon.

Unique New York, Unique New York, Unique New York,

Blue glass fruit bowl. Blue glass fruit bowl. Blue glass fruit bowl.

The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us.

Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

She says such shabbily sewed seams show seriously.

The sixth sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

Did you see Peter Piper’s puppy peeping playfully?

Sinful Caesar sipped his snifter, seized his knee and sneezed.

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Shy Sarah saw six Swiss wristwatches.

The old cold scold sold the school coal scuttle.

HOT IDEAS FOR VOCALS:

1. Prepare a list of consonants with some capitalized and some lower case. Have the students work in
pairs to monitor each other and work to voice capital sounds and whisper the lower case sounds.
Divide them by staccato and legato sounds as well to make the exercise more playful.

2. For a gibberish exercise, choose two vowel sounds and two consonant sounds to use exclusively in
your language game. Play them together in a variety of blends and rhythms in the warm up.
Avoid singing but work to be aware of vocal range in the speaking voice.

3. Take a word that is onomatopoetic and play with it. Break each word into its sounds, focusing on
where the sound is created in the mouth. Use a new breath for each letter/sound. Pick up speed
and then separate each letter/sound while using the same breath. Ex: S-P-L-A-SH

4. Do breathing exercises on the floor lying on the back. This position allows for the actor to be the
most tension free and most receptive to sounds.

5. Open your nose by closing off one side and breathing 5-6 short, quick sniffs through the other.
Exhale with ffff through the mouth. Repeat on the other side and then repeat the entire process
several times. Close off one side and hum. Repeat on the other side. Repeat the entire process,
changing the pitch with ascending notes. Wrinkle the nose and hum at the wrinkle. Change the
sound to a mee-mee-mee, aim it at the wrinkle. The sound comes through the nose, not the
mouth. Make a high pitched mee-mee sound with your mouth that goes through the nose. Focus
on sound placement. Relax and shake out.

6. Take a picture word: stone, butterfly, river, sparks, brick, etc. See the picture of the word in your
mind and focus on the feelings that respond to the image. Let the feelings choose the sound to
express the image. Repeat the word with the emotion of the word expressed in the sound.

7. Have the students write their own tongue twisters. The class can choose the five or six they like
the best or that provide the best “work out.”

8. Use the relaxation and warm up activities after using the voice as a cool down. This works like a
massage for a boxer after a fight.

The ACTOR’S TOOLS

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 Flexibility
Projection

Articulation

Energy
Inflection

VOICE

Movement BODY

Melody/Rhythm

MIND
Creativity

Knowledge
EMOTION
Imagination

Mary Ann Fletcher

GOALS FOR A BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE

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 STAY VISIBLE TO THE AUDIENCE.

Stay open, in one quarter or full front when possible.

Turn toward the audience when moving on stage.

Gesture with the upstage hand.

When two actors cross the stage together, the downstage actor
should trail slightly behind.

 ENGAGE YOURSELF FULLY IN THE SCENE.

Concentrate fully on the scene situation.

Focus completely on your character’s thoughts and feeling so

that you cannot be distracted.

 INVEST ALL OF YOUR ENERGY IN YOUR PERFORMANCE.

Express vitality and excitement to your audience.

Expand gestures and facial expressions so they carry to the last

row of the house.

 EXPLOIT THE SITUATION.

Use your imagination and creativity to explore possibilities for

your performance and select the best ones to include in
your portrayal.

Rehearse to give your audience the best performance you can.

Stanislavski’s “Method”

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1. The objective –The objective is the want or need that propels the character toward
action. It is the life need that accounts for everything the character says and does in the
course of the play. What does the character want?

2. The obstacle – What stands in the way of the character getting what he/she wants?

3. Subtext – What is the character’s actual intention or meaning which may underlie a
statement?

4. Beat – The smallest unit of action into which the scene can be broken. A beat ends when
a new piece of information is introduced, an event over which a character has no control is
introduced or a new action begins.

5. Given circumstances – What has happened up to this point to your character? What
specifically has your character done up to this point? What secrets does your character
have now? What occurred just before the scene begins?

6. The magic “if” – Given that you are the character, what would you do if you were in this
situation? The concept of “situation” is crucial. Make sure you are considering all of the
circumstances in the text. The actor must operate as if the sets and props were real and
he/she is truly in that situation, then what if…? What would I have to do in order to do
what the character does in these circumstances?

7. Physical action – Find a physical action that enables your character to accomplish his/her
objective.

“Generality is the enemy of art.” Konstantin Stanislavsky

7-21
 CHARACTERIZATION: Making Choices

“…You do not need [a] book to teach you to act; you already know. What your teacher and I
do is assist in reawakening the actor in you, while supplying a set of physical, intellectual, and
spiritual techniques which will enable that natural actor to give a powerful and reliable
performance…”
– Robert Benedetti
The Actor at Work, 3rd Edition

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

1. Characters grow out of action within the text. Characterization is a means to an end, not
an end in itself.

2. Actors make choices in creating a character. Making choices is the actor’s way of seeing
his world through the character’s relationships with other characters and philosophical
beliefs. Choice is an active way for the actor to enter the character. Factors that influence
an actor’s choices are:

A. Internal
1. Needs and desires
2. Social background
3. Ethical values
4. Physiology
5. The way a character thinks, Mental traits

B. External
1. Relationships with or attitudes toward other characters
2. Social environment
3. Physical environment
4. Specific, immediate circumstances

C. Theatrical concerns requiring adjustment of choice

1. Style/genre of the play
2. Character’s dramatic purpose in the play
3. Visual and auditory demands of the stage

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LEVELS OF CHARACTERIZATION

A. PHYSICAL – The most simplistic level

1. Age
2. Sex
3. Size
4. Walk
5. Other external traits

B. SOCIAL
1. Economic status
2. Profession
3. Religion
4. Family relationships
5. Environmental factors

C. PSYCHOLOGICAL -- Most important level as drama arises from conflicts in desires and
needs
1. Habitual responses
2. Attitudes
3. Desires
4. Motivation
5. Likes / dislikes
6. Emotional and intellectual workings of the mind

D. MORAL – Most difficult level to add

1. Moral choices allow the character to examine his/her own morals based on his/her motives or values.
2. Involves such traits as hypocrisy, honesty, selfishness, integrity, greed.
3. Used more in serious plays and tragedies.
4. Moral aspects ignored and decisions based on expediency in comedy.
5. Moral choices allow completeness, a final spiritual, emotional and intellectual bridge that may not be
seen on the other levels.
6. Not all scripts will emphasize / highlight moral aspects of the characters.

7-23
 Character Analysis
Use the information from the script and your imagination to answer the following questions so
that you can develop a background and personality for your character. Answer the questions
as if you yourself were really the character.

1. Who are you? What is your name?

2. What is your ethnic background?
3. How would you describe yourself physically? Include your height, weight, facial
features, hair color, and skin tone. Also be sure to note any outstanding physical
trait or condition that makes you unique.
4. How would you describe your stance, posture, walk, and movement?
5. What rhythm or tempo do you associate with yourself? Think of a piece of music
that would describe you. Would the tempo be a waltz, a cha-cha, a march, square
dance, swing, or contemporary jazz?
6. What gestures, mannerisms, or habits do you use unconsciously?
7. How do you dress?
8. How do you sound? Describe your voice quality. Is it high or low, nasal or guttural?
Do you speak with a drawl, twang, accent or dialect? Do you make any unusual
sounds, such as wheezing or grunting?
9. Think about your background. Where did you grow up? What type of environment
shaped your early life? What kind or relationship do you have with your family?
10. Where do you live now? What is your present family status?
11. Think about your intellect. How would you describe your mental capabilities?
12. What is your position in society? Are you rich, poor, important or powerful?
13. What is your job or occupation?
14. What are your attitudes toward life and people? What are your values and beliefs?
15. What is your emotional state?
16. How do you treat other people? How do others treat you?
17. Do you have a secret that you try to hide?
18. What is your greatest want or need?
19. What is the problem or obstacle standing in the way of fulfilling your want or need?
20. To what extent are you willing to go to eliminate the obstacles to getting what you
want or need?
21. What do you enjoy or do for fun?
22. What are you thinking at this very moment?
23. What do other people say about you?
24. What phrase or expression do you use frequently?
25. What is one thing you wish other people understood about you?
26. What is your greatest fear?
27. What about yourself are you most proud?
28. Who do you admire most?

THE GENERIC DIALOGUE SCENE

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REQUIREMENTS:
2 actors
Introduction that includes: Title, stars, and either characters, setting or situation.
Use of basic dialogue without additions or subtractions. There are two sets of dialogue below.
Only underlined words may be changed.
Meaning and characterization – (supplied by the actors)

A: Hello
B: Hello
A: Nice day isn’t it.
B: Yes, it is.
A: Trees are sure pretty this time of year.
B: Especially in the park.
A: Do you come to the park often?
B: Oh, every now and then.
A: Care for a piece of gum?
B: Yes, thanks.
A: It has sugar in it.
B: Oh. . . no.
A: Oh, well, sure is a nice day.
B: Yes it is.

OR
A: I think I’ll start now
B: No.
A: Why not?
B: Look around.
A: So?
B: Well, I think it’s obvious.
A: Not to me.
B: What time is it?
A: Does it matter?
B: Of course.
A: It’s 12:30.
B: Well?
A: I’ll wait.
B: Do you want to stay here?
A: I guess so.
B: Good decision.

Suggested character duos

2 spies Mad scientist and monster 2 old people
superhero and sidekick employee and boss Tarzan and Cheetah
teacher and student old lady and purse snatcher biker and librarian
romantic couple girl/boy scout and thug gunslingers
cowperson and Indian captain and pirate knight and dragon
Contentless Scene
With your partner, select a scene. Punctuate, pause, and interpret at your own discretion.
7-25
Use two words: John says “Mary”; Mary says “John”. Say them 12 times each.

A: Hi.
B: Hi.
A: What did you do last night?
B: Nothing.
A: Nothing?
B: I said nothing.
A: I see.
B: Do you?
A: I think so.
B: No you don’t.

C: Good morning.
D: Good morning.
C: Toast.
D: Thanks
C: Marmalade
D: Thanks
C: I was wondering
D: Really
C: Perhaps another time
D: Never mind

E: It’s time
F: Already
E: I think so
F: I can’t believe it
E: Well
F: I know. I know.
E: Just say the word
F: Are you sure?
E: No question
F: OK
G: Can I see you on Monday?
H: How about Tuesday?
G: How about Wednesday?
H: How about Thursday?
G: How about Friday?
H: How about Saturday?
G: Can I see you on Sunday?
H: OK then. Sunday.
THE ORIGINAL MONOLOGUE

Goal: Create a character and an original monologue for that character. Perform the
monologue for the class.

Reason for assignment:

7-26
  To satisfy a creative need or talent.
 To increase our knowledge and appreciation of playwriting
 To broaden our sense of the totality of theatre.
 To fulfill the need to make a statement about the human condition.
 To enjoy participation in a new dimension of theatre.

The Monologue

The monologue is a speech in dramatic literature spoken by one character to reveal his or her
thoughts. This can be a longer speech to other onstage characters that is audible to them. It
can also be a soliloquy or an aside, which is audible to the audience but supposedly not heard
by the other characters that are on stage. These types of monologues date back to ancient
Greek theatre and were also used extensively by Shakespeare.

Sources for ideas for a monologue:

 Things we have done or wished to do in our lives.

 People we have met, known, loved, hated, feared, or respected.
 Existing stories and myths (a new viewpoint or update, perhaps?)
 Ideas for resolving various conflicts.

Important tenets of playwriting

 No conflict, no drama.
 Motivation and consequence (cause and effect) are the bases of conflict.
 “The things we write about that really count are primitive things…we all have
primitive needs and that’s what it’s all about.”
 Try to avoid narratives – put your character in the action, not talking about the
action.

Four things the audience should know as soon as possible.

1. Who is speaking and to whom? (character)
2. What is happening? (action)
3. Where is this occurring? (place)
4. When is this occurring? (time)

(The “how” and “why” should emerge from the dialogue itself; a good adage to recall is
“Who does what to whom and why?)

CREATING A CHARACTER

The first step in writing a monologue is creating the character. The more decisions you
make about your character, the easier it will be to write your monologue.

Make the choices about your character:

7-27
1. Gender

2. Age

3. Ethnic heritage

4. Physical appearance

5. Family status

6. Environment

7. Occupation / Profession

8. Religious belief

9. Political affiliation

10. Emotional state

11. Strength of Will

12. Need / desire / objective

13. Barrier or opposition to obtaining desire or fulfilling need

14. Reason the barrier exists and/or is a problem

15. The best adjective to describe this character

16. Logical (for character) reasons for saying the words in the monologue at this time

17. Probable outcome / resolution of conflict

Now decide what your character says.

Daily Grade - Lesson Plans DUE:______________
Major Grade - Presentation

THEATRE HISTORY TEACHING UNIT

You and your partner will "teach" the rest of the class a lesson on Theatre History. Your
lesson will be based on one of the "Our Theatre Heritage" units from the text (no two pairs will
do the same lesson). Lessons will last 15 minutes each.
7-28
 You may choose to use one or more teaching techniques (some are listed below).
Use your imagination and creativity - remember how you like to be taught and how you learn
best.

Teaching techniques include: lecture, questions & answers, worksheet, discussion,

participation, overhead, puzzle, game, etc. (remember you aren't limited to these techniques).

While you teach, you must include certain things:

 What was happening in the world at that time
 How did theatre relate to or reflect society at that time
 What (if any) lasting effect did this have on the theatre (how might we "see" the effects
in theatre today)

During your presentation YOU MUST:

 present something tangible to the class (i.e. posters, handouts, worksheets, puzzles,
notes, overhead pictures, etc.)

 present information gathered from a source or sources other than the text

 have a review to see if the class understands what you've taught.

 show some sort of "example" of what you're talking about (this could occur at any point
in the lesson)

You must also turn in "Lesson Plans" for your unit that includes:

 title of unit
 outline of how you plan to present lesson
 copy of any handout given (and answer key if applicable)
 instruction sheet for game if one is to be played

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:

 Don't just read - teach! Explain it - Put it into your own words
 Plan everything even how you will set up and get ready
(who will do what)
 If you play a game be sure to explain how it relates to your unit - or why we're playing it
 Be careful about having your students do too many things at once (i.e.- listening to
notes and answering questions, from a worksheet at the same time)
 "Candy" rewards are OK, but use them sparingly and wisely
 You may use notes (or note cards) but only as a reference

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GRADES will be based on:

1. Do you know and understand the information?

2. Did you get that information across to the students?
3. Did you have all the "necessaries"?
 something tangible
 information from another source
 a review
 complete lesson plan
 an example
4. Imagination, creativity and clarity
5. Accuracy in information, handouts, notes, etc.
6. Organization and energy during presentation

School of
Theatre Arts

THEATRE HISTORY PROJECTS

Pre History
Storytelling -- origin stories, etc.
Storytelling -- student written
Ritual ceremonies -- create a list of rituals that are a part of our lives today.
Task related movements and language
Event related movements and language
Symbolic language and items
Rituals and their meaning for “watchers” - “performers

7-30
Greek Theatre
Choral readings
Mask making
Theatre models or drawings
Scenes from Greek plays
Original scenes -- ex. Typical family going to the play festival

Roman Theatre
Scenes from Roman plays
Masks or costumes
Original scenes -- ex. Architects and builders planning to “adapt” a Greek theatre or working on a
colossal entertainment venue. Typical Roman audience etiquette.

Medieval Theatre
Model or drawing of a medieval wagon
Original Morality, Mystery, or Miracle play
Original scene -- ex. Clergy actors or congregation members discussing plays

Eastern Theatre
Noh, Masks and costumes -- Kabuki, makeup and costumes -- Chinese Opera costumes
Model stage or drawing
Original scenes -- ex. Father training son to take Kabuki role, audience members attending a play,
modern day person attending a “traditional” play today.
Paraphrase of Chinese, Sanskrit, Noh or Kabuki play or original script using typical eastern
themes

Italian Renaissance Theatre

Masks and costumes
Scenes from Commedia based plays such as A Company of Wayward Saints
Model stages, theatres
Scenes involving stock characters
Original scenes -- ex. Troupe of commedia dell’arte discussing a new scenario, audience members
at a neoclassic play, playwrights discussing versimiltude

Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre

Model theatre or drawing
Scenes or monologues from plays
Paraphrase of plays
Costume
Original scenes -- ex. Groundlings and wealthy theatre patron discuss a performance. Actors
discuss past or upcoming production.

French Neoclassic Theatre

Costume
Makeup drawing
Model proscenium arch theatre or drawing
Scenes or monologues from plays
Paraphrase play
Original scenes -- ex. Richelieu discussing building his theatre or adapting a tennis court,
aristocratic patron discussing upcoming production with members of an acting company.

7-31
Restoration and Eighteenth Century Theatre
Make and learn to “use” Restoration hand prop (fan, handkerchief, parasol, snuff box)
Theatre model or drawing
Costume
Makeup drawing
Write a contemporary comedy of manners
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Actors discussing serious vs. frivolous play or Charles II’s decree about
actresses, stage hands discussing theatre machinery, the raked stage and/or special effects.

Romanticism and Nineteenth Century Theatre

Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Life in the Kemble household (Sarah, John and perhaps parents and other
siblings), theatre technicians discussing the new gas lights and special effects, and/or
historically accurate costumes, Romantic acting lesson.
Theatre model or drawing

Realism and Naturalism in Theatre

Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Playwrights, actors, or audience discussing the “isms” or the new motion
pictures, Traveling players taking their show on the road

Twentieth Century Theatre

Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Write original script using Symbolism, Expressionism, Futurism or Epic Theatre style.
Twentieth Century Theatre, continued
Original scenes -- ex. Actors being trained in the Stanislovsky system, Actors/singers discussing
the new musical, Actors and technicians worrying about movies and TV, Theatre
Technicians discuss innovations in theatre equipment.

General
Masks through the ages
Women actors throughout history
Changes in the theatre building or place
Changes in the stage or playing area
Advances in special effects
The Music of Drama
The Role of the Director
The Story of Stage Makeup
Time Lines

7-32
7-33
 THEATRE HISTORY GROUP PROJECT

Objective: To research and to teach the class about a specific period of

Theatre History.

Directions: Complete the following research project with your group,

assigning different parts of the project to each member of the
group.

1. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Read the section of the textbook

concerning your specific time period, finding other points of research
(play titles, playwrights, etc.) from other sources.

2. RESEARCH: You will find additional information about your time period
in other books in the classroom or in the library and information
available on the internet. Locating this information must be done
outside of class if not completed during the class time given for
research.

3. ORGANIZING THOUGHTS: Write an informal paper (rough draft) of all

the things you have learned about your specific time period. Include
playwrights and titles of their plays, any significant changes from the
previous theatre period (types of stages, use of actors, special effects,
etc.) and any important historic events of the time period. Note your
sources at the end of the paper.

4. PRESENTATION: Prepare a presentation of the material covered in your

research (due ___________) to teach the class about your specific time
period in theatre history. Each member of the group should participate
in the presentation. Make the presentation exciting, interesting, and
informative. Keep in mind the techniques that help people learn and
remember information. A visual, such as a poster, costume, drawing,
etc. will only help your grade. There will be an overall group grade and
individual grades given.

7-34
 OUR
THEATRE
HISTORY
PROJECT

THEATRE HISTORY TIME LINE ASSIGNMENT

Objective: To research, create and present to the class a time line of a

specific period of Theatre History.

Directions: Complete the following research project with your group,

assigning different parts of the project to each member of the
group.

1. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Read the section of the textbook

concerning your specific time period, finding other points of research
(play titles, playwrights, etc.) from other sources.

2. RESEARCH: You will find additional information about your time period
in other books in the classroom or in the library and information
available on the internet. Locating this information must be done
outside of class if not completed during the class time given for
research.

3. ORGANIZING THOUGHTS: Produce your section of the time line using

the information you have learned about your specific time period.
Include playwrights and titles of their plays, theatre buildings, acting
styles, and any significant changes from the previous theatre period
(types of stages, use of actors, special effects, etc.) Place this
information at the top of the time line and important historic events of
the time period at the bottom. You must include pictures of theatres,
actors, costumes, masks, etc. A list of your sources is due when you
present your section of the timeline.

4. PRESENTATION: Prepare a presentation of your timeline (due

___________) to teach the class about your specific time period in theatre

7-35
 history and add to the “class timeline.” Each member of the group
should participate in the presentation. There will be an overall group
grade and individual grades given.

Theatre History and Style Terms

Greek Theatre
Dionysus
Thespis
skene
Oresteia
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
Aristotle
tragedy
comedy

Commedia Dell Arte

Renaissance
Arlecchino(Harlequino)
Pantalone
Brighella
Capitano
Columbine
Iazzi

Elizabethan/Shakespeare
public theatres
pit
private theatres
The Globe
revenge tragedy
tragicomedy
histories
Puritans

French Neoclassic/English Restoration

neoclassical
French Academy
Moliere

7-36
 Theatre-Francaise
the Great Rebellion
Restoration Comedy
comedies of manners

Modern Theatre
Antirealism
symbolism
expressionism
surrealism
absurdism
existentialism
Samuel Beckett
Eugene Ionesco
Edward Albee
Epic Theatre
Presentationalism

Theatre Traditions and Myths

1. The phrase "break a leg" is used to wish each other good luck, even though it seems to
be a contradiction in terms. No one knows for sure who coined it, but there are several
theories: One is that, since the great actress Sarah Bernhardt got by on a wooden leg
(she actually wore one only briefly), a performer would be lucky to be like her. More
likely, it derives from Hals-und Beinbruch, a German phrase meaning "may you break
your leg and neck"--which was intended, with typically heavy Teutonic humor, to ward
off "the evil eye."

2. The phrase "in the Limelight" came about because at one time, lime was used on stage
lights to take away the warm glow of an ordinary electric bulb and to produce an effect
more dramatic and unusual. This was usually done with an overhead spotlight that
shown on one main star at certain moments during a stage play. Today "to be in the
limelight" means the same thing in a metaphorical way: to have all the attention focused
on a certain person.

3. The phrase "to steel someone's thunder" usually means to deprive someone of his/her
due credit by "beating him to the punch," the phrase was first used in 1709 when a critic
and playwright named John Dennis devised a successful form of imitation thunder to be
used as a sound effect in his own play, Appius and Virginia. The play was a flop, and
just a few nights after it closed he attended a performance of Macbeth in the same
theatre, and during the performance the thunder sound effects he had invented were
heard. In a violent passion, he rose from his seat and cried out, "See how the rascals
use me! They will not let me play run and yet they steal my thunder!" The expression
caught on, and ever since it has been used to mean stealing credit for another's
accomplishments.

7-37
4. It is bad luck for an actor to change costume in which he/she has found success. If the
play has a long run the same garment is often worn until it becomes threadbare.

5. The Witches' Song in Macbeth is believed to have the power of casting evil spells.
Hence, the seasoned actor seldom choose to play this part.

6. To hum the Witches' Song from Macbeth where a fellow actor can hear it will mean that
you are likely to lose his or her friendship.

7. Actors will not go on a stage where there is a picture of an ostrich or peacock.

8. Actors will never repeat the last line of a play at rehearsal, as it is considered an ill
omen for the upcoming opening of the play.

9. If the handle of a wrong door is turned while seeking entrance to the theatre manager's
or an agent's office it is taken as an omen of failure. To correct this the applicant must
return home and start out fresh the next day.
10. Should an actor stumble over anything while making an entrance, they will forget their
lines.

11. Should a costume catch in the scenery as an actor is entering the stage, a new
entrance must be made, or else bad luck will follow throughout the entire performance.

12. After the performance should an actor kick off his/her shoes and have them alight on
their soles, it is considered a good omen. Should they fall on their sides, however it is a
sign of bad luck.

14. Actors will not allow green or yellow to be worn on stage. Green is said to be unlucky
for both the play and performance, while yellow is believed to create memory loss while
learning a part.

15. Actors believe that wigs bring luck and will go out of their way to wear one even though
the part does not call for it.

16. Should an actor's squeak upon making an entrance, it's seen as a sign of audience
approval and applause.

17. For another to look in an actor's mirror while he/she is putting on their make-up is
considered unlucky.

18. Should a cat run across the stage during the play, misfortune is sure to follow.

19. An actor must never look at the audience from the wrong side of a drop curtain. It is
considered unlucky and highly unprofessional.

20. The peephole through which an actor looks out at the audience must be in the center.
If it is placed to either side it will bring bad luck.

7-38
Theatre Arts I

Makeup Morgue Assignment

Begin gathering photographs, prints, reproductions, pictures, brochures, et cetera, for your
own makeup morgue. Small clippings should be pasted on 8 1/2" by 11" paper, or on artists
drawing paper. It is suggested that the morgue be bound into one unit - preferably an
expanding file.

7-39
REQUIRED CLASSIFICATION

1. Old age - male and female. (55----)

2. Beard and mustaches.

3. Stylized/Fantasy/Fictional. (Oliver Twist, Alice in Wonderland, Cheshire Cat, Ariel)

4. Historical male and female. (Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Custer)

5. Noses -- male and female.

6. Eyes - male and female.

7. Mouths -- male and female.

8. Racial and National. (Black, White, Indian, Japanese, Chinese)

9. Light and Shade.

10. Wigs and hair -- male and female.

Date due: _____________________________ Cut two platforms

Extra credit classifications:

1. Corrective makeup.

2. Equipment and supplies catalogues.

3. Cutand
Prosthetics two latex.
platforms Photocopy on card stock, cut, fold and glue
on shaded tabs to create ½" scale model of
unit set elements as listed on p. 96 of the
Handbook for One-Act Play 12th ed.

Page One of Three U.I.L. 7-40

Unit Set Elements
Ron White – Brazoswood High School Cut two of all pylon, ramp,
platform and step units on
this page.

Page Two of Three U.I.L. Unit 7-41

Set Elements
 Cut four three-fold flat
units

Ron White – Brazoswood High School

Cut four two-fold flat

units

Page Three of Three U.I.L. 7-42

Unit Set Elements
Ron White – Brazoswood High School
THEATRE ARTS II

ACTING/DIRECTING UNIT
TLW be able to:
1. Cut a full-length play to forty minutes in length.

7-43
2. Design one set for the play, using the UIL one-act play set; submit a floor plan and
perspective drawing of the set which will be explained In an oral presentation to the
class.
3. Design five different costumes for the play and make a rendering for each costume
which will be presented orally to the class.

Note:
This is a long-term project which will last most of the term. There will be check points when
grades will be assigned based on the work completed at that time. It Is important to work daily
on this project.

WHERE TO BEGIN????????????????????????????????????????????????

1. CHOOSING A PLAY:

a. You may choose any play from the ONE-ACT PLAY HANDBOOK. If you wish to
use a play that is not on the "approved list", you must have teacher approval to
use a play. Read many plays. Look for a play which interests you.
b. The play should have four or more characters. It should be a full-length play.
c. The title of the play which you will use for this assignment will be due

__________________________________________________

2. CUTTING A PLAY:

a. Become completely familiar with the script.

b. Decide what the playwright's intention is, and cut within that framework.
c. Every cutting should have a beginning, middle, and ending.
d. You will turn in an outline of the plot which you will, also, present orally to the
class.
e. This will be due on ______________________________________

3. DESIGNING A SET

a. You will design one set for the play, referring to the script for the needs of the
play.
b. After getting more instruction on how to draw a floor plan and a perspective, you
will complete both for your set.
c. These will, also, be presented orally to the class. This will be due on

___________________________________________________

4. DESIGNING COSTUMES

a. You will design five (5) costumes for the play. These may be for five different
characters or several costumes for a few characters.

7-44
 b. Referring to the requirements of the script, you will design these costumes using
a full page for each costume.
c. Using water colors or colored pencils, you will color your designs. You will need
to have a written description or swatches of fabric on each page to further
explain your design. Also, include on each page the title of the play, name of the
character, and the act/scene in which the costume would be worn.
d. This part of the project will be due on ________________________

You will continue to add to your notebook and make-up morgue. You will, also, continue to be
responsible for monologues.

The next notebook/make-up morgue will be due on _______________________ with five

more pictures in each category.

The next monologue will be due on ___________________________________

This monologue should be a contrast to your last monologue.

WHERE DO I STAND?
EXERCISES FOR THE BEGINNING DIRECTOR

7-45
BEST WAYS TO LEARN TO DIRECT
1. By directing anything you can. (small scenes, skits, videos, and one-acts)
2. By being directed. Try to work for a variety of directors. Pay attention to
their techniques.
3. Try to become the Assistant., Director or Stage Manager for a
production. Find out what works and what doesn't.
4. See and Read as many plays as you can.

10 TIPS FOR NEW DIRECTORS

1. Director as Group Therapist. As the director, you must discover the
playwright's intentions. You must interpret the motivations, psychological
status, and reactions of every character in every situation.
2. Be a good communicator. Avoid showing actors how to do something.
Learn to give direction, not perform it yourself. If they aren't getting it,
maybe YOU are the problem. Try other ways of communicating your
idea.
3. Create an atmosphere that promotes creativity. Allow actors to have
input. Then watch and see what works and what doesn't.
4. No Gestapo Theatre. No one wants to work with a dictator. It is difficult
to work with anyone, especially your peers, if you approach theatre in a
bossy manner. Avoid temper tantrums. Avoid embarrassing cast and
crew members. Remember, you want them to be successful.
5. If your concept isn't working, change it!
6. Learn to edit your work. Sometimes less is best.
7. Be an expert, Research your play and it's time period. Read literary
reviews of your play and others by that playwright.
8. Be prepared. Do your homework. Have blocking concepts,
interpretations, warm-ups, improvs, etc., ready BEFORE rehearsal.
9. Director as cheerleader. Use positive reinforcement with your actors and
production staff. Try not to say Don't DO THIS, say Try THIS.
10. Cast the best person possible in each role. If you cast well, much of
your work- is done.

7-46
 THE DIRECTING EXERCISES

PICTURES
CREATE 4 CONSECUTIVE "PICTURES" OF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
EVENTS.
1.) A Car Accident 4.) A "Hold Up"
2.) The Heimlich Maneuver 5.) A Bar Room Brawl.
3) Fans At a Championship Game
***Remember to use physical levels, motion, and reactions.

BLOCKING
CREATE A SCENE WITHOUT WORDS THAT FITS THE FOLLOWING
BLOCKING.
(B begins center in a chair; A begins UL.)
A- X to stand next to B
B- - X to DL
A- Push chair, X to UR
B- X to A and push A
A Push B and X to chair
B X to chair and straddle it,
A- Exit UL
B push chair over and exit UR
***Variation. Directors may create their own scenes without words and direct
them or exchange scenes with other directors.

SOAP OPERA SCRIPTS

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND DIRECT THE FOLLOWING SHADOW
SCENE. Time, Place, Surroundings, Characters, Relationship, Previous action,
and The main need of each character?

7-47
 A- Hey, you, come over here please.
B- Who? Me?
A- Yes. What are you doing?
B- well .....
A- Well, what?
B - well, I thought you could guess by just looking.
A- I mean, why?
B- B- Why not?
A- Do you know who I am?
C- Well, I think I can guess by just looking
D- A- And you’re right. come along with me.

BEST PICTURE ACADEMY AWARDS

1927/28 Wings 1949 All the King’s Men

1928/29 The Broadway Melody 1950 All About Eve
1929/30 All Quiet on the Western Front 1951 An American in Paris
1930/31 Cimarron 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth
1931/32 Grand Hotel 1953 From Here to Eternity
1932/33 Cavalcade 1954 On the Waterfront
1934 It Happened One Night 1955 Marty
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty 1956 Around the World in 80 Days
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai
1936 The Great Ziegfeld
1958 Gigi
1937 The Life of Emile Zola
1959 Ben Hur
1938 You Can’t Take It With You
1960 The Apartment
1939 Gone With the Wind
1961 West Side Story
1940 Rebecca
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
1941 How Green Was My Valley
1963 Tom Jones
1942 Mrs. Miniver
1964 My Fair Lady
1943 Casablanca
1965 The Sound of Music
1944 Going My Way
1966 A Man for All Seasons
1945 The Lost Weekend
1967 In the Heat of the Night
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives
1968 Oliver!
1947 Gentlemen’s Agreement
1969 Midnight Cowboy
1948 Hamlet
1970 Patton

7-48
1971 The French Connection
1972 The Godfather
1973 The Sting
1974 The Godfather Part II
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976 Rocky
1977 Annie Hall
1978 The Deer Hunter
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer
1980 Ordinary People
1981 Chariots of Fire
1982 Gandhi
1983 Terms of Endearment
1984 Amadeus
1985 Out of Africa
1986 Platoon
1987 The Last Emperor
1988 Rain Man
1989 Driving Miss Daisy
1990 Dances with Wolves
1991 The Silence of the Lambs
1992 Unforgiven
1993 Schlinder’s List
1994 Forrest Gump
1995 Braveheart
1996 The English Patient
1997 Titanic
1998 Shakespeare in Love
1999 American Beauty
2000 Gladiator

7-49
 PULITZER PRIZES IN DRAMA

1918 - Why Marry? 1938 - Our Town

Jesse Lynch Williams Thornton Wilder

1920 - Beyond the Horizon 1939 - Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Eugene O’Neill Robert E. Sherwood

1921 - Miss Lulu Bett 1940 - The Time of Your Life

Zona Gale William Saroyan

1922- Anna Christie 1941 - There Shall Be No Night

Eugene O’Neill Robert E. Sherwood

1923 - Icebound 1943 - The Skin of Our Teeth

Owen Davis Thornton Wilder

1924 - Hell-Bent for Heaven 1945 - Harvey

Hatcher Hughes Mary Chase

1925 - They Knew What They Wanted 1946 - State of the Union
Sidney Howard R. Crouse & H. Lindsay

1926 - Craig’s Wife 1948 - A Streetcar Named Desire

George Kelly Tennessee Williams

1927 - In Abraham’s Bosom 1949 - Death of a Salesman

Paul Green Arthur Miller

1928 - Strange Interlude 1950 - South Pacific

Eugene O’Neill R. Rodgers, O. Hammerstein, & J.
Logan

1929 - Street Scene 1952 - The Shrike

Elmer Rice Joseph Kramm

1930 - The Green Pastures 1953 - Picnic

Marc Connelly William Inge

1931 - Alison’s House 1954 - Teahouse of the August Moon

Susan Glaspell John Patrick

1932 - Of Thee I Sing 1955 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

G. Kaufman, M. Ryskind, & I. Gershwin Tennessee Williams

1933 - Both Your Houses 1956 - The Diary of Anne Frank

Maxwell Anderson F. Goodrich & A. Hackett

1934 - Men in White 1957 - Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Sidney Kingsley Eugene O’Neill

1935 - The Old Maid 1958 - Look Homeward, Angel

Zoe Akins Ketti Frings

1936 - Idiot’s Delight 1959 - J.B.

Robert E. Sherwood Archibald MacLeish
1937 - You Can’t Take It With You 1960 - Fiorello
G. Kaufman & M. Hart G. Abbott, J. Weidman, S. Hamick, &
J. Bock
1961 - All the Way Home 1987 - Fences
Tad Mosel August Wilson

1962 - How To Succeed In Business 1988 - Driving Miss Daisy

Without Really Trying Alfred Uhry
F. Loesser & A. Burrows

1965 - The Subject Was Roses 1989 - The Heidi Chronicles

Frank D. Gilroy Wendy Wasserstein

1967 - A Delicate Balance 1990 - The Piano Lesson

Edward Albee August Wilson

1969 - The Great White Hope 1991 - Lost in Yonkers

Howard Sackler Neil Simon

1970 - No Place to Be Somebody 1992 - The Kentucky Cycle

Charles Gordone Robert Schenkkan

1971 - The Effect of Gamma Rays on 1993 - Angels in America: Millennium

Approaches
Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Tony Kushner
Paul Zindel

1973 - That Championship Season 1994 - Three Tall Women

Jason Miller Edward Albee

1975 - Seascape 1995- The Young Man from Atlanta

Edward Albee Horton Foote

1976 - A Chorus Line 1996 - Rent

M. Bennett, J. Kirkwood, N. Dante, Jonathan Larson
M. Hamlisch & E. Kleban

1977 - The Shadow Box 1998 - How I Learned to Drive

Michael Cristofer Paula Vogel

1978 - The Gin Game 1999 - Wit

Donald L. Colburn Margaret Edson

1979 - Buried Child 2000 - Dinner with Friends

Sam Shepard Donald Margulies

1980 - Talley’s Folly 2001 - Proof

Lanford Wilson David Auburn

1981 - Crimes of the Heart

Beth Henley

1982 - A Soldier’s Play

Charles Fuller

1983 - ‘night, Mother

 Marsha Norman

1984 - Glengarry Glen Ross

David Mamet

1985 - Sunday in the Park with George

S. Sondheim, & J. Lapine

TOP FORTY PLAYS TO BE STUDIED IN GRADES 9 – 12

1. Glass Menagerie
2. Antigone Williams
3. Death of a Salesman Sophocles or Anouilh
4. Macbeth Miller
5. Oedipus Rex Shakespeare
6. Romeo and Juliet Sophocles
7. Importance of Being Earnest Shakespeare
8. Our Town Wilde
9. Midsummer Night's Dream Wilder
10. Hamlet Shakespeare
11. Arsenic and Old Lace Shakespeare
12. Crucible Kesselring
13. Medea Miller
14. Imaginary Invalid Euripides or Jeffers
15. Cyrano de Bergerac Moliere
16. Miracle Worker Rostand
17. Doll's House Gibson
18. Streetcar Named Desire Ibsen
19. Everyman Williams
20. You Can't Take It With You anonymous
21. West Side Story Kaufman and Hart
22. Taming of the Shrew Laurents and Bernstein
23. Tartuffe Shakespeare
24. Pgymalion Moliere
25. Children of a Lesser God Shaw
26. Diary of Anne Frank Medoff
27. Inherit the Wind Goodrich and Hackett
28. Of Mice and Men Lawrence and Lee
29. Julius Caesar Steinbeck
30. Rainmaker Shakespeare
31. Trojan Women Nash
32. Company of Wayward Saints Euripides
33. Elephant Man Herman
34. Raisin in the Sun Pomerance
35. Fantastics Hansberry
36. Oklahoma Jones and Schmidt
37. Miser Rodgers and Hammerstein
38. School for Scandal Moliere
39. Blithe Spirit Sheridan
40. To Kill a Mockingbird Coward
Lee/Sergel

CHILDREN’S PLAYS

1. Androcles and the Lion 2. Peter Pan

 3. Wizard of Oz Harris
4. Tom Sawyer Barrie
5. Great Cross Country Race Baum
6. Reynard the Fox Twain/various
7. Arkansas Bear Broadhurst
8. Ransom of Red Chief Fauquez
9. Step on a Crack Harris
10. Livin' De Life O'Henry/Kral
11. Rags to Riches Zeder
12. Yankee Doodle Graczyk
13. Ice Wolf Harris
14. Appleseed Harris
15. Steal Away Home Kraus
16. The Play Called Noah's Flood Graczyk
17. I Didn't Know That! Harris
18. Flashback! Zeder
19. Special Class Saldana, Maloney
20. Trudi and the Minstrel Wilson, Saldana
Kral
Cullen
25. Runaways
MUSICALS 26. Wiz
27. Me Nobody Knows

1. West Side Story

2. Fantastics
3. Oklahoma Laurents and Bernstein
4. Camelot Jones and Schmidt
5. My Fair Lady Rodgers and Hammerstein
6. Fiddler On The Roof Lerner and Loewe
7. You're A Good Man, Charlie B. Lerner and Loewe
8. Godspell Stein and Bock
9. Man of La Mancha Gesner
10. South Pacific Schwartz
11. Music Man Wasserman and Leigh
12. King and I Rodgers and Hammerstein
13. Sound of Music Wilson
14. Oliver Rodgers and Hammerstein
15. Joseph and Technicolor Dreamcoat Rodgers and Hammerstein
16. Grease Bart
17. Carousel
Rice and Webber
18. 1776
Jacobs and Casey
19. Strider
Rodgers and Hammerstein
20. Pippin Stone and Edwards
21. Bye Bye Birdie Rozovsky
22. Hello, Dolly Hirson and Schwartz
23. Jesus Christ Superstar Stewart and Strouse
24. Working Herman
Rice and Webber Brown and Smalls
Turkel and Schwartz Livingston and Friedman
Swados

TOP THIRTY PLAYS TO BE STUDIED IN GRADES 7 – 8

1. You're A Good Man, Charlie B. Baum
2. Miracle Worker Barrie
3. Tom Sawyer Dickens
4. Wizard of Oz Goodrich and Hackett
5. Peter Pan Harris
6. Christmas Carol Shaw
7. Diary of Anne Frank Chase
8. Androcles and the Lion O'Henry/Kral
9. Androcles and the Lion Gilbreth
10. Harvey Alcot
11. Ransom of Red Chief Wilder
12. Cheaper by the Dozen Shakespeare
13. Little Women Shakespeare
14. Our Town Van Druten
15. Romeo and Juliet Caroll/Manhattan Project
16. Midsurnmer Night's Dream Thomas
17. I Remember Mama Rogers
18. Alice in Wonderland Broadhurst
19. Charley's Aunt Kesselring
20. Flowers for Algernon Miller
21. Great Cross Country Race Fauquez
22. Arsenic and Old Lace Harris
23. Crucible anonymous
24. Reynard the Fox Skinner
25. Arkansas Bear Udall
26. Gammer Gurton's Needle Kaufman and Hart
27. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay Rodgers and Hammerstein
28. Ralph Roister Doister
29. You Can't Take It With You
30. Sound of Music

Gesner
Gibson
Twain/various
 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
OUTSTANDING PLAYS FOR THE COLLEGE BOUND
Lysistrata Sophocles
Oedipus the King Arthur Waley, trans.
Noh Drama: Ten Plays From the (Tuttle, 1960)
Japanese 14th and 15th Centuries Shakespeare
Twelfth Night Shakespeare
The Tempest Moliere
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Sheridan
The School for Scandal Ibsen
A Doll's House Gilbert and Sullivan
Pirates of Penzance Shaw
Arms and the Man Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest Rostand
Cyrano de Bergerac Chekhov
The Cherry Orchard Shaw
Pgymalion Pirandello
Six Characters in Search of an Author Brecht and Weill
The Threepenny Opera Hellman
The Children's Hour T.S. Eliot
Murder in the Cathedral Kaufmann and Hart
You Can't Take It With You Wilder
OurTown O'Hara, Rodgers, Hart
Pal Joey Coward
Blithe Spirit Rodgers, Hammerstein
Oklahoma Sarte
No Exit Williams
A Streetcar named Desire O'Neill
Long Day's Journey Into Night Bernstein
West Side Story Albee
The Zoo Story Kander and Ebb
Cabaret MacDermot
Hair Miller
The Price Sondheim
Sweeney Todd Medoff
Children of Lesser God Simon
Brighton Beach Memoirs Duma Ndlovu, ed.
Woza Afrika: An Anthology of South (Braziller, 1986)
African Plays

Aristophanes
THEATRE ARTS LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

TITLE ________________________________________________________________________

TEKS _____Strand 1--Perception _____Strand 2--Creative Expression/Performance

_____Strand 2.1--Creative Expression/Production
_____Strand 3--Historical/Cultural Heritage _____Strand 4--Response/Evaluation

OBJECTIVES ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

PREPARATION AND MATERIALS

Space ________________________________________________________________________
Equipment
Books ________________________________________________________________________
Music
Visual Aids ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

WARMUP ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

PRESENTATION OF STORY/IDEA
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

PREPARATION FOR PLAYING

Grouping ________________________________________________________________________
Rules
Space ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

EVALUATION ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

REPLAYING ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

CLOSING ACTIVITY
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

EVALUATION OF LESSON PLAN

How it worked ________________________________________________________________________

Improvements ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Names ________________________________________ Period __________________

_________________________________________ Date ___________________

Duet Acting Evaluation

Title of Play _________________________________________________________________

Name of Characters __________________________ ____________________________

Superior Excellent Good Fair Needs Work

10 pts. 9 pts. 8 pts. 7 pts. 6 pts.
________________________________________________________________________
Introduction | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Established | | | | | |
Setting | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Blocking | | | | | |
Actors visible | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Line Interpretation | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Characterization | | | | | |
Physical | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Vocal | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Maintained | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Interaction with | | | | | |
Partner | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Creativity | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Overall performance | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________

Comments:

Names _______________________________ Period ______ Date___________

 Duet Pantomime Evaluation

Title of Pantomime ___________________________________________________________

Superior Excellent Good Fair Needs Work

10 pts. 9 pts. 8 pts. 7 pts. 6 pts.
________________________________________________________________________
Introduction | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Established Character | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Maintained Character | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Established Setting | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Action Clear | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Action Motivated | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Blocking (actors visible) | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Story Complete | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Ensemble | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Overall Performance | | | | | |

________________________________________________________________________
Comments:

Name ___________________________________ Period _______ Date ______________

 Monologue Performance Evaluation

Title of Play _________________________________________________________________

Name of Character ___________________________________________________________

Superior Excellent Good Fair Needs Work

10 pts. 9 pts. 8 pts. 7 pts. 6 pts.
________________________________________________________________________
Introduction | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Memorization | | | | | |
| | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Blocking | | | | | |
Actor visible | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Characterization | | | | | |
Physical | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Vocal | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Maintained | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Dramatic | | | | | |
Interpretation | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Memorization | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Creativity | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________
Overall performance | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________

ACTING EVALUATION FORM

NAME(S)_________________________________________________________________

TITLE _________________________________________ AUTHOR_________________

TIME: ___________ SCENE ANALYSIS DUE: ______________ GRADE: _____________
CHARACTER ANALYSIS DUE: ______________GRADE: _________ FINAL GRADE: ______

I. INTRODUCTION
a. attention getter 5 10 15 20 25
b. information 5 10 15 20 25
c. title & author 5 10 15 20 25
d. memorization 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________
II. CHARACTER
a. gesture /character habit 5 10 15 20 25
b. physical portrayal 5 10 15 20 25
c. emotions 5 10 15 20 25
d. reactions 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________

III. VOICE
a. volume 5 10 15 20 25
b. rate/tempo 5 10 15 20 25
c. tone/pitch (deep-high) 5 10 15 20 25
d. different /appropriate 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________

IV. MOVEMENT
a. blocking adequate 5 10 15 20 25
b. levels 5 10 15 20 25
c. motivated 5 10 15 20 25
d. interesting 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________

V. COMMUNICATION
a. focus 5 10 15 20 25
b. mood 5 10 15 20 25
c. meaning 5 10 15 20 25
d. intentions 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________

VI. OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS

a. well developed 5 10 15 20 25
b. elements blended 5 10 15 20 25
c. believability 5 10 15 20 25
d. memorization 5 10 15 20 25
GRADE: _______________
Total Scores divided by 6 = ________________
 TEAM RECORD MIME
Starring ________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

Period ________ Date _____________________

Selection _________________________________________________________________

Objective: To create a performance in pantomime using a recording as a base and incorporating

body movement and/or choreography in sync with recording and each other.

Criteria Score

Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Choice of selection 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Actors focused on “surroundings.” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Understanding and interpretation of record. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Characterizations. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Movements and mouths in sync with record. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Movements appropriate to record. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Staging--Actors and action clearly visible to audience. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stage presence/poise 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Creative spark to surprise or please the audience. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Overall performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

TOTAL
Names __________________________________________________ Date ___________

Perform your scene for two other students as if you were performing for an audience. Give
this sheet to those students so that they can evaluate your performance.
Obtain at least 3 evaluations today.
Evaluators STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES COMMENTS
1

5
 SCENE ACTING REHEARSAL EVALUATIONS

Theatre Quotations

“Acting is doing.”
-- Stella Adler

“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.”
-- Stella Adler

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep
inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”
-- Muhammad Ali

“Even a fool knows you can’t touch the stars, but it doesn’t stop a wise man from trying.”
-- Harry Anderson

“No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly
how he arrived at his present place.”
-- Maya Angelou

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”
-- Aristotle

“The theatre has built a whole art around the actor, based on the man and his double – the
actor and his character.”
-- Jean Louis Barrault

“An actor is a sculptor who writes in snow.”

-- Lawrence Barrett

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
--Henry Ward Beecher

“The director is the magnifying lens through which the actor’s impulse shines; the director is
the resonator which lends depths to the actor’s music.”
-- Robert Benedette

“Any great work of art is great because it creates a special world of its own.”
-- Leonard Berstein

“Education: That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of
understanding.”
--Ambrose Bierce
“The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Loving theatre is not enough.”

-- Richard Bolslavesky
“When humor goes, there goes civilization.”
--Erma Bombeck

“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”

-- Victor Borge

“If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors.”

--Bertolt Brecht

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
--Mel Brooks

“The most basic definition of theatre is someone performing for someone else.”
-- Oscar Brockett

“Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to
enslave.”
--Baron Henry Peter Brougham

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – EXCELLENCE. To know how to do
something well is to enjoy it.”
-- Pearl Buck

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.”
-- Les Brown

“The most important things in life aren’t things.”

-- Art Buchwald

“A good heart is better than all the heads in the world.”

-- Edward Bulwer-Lytton

“Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
-- George Burns

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
-- Albert Camus

“I made some mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when the actor cried, but drama is
when the audience cries.”
-- Frank Capra

“The most wasted day is that in which we do not laugh.”

--Sebastian Chamfort

“The technique of acting can never be properly understood without practicing it.”
-- Michael Chekhov

“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.”
 -- Lord Chesterfield

“Let us think of our lives as works of art.”

-- Harold Clurman

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of ones ignorance.”

-- Confucius

“Realism is experience whereas art is revelation.”

-- Gordon Craig

“The actor’s technique is the personal and private means by which he gets the best out of
himself.”
-- Hume Cronyn

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”

-- Marie Curie
“When God conceived the world, that was Poetry.
He formed it, and that was Sculpture.
He colored it and that was Painting.
He peopled it with living beings,
And that was the grand, divine, eternal Drama.”
--Charlotte Cushman

“Nothing more truly portrays us as we are and as we could be than the play and the players.”
-- Miguel de Cervantes

“That which is striking and beautiful is not always good; but that which is good is always
beautiful.”
-- Ninon de l’Enclos
“Freedom is not what you like. It is what you want, but you cannot have freedom to express
yourself until you have discipline.”
-- Dame Ninette de Valois

“Minds are like parachutes – they only function when open.”

-- Thomas Dewar

“In the discovery of knowledge there is great entertainment.”

-- Walt Disney

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.”
--Benjamin Disraeli

“Acting – to reveal your soul through art.”

-- Eleanor Duci

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

-- Albert Einstein

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

-- Albert Einstein

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art
and science.”
-- Albert Einstein

“The world is a dangerous place to live in, not because of the people that do evil; but because
of the people that stand by and let them do it.”
-- Albert Einstein

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

-- George Eliot

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
-- T. S. Eliot

“Happiness is being able to speak the truth without hurting anyone.”

-- Federico Fellini

“I think it’s important to get a sense of how the character sees the world, how they think.
That’s what I love, getting inside their skin and their heads. It’s also an adventure into
your own head, I think.”
-- Ralph Fiennes

“A plot is: The king died and then the queen died.
A story is: The king died and then the queen died of a broken heart.”
-- E. M. Forster

“Continue searching harder, deeper, faster, stronger and louder and knowing one day, you’ll
be called upon to use all that you’ve amassed in the process.”
-- Jodie Foster, Actor/Director

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan but also
believe.”
-- Anatole France

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the
world.”
-- Anne Frank

“We have a contract with the public. In us they see themselves or what they would like to be.”
-- Clark Gable

“Let us become the change we seek in the world.”

 -- Mahatma Gandhi

“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.”
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today
and the reality of tomorrow.”
-- Robert H. Goddard

“Few people have the imagination for reality.”

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Choose well: your choice is brief, and yet endless.”

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic
in it.”
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“One’s roused by this, another finds that fit.
Each loves the play for what he brings to it.”
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“After all of our studies we acquire only that which we put into practice.”
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Humor is a universal language.”

--Joel Goodman

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

-- Wayne Gretzky

“Just as robes or rags give the actor the feel of the character, so also can makeup.”
--Uta Hagan

“Some people talk because they think that sounds more manageable than silence.”
-- Margaret Halsey

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must
step up the stairs.”
-- Vance Havner

“Actor: a musician who plays on a homemade instrument: himself.”

-- Helen Hayes

“Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.”

--Heinrich Heine

“I am the master of my fate; the captain of my soul.”

-- William Ernest Henley
“ Theatre is life without the boring parts.”
-- Alfred Hitchcock
“Creativity is flight in restriction.”
-- Francis Hodge
“A man’s mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will
contract.”
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Every calling is great when greatly pursued.”

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“You never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him.”
-- Lou Holtz
“Language is the picture and counterpart of thought.”
--Mark Hopkins

“People do not lack strength; they lack will.”

-- Victor Hugo

“Nothing else in the world … is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”
-- Victor Hugo

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind.
The third is to be kind.”
-- Henry James
“In the end, only kindness matters.”
-- Jewel
“Language springs out of the inmost parts of us. No glass renders a man’s likeness so true as
his speech.”
-- Ben Johnson
“What we hope to do with ease we must first learn to do with diligence.”
-- Samuel Johnson
“The dramas laws, the drama’s patrons give.
And we that live to please must please to live.”
-- Samuel Johnson
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”
-- Samuel Johnson
“ In the last analysis, the designing of stage scenery is not the problem of an architect or a
painter or a sculptor or even a musician, but a poet.”
-- Robert Edmond Jones

“Theatre demands of its craftsman that they know their jobs. The theatre is a school. We
shall never be done with studying and learning.”
-- Robert Edmond Jones

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

-- Carl Jung
“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the
aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
-- Helen Keller
“It’s not easy being green.”
-- Kermit, the Frog

“Mime is the art of creating the illusion of reality and the art of imagining the world together
with others.”
-- Claude Kipnis
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
-- Lao-tsu

“Interpretation is the art of communicating to an audience a work of literary art in its

intellectual, emotional and aesthetic entirety.”
-- Charlotte Lee
“Life is too serious to be taken seriously.”
-- Mike Leonard
“You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that
desire with a singleness of purpose.”
-- Abraham Lincoln
“Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune.”
--Nicholas Ling

“It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again.”
-- Vince Lombardi

“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough
at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“There is only one success: to spend life in your own way.”

-- Christopher Marlowe

“An actor can only be a mirror of humanity, a mirror looked into by audiences.”
-- Shirley MacLaine

“Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the
summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new
vantage point.”
-- Harold B. Melchart

“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish.”

--Michelangelo

“Art teaches nothing except the significance of life.”

-- Henry Miller
“Reality is something you rise above.”
-- Lisa Minell
“The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.”
-- Jawaharial Nehru
“Acting isn’t really a creative profession. It’s an interpretive one.”
-- Paul Newman
“Acting is a question of absorbing other people’s personalities and adding some of our own
experience.”
-- Paul Newman
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
-- Proverbs 25:11
“Art is the lie that makes us realize the truth.”
-- Pablo Picasso

“I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it.”
-- Pablo Picasso

“Without publicity, all else fails.”

-- Joseph Pulitzer

“Though laughter seems like a trifle, yet it has a power perhaps more despotic than anything
else, and one that is well-nigh irresistible; it often changes the tendency of the greatest
affairs, as it very often dissipates hatred and anger.”
-- Quintilian

“If you have tried to do something but couldn’t you are far better off than if you had tried to do
nothing and succeeded.”
-- John T. Ragland, Jr.

“Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.”

--Kate Reid

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

“The finest works of the dramatist are dead without the actor’s heart.”
--Edmond Rostand
Cyrano de Bergera
“The web of our life is a mingled yarn, good and ill together.”
--William Shakespeare
All’s Well That Ends Well

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.”
--William Shakespeare
As You Like It
“Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets and then is heard no more.”
--William Shakespeare
As You Like It
“It’s meat and drink for me to see a clown.”
-- William Shakespeare

“Speak the speech I pray you as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue.”
-- William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Hamlet
“Suit the action to the word,
The word to the action;
With this special observance,
That you o’erstep not the modesty of nature.”
-- William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Hamlet
“To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
-- William Shakespeare
Polonius, Hamlet

“Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.”
-- William Shakespeare
Polonius, Hamlet
‘Mind you speech a little,
Les you mar your fortune.”
-- William Shakespeare

“Thus I play in one person many people.”

-- William Shakespeare
“O, speak to me no more;
These words like daggers enter in my ears.”
--William Shakespeare
Gertrude, Hamlet

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.”
-- William Shakespeare

“Know you how much the people may be moved by that which he will utter?”
-- William Shakespeare

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”
-- George Bernard Shaw

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
-- George Bernard Shaw

“Everyday learn. Learn enough so that you can do good theatre.”

--Michael Shurtliff

“Use what you got ‘cause that’s all you get.”

 -- Clarence “Pine Top” Smith

“Without discipline there can be no theatre art.”

-- Konstantin Stanislavski

“Acting is the ability to react to imaginary stimuli—to create real thoughts and feelings through
imaginary circumstance.”
--Lee Strasberg

“Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.”

-- Syrus

“There is no life that couldn’t be immortal, if only for a moment.”

-- Wislawa Szmborska

“Every role is a challenge. You always start from scratch.”

-- Jessica Tandy, Actor

“ There is no deodorant like success.”

-- Elizabeth Taylor

“Imagination, industry and intelligence – the three I’s – are all indispensable to the actor, but of
these three the greatest is, without doubt, imagination.”
-- Ellen Terry, Actor

“An actor’s art is like a beggar’s bag …he should pick up everything he comes across.”
-- Sakato Tojuro

“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.”
--Leo Tolstoy

“I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.”

-- Lily Tomlin

“Theatre sets out to induce in an audience the belief that the things and events it presents are
not what they are known to be.”
-- Lionel Trilling

“It is easier to manufacture seven facts out of a whole cloth than one emotion.”
-- Mark Twain

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”
-- Vincent Van Gogh

“In theatre you have to make the unreal believable.”

-- Jean Vilar

“Theatre Arts develops practical lifetime skills.”

-- Kim Alan Wheatley
“History is made at night. Character is what you are in the dark.
-- Lord John Whorfi

“I love acting. It is so much more real than life.”

-- Oscar Wilde

“Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things
that cannot be taken from you.”
-- Oscar Wilde

“People are not so dreadful when you get to know them.”

-- Tennessee Williams
Jim: The Glass Menagerie

“Every now and then, when you’re on stage, you hear the best sound a player can hear. It’s a
sound you can’t get in the movies or in television. It is the sound of a wonderful, deep silence
that means you’ve hit them where they live.”
-- Shelly Winters

“I have spread my dreams under your feet: tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
-- W. B. Yeats

“White. A blank page or canvas -- so many possibilities.”

George: Sunday in the Park with George
“Careful the things you do. Children will see and learn.”
-- Witch, Into the Woods

“The harder to get the better to have.”

-- Prince, Into the Woods

“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”
-- Old Chinese saying
“Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage.”
-- Anonymous

“An actor is as great as his or her imagination.”

-- Anonymous

“An actor is part illusionist, part artist, part ham.”

-- Anonymous

“The joy is in the journey.”

-- Anonymous

“Without effort, there is no reward.”

-- Anonymous
 THEATRE ARTS VOCABULARY
act - to perform for an audience representing another
person.
acting area - see stage
actor - performer, player, thespian.
ad lib - create lines or action spontaneously when necessary.

angel - financial backer of a play production.

apron - part of the stage projecting past the curtain line toward
the audience.
 arena stage - see theatre-in-the-round.
articulation- process of starting and stopping vowel and consonant
sounds.
audible - able to be heard.
audience - people who watch and or listen and respond to a
performance.
audition - try out for a role in a play.
backstage - area that the audience cannot see.
batten - piece of wood or pipe from which lights, scenery and
curtains are hung.
believable - convincing to the audience.
blackout - all stage lights go off at the same time.
blocking - planned movement on stage.
"break a leg" - wish for good luck in a performance.
boards - see stage.
build vocally - use the voice to change mood and increase intensity

business - 'small bit of action. ex. bouncing a ball, writing a letter,

making a sandwich.
call board - place where announcements and notices for actors
and crew are posted.
cast - actors in a play.
casting - selecting the actor who will play each role in a show.

centerstage - C, middle portion of the stage area; between L & R and

U & D.
characterization - putting together all facets of a character to make that
person a believable individual who can be portrayed
before an audience.
cheat, cheat out - 'aiming body out toward the audience when talking to
another character.
climax - 'high point in the action of a scene.
collaboration - the work of many people toward a common project;
work done by many people.
comedy - play that treats situations or characters in a humorous
way; play with a happy ending.
company - actors and crew of a production.
 countercross - 'move to adjust stage picture after another actor has
moved.
crew - group of workers who handle a specific aspect of a
production.
cross, X - 'move from one stage area to another.
cue - last word or action before your line or action; signal for
next line, sound effect, light change, etc.
curtain call - appearance of the cast at the end of the show in
response to the audience applause.
curtain line - imaginary line on the stage below the grand drape.
cyclorama, cyc - Curtain or drop across back of stage; can serve as
background for some scenes.
deck - see stage
dialogue - spoken lines in a skit or play; actual words that the
characters say.
diaphragm - muscle below the ribs that expands out and down
causing air to enter the lungs.
director - the person in charge of a production. - the BOSS of
the play.
downstage, down - D, portion of the stage closest to the audience; toward
the audience.
dress rehearsal - final rehearsal before the show opens with full
costumes, makeup, lights, sound, props, etc.
dual role - actor's task of thinking, feeling, moving & speaking as
the character while maintaining technical control -
staying open and audible, remembering lines and
cues, using "fake" props as if they are real, etc.
effect -
emotional recall - 'remembering a feeling from your own life to apply to a
performance.
encore - repeated or additional performance at the end of a
play.
entrance - 'come onto the stage.
exhale - expel air from the body.
exit - 'leave the stage.
exposition - beginning of the play which explains the who, what and
where of the plot.
 extra - castmember who serves as background for action.
Usually used in television or films.
eye contact - a performer looking out at the audience directly from
time to time. (Should be done at least half the time.)

finale - concluding part of any performance.

flat - canvas covered wooden frame used for scenery.
flies - area between the top of the proscenium arch and the
stage ceiling; loft; fly area.
fly - to raise scenery above the top of the proscenium
opening to lower it down to the stage floor.
followspot - spotlight that can be moved around during a
performance.
front, out front - see house.
full back - actor facing away from the audience. Used only on
special occasions.
full front - actor facing the audience directly. Used for important
lines and actions.
gesture - 'movement of a part of the body to communicate an
emotion or idea.
give a scene - 'give audience attention to another actor or actors.
grand drape - front curtain separating the stage from the audience,
often simply called "the curtain."
greenroom - backstage lounge or waiting room for the actors
(almost never painted green!)
grip - stagehand who moves scenery on and off stage.
house - the audience; place where the audience sits; front, out
front.
imagery - words or phrases that appeal to the senses.

imagination - ability to form mental images or concepts that are not

actually present in reality. A necessary component of
theatre, utilized by actors and the audience.
improvisation - make up dialogue and action as you go; usually guided
by an idea, theme, or topic. Acting without rehearsal.

inflection - gliding from one pitch level to another. Can change

the meaning of words.
 inhale - take air into the lungs.
intermission - short break between the acts of a play or parts of a
performance.

introduction - announce a scene or selection to an audience, giving

information ; includes title, author or playwright, and
any necessary information to understand the
performance.
kill - turn off; stop; remove from stage.
larynx - voice box, contains the vocal chords.
left, stage left - L, actor's left when facing the audience.
legs - narrow curtains on either side of the stage that mask
the wings.
lines - pieces or sentences of dialogue.
makeup - cosmetics of various colors applied to the actor's skin
so that facial features are visible and/or altered under
stage lighting.
mask - hide from audience view.
mime - stylized pantomime; done in makeup and costume.
motivation - the reason behind a character's behavior.
objective - character's goal.
off - see backstage.
on - on stage.
one quarter - actor turned halfway between full front and profile.
Used to share a scene.
onomatopoeia - words that sound like what they mean. ex. boom,
clack, zip.
open, open up - turn toward the audience.
out front, front - audience seating area.
pacing - tempo or speed at which scene is played. Very
important in comedy.
pantomime - acting without talking or sound effects.
 pick up cues - quickly begin a speech without allowing a pause
between the first words of the speech and the cue.
pitch - highness or lowness of the voice.
places - order for actors and crew to get into position for the
beginning of a scene.
plant - place a prop on stage before the show so that it is
available when the script calls for it.
player(s) - see actor.
playing area - see stage.
playwright - person who plans and writes plays.
practical - set piece or prop that is usable, actually works.
Ex - door or window that opens and shuts, rock or hill
you can stand on, lamps that can be turned on.
producer - person who finds financial investors, hires the director
and production staff, sets the budget, etc. for a play
production.
profile - actor position facing the wings, left or right. Used for
arguments or love scenes.
project, (pro' ject) - throw the voice to the farthest person in the audience.

prompt book - script marked with directions and cues for use by the
crews.
prompter - person situated offstage who supplies missed lines
during a performance.
pronunciation - producing the sounds of words. (Correct sounds,
stresses and accents can be found in the dictionary.)

properties - all articles and furnishing needed on stage in a play.

with the exception or scenery and costumes; can be
carried on or planted; props.
proscenium - permanent framed opening through which the
audience sees a play.
raked stage - stage floor tilted toward the audience.
rate - speed or tempo.
Reader's Theatre -
rehearsal - cast members working on a production under the
guidance of the director.
resolution - ending, happy or sad; conclusion to a story.
resonance - enrichment of sound from its vibration in a closed
space.
resonators - body chambers where sound vibrates; throat, mouth,
nasal cavity & sinus cavities.
right, stage right - R, actor's right when facing the audience.
rising action - conflict in a scene gets worse and/or more
complicated.
role - part or character played by an actor.
royalty - money paid to a playwright for permission to stage
his/her play.
scene - performance with beginning, middle and end; section
of a play that occurs at one place, at one time.

scenery - hangings, structures, etc. that represent a location or

decorate the stage; set.
script - written copy of a play.
sensory recall - 'remembering how an action or object felt, looked,
smelled, sounded or tasted.
set - see scenery.
share a scene - 'have equal audience attention with another actor.
stage area(s)- sections of the stage, named for their relation to the
audience.
stage directions - script instructions for movement, business, lighting,
sound, etc. Usually in parentheses.
stage fright - 'nervous feeling about performing.
stage hands - see grip.
strike - to clear from the stage completely; take down and
store away when the run of the play has ended.
take a scene - 'get audience attention.
 teasers - short curtains hung above the stage to mask the lights
and battens.
technical director - person in charge of everything back of the grand drape
except the actors and costumes; answers to the stage
manager.
technical rehearsal - rehearsal for perfecting lights, scenery, sound, and
other technical elements.
theatre in the round - theatre facility where the audience surrounds the stage
on the all sides; arena stage.
thespian - see actor.
three quarters - actor facing upstage corners of the stage. Used to
give a scene.
thrust stage - stage that extend well past the proscenium arch so
that the audience surrounds it on three sides.
tongue twister - difficult to pronounce phrases or sentences used as
articulation exercises.
top - lines begin before the previous line is finished.
tormentors - see legs.
tragedy - a play in which the protagonist fails to achieve their
goal; a play with a sad or tragic ending.
trapdoor, trap - an opening in the stage floor that permits actors to
enter from and exit to an area beneath the stage.
traveler mid-stage curtain; act curtain.
troupe - group of actors, especially those that tour from place to
place. (Source of the term "trouper.")
up, upstage - U, portion of the stage farthest from the audience;
away from the audience.
vocal variety - changes in rate, pitch, volume and intensity that help a
listener stay interested in a vocal performance.

volume - loudness or softness of the voice, sound effects or

music.
wagon - platforms or large set pieces on casters.
walk on - part where an actor comes on and off stage without
saying a line.
 wardrobe - costumes.
wings - backstage area on either side of the stage.

Teaching
 The art of teaching is the art of assisting
discovery.
 You can teach a lesson for a day but if you
teach curiosity, you teach for a lifetime.
 It’s too bad that the people who really
know how to run the country are busy
teaching school.
 When truth stands in your way, you are
headed in the wrong direction.
 When teaching the love of truth, never
lose the truth of love.
 Teacher’s task: take a lot of live wires
and see that they are well grounded.
 The mediocre teacher tells, the good one
explains, the superior one shows, the
great one inspires.
 Nothing improves a child’s hearing more
than praise.