HOW TO TRAIN CHILDREN TO ACT LIKE PROFESSIONALS WHEN PERFORMING IN CHURCH PLAYS
By Betty Benson Robertson
Stage Positions and Movements
1. All direction is from the performer's point-of-view, facing the audience. Downstage is the area closest to the audience.
2. The term "cross" means moving to another area. Parallels are avoided on stage, so when crossing, arc. Be sure the audience can see your face at all times.
3. "Counter-cross" means movement in the opposite direction to adjust to the cross of another actor.
4. A moving performer is usually the one on which attention should be focused. Therefore, it is a basic rule to move downstage of other performers. The only time this is not applicable is when the moving actor should not receive attention.
5. If another actor stands downstage of you, attempt to make an inconspicuous, adjusting movement.
6. Do not stand in front of another actor.
7. Stand so that you can focus on other actors, keeping in mind that the audience also needs to see your face.
8. There should be a motive for every movement you make on stage.
9. When standing with one foot forward, be sure it is the foot away from the audience.
10. When you start walking across the stage, start with the foot away from the audience.
11. Gestures must be exaggerated and definite because of the distance away from the audience. Always gesture with the upstage hand or arm. The gesture always comes a split-second before the speech. Words can be lost by the noise of movement if both happen at the same time.
12. When you are taking no direct part in the action of the scene, stand still. Let your hands hang loose and relaxed by your side. Any movement draws away audience attention.
13. The entire acting area of any scene should be used so an effective picture is created.
14. When two characters enter together, the speaking one enters last.
15. Project lines as if speaking to the person in the last row. Make certain your chin is never dropped, sending the sound down instead of out into the audience.
16. Be quick on cues. In dialogue, set cues early enough so there is no waiting to respond.
17. Acting is the natural outcome of study, inner feeling, and emotion. Learn everything possible about the individual you are portraying, so you can become that character.
18. The value of your character is not determined by the number of lines.
19. Inflection and stress give the meaning to lines. By stressing and varying the pitch of the
voice, the entire meaning of any simple sentence can be changed. Practice with a tape recorder for a variety in inflection and stress.
20. Stay in character during your entire scene. Don't drop character when the lines belong to
another actor.
21. The movement and position of hands is vitally important in making a character real. Close
observation of other people will show the difference between a domineering type of individual and a weak, passive person.
22. Don't go back and correct a word if it is said wrong by mistake. Fix the meaning, then try to end with the right word.
23. If a line receives a laugh, don't come back in too soon. Begin speaking again just before the laughter fades out.
24. Learn how to listen to other characters' words as if hearing them for the first time. Speak your lines as if you've never spoken them before.
25. A certain amount of tension makes acting alive, but too much hinders character portrayal and will make you appear wooden and unnatural in movements. Breathe deeply and try to relax before going on stage.
Tips For Memorization
1. Highlight your speeches.
2. Clearly mark your entrances and exits.
3. Understand what you are memorizing. Look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary.
4. Read, and re-read, what you are trying to learn. Do this until you get a picture of the words in your head.
5. Repeat out loud what you are attempting to memorize. In this way, you will see, feel and hear the words.
6. Cue yourself. Pick out a key word in a passage and link it mentally to another key word that follows.
7. Learn your cues together with your lines.
8. Do memory work in short blocks of time when your concentration is high.
9. A tape recorder enables you to record your speeches and play them over until learned. Or you
may tape the other actor's parts for cues, stop the recorder, say your lines, and then pick up the next speech.
10. Read through your lines just before turning off the light at night. Your subconscious will aid in the memorization process while you sleep.
11. Ask God for His help in the ministry you are undertaking.
Know and Understand Drama Terms
Apron - Any addition to the stage which extends into the auditorium.
At Rise - On stage when lights come on.
Blocking - Positioning of performers in the acting area.
Break Character - Saying or doing anything not consistent with what the character portrayed would do or say.
Bump Up - Bringing up the intensity of lights.
Business - Purposeful actions or gestures used to reveal character, establish atmosphere or
explain a situation.
Characterization - A performer's portrayal of a role on stage.
Clip Cues - To say lines before the preceding performer has had time to finish, destroying the
meaning of that speech.
Cross - Moving from one position to another on stage.
Cue - The last words or action prior to another performer speaking.
Downstage - The part of the stage nearest the audience.
Dropping Lines - Letting the voice trail off in volume.
Fade Up - Bringing lights up gradually.
Flat - Scenery on a wooden frame covered with paper or canvas.
Flexible Staging - Using the stage in combination with the forestage, or leaving the stage
altogether such as making use of the audience aisles.
Freeze - Holding an expression or position while the attention of the audience is elsewhere.
Ground Plans - Layout of the stage showing location of properties.
Hand Props - All items a performer handles.
Light Plot - Sequence of light changes from beginning to end of play.
Open Up - Turn to the audience.
Position - Places on stage for actors as set by the director.
Preset - To place properties in position prior to the first scene of the play.
Projection - Throwing the voice forward to the audience.
Prompt Copy - A copy of the script with marginal notes including business, action and notations.
Prompter - Person who cues performers.
Prop Table - Table offstage where hand props are set prior to the curtain for easy access.
Properties (Props) - Items used for a play which furnish and ornament the stage, including
hand, trim and set props.
Read Through - Reading the script from beginning to end.
Royalty - Payment made for privilege of performing a play.
Scene Dock - Area where properties are stored.
Spike - Mark the position of set piece on the stage floor, usually with masking tape.
Strike - Clear the stage of props and scenery.
Telescope - Overlap speeches so one actor begins speaking before another has stopped.
Type Casting - Selecting actors for roles because they resemble the characters they play
in real life.
Unit of Action - Occurs when a new character enters, begins a new approach or another
character takes the initiative.
Upstage - Away from the audience.
Upstaging - When one performer is positioned above another so the first has to turn his back
to the audience when speaking.
