Basic Acting, Fourth Period [10/10]
The classroom was even more open than usual when the students arrived, the desks having been replaced by a handful of folding chairs.
"Right, let's get started, shall we?" Daisy stood in the center of the room and looked around at the students. "As you know, if you've been following your syllabus, your monologue presentations are due next week. So I thought I'd give you all an opportunity to practice in class today, as well as an opportunity to practice something else, one of the most important skills an actor can have: keeping your audience's attention. Even on the long, boring, exposition parts of a play.
"With that in mind, I have what will hopefully be a fun activity for you all. I would like you to split up into pairs or groups of three and practice your monologues for each other, keeping in mind that you have to keep your audience interested. Because if you don't, they will leave. That's right, those of you watching your classmates perform are to get up and walk away if the monologue isn't holding your attention one hundred percent. Don't be nice here. Walk to the other side of the room. Leave the room, if you feel like it. People doing the monologue? If this happens, you have to get your audience back. Convince them to stay, without breaking character or stopping your monologue. Up your performance and drag that audience member back in."
Daisy went over to her chair. "If anyone can't find a partner, I'm willing to be an audience member. I warn you though, I can be very hard to keep interested." She smiled. "Get to work!"
[ooc: this post will be open for play all week, since I know we have a variety of availabilities in here. Daisy is an option for partnering, but she's right, she is hard to keep interested. And she'll walk away. And keep walking. This excercise is one I've done for class, and my instructor related a story of doing it himself . . . in which he had to follow his instructor out to his car and get in in order to keep following his audience and keep them interested.]
"Right, let's get started, shall we?" Daisy stood in the center of the room and looked around at the students. "As you know, if you've been following your syllabus, your monologue presentations are due next week. So I thought I'd give you all an opportunity to practice in class today, as well as an opportunity to practice something else, one of the most important skills an actor can have: keeping your audience's attention. Even on the long, boring, exposition parts of a play.
"With that in mind, I have what will hopefully be a fun activity for you all. I would like you to split up into pairs or groups of three and practice your monologues for each other, keeping in mind that you have to keep your audience interested. Because if you don't, they will leave. That's right, those of you watching your classmates perform are to get up and walk away if the monologue isn't holding your attention one hundred percent. Don't be nice here. Walk to the other side of the room. Leave the room, if you feel like it. People doing the monologue? If this happens, you have to get your audience back. Convince them to stay, without breaking character or stopping your monologue. Up your performance and drag that audience member back in."
Daisy went over to her chair. "If anyone can't find a partner, I'm willing to be an audience member. I warn you though, I can be very hard to keep interested." She smiled. "Get to work!"
[ooc: this post will be open for play all week, since I know we have a variety of availabilities in here. Daisy is an option for partnering, but she's right, she is hard to keep interested. And she'll walk away. And keep walking. This excercise is one I've done for class, and my instructor related a story of doing it himself . . . in which he had to follow his instructor out to his car and get in in order to keep following his audience and keep them interested.]