TEXT The "text" is what we get from the playwright--the lines, notes, and stage directions provided in the script. The text is always the same though other things about the show may be changed--such as locale, time, or setting (see "context"). Some say that the text is like a roadmap; the actors use it to find out where they are going--but how they get there is left up to the actor and director. Below is a sample text. Kelly: Hello. Learn the above text. Don't worry about memorizing it--just become very familiar with it. You will be reading with others--sometimes you will read Kelly and sometimes you will read Chris. Do not let yourself become set in a particular way of saying each line.
CONTEXT "Context" means the circumstances in which the text (lines) are used, Webster defines it as "the whole situation, background or environment relating to a particular event." Although the playwright provides a context within the body of the script, the director usually adapts the context of the script to conform with the particular needs of that production. For instance, the director may set Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" in 1890's texas. If the context is changed, most likely the way the lines are delivered will changed also. Context is usually referred to in either emotional terms (such as in terms of relationships, love/hate, lying, joking, etc.), physical ways (such as describing locations, weather, the time of day, feeling discomfort, etc.), or both. Below are examples of context. 1> Kelly and Chris are at a friend's funeral. Using the text you learned above, deliver the lines using these contexts. The purpose of this exercise is to show that there is always more than one way to deliver a line.
SUBTEXT "Subtext" means the character`s sub-conscious thoughts and feelings about the text, and is provided by the actor. We know that people don't always say what they are thinking--and what they are really thinking has a huge affect on how the lines are delivered. The actor's subtext is effected by not only his/her own lines, but also by other characters' lines as well. There is a big difference between "hearing" and "listening". "Hearing" is the passive action of sound entering your ear. "Listening", on the other hand, is the active action of allowing the sounds your ears hear to enter your brain and be processed into information and ideas. We often "hear" someone talk yet not "listen" to them. I believe that when you are "hearing" someone talk, you are not really "listening" to them--you are "listening" to the little voice inside of your head that is making comment on what the other person is saying: "That guy doesn't know what he's talking about!" or "oh, wow, yeah, that makes much more sense than what I was believing before!" This process is similar to that which is used when someone communicates through the use of an interpreter. You can hear the voice of the foreigner talking, but you're listening to the voice of the translator. Your little voice ("subtext") is taking many things into consideration: Your own prejudices, beliefs, attitudes, and values, and your perception of the speakers beliefs, attitudes, and values--which determines how much credibility you believe the speaker to have. The more credibility you believe the speaker to have, the more likely you are to accept what they say as true. The same holds true when you are speaking. That little voice also makes comment on what you are saying: "Oh, that was a stupid thing to say", or "listen to them laugh, I must be telling this joke well!", or "I really think her hair looks awful, but I don't want to hurt her feelings." Your brain is always working, constantly thinking, continually making comments about everything you experience. The use of subtext is one of the most valuable tools an actor has. "Subtext" should not be confused with "motivation". "Motivation" is the reason you are saying the lines of text or the desired effect you want from the text--for instance, trying to get someone to change their mind about something. "Subtext" is that little voice keeping you true to your motivation. If your motivation is clear enough and your subtext is consistent you will always be in character--which reduces the chance of your forgetting your lines and increases your ability to ad-lib when necessary. LINE READINGS Subtext/Motivation Read the sentences in the first group. Then, using the suggestions in the second group, read the first group again--showing different ways the sentences can be delivered. This is similar to the rehearsal process in that the actor may be asked by the director to change his/her subtext and/or motivation, affecting the line delivery. The rehearsal process is the search for the perfect line reading within the boundries of the performance. Notice that if you had a group of twenty actors in a line and asked them to deliver one of the sentances using a particular subtext or motivation, you would probably get about twenty different readings of the sentance. This illustrates that given a particular line and a particular subtext/motivation, there are probably twenty different ways to deliver that line, five to ten of those would be effective, and only one would be perfect in that time and place of the performance. Text
Subtext/Motivation
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