Stagecraft
Unit Title: Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You…
Length: Two Weeks (11 August – 26 August)
Performance:
- Create a 30-second original monologue describing what makes you uniquely you. Perform in front of class.
Weekly Focus / Learning Target / Assignments and Readings
11 August
“Beginnings” / I will understand the classroom expectations for Stagecraft and performances /
- Discuss: Stagecraft Syllabus/ Unit Plan
- Discuss: Stagecraft Overview
15 August
Monologues / I can critique others and be critiqued myself with an eye toward improvement rather than anger.
I can identify specific individuals in the classroom on sight. /
- Warm-Up: Circle Icebreakers
- Monologues
- Discussion: Why Posture Matters
- Classroom Activity: Enunciation
- Critique Audibility
22 August
Monologues / I can identify specific individuals in the classroom on sight and know at least some of what makes them interesting as a person.
I can speak well in class, focusing on audibility, enunciation, pitch, tone, speed, and posture. /
- Warm-Up: Circle Icebreakers
- Monologues
- Critique Audibility
- Getting to Know Each Other
- Audibility
- Enunciation
- Pitch
- Tone
- Speed
- Posture
Enunciation Exercise
A - Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.
B - Big black bug bit a big black bear and the big black bear bled black blood.
C - Can I cook a proper cup of coffee in a copper coffee pot?
D - Don't doubt the doorbell, but differ with the doorknob.
E - Eight gray geese in a green field grazing.
F - Fine white vinegar with veal.
The free thugs set three thugs free.
G - Grab the groundhog from the glazed grass.
Grey geese in a green field grazing.
H - High roller, low roller, lower roller.
How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
I - Inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping.
I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
J - Jingle jungle jangle joker.
K - Knit kilts for nasty cold nights.
L - Little lucky luke likes lakes, lucky little luke likes licking lakes
M - Monkeys make monopoly monotonous.
N - The Next nest will not necessarily be next to nothing.
O - Octopi occupy a porcupine's mind.
Only royal oily royal oil boils
P - Peter Prangle, the prickly pear picker, picked three perfectly prickly pears.
A proper copper coffee pot.
Q - Queen Catherine wakes the cat, and the cat quietly cries.
R - Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers!
Roberta ran rings around the Roman ruins.
S - Some shun sunshine. Do you shun sunshine?
Six stick shifts stuck shut.
T - Three thick thistle sticks.
The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
U - Unique New York, Unique New York, Unique New York.
V -Venti, Grande, Tall - Very Grand Words for Large, Medium, Small.
W - Will's wetsuit is round and wet and rough and wide and ready to go on a watery ride.
Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses.
X - Xylophones exist or so existentialists insist.
Y - Yoda met a Yeti on the Plains of Serengeti.
Z - Zoologists illogically love to read astrology.
Circle Ice Breakers help students and teachers learn names, project voices, and express themselves.
Name Game:
This is an ideal first day activity. Each person announces her name while stepping forward and striking a pose that reflects her personality.
For example, Emily might hop out, angle her arms like an Egyptian hieroglyphic and joyously shout, “Emily!” Then, everyone else jumps forward and copies Emily’s voice and movement. Afterwards, the circle returns to normal, and then it’s on to the next person.
World's Greatest Sandwich:
In this fun memory game, the players sit in a circle. One person begins by saying his/her name and then states what ingredient goes on the sandwich.
Example: "My name is Kevin, and the World's Greatest Sandwich has pickles." The next person in the circle announces their name and says Kevin's ingredient as well as her own. "Hi, my name is Sarah, and the World's Greatest Sandwich has pickles and popcorn." This activity helps the students build memorization skills. And at the finally, have the kids pantomime taking a bite.
Whoozit:
For this game, one person is chosen to be the “Seeker.” After that person leaves the room, another person is chosen to be the “Whoozit.” This player makes constant rhythmic motions that change every twenty seconds or so. For example, first the Whoozit might clap his hands, then snap fingers, then pat his head. The other circle members discretely follow along. The Seeker then enters, hoping to figure out which student is the Whoozit.
Standing in the middle of the circle, she gets three guesses while the Whoozit tries his best to constantly switch actions without being noticed.
Rhyme Time:
In this fast paced game, the instructor stands in the center of the circle. She names a setting and a situation. Then, she points to one of the players at random.
Using improvisation skills, the player begins telling a story with a single sentence. For example, he might say, “I just found out I have a long lost twin.” The instructor then points to a new speaker who must continue the story and the rhyme. Example: “I guess Mom tossed a coin and my Bro didn’t win.”
The rhymes are couplets, so the next chosen player creates a new line of the story with a new sound. The improvised tale goes on until a student fails to produce a rhyme. Then he sits in the middle of the circle. This goes on until the circle shrinks down to one or two champions.
Instructors should make certain to increase the speed as the game progresses. Players may want to prohibit tricky words like orange, purple and month.
The Qualities of an Effective Speaking Voice
In delivering your monologue, it is an important factor to have an effective speaking voice. An effective speaking voice may be summed up under six categories. These are audibility, pleasantness, variety, animation and clarity.
The good speaking voice has audibility. The words uttered by the speaker should be clearly heard. Since loud sounds or voices might be irritating to hear, it is not necessary that the voice of the speaker is overly loud. The speaker must know how to adjust the volume as well as the force of his or her voice. He or she must consider the audience as well as the coverage of the place such as the size of the hall in modulating his or her voice.
The speaker should also have a pleasant voice. Pleasant voices are considered as those voices that are variable in rate or in force, follow an accepted pattern, articulation as well as pronunciation. Furthermore, a pleasant voice is not raspy, shrill, breathy or nasal.
An effective speaking voice also has variety. This means that it fluctuates in rate, pitch, quality, and in its volume as the speaker shifts the ideas, purpose or attitudes.
An effective speaking voice can also be animated by the change on the voice’s rate and force. The voice when animated can produce liveliness to the delivery of the monologue.
An effective speaking voice also has its fluency; speaking with fluency means delivering a smooth flow of words. The fluency in speaking may be affected by nervousness, faulty breathing or other thing such as poor speech preparation.
An effective speaking voice also has clarity. It means that the speaker’s voice or the words he or she uttered are clear enough or easy to be understood by the listeners or the audience. Clarity in speaking may be developed through constant practice in the articulation of the vowel and the consonant sounds.
The Importance of Posture in Audibility and Performance
Slouching as you speak, moving from one foot to the other, or leaning on the lectern are not ways to engender an audience’s confidence in you and your message. You may not be aware of your bad posture, but since you are the focus of the audience’s attention, poor and uncertain posture will be obvious to your listeners.
There are many aspects of delivering a speech which you as the speaker cannot control, but proper posture is certainly one variable you can control. Begin your speech by standing on the balls of your feet with your feet 7 to 12 inches apart. This will give you balance for the rest of the body and will help you to be erect without looking robotic.
Treat the lectern as you would a hot stove. Touch gingerly but don’t lean on it as though it were a post. As you introduce a new point, take your hand off the lectern and gesture to show you are changing direction. Or when you are ready to discuss another aspect of the topic, take a step away from the lectern and toward your audience. Purposeful movement of any kind will help insure a natural and confident posture.
Avoid shifting the weight of your body as you speak. This can lead to standing on one foot or moving back and forth like a porch swing. Start out using the balls of the feet technique and occasionally take a step to show changes in the direction of your presentation.
Consider the mental image of "planting your feet" as you begin to speak. This will help stabilize your posture and keep you from "bouncing" on your feet while speaking. Planting conjures up the idea that you will stay in one place for a while.
Having your hands in front of you or at your side when you gesture and not in a pocket or clasped together will also make you have better posture and appear more poised.
With good posture you have a promising foundation for showing confidence and being in control of your speaking situation.
How We Evaluate a Speech/ Monologue
- Effective speech evaluations benefit
everyone
- You (as the evaluator) improve as a speaker by providing an evaluation. A great way to solidify your own knowledge is to teach it to others.
- The speaker becomes aware of both their strengths and areas with potential for improvement.
- The audience for the evaluation (if there is one, as in Toastmasters) benefits from hearing the evaluation and applying the lessons to their own presentations.
- Future audiences benefit from improved speakers.
2. Learn the objectives of the speaker.
Before the speech takes place, you must figure out the speaker’s objectives. Sometimes the objective is obvious, but not always.
Perhaps the speaker is experimenting with a modern style of visuals which goes against common practice.
- If you know this, you can tailor your evaluation accordingly.
- If you don’t, you may unfairly criticize them for not considering the expectations of the audience.
Do not evaluate the objective (theme) of the speech. Evaluate only the way in which it was delivered.
3. Consider the skill level of the speaker… sometimes.
Evaluating the (very) inexperienced speaker:
Treat novice speakers with extra care. Be a little more encouraging and a little less critical, particularly if they exhibit a high level of speaking fear. Compliment them on tackling their fear. Reassure them that they aren’t as bad as they imagine.
Be supportive. Ask them how they feel it went.
Evaluating the (very) experienced speaker:
A common misconception is that you cannot evaluate a speaker if they are more experienced than you. This is false. Though you may have limited speaking experience, you have a lifetime of experience listening to presentations.
4. Be truthful.
If you did not like the speech, do not say that you did. If you did not like a component of the speech, do not say you did.
There is a tendency to want to be nice and embellish the positives. Dishonest praise will only damage your credibility and character.
5. Express your opinion.
Your opinion matters. As a member of the audience, you are who the speaker is trying to reach. You are fully qualified to evaluate how well that message was communicated.
Every speaker, no matter how experienced, can improve. Perhaps more importantly, every speaker wants to improve. You can help.
However, you need to avoid generalities. Avoid speaking on behalf of the audience with phrases like “Everyone thought…” or “The audience felt…” You can only accurately talk about are your own thoughts and feelings.
On the other hand, suppose you observe a spectator crying as a result of an emotional speech. In this case, you can remark on this as evidence that the speech had emotional impact.
Magical phrases in a speech evaluation start with personal language: “I thought… I liked… I felt… I wish…”
6. Be specific. Use examples. Explain why.
How can you make sure that the constructive criticism doesn’t completely outweigh the praise and end up discouraging the speaker?
The answer: be specific. Studies have shown that specific praise is much more encouraging than generic praise. This applies to criticism as well. Specific feedback (positive or negative) is more meaningful than generic feedback.
e.g. “I liked the dynamic opening of your speech.” is better than “I liked your speech.”
In addition to being specific and tying comments to examples from the speech, it also helps to explain why you liked or didn’t like a particular aspect of the speech.
Consider the effectiveness of the following four statements:
- “Gestures were poor.“
- “Gestures were limited in the first half of the speech.“
- “Gestures were limited in the first half of the speech because the speaker gripped the lectern.“
- “Gestures could have been improved in the first half of the speech. By removing her hands from the lectern, she could more easily make natural gestures.“
Statement #4 is phrased in a positive manner, it is specific, it references an example from the speech, and states why it is good not to grip the lectern.