the silent seven
from directing for the stage by terry john converse
Unit 1- Directing/Playwriting The Silent Seven
Enduring Understanding: In a performance, there is an equal amount said in what is not said. That is to say, actions and moments of the characters that go beyond the script help to define how an audience understands the meaning of the story. This is where the director is the key component. It is your job as a director to define the stage pictures the audience reads in order to understand who, what, and where, and sometimes when the play is taking place. Wherever your inspiration is drawn from, the visual language you use defines and enhances the author's words turning your actors into more than just recitation experts.
Essential Questions: Why, in your opinion, is the director such a key component to the play-making process? How is individual interpretation managed as a team? What are some meanings that you have derived from silence in your past? How have you used silence to gain understanding of someone or confound another person? Do you think should we add silence when it is not a portion of a script? Why?
Goal: In this set of seven exercises, we will follow the work of Terry John Converse from his book Directing for the Stage working on what he has deemed, "The Silent Seven." You will separate into teams of three for these exercises, performing and critiquing each others' work as we progress over the next few weeks. Readings will be assigned for homework so that class time is all about doing the exercises in "lab" time. It is imperative that you read the full excerpt before each exercise!
Essential Skills:
Enduring Understanding: In a performance, there is an equal amount said in what is not said. That is to say, actions and moments of the characters that go beyond the script help to define how an audience understands the meaning of the story. This is where the director is the key component. It is your job as a director to define the stage pictures the audience reads in order to understand who, what, and where, and sometimes when the play is taking place. Wherever your inspiration is drawn from, the visual language you use defines and enhances the author's words turning your actors into more than just recitation experts.
Essential Questions: Why, in your opinion, is the director such a key component to the play-making process? How is individual interpretation managed as a team? What are some meanings that you have derived from silence in your past? How have you used silence to gain understanding of someone or confound another person? Do you think should we add silence when it is not a portion of a script? Why?
Goal: In this set of seven exercises, we will follow the work of Terry John Converse from his book Directing for the Stage working on what he has deemed, "The Silent Seven." You will separate into teams of three for these exercises, performing and critiquing each others' work as we progress over the next few weeks. Readings will be assigned for homework so that class time is all about doing the exercises in "lab" time. It is imperative that you read the full excerpt before each exercise!
Essential Skills:
- Interpretation of stage presence and business
- Spacial management
- Character exploration
- Non-verbal Communication
- Collaboration/Collaborative Communication
- Critical thinking
silent tension (experimenting with visual pauses)
Activity 1. Using 2-3 actors from your team, create a 2-3 minute scene with clearly established characters situation, and location (the who, the what, and the where) in which the tension between the characters is so strong that they are unable to speak. In addition to communicating clearly the who, what , and where through the silence, plan on highlighting at least one important moment through the use of visual pause. (Converse, p. 21)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
sounds of silence (Experimenting with body positions and music)
Activity 2. Create a two-character silent scene that uses music to dramatize characters in a situation where they are so overwhelmed with emotion as to be bereft of speech. As always, strive to make the who, what, and where as clear as possible, and strive for strong storytelling with a definite beginning, middle, and end. In addition to using music as a means of tapping into the emotional core of the scene, plan also to use the communicative power of body positions fully to reinforce the "sounds of silence." In working with body positions, pay special attention to the nuances inherent in the relationship between head focus and body position. (Converse, p. 25)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
silently familiar, silently strange (Experimenting with right and left)
Activity 3. Create a two-character silent scene in which something familiar becomes something strange. Justify the situation and the silence by strategically bringing into the play dynamic differences between right and left. Both the ground plan and the staging should be carefully designed with the vectors of right and left in mind. As a means of further highlighting the differences between right and left, the scene will be presented in two ways:
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
- First as originally staged
- second as a mirror- imaged staging of the scene where everything is identical except for the fact that right and left with both the setting and the staging is reversed. (Converse, p. 33)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
silent journey (Experimenting with stage areas)
Activity 4. Create a two-character silent scene centered around a literal or figurative journey. Since a journey is almost always associated with a passage through space (traveling), it is appropriate that this particular motif is paired in this exercise with the judicious use of stage areas. As always, convincingly justify the silence while clearly communicating the who, what, and where of the situation. (Converse, p. 39)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
breaking silent boundaries (experimenting with psychological areas)
Activity 5. Create a two-character silent scene in which the boundaries are defined and broken. Whether implicit or explicit, a scene about invading territory will inevitably require putting to use psychological areas, the featured directorial technique of this exercise. In creating a situation that fully justified both the silence and some sort of literal or figurative "space invasion," plan on using one or more well-defined psychological areas. (Converse, p. 43)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Silent status swapping (experimenting with levels)
Activity 6. Create a silent scene in which the sharply divided status between the two characters is somehow "swapped" or reversed by the end of the scene. Silence is to be used by one or both of the characters as a deliberate control tactic - i.e. a strategy for power. Highly appropriate for "power plays" of all types is the dynamic use of levels, which is the featured technique of this exercise. Judiciously use levels to dramatize the shifting status between the two characters. (Converse, p. 49)
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
broken silence breakdown (Experimenting with visual progressions)
Activity 7. Create a two-character silent scene which builds steadily to some sort of breakdown. Interpret the breakdown as the climax of something that has been literally or figuratively "breaking," such as:
- Broken Dreams
- Broken Bones
- Broken Promises
- Broken People
- Broken Hearts
- Broken Nerves
- Body Positions
- Stage Areas
- Psychological Areas
- Right & Left Moves
- Visual Pauses
- Level
Using the reference material given in class, follow the directions above.
Content Standards
TH:Cr3.1.HSIII
a. Refine, transform, and re-imagine a devised or scripted drama/theatre work using the rehearsal process to invent or re-imagine style, genre, form, and conventions.
b. Synthesize ideas from research, script analysis, and context to create a performance that is believable, authentic, and relevant in a drama/theatre work.
c. Apply a high level of technical proficiencies to the rehearsal process to support the story and emotional impact of a devised or scripted drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr5.1.HSIII
a. Use and justify a collection of acting exercises from reliable resources to prepare a believable and sustainable performance.
TH:Pr6.1.HSIII
a. Present a drama/theatre production for a specific audience that employs research and analysis grounded in the creative perspectives of the playwright, director, designer, and dramaturg.
TH:Re8.1.HSI
a. Analyze and compare artistic choices developed from personal experiences in multiple drama/theatre works.
b. Identify and compare cultural perspectives and contexts that may influence the evaluation of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Re8.1.HSIII
a. Use detailed supporting evidence and appropriate criteria to revise personal work and interpret the work of others when participating in or observing a drama/ theatre work.
b. Use new understandings of cultures and contexts to shape personal responses to drama/theatre work.
c. Support and explain aesthetics, preferences, and beliefs to create a context for critical research that informs artistic decisions in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Re9.1.HSI
a. Examine a drama/ theatre work using supporting evidence and criteria, while considering art forms, history, culture, and other disciplines.
TH:Re9.1.HSIII
a. Research and synthesize cultural and historical information related to a drama/theatre work to support or evaluate artistic choices.
b. Analyze and evaluate varied aesthetic interpretations of production elements for the same drama/theatre work.
TH:Cn11.2.HSIII
a. Justify the creative choices made in a devised or scripted drama/theatre work, based on a critical interpretation of specific data from theatre research.
b. Present and support an opinion about the social, cultural, and historical understandings of a drama/theatre work, based on critical research.
Citation
Converse, Terry John. (1995). Directing for the Stage. Meriwether Publishing Ltd. Colorado Springs, CO. pp. 21-63
