November 4, 6, 7

http://www.musical-theater-kids.com/stage-directions.html

November 4
1.  Get into tableaux groups
     Group 1:  Laura, Isabel, Myles, Bavo, Kristian
     Group 2:  Carolina, Clementine, Brenda, Lison, Francisco, Leo
     Group 3:  Sofia, Chris, Maria, Sara, Taitum, Elvis
2.  In your groups finish creating a mind-map with various tableaux performance ideas. 
3.  Select your performance tableaux. Justify your choice.

November 6
1.  Blocking   Blocking is the theater term for the actors’ movements on the stage during the performance of the play or the musical. Every move that an actor makes (walking across the stage, climbing stairs, sitting in a chair, falling to the floor, getting down on bended knee) falls under the larger term “blocking.”


EXPLORATION: 
Principles of Blocking 
• Where we stand on stage, or “blocking”, helps communicate to the audience important information about the story. 
• Just like in the movies where there is often a blurred background with a focused foreground, our staging can help tell the audience where to focus. 
•There are three principles of blocking you must always be aware of. 
     1) Always be open: The audience wants to see you, especially when you’re speaking. Always try to have your shoulders angled toward the audience so they can see you and hear you. This is called “cheating” toward the audience. 
     2) Never a straight line: In life we don’t stand in straight lines unless we’re told to. So on stage we should never make a straight line because it looks fake. 
     3) Create depth and height whenever possible: Layers make the scene more interesting to look at and feel more natural.

2.  Let's practice:

•  Each group will be given an event, and their job is to create 3 tableaus that highlight the event: a beginning, a middle, and an end. 
• Each group has 5 minutes to work on it. 
• Each group share. 
• The audience will guess the event. Was it clear what the event was? Did they obey the principles of blocking? Are there any adjustments you could recommend?

November 7 - Assessment
  Criterion C - Statement of Artistic Intention