The British Theatre Guide: Text Exercises

School & Youth Theatre

Text Exercises

The text is central to the play, but how do we make sure that the message gets across to our actors?

It is, of course, possible to spend lots and lots of time analysing the text with them, looking at every nuance and subtlety, and there are times when that is not only possible but is, in fact, essential. However it is much, much better if your actors come to their rehearsals having thought about the text to some extent. Then you can concentrate on nuances and subtleties and not have to worry about the basics! To achieve this, you must get the actors to think about the text as a normal part of their preparation for any performance. The best time to do this is long before the production process starts. Make it a part of acting training, which you do as a normal part of Drama Club work.

I like to start off by playing a little game with a bit of Shakeapeare. Yes, of course Shakespeare can be fun! - how can you believe otherwise? Let's look at one of Helena's speeches from A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's the one where she accuses Lysander and Demetrius of mocking her. We'll just take the first two lines for the moment, and we'll set them out as prose, not poetry,

"Oh spite! Oh hell! I see you all are bent
To set against me for your merriment!"

Get them to play with the words: speak them angrily, miserably, despairingly, amusedly, sarcastically. Get them to say them in a whisper, a normal tone of voice, a huge shout. Get them to move in an appropriate manner. Get them to sing them in a style of their choosing (Sounds a bit like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, doesn't it?). This can provide lots of laughter, especially if (as I do) you sing them in the style of grand opera! Discuss the appropriateness of everything they do, getting them to think about the emotional sub-text.

Now work on the full speech. With the group working as individuals to begin with, put out two chairs about 6-8 feet apart, stand them by one chair, then get them to speak the first line up to the first punctuation mark. They must then stop speaking and move to the other chair. Speak the next bit, to the next punctuation mark, stop and move again. Continue in this way until the speech is finished. You - and they! - will be surprised at just how meaningful the speech has suddenly become, even if they don't fully understand everything that is said.

You will find that, very quickly, they begin to move with the rhythm of the emotional content of the speech. They will, in fact, learn two very important things: the association of movement and emotion, and the emotional impact of punctuation. You will know that the exercise has been a great success when someone says, "Can I not move as I say the line?" Then they have made the connection: already movement and speech are becoming one.

Next work in pairs. One should read the speech whilst circling round the other who is sat on a chair. Then do it with the non-reader standing up. Try it a third time with the non-reader trying to move away and the reader following.

Now work in threes: preferably there should be one girl and two boys, but this is probably asking for the moon in school drama! The girl should read the speech while the boys try to interrupt, protesting their innocence. She should give them no opportunity to break her flow.

I find it useful not to make any comments at all until all the exercises are finished. Then get them to tell everyone what they've learned.

That's enough for one session. Either finish or go on to something else.

For your second session, let's take another bit of Shakespeare - the For God's sake, let us sit upon this ground speech from Richard II. Begin with the group working in pairs. Make them sit on the floor, leaning back against back, and then one reads the speech. Now turn them round and kneel with their foreheads touching: the other reads the speech (Difficult to do, but persevere). Now stand them up and put them in a confrontational position, facing each other. One reads the speech.

Discuss the effects the different positions have on their reading of the speech. If the differences are great, then your group is quite sensitised to language and you have an easier job: if there are no differences, you've got a long way to go!!!

In the latter case, here's another exercise which will cause great hilarity and still bring benefit: take the same speech (from Dicky Three), and get a member of the group to read it straight, without any attempt to give it any emotional impact, but pronouncing only the vowels. Then get another to speak the same speech as if in the depths of despair, and yet another as if blazingly angry - again using only the vowel sounds. Don't make any comment; simply get them to do it.

Now let both groups (those who are language-sensitised and those who are not), carry out a normal conversation - you can choose the topic, if you like - but yet again speaking only the vowels. Let this end your second session

Use Mark Antony's Friends, Romans and countrymen speech for your third session. Begin with the chair exercise explained above, then go on to working in pairs. One should perform the speech (they should, by now, be able to handle something like this with a certain amount of ease), whilst the other speaks Antony's thoughts. This should be done without any prior consultation between the partners. They must then discuss what they have done: did they coincide in emotion, emphasis, whatever? Let them argue out how the speech should be said and work on it till they have reached agreement. Select one pair to perform to the others, who should be divided into two groups. "MA" addresses one group, his interior self the other. The two groups should react to what they hear, both vocally and in movement and gesture.

If it proves necessary (i.e. if they clearly don't know and haven't realised) explain to the "interior" that the speech is a front, deliberately designed to work up the crowd for MA's own ends. Re-do the speech, the two crowds reacting appropriately. Then let the two crowds meet and pair off. One of those who heard the "interior" speech should tell the other - in character - what they know. This partner should now tell the other how (s)he feels about being misled.

The time has now come to work on a speech as if for a performance. I make no recommendations here: the teacher should choose a speech from a play which (s)he thinks suitable for the group - and which (s)he has copies of!

Begin cold: simply give the speech and tell them to prepare a performance of it. This is best done at the end of one session so that you can begin the next by going directly to the speech. Let each person give their performance, without any comment. Take a note of any different interpretations and, when everyone is finished, begin with these differences. The first thing to examine is whether each individual interpretation is justified by the text. This should provide some fruitful discussion.

Then concentrate on those you agree are justified. Put each in turn on the spot, asking just one question - why? Keep asking it until you are satisfied that you have got to the bottom of the motivation. Be as detailed as you can: if someone says, "I did it this way because I think this character is angry," then ask for chapter and verse: what indications are there in the text that (s)he is angry? Restrict answers to the actual performer. Don't let anyone else answer for them until they dry up completely. Only then allow other contributions. Keep working until you come to as near a concensus as possible, but be aware that you may not be able to reach a full concensus on the basis of the speech alone. This will lead to the conclusion that the only way the problem can be settled is by taking into account the rest of the play.