TDAC MIDTERM

The collaborative group of actors working on a piece of theater.

What a character wants, needs, or must have; his/her quest at any given moment. What the character is attempting to achieve through his/her actions. The goal of a character. Specific objectives exist for each beat of a scene or play. An example objective would be “I want him to kiss me” or “I want her to apologize.”

Tactics are actions a character uses to achieve their objective. Tactics should be articulated in playable verb form; “to intimidate,” “to threaten,” “to seduce,” etc. Avoid describing general states of being like “to be mean” or “to be sarcastic.” Rather make them active such as “to attack” and “to belittle.”

Activity is “stage business.” Some examples might be to fold laundry, preparing a meal, paying bills, getting ready for a date, etc.

he thing that prevents a character from getting what they want (their objective). An obstacle may be internal or external. For example, if your objective is to get a kiss, an external obstacle might be that people keep coming in and out of the room and there is no privacy for an intimate moment. An internal obstacle might be fear of rejection.

The overall context of the play (geographical location, time/ year, season, time of day, social, political, religious environment); previous action (what has occurred prior to the beginning of the scene or play); the kinds of relationships the characters have with each other; the polar attitudes of the principal characters, both in the beginning and at the ending of the play.

The true thoughts and feelings that exist beneath the surface of the words. An actor’s specific and subjective interpretation of the dialogue.

An actor’s textual analysis of a scene or a play. The division of the text into beats and the identification of specific actions and objectives.

When the actors heighten the circumstances in a scene.

When all of the actor’s dialogue has been completely memorized and he/she no longer needs the script.

The manner in which a scene or play is staged. An actor’s movement on stage that includes all stage business and physical activities.

The executed scenic design on stage.

The imaginary wall that divides the actors and stage from the audience. In natural realism, the actor never breaks the fourth wall.