Stage Directions and Space
all from the actor’s orientation
facing the audience
WHAT IS STAGE LEFT, STAGE RIGHT, UPSTAGE, DOWNSTAGE, CENTERSTAGE
everything an actor does onstage in physical pursuance of a specific goal
ACTION
the character’s quest at any given moment. What the character wants to achieve. Stanislavsky
called it the OBJECTIVE
the change in pitch within a spoken line
in general, the line or action that precedes your own
CUE
arranging the major movements of the actors onstage
small movements that actors make (often with props) that may or may not be vital to the plot
but that convey lifelike behavior
the means by which a character seeks to achieve their GOAL(S)
TACTICS
the voice’s quality of “re-sounding” through the nasal passages and throat, giving it
strength, tone, timbre, and personality
RESONANCE
acting without a fixed text.
to deliberately go _______ of an actor with whom you’re sharing a scene, forcing that actor
to turn upstage to maintain eye contact, and blocking their face from audience view
UPSTAGE/UPSTAGING
a single unit of action
BEAT
the character’s long-range goal for the entire play
SUPEROBJECTIVE
a speech given directly to the audience, ordinarily with no one else onstage
SOLILOQUY
reliving situations in your own life while performing, often with the aid of
SUBSTITUTION, in the hope of arousing your own emotions while acting a role.
EMOTIONAL RECALL
audience on three sides of the action
THRUST STAGE
reacting impulsively to what the other actor in the scene does, according to the
dictates of your action. Being flexible enough to spontaneously respond as circumstances shift
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
any piece of information or activity written into the script or demanded by the
director, which sets up the framework for the action of the scene
GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES
a character’s brief remark, often witty, delivered directly to the audience, and presumed unheard
by the other characters onstage
ASIDE
Stanislavsky’s invention. The actor behaves “as if” they were in the character’s situation.
This allows each actor to bring themselves and their imaginations to each role, and make the role unique
THE MAGIC IF
a configuration of audience on only one side of the presented action
PROSCENIUM THEATRE
the point during a scene where a new action/tactic begins
BEAT CHANGE
the intensity of win/lose in a scene
STAKES
a quick look at the audience or another actor
TAKE
the hidden meanings of a dramatic text, to be decided by the actor and director based on the
character’s GOALS
SUBTEXT