10 Things You Need to Know to Become a Star of Stage Drama
Not observing them is a crime
If you would get to know me well enough, you would realize that out of the so many things I love doing, acting is like a lifestyle. Even if I didn’t choose it as a full-time career, I have something to display even when I didn’t realize that I am doing so. Maybe I would say, acting chose me.
More to say, I am passionate about acting and poor interpretation of roles while on stage or camera makes me furious. I find acting as a way of life which should be expressed like the day-to-day conversation.
My experience in stage drama spans from the days of my high school until college, when I took it a little professional by joining a renowned theater troupe.
Believe it when I say that true acting lies in stage play. My reason being that screen acts have edited scenes, while stage plays come to you live. No room for mistakes, and if any, you are directly dishing it to your audience uncensored.
What I wish to share with you in this post is the vital knowledge I have gathered in the last 6 years I chose stage acting as a hobby which every intending or current stage actor/actress should have at their fingertips.
And not adhering stringently to it, I would ascribe as committing a ‘crime’ on stage.
You need to be in control while on stage and also consistent with attitudes that could keep your audience glued to the act, even if the stage play would end in days.
Every stage cast needs to know:
1. Voice Projection
Aside from the body gestures and movements on stage, the most important thing if it isn’t a pantomime is what you are saying. What you say carries your audience along and conveys the message. If you communicate what isn’t heard or audible enough, you have committed a major blunder.
Voice projection or projecting as it concerns the stage means being audible without shouting. Projecting differs totally from shouting or screaming. While shouting comes with indiscriminate sound made at a time and at a high pitch, projection means saying the regular things in a more audible way.
Projection makes the microphones set on stage to pick what you are saying.
While on stage you need to project.
2. Stage Masking
After the voice, the next thing is what you are doing on that stage: Your facial expressions, gesticulations and reactions.
When we mention ‘stage masking’ or ‘masking on stage,’ we refer to blocking an action while performing on stage.
Everything performed on stage is meant for the audience aside from what is meant to happen at the faded out spot.
It is a crime to stand in front of a fellow cast while on stage, especially if you are taller. You block his/her actions, preventing the audience from seeing what he or she is doing.
Even while entering or exiting the stage, the one taller should be inside while the one shorter should be in front. In other not to get anyone masked up.
Another form of masking comes from your hand or leg usage. If an action requires that you extend your hand or leg to the direction of the next person at the other side of the stage, you shouldn’t use the hand and/or leg that would cover half of you.
If you are at the right side of the stage, you would use your right hand and leg. And if left, you would use your left hand and leg.
3. Actions and Reactions
What you say on stage should be accompanied with how you convey it (actions) and how you respond to what is happening or what you hear (reactions). Actions and reactions are everything about your body language with situations and events as the story unfolds while acting.
A good cast should know the required moods to put up. Without befitting reactions and actions during stage play, the scene would look mechanical and unnatural.
An intending stage pro should master this game and be good at it.
4. Communicating on stage
In a storyline, many casts may need to talk at almost the same time. How can this be done without having a rowdy stage?
Instead of everyone speaking at once, each person should take their time and talk in turns. Wait for the first speaker to make his/her point before coming in.
That would make the communication smooth and hassle free. And everyone’s point would be well understood.
If the next speaker begins to speak before you make your key point, keep quiet and allow him or her finish.
5. Improvising
Stage acting can never be error free; whether minor or major. Some of these errors could be:
· Forgetting of your lines.
· Speaking before you should.
· And sometimes appearing with a wrong costume (I have done this before).
These errors are more pronounced in local stages where the stage curtain is manually controlled or a stage without effective light effects. If everything which comes up on stage calls attention of your audience, then these flaws would be readily pronounced. And that’s a discoloration to your story.
Even if you are pro in stage drama, often these errors can be committed by you.
Aside from these few errors, another thing that may fail you on stage are your props. No matter how advanced the group has grown to, sometimes the props you used to rehearse could fail you on stage. Even if it doesn’t fail you, you may leave it behind before mounting the stage.
What would you do when all these things happen, as you cannot leave the stage abruptly or cold?
You would “improvise.”
Improvising to a stage cast is covering up a ‘would have been’ flaw by making use of what is available, as if it was originally a part of the drama. Or impromptu generating of an idea and infusing it immediately into the drama, which was not originally part of the script. This addition should not alter the original idea of the play.
Your audience shouldn’t spot that something which was not meant to be had been.
Improvising on stage is the ‘test of creativity’ for the stage character.
6. Balancing the stage
Most professional stages are so wide and should be explored. Actions on stage should be transferred across stage, and an action should not be centered on some parts of the stage.
All actions have corresponding spot and location, and should be balanced accordingly.
At intervals, there should be movements on stage for discussions that would last up to a minute or more.
While the stage is intended to be balanced, caution should be taken not to mask fellow characters.
Scenes requiring crowded casts, they should be well spread out to maximize the use of the stage.
7. Entries and Exits
It is very important to master your entries and exits. Your entries on stage are the points at which you enter character, while your exits are the spot you leave from the stage.
This is worthy of note, especially when the scene depicts an in-house act. You dare not leave the house from where you entered through. It is not applicable to life situations, unless that represents an entrance door to the house. Both entry and exit could take place from the same door.
This rule is not applicable to road like scenes too; there are no entries or exits.
8. Back, Middle and Front Stage
The stage is basically divided into 3 principal parts: the back, middle and front stage or the backward, center and forward stage.
The forward stage is the part of the stage closer to the audience while the center or middle stage is the major part of action. The back stage is usually the part of the stage for home like scenes.
Other subdivisions of the stage could be the back-center, back-right, back-left, right-center, left-center, right-center, front-right and front-left.
Any stage cast should be acclimatized with these portions of the stage.
Why it is necessary to note these portions of the stage is because of stage balancing and also for the sake of certain roles and scene interpretations.
9. Your lines
The soul of either screen act or stage play is the script. These scripts are built up of words and characters, written in a conversational format.
Any word ascribed to a character is a line in a stage act.
Your lines are supreme and should be at your fingertips.
Without your lines, be it pantomime or any other form of drama, there is no stage play.
10. Interpretation of role
Most important of everything that would happen on stage, interpretation of role and being in character is the key. How best can you interpret your role as a character?
You need to understand that everything about acting is bringing a mental picture to life — so that people could relate.
The best way to interpret a role is to put your imaginative power into action: think about what you have seen, heard, reactions and where you have been to.
Those things would spur your imaginative power to action.
Another tip would be to play your role many times over before the mirror or a standing camera (monologue).
I believe anyone could fit into any role only if ‘you would be free to express your inner self void of fears and distractions.’
A role well interpreted is what would distinguish you as either an exceptional stage actor or actress and collective sound interpretation of roles determines an exceptional stage play.
Nothing about getting used to these rules happens at the snap of a finger, it requires consistency and practice and sometimes extra personal rehearsing times.
