Blocking Unit LESSON 1: The Body LESSON 2: Movement LESSON 3: Levels LESSON 4: Natural vs. Unnatural Blocking LESSON 5: Axioms and Blocking Strengths LESSON 6: Physicalized Blocking LESSON 7: Risk LESSON 8: Blocking a Scene LESSON 9: Blocking Test LESSON 10: Evaluation Lesson 1: The Body EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate a knowledge of their bodies by playing. 'Y move it like this.." MATERIALS NEEDED: music, boom box, and monologue. HOOK: Have an overhead of the bodies musculature and skeleton. STEP 1: Ask students to name as many movable body parts they can think of, have a volunteer at the board writing these down. STEP 2: Now cee if anyone can think of any others that are not on the board. STEP 3: Pass out a monologue. STEP 4: Explain that they are to pick at least 10 different moveable parts and use them during the course of the monologue. STEP 5: Give them time to go through the monologue and make choices. STEP 6: Have the students perform their monologues STEP 7: Discuss what they observed each other doing. STEP 8: Have everyone stand and play, Heads, Shoulders, knees, and toes and The Hokie pokie. STEP 9: Discuss the need for stretching and keeping our bodies limber for stage. STEP 10: Go through a 10 min. physical warm up with them. Lesson 2: Movement EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate the knowledge of theatncal body movement by performing a choreographed number for stage. MATERIALS NEEDED: TV, VCR, video clips from films, monologue from previous lesson. HOOK: Show fihn clips from Annie, Newsies, Sister Act, Sound of Music, etc. STEP 1: Discuss with the students what they observed about theater movement from watching the clips from these films. How do they move? What are the unifying factors? STEP 2: Discuss and brainstorm with the students what strong body positions are and strong body movements might be. STEP 3: Ask for volunteers to come to the front of the classroom and demonstrate these positions and movements. STEP 4: Have students add more movements as they think of them (keeping them appropriate). STEP 5: The volunteers now get to lead the class in a game of "Do as I'm doing..." STEP 6: Discuss the game and ask, do we all do things exactly alike even though technically we are doing the same thing? STEP 7: Have the class get where they can all move and do the physical warm-up from the previous class period. Be sure to start the stretching with the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, torso, hamstrings, quads, calves, feet and ankles. STEP 8: Have students get into groups of three. STEP 9: Have them give choreography to the monologue from the previous class and then have one from each group perform it. STEP 10: Discuss what they observed. What is strong, and weak? Lesson 3: Levels EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate the ability to understand levels of acting by blocking a scene. MATERIALS NEEDED: Scene, blocks. HOOK: Have a bunch of black boxes all over the front of the room. Ask for two volunteers to come up and make a set for us to use for a scene. Do not tell them what the scene is or where it might take place. Challenge them to be creative. STEP 1: Discuss what the students did with the blocks. What did they like, dislike. STEP 2: Repeat the exercise with two different volunteers and this time tell them where the scene takes place and what happens. STEP 3: Discuss what happened differently the second time when the students knew more about the scene. What did they observe, what is working? What isn't? STEP 4: Discuss the need for different levels in blocking. Discuss the influence the set has on the blocking. STEP 5: Have students come to the front of the room and try to create as many different levels as they can on the second set created. They can not move any of the blocks. STEP 6: Discuss the stronger positions vs. the weaker. What positions are natural vs. unnatural? STEP 7: Hand out the two person scene, "Lemonade Stand." STEP 8: Have students pair off and block this scene using as many different levels as they can. (at least 1 per beat.) STEP 9: Allow the students time to practice the scene for 10 minutes. STEP 10: Have each team perform their scene. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses. Lesson 4: Natural vs. Unnatural EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate an understanding of internalizing movement and making it natural by performing a short scene. MATERIALS NEEDED: Situations for improv, short two person scene. HOOK: Start off class greeting students using very cliche' movements and gestures, very unnatural movements for a teacher. STEP 1: Discuss with the students how they felt about the way I was movmg. What did they observe. STEP 2: Have them redirect the movements to be more natural. STEP 3: What makes movement natural. Brainstorm and write down all the ideas on the board. Bring the focus down to the objectives being physicalized. STEP 4: Have students get into pairs. STEP 5: Have each team as they come up, draw a situation out of the hat. They are to do an improv of this situation striving for very realistic, natural movement. Other students should be taking notes on what they observe. STEP 6: Discussion on internalizing movements that are given and finding inner motivation for their character to perform the given blocking. STEP 7: Give everyone the same script and the same blocking and have the groups come up and perform. STEP 8: Ask the students what they observed. What did they like, not like, and why? Axioms & Blocking Strengths EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate the understanding of blocking fundamentals by blocking a short scene. MATERIALS NEEDED: Axiom's handout, scene scripts, floor plan hand out. HOOK: Hand each student a script and a floor plan of the stage. Tell them you want them to and cross out all the pre-existing stage movement on the script. STEP 1: Have students then go through the script and mark all the entrances and exits. STEP 2: Now they are to go through and highlight everywhere movement has to take place. Narrow down the movements to specifics in the margins of the script. Exam. Mary: I XLDT chair, 2 XUCT sofa STEP 3: Draw a stage floor plan on the board. Have students give their ideas on where the strongest places on stage are (mark these with an 'x') and then the weakest (mark these with an 'o'). Discuss their reasons for their choices. STEP 4: Discuss the strongest entrance choices and the effects they have on the audience. Example: movement coming from up center going straight towards the audience creates dramatic question - strongest movement, or entrance from stage left creating conflict vs. stage right which feels natural or non-confrontational. STEP 5: Discuss the difference between linear blocking for tragedies and circular blocking for comedies. STEP 6: Ask for a volunteer to come up and show the class the three strongest body positions on stage and then discuss how there relative strength changes with the incorporation of levels. STEP 7: Introduce them to axioms. Pass out hand out with the axiom (most common) on it. the handout having volunteers act them out. Example: saying closing lines before an exit and then walking clear across the stage in silence. STEP 8: Have students take out their scripts and block them. STEP 9: Have students come up and perform their scenes for the class, discuss their observations, where the physical objectives achieved in each beat? Were the axioms followed? Were there levels incorporated, as well as strong and weak stage and body positions?..... Lesson 6: Physicalized Blocking EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students wil1 demonstrate the ability to incorporate physicalized blocking into a scene. MATERIALS NEEDED: TV, VCR, film clip from Dumb and Dumber, slips of paper, hat or sack. HOOK: Show a film clip fmm Dumb and Dumber, where he is frying to return the suitcase in the airport that she left behind. STEP 1: Discuss the physicalizations that they observed in the film clip. What were some of the obvious choices made? How did the physical actions help him achieve his objectives? STEP 2: Have the students write down objectives form the scenes used in the previous lesson. STEP 3: Collect these objectives in a hat and ask for a volunteer. STEP 4: Have the student draw an objective for the scene and physicalize it. Have students discuss their observations. Was it strong, consistent, passive, aggressive...? STEP 5: Discuss the importance of the body language in physica1ization. Have students brainstorm all the different objectives and emotions that can be portrayed by body language. Have a student write these down on the board as you lead the discussion. STEP 6: have students choose an objective and two emotions from off the board and apply it to the blocking choices made the previous class period. Give them 15 minute to go through and rehearse this. STEP 7: Have students perfonn their scenes utilizing physicalization and objectives. Discuss what they observed. Lesson 7: Risk EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate their ability to increase the intensity levels from a physical standpoint by taking high risks in a scene performance. MATERIALS NEEDED: none HOOK: Call up two students that are a little more introverted or shy. Ask them to hug each other affectionately and give each other a kiss on the cheek. Then have them stand back away from each other and scream, or get physically violent (i.e.. slap on the face, fist in the gut..just be careful to remind them this is acting!) STEP 1: Ask performers how they felt doing these things. ASk the students what they observed, and were thinking or feeling while watching this take place. STEP 2: Now do the same thing with people that are extroverted and not shy at all. STEP 3: How did this change the way the students felt while observing the role play. Why did their reaction chang? Talk about risk factor...who was taking the greater risk and why? STEP 4: Have students brainstorm different high risk physicalities from different character perspectives. Have a student write these down on the board as you go along. STEP 5: Discuss what objectives might call for higher risks in blocking. How badly do they want what they are going for...? STEP 6: Have them take out their scripts they have been working on and find 3 places where they can apply a higher risk blocking choice according to the objective in that beat. Let them get with their partners and practice. STEP 7: Have student perform their scenes. Discuss what they observed and what they were feeling as they tried these stronger choices. What were the results...? Lesson 8: Blocking a Scene EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate the ability to make strong blocking choices by taking a new scene and blocking it. MATERIALS NEEDED: TV, VCR, fflm clip from Batman, two person scene. HOOK: Show a film clip of Batman. Have students write down all the different blocking techniques they observe being used. STEP l: Have the students read out loud their different observations. STEP 2: Show the clip again and have them take note of any new things they observe. STEP 3: Discuss again what they picked out. What were some of the director's strong blocking choices. weak choices...? STEP 4: Have the students get into groups of three. Instruct them to choose directors and performers in their group. STEP 5: Hand them a new two person script. (This should be one with many high risk physical possibilities.) Give them 20 min. to block the script. STEP 6: Have students perform their scenes. Discuss what the students observed and learned both from an acting stand point as well as directing. Lesson 9: Blocking Test EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students wil1 demonstrate their knowledge of blocking bv taking an exam. MATERIALS NEEDED: Boom-box. music choices. exam. HOOK: Have the room dark when the students enter. Ask them to please take their seats quietly and put their heads down on their desks and rest. Have soothing background music playing. (Somewhere in Time, Sense and Sensibility, Man from Snowy River..) Talk to them about how they see themselves moving in a scene were this is the background music. What do their movements look like? what levels? are they using risks?.... Now change the music to something really up tempo and intense. (Mission Impossible soundtrack Jurassic Park, etc....) How do they see there movements and blocking change?... STEP 1: Turn on the lights and have students sit up. (wake up any that have fallen asleep on you!) STEP 2: Have students discuss what they saw in their minds. How were they moving and blocking themselves to the first music choice compared to the second? Why did their physicalizations change? Discuss the concept of mood, texture, colors, lighting, costumes, and how all these are factors on how we move and our body language. STEP 3: Talk about what risks they saw themselves taking with each style. How did they differ, what different physicalizations resulted in going for the objectives, how did they see them going about achieving their objectives? STEP 4: Have students volunteer what moods they felt as well as textures, lighting, costumes, colors. Discuss how these images change to adapt to the new music choice. How did these factors affect the blocking. STEP 5: Pass out the examination explaining that you are changing the mood again this time without music. Merely by passing out a test. Observe how the body language changes, and the physicalities change. Discuss these as you continue to pass out the test and then have students begin. Give them the rest of the class period to take the exam. Lesson 10: Evaluation EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate their ability to block a scene bY drawing a random scene and blocking it for a performance. MATERIALS NEEDED: Several one minute exerpts from scripts for scenes, large bag to put them in. HOOK: Have a huge bag at the front of the room filled with short one minute scenes from all different genres. STEP 1: Have each student come down and draw a script out of the bag. STEP 2: Have the students get into groups of three and decide who will be the first to direct the blogking. Each student will have a turn to block the other two in their group. STEP 3: Give the first group 15 min. to do their blocking. STEP 4: Have first groups perform. Have second group rehearse and do their blocking. STEP 6: Have this group perform. STEP 7: Have the third group do their blocking 15 min. STEP 8: Have this group perform. STEP 9: Have students discuss what they learned from the blocking process.