top of page

Information Station 

We have compiled additional information to assist you in making bold, unique choices and breathe life into your monologues and speeches,

with style and confidence.

Basic Needs and Basic Doings

Your script is a blueprint or roadmap.

The play is an event that exists in space at a specific time and place.

  • Read the play. 

  • Answer your given circumstances.

  • What is the problem, conflict, obstacle, goal?

  • Play to win.

  • Avoid pain.

  • Invest in the text.

  • Give yourself simple tasks.

  • Marry yourself to your doing.

   BASIC NEEDS: 

  • Predilections of Life

  • Goals that must be achieved

  • Needs are there to be satisfied

   FIVE NEEDS -  BEGINNING OF HOW A CHARACTER BEHAVES

Seeking one of these needs forces one to behave a certain way. 

A dominating behavior.  Stanislavski called this the Super Objective.

SURVIVAL: Prevents death, involves issues of food, water, air, clothes, warmth, money.

LOVE: The need to love or be loved involves a mutuality, sensuality, intimacy, romance.

VALIDATION: Self worth. I count and deserve respect because I am a human being.

HAPPINESS: The need to be happy makes you harmonious with the world, relieves pain, makes you feel pleasure.

WIN: To succeed, to be number one, to have power, to be on top. King of the hill. The need to win always involves killing someone.

   BASIC DOINGS: 

  • to convince

  • to defy

  • to chide (rebuke/disagree/scold)

  • to understand

  • to find out

  • to admit

  • to lament

    

  • to demonstrate

  • to delight

  • to disdain

  • to disgust

  • to surprise

  • to anger

All doings are done in terms of another person, or thing,

NOT in terms of oneself!

Attach every fiber of your being to your specific task, intention, goal, and objective. NEED what you want.  Wed yourself to the purpose of accomplishing this task, fight hard to do it, and THEN something will occur.  You will accomplish something in the here and now, which allows you to rely on the moment rather than the magic dust of feeling. 

 

You must be totally engrossed in the doing. You are changing or fixing the other person. Doings involve the other person - not yourself.

  • Are you a strategist or a slugger?

  • Acting is an evolutionary process not a result process.

  • Search for meaning and make it meaningful.

Recommended Reading:

WILL POWER by John Basil (Chapters 18,19 & 20)

A SENSE OF DIRECTION by William Ball (Chapter titled Objectives)

ACTIONS by Marina Caldarone & Maggie Lloyd-Williams

Character Descriptions

Characters create...

plot.

action.

movement.

In Commedia, Shakespeare, Restoration Comedy, Melodrama, Vaudeville, Stand Up, Sitcoms, Musicals, etc. -  DO NOT TRY TO BE FUNNY.  Characters focus on relationships.

 

In any relationship between characters, someone is smarter than the other, someone is more powerful than the other, someone is the leader while the other is the follower.  For example, masters and servants, husbands and wives, bosses and workers.  Status and the constant negotiations that surround status is the engine that propels action. This has been good comedy since the beginning of time!

 

Characters determine events and structure.

Events and structure should not dictate to characters.

CHARACTER CHECKLIST:

  • What does your name mean and how does it add to the story?
  • What is your archetype (leading lady, ingenue, stock character, etc.)?
  • What is your Commedia character and your sitcom character?
  • What is your status (high or low)?
  • What is your character’s circumstances (private or public)?
  • What is your metaphorical character and relationship?
  • What is your character’s relationship with the other characters?
  • What part does time play with your character?
  • What is the moment before and after for your character?
  • What are your character’s external obstacles and internal obstacles?

  • What feelings does your character share, express, and experience?

  • What are your “isms?”

  • What does every character say about your character in the story?

  • What is your character’s worldview?

  • What are your character’s needs and wants?

  • What are your character’s intentions, doings, and actions?

  • What are your character’s skills (or lack of) and their flaws?

  • Is your character a hero or a non-hero?

  • Is your character the problem or the one solving the problem?

  • Is your character “normal” in a comic world or a “comic” in a normal world.

Leave no stone unturned.

What are your questions?

How do all these ingredients work with you?

* Stories are character-driven. *

You must understand your character in their totality to be authentic.

This is true for theatre, TV, and film.

First Rule:

There are no rules.

Second Rule:

“Rules don’t confine they define.” 

“Creativity is problem-solving.”

The more useful the rules we have and the more rigorously we apply them the more clearly we understand the problem we’re trying to solve and the more success we’ll have at solving it. This all starts by asking the right questions. Some people call this script analysis. I call it being an authentic artist.

 

Never stop asking questions - it feeds and stirs the imagination!

Third Rule:

Have fun and PLAY!

Descriptive Words and Phrases

Dialogue goes from left to right in our western culture. However, when a writer (whether playwright or screenwriter) gives you a descriptive word they are stopping the text and making an opening that is unique to your character. No other character would make the same choice. That is why you must discover it, or fresh mint it, as if it never happened until that moment. You must also color with that descriptive.

 

Example: 

When Petruchio says “plaine Kate” it is one color – when he says “But Kate the prettiest Katemin all of Christindome,” it is a different color.

Coloring Your Description

  1. Start out by asking, is the description Good or Bad?

    • Example: Plaine is bad and Prettiest is Good.

  2. Look the words up so you can make them very specific. Always know why you choose this word and what the action is.

Description and Characterization

At the end of the performance, the audience adds up all of your descriptions, all of your actions, everything all the other characters said about you, your body language, your humanity (or lack of), your costume, and then they decide what they make of you.  

 

The more words in the description the more the character is wrestling with themselves to get it right so they accomplish their action and get what they want.

Example, King Lear – Lear says to Albany

Create her child of spleen, that it may live

And be a thwart disnatur’d torment to her!  

Not just a torment to her but a thwart. Disnatur’d torment, that is much worse.

 

Example, A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room – Arthur says to Sally

"I mean you already have a perfectly good dining room."

 

(He could say you have a good dining room or a perfect dining room. The extra words

means he is struggling to get it right to be specific. Find these examples in your text!)

 

 

Adjectives , Adverbs , Similes, Metaphors - they all color in the grey area.

Example: “I love you”

 

(This for ten nights in a row gets samey.  But “I love you like a summer breeze on a

burning hot summer day” colors in the grey area or the unspoken.)

 

Pompous Words

Words you never say Alas, Alack, Fadge, Parmacity, Popinjay.

 

There is a descriptive meaning for your character why you choose these pompous words.

 

Alas, and Alack are poetic, heightened, and can be comic or dramatic. The Lexicon describes them as “expressions of sorrow or pity.”

Example, When Petruchio says

“Alas good Kate…for knowing thee to be but young and light.”

(He is being poetic in a heightened way to impress Kate. Then he does what Shakespeare does best - gives the guys bad poetry. The internal rhyme of thee to be is not his best poetry.

But again, it is a character description!)

Example, Cordelia’s line

“Alack, Alack!

‘Tis wonder that thy life and wits at once

Had not concluded all.”

(This is an expression of sorrow.  It will always depend on the Given Circumstances and

you must use your technique and common sense.)

Other pompous words like Parmacity, Fadge and Popinjay, can be used to impress or confuse the other character. Or, to get their mind off of what you just said, maybe it was a faux paux!

Contemporary Example, The Albatros by Dennis Schebetta

David: “Living as a poet is living life to its fullest potential and sharing with others...It’s...The challenge to you, no, the question is...are you prepared to

be fully be alive?”

 

Malaprops - the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one.

Example, Dogberry 

“Dost thou not suspect my years”

(He meant to say “respect".  The audience loves to play along and see if they catch them all.)

 

Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals by Richard Sheridan is one of the greatest examples of malapropisms.

LAST STEP!

You must make a list of everything every character says about you. This is a part of your character description.

Example, 

In Othello “Honest Iago” is said 34 times - but the audience knows from the beginning, he is anything but honest.

Descriptive words build character and provide color.  The descriptive words one chooses becomes part of building the Identity for that specific character.  They are specific and unique to that individual.

Focus

FOCUS is the specific image you see between any two pieces of punctuation. We will call this a phrase. Several phrases may or may not have the same focus.

 

Each focus will be a specific person, place, image or thing in which you can make a direct connection with your eyes. You inhale from this point, aim your energies at it, and direct (or fire) your specific action at this target. When the words hit, it explodes in a word picture.

 

This action will change or fix the receiver, place, or thing, you are talking about. Thus, you keep the audience involved through the ear of the imagination. If you are focused, they will see a movie, and be clearly involved in the performance.

 

NO FOCUS IS WHEN:

“When your eyes wander your physical energies are not focused.

When your physical energies are not focused you have no breath support.

When your voice lacks resonance, your speech lacks vocal variety.

When your speech lacks vocal variety, it seems like one generalized action. When this happens, NO ONE WILL LISTEN TO YOU!”

(“No Focus” from Stephen Kaiser’s ​Mastering Shakespeare​)

DOWNSTAGE MARKERS are specific people, places, images, or things that are not on the stage, but you refer to in your text.

 

These must be placed on the diagonals so that they can be played out towards the audience. This way the audience can always see your eyes - the window to the soul.

 

Remember - the audience sees the play through your eyes. If you see the images, you will need the words. You must use your five senses when describing an image. If your words hit specific targets and complete actions, you will make the audience participate and listen.

 

 

STAGE DIRECTIONS are a gift because Shakespeare is telling you what to do.  Do what he tells you ​on​ the word, to stay in the moment.

“Do not ​saw the air to much your hand thus​, but ​use all gently​,”

“Thou hast ​hit it come sit on me​,”

“​Run ​Orlando​ run,”​

“​Farewell​ fair cruelty.”

 

Stage directions can also tell you what to do with the language.  These are verbal stage directions that tell you when to get louder, softer, faster, and slower.

“​Cry​ havoc!”

“Follow Faster,​ ​high​ descent.”

 

What are the words telling you about the music in the language?  Find specific examples in your own speech.

Folio Oddities

Interchangeable Letters:

  • I’S and J’s

    • Jove is often spelled Iove

  • U’s and V’s (sometimes W’s)

    • Love is often spelled Loue

  • S’s and F’s

    • Isabella can look like Ifabella

 

Word Changes:

  • Ile = I’ll

  • Do’s = Does

  • Doe = long version of Do

  • Sodaine = Sudden

  • Powre = Pour

  • Divell = Devil

  • Onelie = Only

  • Shew = Show

  • I / Aye = Yes

  • Then can = Than

  • Hast = Haste

  • Sound can = Swound / Swoon

Titles:

  • To go from thee to you is a change in relationship.

  • My gracious Lord is vastly different from Sir.

  • Uncle vs. Sovereign

 

Physical Cues:

  • My Liege indicates a kneel

  • Farewell could indicate a hug, handshake, etc.

 

* Always use your common sense! *

Handles

Handles are words or sounds an actor puts in front of a line of dialogue to make it sound more “real,” “conversational,” or just as a prep to get them started. 

 

When put at the end of a line it can come across as the actor commenting on the character. Hence telling the audience how they should respond.

Handles ruin the original rhythm of the dialogue.

 

In theatre, handles lengthen the play and diminish your character. In TV and film, the writers are trained to write within a specific amount of time so that the editors can accommodate for the commercials. In film, the writers know how to write comedy, and adding or dropping a word or not following the punctuation will destroy the comedy that is written.

Common Handles:

  • Umm

  • Uhh

  • So

  • Okay

  • Yeah

  • I Mean

 

  • Like

  • Listen

  • Look

  • Well

  • You know

  • Sighs, sorts, chuckles, grunts, chortles, etc.

Do not compensate!

Find your intention, goal, the motor that drives you, and DO IT!

Iambic Pentameter

An iambus, iamb is one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Five iambic feet to a line of verse is iambic pentameter.

Example, Romeo and Juliet

“But soft what light through Yonder window breaks.”

UN stressed is But, stressed is soft, UN stressed is what, stressed is light…These two syllables form a metric foot.  Five iambic feet to a line of verse is iambic pentameter.

Much of Shakespeare’s verse is written in iambic pentameter as this is the closest to the natural rhythm of our English speech.

Monologue Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS.

Read all instructions and follow them exactly as specified.

 

THE SLATE.

Is it a theater, film or television audition?  

 

The Slate may be different for all three.  Again, follow directions specifically; it could cost you the job.

 

In any slate, you have three seconds to present yourself.   

 

Hi, my name is < your full name> and I am doing <character> from

<play, episode or film>.”

 

If possible, a slight physical adjustment (a step forward or sideways, or a turn of your head) can communicate that you are now in character.

 

AUDIENCE/FOCUS.

If it is a soliloquy, you are speaking to the audience – have at least three downstage marker focuses.

 

If it is theater, one of the focuses should be up, letting them know you can play to the balcony as well as the front row.

 

Humanity will be the most important aspect of your audition. To do this, you need to include, involve and incorporate the audience or the other character you are having a Creative Debate and Imaginative Argument with.

 

INCLUDE, INVOLVE AND INCORPORATE.

These three words must be used in the simplest way.

 

Include the audience or a character on stage by really looking at them and connecting.  Look in their eyes (the window of one’s soul,) and shoot your intention to the brain, heart, or groin.  This is how you change or fix someone.  It is a three-step process.

 

Include:

Include the audience or a character on stage by having a real action with a detailed specific intention. This puts an imaginary ring of energy around who you are speaking to. When you include something, you make it a part of a larger context or category. 

Involve:

To include something as a necessary part of an activity or situation. So, when something is involved, it’s either included or connected to a particular situation or task!  This makes the relationship strong. The audience or character on stage feels they belong. They now want to be a part of this bigger idea, dream that you have.

 

Incorporate:

To unite or work into something already existent.  When you incorporate something, you blend it seamlessly into an existing whole. 

 

Your humanity must be what is attractive to this person. You are a magnet, and they are drawn to you. The audience or character on stage now wants to be your friend, or lover, in your army, club, or cult, It is a deeper commitment. You have achieved your goal.

 

MOVEMENT.

During your audition, there should be three movements.

 

In theater, the audition is all about the words and how you fill the space.  Therefore, your movement or physical body language can be much more. 

 

In television and film, it is the silent moments and the intensity and depth of your intentions.   If it is a self-tape your movement is minimalistic.  It can be a head turn or a body turn probably no more than one tiny step in the direction of a diagonal downstage marker.  This tells them you are not afraid to move.

 

Remember truth is always the truth it’s the scale that changes in these different mediums.

 

When on set look for the boom mic and how close it is to your face or head that will tell you what kind of shot the director is going for.  It will also tell you how you’re acting should be gauged.

 

EMOTIONS.

All auditions will require at least three different emotions, which will involve three specific actions. 

 

BEATS USING PASTO.

Using Aristotle’s PREPARATION, ATTACK, STRUGGLE, TURNING POINT, OUTCOME on any scene or monologue divides into five different beats.  Each beat needs a different verb and must have a different energy.  Each beat accomplishes something very specific to your character which makes you transform and grow.  

 

“You want to GROW not GO through an audition.”

 

 

MINI-BEATS OR MOMENTS.

I prefer MINI-MOMENTS because 99.9% of the time they are very short.

 

PASTO: – Decide your beat changes.  If you feel you have a mini beat that is fine after deciding on beat changes do End Stops.  Check if they are the same or different.  If different, why?  Is it a Mini - Moment or a Bridge?  99.9% of the time these moments stand alone.  They are usually phrases and tend to be short. By phrase, I mean the thought and words from the punctuation mark to the next punctuation mark.  Some contemporary teachers refer to mini-moments as possible parenthetical phrases.  Call them whatever you like.  They pop for a moment then go back to the main debate.

 

EXAMPLE, CONTEMPORARY + PASTO 

HENRY 6 PART 2, ACT 1, SCENE 2 - HUME

Father John Hume - Alone.

 

HUME

Hume must make merry with the duchess’ gold;

Marry, and shall.

(PREPARATION)

   But how now, Sir John Hume!

(MINI-MOMENT)

Seale up your lips, and give no words but mum:

 

Shakespeare could have easily written Marry, and shall.  Because the soliloquy is in verse and after “Marry and shall” there would be six empty beats - I do not feel he has earned a silent pause but a physical cross downstage to get closer to the audience.  I could buy that.  But he did not.  He gave Hume a character development moment.  I believe he sees himself and gives himself the title of Sir.  Then he goes right back into Including, Involving, and Incorporating the audience.  At the same time, he has let them in on who he wants to be. POWERFUL & MANIPULATIVE!  I call these MINI-MOMENTS.   In contemporary plays, I have heard directors refer to these as, “parenthetical phrases.”

 

INTENTION.

Intention, intent, and purpose all refer to a wish that one means to carry out. 

 

What is the difference between intent and purpose?  Intent is the motive or reason for doing something, while purpose is the end result of the action performed, with that intent. 

 

When you set an intention, you are acknowledging the flow from that intention, through you and into the world.

 

Every word has a specific intention which requires a specific intonation.  Every word is a frozen metaphor in time.  Your words make up your character.  This is prevalent in theater and not necessarily in film or TV.

 

INTONATION.

In linguistics, intonation is a variation in pitch used to indicate the speaker’s attitudes and emotions; to highlight or focus an expression, to signal the illocutionary act performed by a sentence. It is the rise and fall of the voice in speaking, a manner of utterance.

 

EXAMPLE:  The use of the word “HONEY.” in a nighttime cold medicine commercial, (It) was only said four times in this national commercial.

 

How much did those artists make on four words?

 

BRIDGES.

In simple terms, a bridge is a structure whose purpose is to allow one to safely cross from one side to the other.

 

One must always ask if this sentence, speech, or scene was not written here would the play, episode, or film suffer in any way?  At times Shakespeare would write a scene to cover a costume change. The most famous one is As You Like It when Touchstone goes on forever so the married couples can change from their forest clothes to their wedding clothes.   I also believe Hamlet’s Speak the Speech was Shakespeare’s way of guiding his fellow actors. His character could have told the lead actor what he wanted him to add to their play to trap Claudius.  The last example is from Much Ado About Nothing, the famous scene between Beatrice and Benedick in the church after Hero has been jilted by Claudio.  Beatrice wants Benedick to kill Claudio. This scene had really ended the moment before when Benedick says to Beatrice “Think you and your soul the Count Claudio hath wrong’d Hero.”  Beatrice responds “Yea as sure as I have a thought, or a soul.”  He then has a comic speech which may be interpreted as funny as one would want to go including false exits and physical low comedy.  Benedick could have easily said I will do this farewell.  Instead, Shakespeare uses a comic Bridge to safely take us from one place to the next and allow the following scene to start cleanly from its beginning. The above is from a contemporary edition. The below is from the First Folio.  I want you to see what clues Shakespeare gave his artists. The “e,” on thinke & soule was telling artists those two words needed to be elongated a little longer.  I believe this was to tell Benedick to dig deep for the truth. Then he does what he is famous for and gives Benedick a comic exit with a “Bridge,” and everybody is happy!

BENEDICK:

Thinke you in your soule the Count Claudio

hath wrong’d Hero?

BEATRICE:

Yea, as sure as I have a thought, or a soule.

 

BEFORE AND AFTER.

Make sure you have a before and after and that your audition has a beginning middle and end and most importantly that you have fun.

 

Knowing the Before and After is extremely important in starting and finishing your audition. 

 

You cannot just start from nowhere.  Ask yourself, what important event happened just before to make you speak or start? 

 

After you have finished speaking the words of your monologue, you are not finished.  Think  a closing thought, in character, to complete your audition.

 

Please make a slight physical adjustment depending on what kind of medium you are in and become your person again.

 

CLOSING.

Remember to say thank you and leave or end the self-tape.  If they want to talk to you, they will ask you a question.

Monosyllabic vs. Polysyllabic

ANGLO-SAXON MONOSYLLABIC, AND POLYSYLLABIC

 

Anglo-Saxon words are normally four-letter words, or short words, that are very understandable. Short Anglo-Saxon words are more down and dirty and right to the point. That is why curse words are mostly four-letter words.

(I’ll bet your favorite swear words are all four letters)

 

Polysyllabic words are more elevated because they are more intellectual. The character is using reason and intelligence - that says a lot about your character.

Examples: Sagacious, Erudite, Prescient, Laconic

 

Monosyllabic words are the writer telling you to slow down. Each word gets equal stress. These words are packed and explode with meaning. If these words are said fast, and run together, they lose their power and purpose. I mean equal stress on each loaded word. It takes on a staccato sharp, detached explosion. Only if the artists know how to apply the technique so the audience “gets it.”

 

Example (Contemporary),  AS IS by William M. Hoffman

SAUL: You can’t do this to me.

RICH: I can and I am.

 

Example (Classical), OTHELLO V ii

OTHELLO:  Put out the Light, and then put out the Light

O! Thy Status Is Showing
Ranks and Titles

(from John Basil's Will Power: How to Act Shakespeare in 21 Days)

The top three of the following titles and ranks can apply to women, too.

Property in feudal society was passed down through the eldest male child in a family.  Thus, feminine ranks and titles generally indicate marital status or parentage.

Prefixes

​PREFIX is an affix attached to the beginning of a word, base, or phrase, and serving to produce a derivative word or and inflectional form.

 

To fasten before.

EN - IN - UN

These three prefix’s Shakespeare uses to stress a word.

 

Examples:

● “Unmitigated rancour”

○ Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing IV ii

 

● “Inexplicable dumb shewes”

○ Hamlet, Hamlet III ii

 

● “Enforc’t thee? Art thou King and wilt be forc’t.”

○ Margaret, Henry VI PIII I i

99% of the time Shakespeare uses this technique to stress the word and make a point. If not used it will sound by the third row like mitigated, explicable or forc’t. The true meaning of the word and the rhetorical point will be lost.

YOU MUST ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE!

How does it sound?

Does it make more sense?

It will not always scan correctly.

Shakespeare loves to break the rules!

Prose vs. Verse vs. Wit

PROSE

  • Is poetic language but, much more free flow.

  • Check your characters name, is it Pistol, Nym, Mistress Quickly, Bottom?

  • Is your character in disguise? The Duke in M4M, Rosalind in AYLL

  • Does Shakespeare want you to tell more jokes per line than verse will allow?

  • Are there more physical jokes in your Prose?

  • Not always does it deal with class. Pistol in Henry IV PI speaks brilliant verse. Hamlet speaks alot of prose.

  • Shakespeare gear shifts from Prose to Verse to make a musical sound difference. You should physicalize these changes

  • Beatrice and Benedicke speak in prose to be witter.

  • All the rules that apply to verse apply to prose except for that it is not in meter.

 

“...What a piece of worke is man! How Noble in Reason? How infinite in faculty?

In forme and moving how expresse and admirable? Action, how like an Angel? In apprehension, how like a God? The beauty of the world, the Parragon of Animals; and yet to me, what is this Quintessence of Dusts?”

 

 

VERSE

  • The truth under pressure.

  • Is metered language.

  • In Shakespeare it is mostly Iambic Pentameter.

  • There is a special day just for verse.

 

 

WIT

  • The Five Wits are Common Sense, Imagination, Fantasy (i.e. artistic invention or creativity), Judgement and Memory.

  • Wit is not just being funny. It is all the wordplay and wordsmithing that Shakespeare does with language.

Shall vs. Will

‘SHALL’ means that the character is speaking with absolute authority as to the outcome.

 

 ‘WILL’ means that the character is speaking with a submission to God’s authority, such as when we say, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow, God willing’.

Example #1, Henry V

Henry: …wilt thou have me?

Katharine: Dat as it shall please mon pere.

Henry: Nay it will please him Kate; it shall please him.

So, using our clues: Henry starts with ‘will,’ as if he were saying, ‘if all the circumstances were right, would you be willing to marry me?’ It’s asked conditionally as opposed to absolutely.

 

Kate surrenders all authority to her father in terms of the marriage by using ‘shall.’

 

Then, Henry uses ‘will’ at first, as if to say, “I have a good sense he will be moved by that decision.” Then he becomes more passionate (semi-colon), and pronounces it more certainly and absolutely by using ‘shall.’ It’s possible he moves to the ‘shall’ based on Katharine looking uncertain after his use of ‘will.’

 

Trust me Kate, he is going to approve! ‘Shall’ means the character is giving the greatest possible assurance…it’s like divine assurance when it’s used!

Divine Assurance:  The idea of absolute authoritative certainty behind the use of shall is a great clue to the character's confidence or intention.

Example #2, Romeo

Romeo:  ....and all these woes shall serve as sweet discourses in our time to come...

Now, if you are playing the role, there are a couple of things to think about with the use of 'shall' as opposed to 'will.' Romeo may absolutely believe what he says (of course, the character can use 'shall' and still be wrong about what's going to happen), thus the use of shall.


Or he may not be 100% certain, but Romeo uses it as a way to comfort Juliet as he says goodbye. She's worried that they won't ever see each other again. If Romeo says 'will' it leaves it up to fate and doesn't give near the comforting confidence that 'shall' does.

Example #3, Juliet

Juliet:  He shall not make me there a joyful bride.

'Shall' always has greater intensity. This is Juliet's way of saying 'absolutely not, you can bet your life on it!' We know the certainty to which she speaks about never marrying Paris because she would kill herself before that ever happened.

Small Words

 

All, Now, This, Then, Again

These five words in Shakespeare always get emphasized! 

(But remember, the only thing that Shakespeare does all the time is BREAK THE RULES!)

Examples

All the World’s a Stage”

Now is the Winter of our discontent”

“Come make him stand upon this molehill here.”

Then hurl down their indignation”

“How shall I win my lord again?”

 

 

If - Then

Very important on every level!  This is a very strong rhetorical tool – IF sets up the situation or asks the question. The THEN phrase is the dare, self-dare, or challenge.  The THEN does not have to be written but may be implied.  In many ways the IF part of the sentence or phrase is the weaker part – the THEN is the stronger and it where the line should lift.

And, But, Yet

These little words may not seem like much but they are clues to where the direction the thought is going in. Don't overlook them, rather know how they function in a sentence.

  • "And" is a springboard. What comes after the "and" should not sound like what came before. You are building.

    • Think adding things to reach a conclusion: 1 + 1=2...think of going up a level with each addition.

    • Saying ‘nd instead of and, will help you spring into the next thought and eliminates the horrible “aaaa” sound.

  • "But" means you are going on, you have more to say.

    • You’re making a decision or thoroughly explaining your argument.

  • "Yet" means you have a lot more to say and you are turning in a new direction.

  • "Or" means you are comparing values and weighing merits.

    • The words on each side of the "or" should sound different, because you are comparing.

    • Like you making a quick right or left turn - and it should vocally sound different.

  • "Nor" is giving more evidence for your argument. You are doubling down.

  • "With" is often used as "with this", so it is important, extra information you are sharing.

  • "For" is often used in furthering the argument or determining the winning conclusion.

    • Example: “for dainties are all Kates"

  • "Unless" is when you are backtracking, or possibly disagreeing with yourself

 

In a debate oriented society, these words are like little rudders. A tiny rudder can steer a big ship. These little words can help steer your argument. Pay close attention to how they are being used in a speech.

This and That, Thus, Here and There

This is where I ask you to infuse these words with a feeling or point of view because they represent something. Also, these words are often used as a stage direction to where your focus should be.

"Thus" must be demonstrative.

Example, Hamlet 

“Do not saw the ayre to much you hand thus,”

You should always try to physicalize that word.

 

Example: Sebastian, Twelfth Night or What You Will

ENTER: 

This is the ayre, that is the glorious Sunne,

This pearl she gave me, I do feel't, and see't,

And though 'tis wonder that enwraps me thus,

Yet 'tis not madnesse. Where's Anthonio then,

I could not find him at the Elephant,

Yet there he was, and there I found this credit,

That he did range the town to seeke me out.

His concell now might do me golden service,

For though my soule disputes well with my sence,

That this may be some error, but no madnesse,

Yet doth this accident of flood and fortune,

So farre exceed all instance, all discourse.

 

(This, that, thus, here and there seem like "throwaway" words to us, but you may

need to give them extra attention. Sometimes "this" or "that" is loaded, like in the

speech above. “That this may be some error” What the "this" represents is important,

and must be stressed as such.)

 

Example: Remember Hamlet showing his mother the two portraits?

“...look on this and now on this

(They are loaded with his point of view about his father, and his uncle. The "this" is so powerful in that scene.)

 

Example: Hamlet, Mackers

“...here, but here upon this bank and schoole of time...”

"Here and There is used greatly in this scene, where Hamlet sees the ghost for the first time. The here as opposed to the there, that word is loaded, indicated as well by its repetition. You must “pack” or "load up" these words the way they need to be expressed for CLARITY.)

 

 

This, that, thus, here and there seem like "throwaway" words to us, but you may need to give them extra attention. Sometimes "this" or "that" is loaded, like in the speech above. “That this may be some error” What the "this" represents is important, and must be stressed as such.

 

Example: Remember Hamlet showing his mother the two portraits? “...look on this and now on this”

They are loaded with his point of view about his father, and his uncle. The "this" is so powerful in that scene.

 

Example: Hamlet, Mackers

“...here, but here upon this bank and schoole of time...”

Here and There is used greatly in this scene (where Hamlet sees the ghost for the first time). The here as opposed to the there, that word is loaded, indicated as well by its repetition. You must “pack” or "load up" these words the way they need to be expressed for CLARITY.

Staging

ENTRANCES: Entrances establish a scene.

  • You must know where you are coming from and what just happened.

  • Does your scene begin at the beginning, middle, or end? Shakespeare is capable of using all three.

  • Example: Comedy of Errors Lucianna’s first line

    • “And may it be that you have quite forgot a Husbands Office.”

    • Lucianna’s first line is in the middle of the play. When this happens, you must start speaking as your foot hits the stage, or you have to count of 3.

 

 

EXITS: Exits propel the play forward, and must be quick or economic.

  • 98% of the time, Shakespeare gives you a line that will take you to your exit.

  • Example: In MacB  I vii

    • “Away and mock the time with fairest show….”

    • Away means “move upstage!” The key is to keep the play moving forward - so we can get on with it!

 

 

TALKER VS. LISTENER: The Elizabethans set the upstage actor as the talker and the downstage actor as the listener. They then do-si-do to switch who is the talker and who is the listener.

 

PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC: The upstage space of the Globe was for the Public and Court scenes (for example fights and big acting moments). The downstage space was for the Private, comic, or intimate scenes.

  • In film, Public moments would be where you see a long shot.

  • The Globe was approximately 45’ x 30’.

  • There was an invisible middle Proscenium line so Shakespeare could use Conventions.

 

CONVENTION: Conventions are used during asides, and in moments when the audience is asked to suspend their belief.

  • Example, Winter’s Tale

    • Hermione and Polixenes are upstage in the Public and Leontes is Downstage in the Private.  During Leontes’ aside, Hermione and Polixenes pretend that they cannot hear him.

 

STAGE LEFT: Because English speakers read from left to right, the strongest part of the stage is stage left.

  • During a speech (where you are the talker and the main action happening onstage), you want to be stage left. The listener would be stage right. The audience’s eye will automatically move to the left.

    • Example: Look at the front page of The New York Times, the major headline is always stage left.

 

DIAGONAL LINES: A diagonal cross is the most interesting cross the actor can make. It is incisive and cuts through, while giving the audience the opportunity to see both of the actor’s eyes.

  • Vertical and Horizontal lines are weaker and have different purposes. When one crosses straight downstage it is usually for the aside or your curtain call. Horizontal lines can be flat unless its A Chorus Line.

  • Directors tend to build triangles, as it is the strongest geometric figure. Think Pyramids. The Triangle is powerful for soliloquies, and duologues. They are also great for focus during a self-tape.

 

DUMPING: If you cross all the way SL or SR for dialogue with your scene partner, do not speak into the wings. Find an interesting way to cross around your partner so you are totally open.

 

SHOTS OR PICTURES: Shakespeare creates stage pictures and moments - they are cinematic.

  • That is why so many artists have wanted to make his work into films!

 

 

GUNSLINGER, WIDE SHOT, LONG SHOT: A Gunslinger is when two actors are on opposite sides of the stage, because if they were closer, there would be violence.

  • Drama needs space.

  • It can also be because all the actor’s need to be onstage.

  • This is equivalent to sitting in the balcony (or in the back).

 

MID SHOT: The two actors are only a foot apart.

  • This shot is more intimate.

  • It is multipurpose and appropriate for all exchanges. This is the middle of the orchestra.

 

CLOSE UP: The two actors are almost toe to toe - but not quite. Very personal, bordering on dangerous.

  • This plays to the first couple of rows in the theatre.

 

EXTREME CLOSE UP: The actors are toe to toe, face to face. The action becomes intimate or violent.

 

OVER THE SHOULDER CLOSE & LONG: Is it intimacy or conspiracy? Who talks behind someone and over their shoulder. This staging allows two points of view.

 

CIRCLE OF COMFORT: We all have an imaginary circle around us for our comfort and safety. People sit next to each other or stand close but do not get in the circle.

 

HEAVENS: The focus goes up.

  • In the Globe, there was a canopy with the celestial heavens painted on it.

 

HELL: The focus goes down.

  • The Globe had three trap doors, that the fiends or the Ghost of Hamlet came up from.

 

PILLARS: In the globe, there were two downstage pillars that held up the canopy, and were used extensively.

  • They were used to hide behind, or for hanging poems about Rosalind “on every tree.” Because there was no real scenery, they used what they had.

 

TWO BIG DOORS UPSTAGE: All leads came through one of the doors.

  • Example: Oberon and Tytania would always come through the door.

 

BALCONY: The balcony allowed for the Romeo and Juliet scenes, or for when The Richards to speak to the crowds below.

 

KNOCKING UP THE CURTAIN: This space was upstage center - it was where the table for the tavern scenes was kept, Desdemona’s bed, or Banquo’s dinner table.

Time Words

TIME: Is a character that works for you or against you.

  • If you are late for an appointment and are rushing, time is against you. You have no time to waste. You must use every moment very specifically.

  •  If you are early for an appointment you can leisurely stroll, window shop, stop for a cappuccino - you have time to spend.

 

In Shakespeare as in life many words have multiple meanings. You will see some words here that you saw in other segments. Remember we are always asking you, in character, to be specific according to your given circumstances, needs, and doings.

 

The most important time word is NOW.

 

 

TIME WORD EXAMPLES:

  • After

  • After a while

  • Again

  • Before

  • During

  • Finally

  • Hurry

  • Later

  • Meanwhile

  • Now

  • Soon

  • Suddenly

  • Then


 

SHAKESPEARE TIME WORDS:

Anon: Soon, presently, immediately after, sometimes, now or then, every now and then.

 

Apace: Fast, hurry, quic

 

Balk: To hesitate, flinch, recoil

 

Ere: Poetic of Before - sooner than, before, rather than.

 

Tarry: Stop, abide, bide, dally, drag, dwell, lag, linger, loiter, pause, procrastinate, remain, rest, stall, stay

 

FIRST AND ONCE:

When Shakespeare writes first or once, he is giving the actor a clue to start again from the beginning. It has the effect of saying “Once upon a time.” The clue is to restart!

 

Lady Percy:

The Time was (Father) when you broke your word,

When you were more endeer'd to it, then now,

 

Cassius:

For once, vpon a Rawe and Gustie day,

The troubled Tyber, chafing with her Shores,

 

Pucell:

First let me tell you whom you haue condemn'd;

Adrianna:

The time was once, when thou vn-vrg'd wouldst vow 


 

 

Compile a list and add your own time words as they appear!

There are more!

Verse

Iambic Pentameter:

  • An iambus, iamb is one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

  • Five iambic feet to a line of verse is iambic pentameter.

  • Much of Shakespeare’s verse is written in iambic pentameter as this is the closest to the natural rhythm of our English speech.

  • Example, Romeo and Juliet

    • “But soft what light through Yonder window breaks.”

    • UN stressed is But stressed is soft UN stressed is what stressed is light

      • These two syllables form a metric foot.

 

Masculine Ending:

  • A line of verse containing 5 iambic feet or 10 beats.

  • Example, Petruchio’s line from The Taming of the Shrew

    • “You lie in faith, for you are called plaine Kate”

 

Feminine Ending:

  • When a line has 11 beats the extra beat places the stress on the next to the last word or syllable it is said to weaken the line.

  • Hear the stresses on the next to the last syllable when it is polysyllabic and on the next to the last word when it is monosyllabic.

  • A feminine ending is another way of Shakespeare telling you to keep the thought moving forward.

  • Example, Ariel’s lines from The Tempest:

    • “And burn in many places, on the top mask,

The yards and bore spirit, would I flame distinctly,

Then meet and join Joves lightning the precursors”

 

Alexandrian Ending:

  • 12 beats to the line of verse. Named after Alexander the Great.

  • It is like a masculine line except - there is either one more foot or two more beats.

  • You have to either pick up the pace or cram it into the line. It is somewhat constipated or uncomfortable.

  • It is a clue to do something - at least change the rhythm!

  • Example, Adrianna’s line from The Comedy of Errors:

    • “Unless I spake, or look’d or touch’d or carv’d to thee”

 

Feminine Alexandrian Ending:

  • 13 beats to the line of verse.

  • Example, Hamlet’s line

    • “Remorseless, Treacherous, Lecherous, Kindless, Villaine!”

 

Blank Verse:

  • 2/3 of Shakespeare’s plays are in blank verse, because it is the closest thing to normal English speaking.

Rhyming Couplets:

This is the most heightened form of verse speaking. The actor must actively choose to speak this way as the character and not ignore it and pretend it is prose.

 

Example: Antipholus from Comedie of Errors

“No: it is thyself, mine own selves better part:

Mine eyes clear eye my dear hearts dear heart;

My food, my fortune, and my sweet hopes aim;

My soul earth heaven And my heavens claim.”

 

Oddities That Happen in Verse:

1. Ed & ‘d

Henry VI Part I, Joan La Pucell: “Oh turn thy edged sword another way,”

(To make a regular line of 10 beats, the word is pronounced edged. This only applies to verse. You stress the ED to make 10 beats.)

 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream III ii, Helena: “Have you conspir’d, have you with these contriv’d,”

(If it is ‘d it has the more accepted pronunciation. It is NOT conspired or contrived.)

 

2. Elongation

Richard II I I King Richard: “This we prescribe, though no physition,

Deepe malice makes too deepe incision.”

(The first line is 6, up to no - phy-si-tshe-on is 4 it is a unique pronunciation.

The second line is 6 up to deepe - in-cis-ee-on is 4 it is a unqiue pronunciation.

Words like ocean become o-she-on, patience becomes pay-she-onss, marriage becomes

ma-ri-aghe. Cleopatra’s pyramids becomes pi-ram-ah-dees. This is all done to make the iambic line regular.)

Difference Between Contraction and Elision

By merely looking at contraction and elision examples, one would think the two are the same. However, there is a slight difference between them.

Contraction is a more general term referring to the combination of two words to form a shorter word.

  • For instance, can’t is a contraction of “can” + “not,” which is a combination of two words.

On the other hand, elision is a specific term. It is omission of sounds, syllables, or phrases, and replacing them with an apostrophe.

  • For instance, ne’er is an elided form of “never.” Similarly, gonna is an elision of the phrase “going to.”

 

Function of Elision

Usually used deliberately, elisions are often found in prose and poetry with the objective to continue a regular meter, or to create flow in iambic pentameter. Since a specific meter is required, elision is employed to achieve the set number of syllables necessary to create flow in a piece. Several other languages use elision to cut down the number of words or to improve the flow of speech.

W.O.F.R.A.M. by Scott Sedita's
The Eight Characters of Comedy

WANT:

The reason you are in the scene. Your objective. What you want from the other character in the scene. A specific need or desire that will determine all your actions and behaviors. The stakes attached to that want is a powerful force that gives you purpose throughout the scene.

 

OBSTACLES:

External Obstacles: The person, place, or thing standing in the way of your want.

Internal Obstacles: The personal conflict within you that makes it difficult to achieve what you want.

 

FEELINGS:

What are the emotions you experience in the scene? Make sure at least one feeling is positive (for example: hopeful, loving, excited)!

 

RELATIONSHIP:

What is your character’s relationship with the other characters in the scene? How do you feel about that person and why? Write a brief history of generals and specifics about your best and worst times together.

 

AS IF:

How do you personally relate to the Want, Circumstances, and Feelings of your character in the scene?

Relate through a Direct AS IF (make it personal).

Relate through an Indirect AS IF (make it personal).

Relate to an Imaginary AS IF that is happening to you specifically.

 

INTENTIONS:

What are the specific actions you will use to pursue your want in the scene? What Active Verbs will you attach to the dialogue to change the other character’s emotional or physical state?

 

MOMENT BEFORE:

What happened before you entered the scene?

The logistical moment before: Where are you physically, what is your environment?

The emotional moment before: What is the single strong emotion you are feeling as the scene starts? What emotions are you bringing into the scene?

You vs. Thou

'YOU' is formal and supposedly done at ten feet away from the other actor.

 

'THOU' is informal and friendly first, and is done close or even very close to the other actor, 85%-90% of the time.

 

THOU can also be informal and derogatory 10% -15 % of the time. 

Example, Lady Anne

 

If you are Lady Anne and talking to Richard the Third, you do NOT give him the politeness of his Title, because he KILLED ALL THE MEN IN YOUR FAMILY.
 

 

Example, Benedick

 

In Much Ado About Nothing Benedick says, "Lady Beatrice have you wept all this while?"
He is being polite, formal, and keeping his distance.

 

Later in this same scene, he says, "By my sword Beatrice thou lov'st me."
He is calling her by her first name and using thou. He is being informal and friendly, wooing or pursuing Beatrice.

Look for the gear shift change when you change modes of address!

bottom of page