Reading Material in Art Appreciation

Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting

Introduction:

This pandemic made a weighty effect on the performing arts,

reflecting its impacts transversely to all arts divisions. According to
culturaldigital.com, due to physical distancing requirements and closure of
the physical venues, curtailing not only public performances but also
rehearsals, many performing arts institutions attempted to adapt by offering
new (or newly expanded) digital services.

Experiencing acting workshops, performing on stage, and working

behind a stage production will definitely mold you to becoming a better
stage performer. When we say stage performer, we are not only pertaining
to stage acting but all the other performances --- singing, dancing, hosting
and the list goes on. These are usually done on stage with production staff
and an audience. If you are into stage plays or stage drama, you might be
wondering how you are going to be totally engaged and learn acting
online.

This reading material will walk you through the world of acting. We
will focus on the elements of basic acting and will be doing a lot of exercises
online to prepare you for the task. Break a leg!

JC Santos returns to theater as Lam-ang. Here he holds a golok, a sword from

Cordillera used for the sole purpose of chopping off heads and limbs during
executions or tribal wars. Nolisoli.ph

Page 1 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
ACTING

Acting is the art or practice of representing a character on a stage

or before cameras as what Merriam-Webster defines it. Starsberg, on the
other hand, defined acting as the performing art in which movement,
gesture, and intonation are used to realize a fictional character for the
stage, for motion pictures, or for television.

Acting is generally agreed to be a matter less of mimicry,

exhibitionism, or imitation than of the ability to react to imaginary stimuli. Its
essential elements remain the twin requisites enunciated by the French
actor François-Joseph Talma in his tribute to the actor Lekain (1825): “an
extreme sensibility and a profound intelligence.” For Talma, it is sensibility
that allows an actor to mark his face with the emotions of the character he
is playing and to convey the intentions of the playwright, the implications of
the text, and the movements of the “soul” of the character. Intelligence —
the understanding of the workings of the human personality — is the faculty
that orders these impressions for an audience.

“Mabining Mandirigma”. Liesl Batucan as Apolinario Mabini and Arman Ferrer as Emilio
Aguinaldo. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO from Tanghalang Pilipino/Kurt Copon

The essential problems in acting — those of whether the actor

actually “feels” or merely imitates, of whether he should speak naturally or
rhetorically, and of what actually constitutes being natural — are as old
as theatre itself. They are concerned not merely with “realistic” acting,
which arose in the theatre of the 19th century, but with the nature of the
acting process itself.
Page 2 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 The ephemeral nature of acting has left it without many practical
foundations and only a few theoretical traditions. In the middle of the 18th
century, the German critic and dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing drew
attention to this difficulty: “We have actors but no art of acting.” In an
artistic field where the measures of greatness are traditionally the subjective
reports of witnesses or critics, the understanding of the art has naturally
remained in dispute. It remains as true today as when stated by George
Henry Lewes in his On Actors and the Art of Acting (1875):

I have heard those for whose opinions in

other directions my respect is great, utter
judgments on this subject which proved
that they had not even a suspicion of what
the art of acting really is.

Efforts to define the nature of an art or craft usually are based upon the
masterpieces of that field. Without that necessary reference point, vague
speculations and generalizations — without proof of validity — are likely. In the
visual, musical, and literary arts, this foundation exists; the work of the great masters
of the past and the present serves not only to elucidate the art but also to create
standards to emulate. It is difficult to imagine what the present state of
comprehension of music would be if only the music of today were available, and
the achievements of Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart had to be known
only by hearsay. Yet, this is precisely the situation that exists in acting. The actor, in
the words of the 19th-century American actor Lawrence Barrett, “is forever
carving a statue of snow.” That is why the understanding of acting has not
equaled the appreciation of it and why the actor’s creative process has defied
comprehension.

ADDITIONAL INFO
In order for you to have a brief background on what theater is, take
a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWrOuwzax8

Page 3 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
THEORIES OF TRADITIONS

Throughout the history of theatre, debate has continued over the

question of whether the actor is a creative artist or simply an interpreter.
Since the actor’s performance is usually based on the play, and the
dramatist is conceded to be a creative artist, it is sometimes concluded
that the actor must be only an interpretive artist. Some modern exponents
of the actor’s creativity have indirectly accepted this view and have
turned, therefore, to nonverbal theatre. But others deny that this recourse
to primitivism is necessary in order to make acting a creative art. When
composers like Schubert or Schumann created musical settings for the
poems of Heine or Goethe, their music did not lose its essentially creative
nature. Verdi used Shakespeare’s Othello and Falstaff for his great operas,
but his music is no less creative for that. When an artist merely imitates the
work of another artist in the same medium, that may properly be called
noncreative; the original artist has already solved the basic problems of
execution, and his pattern is simply followed by the imitator. Such a work
can be considered merely an exercise in skill (or in execution).

An artist in one medium who uses an art work of another medium as

subject matter, however, must solve the problems posed by his own
medium — a creative achievement. It is therefore quite proper to speak of
a character as if he were the actor’s creation — of John
Gielgud’s “Hamlet,” for example, or John Barrymore’s or Jonathan Pryce’s.
Because a medium offers the potential for creativity, of course, it does not
follow that all its practitioners are necessarily creative: there are imitative
artists in every medium. But acting can only be understood after it is first
recognized as a creative medium demanding a creative act. In “The Art of
Acting”, the American drama teacher Brander Matthews remarked,

The actor needs to have under control not

only his gestures and his tones, but all other
means of stimulating sensibility and these
should be ready for use at all times, wholly
independent of the words of the text.

Page 4 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 In the same work, he quoted with approval the words of the great
19th-century Italian tragedian Ernesto Rossi that a “great actor is
independent of the poet, because the supreme essence of feeling does
not reside in prose or in verse, but in the accent with which it is delivered.”
And even Denis Diderot, the French philosopher of the 18th century whose
famous Paradox of Acting (written 1773–78; published 1830) is dealt with
below and who was himself a dramatist, stated:

even with the clearest, the most

precise, the most forceful of writers,
words are no more, and never can
be more, than symbols, indicating a
thought, a feeling or an idea;
symbols which need action, gesture,
intonation, and a whole context of
circumstances, to give them full
significance.

If the art of acting is regarded as merely interpretive, the external

elements of the actor’s skill tend to be emphasized, but, when acting is
recognized as a creative art, it leads inevitably to a search for the deeper
resources that stimulate the actor’s imagination and sensitivity. This search
presents difficult problems. The actor must learn to train and to control the
most sensitive material available to any craftsman: the living organism of
a human being in all of its manifestations — mental, physical, and
emotional. The actor is at once the piano and the pianist.

Acting should not be confused with pantomime, which is a form of

external movements and gestures that describes an object or an event but
not its symbolic significance. Similarly, the actor is not to be mistaken for
an imitator. Many of the best imitators are unable to act in their own person
or to create a character that is an extension of themselves rather than an
imitation of someone else. Neither is acting mere exhibitionism; the
capacity for “showing off” or entertaining at parties is quite different from
the talent demanded of the actor — the ability to put oneself into another
character, to create through performance a nonexistent event and bring
it to its logical fulfillment, and to repeat this performance not only when one
is in a favorable mood but also at specified times and places, regardless of
one’s own feelings on each occasion.

Now that you are done reading about theater and acting, it is time
to know the basic elements of acting! This will give you a broader
understanding on how to prepare yourself in the acting process.

Page 5 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
I. BASIC ELEMENTS OF ACTING:

A. Body

Actors have three things to work with -— their minds, bodies and
spirits. But it is our bodies that the audience sees. It is our bodies that
communicate what is going on inside of us. Of course, our words are
important and how we speak them is essential in defining who we are. But
our bodies reveal a lot about us and consequently they reveal much about
the characters we play. With that in mind, it is essential for us as actors to
have supple, communicative bodies because even if we are doing close-
ups, what our bodies are doing has a profound impact on what our faces
reveal.

Audiences will know your character by the way you sit, stand, move,
and handle objects. More important is that how you do these things will
actually have an impact on you. Tightening up, slouching, standing
straight, and other adjustments you make to your posture and movement
affect your inner life. So as an actor, you can define your character
physically and by making adjustments, you will actually be able to feel the
inner life of that character. Remember, the way the character moves, sits,
stands, and handles objects, says as much about you to the audience as
your dialogue. Why? Because under the words, sentences, and sounds
you make, your body says who that character is, was, and will be.

ACTING WARMUPS FOR ACTORS

ACTIVITY
1. Work your neck. Roll your neck around forward, side to side, backward. Roll
it around in one direction, then the other.
2. Shoulders. Shrug your shoulders up, down, then roll them forward and
backward.
3. Circle your arms. Swing your arms in a circle in one direction, then the other,
then in opposite directions.
4. Stretch your ribs by raising your arms above your head, then leaning to one
side, feeling the tension release on your ribcage. Hold for a beat, then return
to the upright position and lean to the other side.
5. Breathwork. Assume an erect posture, inhale deeply and slowly through your
nose. Exhale slowly and deliberately through your mouth. Repeat a few times
to slow your heart rate down and relax.
6. Folds. Bend forward at the waist, dropping your head, with arms extended
down, holding for 10. Then come back up all the way into a slight backward
bend, holding for another 10 seconds. Repeat a few times until you feel your
posture has improved.
7. Shake everything out. Start shaking your hands, then your arms, then your
entire body to release any lingering tension.
*Warm-up routines do not need to take too much time, and they can be done either alone or
with other actors.

Page 6 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 Many actors forget the importance of acting with the body. Use
these physical exercises to become aware of the body as an acting tool.
The body can convey character, emotion, and environment. The body can
work in harmony with the dialogue or in contrast. The body can tell a story
without any dialogue at all.

Physical Warm-Ups Environment Walks is something you can try.

Move around the room as if walking in the following environments: warm
summer day, a light rain fall, a torrential downpour, the first snowfall, a wind
storm, a hail storm. Move around the room as if walking through or on the
following: a mud field, an icy sidewalk, hip high grass, a rocky mountain, a
vat of Jell-O, quick drying cement. Alphabet Body Students spell letters of
the alphabet with their bodies. (I, X, T, L, U K, J, N, V) Then, they work in pairs
(W, H, M, O, A, Z). Finally, in small groups, students try to create a word just
using their bodies.

ACTIVITY
Having an expressive face is key to good acting, especially if filming a close-
up shot. Warming up and losing your facial muscles can allow your face to be
more expressive.

1. Massage. Begin your facial warm-ups by massaging your face in slow,

circular motions to loosen the muscles around your mouth, eyes, and
forehead.

2. Use the “lion/mouse” technique. Stand in front of a mirror and stretch all
your facial muscles. Open your mouth wide, like a lion roaring. Then scrunch
your face into a meek, small, expression, like a mouse. Switch back and
forth.

3. Stretch your tongue. Pull your tongue out, pull it down as far as you can,
then up, then side to side. This will help you move your mouth and to
enunciate and articulate.

B. Voice

The voice is a powerful tool in drama. When you describe vocal

work, consider elements such as pitch, pace, projection and intonation.
Characters should always use a suitable language register.

Page 7 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 Masterclass.com mentioned that the voice is one of the actor’s
most powerful tools, as part and parcel of their characterization and how
the text is interpreted for the audience. Think about situations in which
you’re solely reliant on the voice. Clearly, body language will add to the
effect of what you say but in situations where there is no physical presence
– phone conversations or a radio play – the listener is solely dependent on
what they hear.

Think about how the actor uses the voice to convey the character’s
age, status and mood. Voice can also be used in a more abstract way to
create soundscape and atmosphere as well as conveying thoughts,
emotions, feelings and ideas.

When writing about the voice, you might be describing a

performance you gave and what you tried to achieve and why you used
your voice in the way you did. You could be asked to describe the work of
an actor in a performance you watched. This might be for feedback in a
workshop or the classroom or it might be for a theatrical review.

VOCAL ELEMENTS

Many actors begin their interpretation of a character by finding a

suitable voice. There are a number of different vocal elements you should
consider:

• Pitch – speaking in a high, low or natural voice.

• Pace – the speed at which someone speaks, e.g. the speed of
response in an argument.
• Pause – a dramatic pause at a crucial moment could merit a
comment.
• Tone – this suggests your mood and your intention towards the
listener, e.g. happy or sad.
• Volume – you might be commenting on audibility but you’re more
likely to be discussing the effect of a loud, powerful voice or a quiet,
nervous or sad voice.
• Accent – you may be talking about how someone has achieved a
convincing accent or how the choice of accent enhanced their
characterization.
• Emphasis – the pressure on individual words that makes them stand
out. Emphasis or stress for a particular effect is significant and can
change the meaning of a sentence as well as the feeling behind it.
• Intonation – the rise and fall of the voice. There’s a clear movement
up at the end of a sentence when we ask questions for example.
Intonation also helps us to say what we mean.
Page 8 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 VOCAL WARM-UP

Your voice is your main instrument of expression as an actor, and

warming it up will prevent damaging your vocal cords while helping you
articulate your words.

1. The “Hum.” Exhale slowly, humming until you have exhaled all of
your air. Repeat approximately five times.

2. The “Ha.” Stand and place your hand on your abdomen. Breathe
in by expanding your stomach outward; you are now breathing
from your diaphragm. Exhale slowly, uttering, "ha ha ha ha." Push
your abdomen in with every syllable. Repeat.

3. Lip trills and flutters. Roll your tongue on the roof of your mouth to
make “trr” or “rr” sound.

4. Descending nasal consonants. Say the word “onion,” stretching

the “ny” sound and voice it downward in pitch.

5. Tongue twisters. Memorize a few of tongue twisters, like “red

leather yellow leather” and repeat them to get your mouth
loosened up.

6. Yawn and sigh. Open your mouth as if to yawn and let your voice
sigh loudly from the top of your register down to its lowest note.

ACTIVITY
INTONATION EXERCISE
Read the following.
Hello, how are you? I heard you’d been ill but I see you’re better now. I’m
glad. When are you going to be back at work?
The first time you read it, emphasize the words that are outlined in bold only.
You should find the words in bold are very concerned and sympathetic.
Now, say the same line again but this time say the words that are in bold
sarcastically. It will sound as if you doubt whether the listener really has been
ill. There are many ways to say a speech of this length but this exercise
should highlight the differences you can make. Write up a description of
how you used vocal skills to express the different meanings in this exercise.

Page 9 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 C. SPACE

Space is an important element in drama since the stage itself

also represents a space where action is presented. One must of course
not forget that types of stage have changed in the history of the
theatre and that this has also influenced the way plays were
performed. The analysis of places and settings in plays not only can
help one get a better feel for characters and their behavior but also
for the overall atmosphere. Plays can differ significantly with regard to
how space is presented and how much information about space is
offered.

ACTIVITY
Exploring the Space Exercise

Unfortunately, this pandemic prevents us from having a face-to-face interaction. However,

you still can do this exercise at home, alone or better if with your family members.
This exercise is an ensemble building and also can be used a Warm-Up! The purpose of the
exercise is to get students familiar with their environment and to get students to work together
as a group
All you need to have is a big enough space for you or your family to walk around
comfortably.
Procedure:
1. Spread across the room.
2. Instruct them that when you tell them to, all of you will start walking around the space.
3. As you walk, you should try to cover the space, making sure that you are evenly
spread across the floor.
4. You should be aware of each other but should not speak nor communicate in any
way.
5. You should try to keep in motion at all times but be careful not to touch anyone.
6. Tell them go.
7. As you walk, tell them that you will tell them to stop – at which point you should all
freeze.
8. Get used to walking and stopping.
The cover the space activity has many variations:
1. You can cover the space in pairs or in threes.
2. Ask them to vary their speed with instructions to walk at 1 pace to 10 paces, 10 being
the fastest.
3. When you stop, make different shapes with others, for example one square, 2
triangles.
4. You can form groups based on the colors youare wearing, or the colors of your eyes,
You or
can the type
play of music
around withyou
anylisten to. variations that all teach teamwork, awareness
of these
and communication.
These are all silent activities – it is always interesting to see how people figure out how to
arrange themselves by taste in music without talking.
Page 10 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 D. CHARACTERIZATION

Characterization is you, the student, taking on the role of another

person and using movement and vocal skills to communicate a character
to the audience. When portraying a character, you must think about how
that character walks and talks, their personality and age in order for you to
communicate them effectively and believably. When performing as your
character, it is important that you sustain your role throughout and always
stay in character. As well as movement and voice, facial expressions and
body language are important elements of characterization as they show
the audience the true feelings of your character. The act of changing
voice, body language, movement, gesture etc. when in role is called
characterization.

Take a look at the tips from skillsup.co.uk to further help you in your
characterization process:

Action To be successful Tips to help you

1 · Sustain role · Keep in character at all times. If · Focus on your character

something unexpected happens, and how they would react
concentrate hard so that you're to the situation. This will help
not distracted. Control your you control your laughter.
laughter so that you don't Ignore whatever is
'corpse'. You must react in the happening and carry on in
way the character would. the way your character
would react.

2 ·; Given · Research the background of · Create a Stanislavsky

circumstances. (Know your character - age, time, etc. character analysis. Think
everything about about the following: - What
your character) do you say about yourself in
the script? What do others
say about you in the script?
What physical actions do
you perform?

· Research the · Place yourself in your

type/style/stereotype of character's shoes and think
about how you would act if

Page 11 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 character you are before you you were them. Use the
start your characterization. Gingerbread man exercise
to focus on the emotions
that your character needs
to convey.

· Remember your character's · In your action plan, note

intentions. (What does your what you think your
character want by the end of character wants and why
the extract?) they want it. This will help
you create a more detailed
subtext.

3 · Create realistic · Consider how to perform the · Scale the emotions of your
characters emotions of your character. character from one to ten.
Your character has a higher
intensity the more
emotional you are. In
rehearsal, play your
character at different levels
until you feel that you have
achieved the desired
intensity.

· React in a way your character · Ask yourself, 'How would I

would and understand the react if that was me?', and
purpose of the scene. then try to put yourself into
the shoes of your character
and see whether you would
react in the same way. This
will help you create a
realistic characterization as
you have a point of
reference, which is you.

4 · Know about other · Research the relationship your · Research the given
characters character has with others on circumstances for each
stage. character in your play. This
will help you understand

Page 12 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 the complexity of the
relationships that you must
try to convey.

· Always consider the subtext of · Perform the scene with

your character and the others on only the subtext. Keep your
stage. movements the same but
concentrate on the feelings
between the lines. This will
help you with your body
language and facial
expression.

5 · Visual aspects of · Consider the costume of your · Take costume into

your character character. consideration and think
about what you want to
communicate through it.
(Remember to ensure it fits
into the style of your
performance.) Rehearse in
your costume prior to your
performance.

· Consider the type of footwear · Rehearse in your

as this will affect the way your character's shoes to ensure
character moves on stage. you can walk correctly in
them. Small changes to a
walk can change the
perception of your
character.

All people are different. The actor must use their skills to portray a
character consistently throughout their performance. When creating
characters, you need to consider the following:

Voice: Does your character have an accent? What is the tone of

their voice like? How quickly do they speak? Do they have any vocal
mannerisms that are particular to them?

Page 13 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 Body language: This is what your character’s movements and way
of using their body says about them. A character who is very nervous and
stressed may fidget a lot or have their shoulders hunched up tight to
indicate tension.

Facial expression: Does your character move their face a lot? What
does their facial expression say about their character? Do they have a very
expressive face or do they try not to give much of themselves away?

Hot-seating: (being questioned in character) is an excellent way of

ensuring that you understand the role you are playing.

Improvisation: in role is also very useful in rehearsal as it ensures that

you can act as that character ‘off the text’. It helps you to understand how
they would react in a range of circumstances.

You can watch this video on Physical Characterization with Samuel

L. Jackson:

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/samuel-l-jackson-teaches-
acting/chapters/physical-characterization

Page 14 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
II. ACTING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES:

A. Relaxation

Strasberg often said in class that actors need a warm heart and a
cool head to gain control over the body and mind, freeing them from the
pervasive problems of tension, habits, and distractions. In solidarity with
Stanislavski, Strasberg championed and taught the significance and
importance of being able to relax at will, entering into what Stanislavski
called the “creative mood,” which is described as a state of being aware,
as well as knowing how and where the senses and emotions can function
fully and expressively. You can achieve the creative mood by doing the
Relaxation Exercise.

You will benefit enormously from the Relaxation Exercise because it

is restorative. It’s also the exercise that precedes all the Sense Memory
Exercises. Relaxation is very precise and is done at the beginning of every
class, and it should be practiced every day. You can rely on relaxation in
many situations, and not just before scenes, but in meetings, auditions,
rehearsals, performances, or any time you lose concentration or become
anxious or tense.

Strasberg told us that tension is divided into two parts – mental and
physical. During relaxation, you make an effort to search out areas of the
body that hold the tension which impedes the flow of impulses and is
inhibiting you from controlling your behavior. The more you practice this
exercise, the better you will become at identifying those areas that
repeatedly produce tension. Discipline is required to achieve results, so
practice the exercise every day at home, before other exercises,
performances, rehearsals, and auditions. Relaxation is not to be confused
with meditation. You don’t go inward and remain static, but there are
similarities in the use of breathing and sensory awareness to remain in the
present moment.

Page 15 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 ACTIVITY
EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS
• When you sit in the chair and begin the exercise, ask yourself how, on a scale of
one to ten, you feel that moment, both emotionally and physically. It will be an
overall number, with ten being best and one being worst. Identify unhelpful
thoughts and let them go. How long you relax depends on where you are in the
work and what’s happening in your life at that moment.
• Ideally, sit in a straight back chair which doesn’t have arms, in a place where
you’ve enough room to stretch out your arms and legs and not touch anything or
anyone else. If your neck and shoulders are above the back of the chair, slip down
on the seat and hang your neck gently back, slightly supported by the back of the
chair, if possible. Hang your arms down loosely at the sides of the chair with your
shoulders relaxed, legs flopped out, knees bent, and your feet on the floor. Don’t
sit with your limbs in a parallel position in the chair. Never cross your arms and legs
during Relaxation. Having the arms crossed is like a shield of protection that stops
the flow of expression and creates distance. At the beginning of Method training,
you do Relaxation for thirty or forty minutes, during which you’ll be moving all the
different parts of your body one by one – moving each finger, arm, leg, toe, back,
and making specific sounds.
• Be conscious of breathing slowly but not deeply. Breathe in through the nose for
a count of “one,” with an equally long exhale through the nose, if possible. It’s
perfectly okay for you to breathe out through the mouth, but be careful that it isn’t
audible or visible. The breathing is extremely important and places you in the
present moment.
• Ask yourself questions to elicit a response. Is your brow furrowed? Is your neck
tight? Are your shoulders up? Are your fingers jiggling or moving unconsciously? If
you’re a leg shaker or incessantly touching your hair or face, stop the behavior.
Breathe and let go of the tension.
• Explore parts of the body you don’t normally make contact with, such as your
abdomen, back of the knees, ears, scalp, and so on. Bend forward in the chair
and check the back muscles. Work on the tension in your neck by doing gentle
head-and-neck rotations –all the way around one way and then the other,
practically in slow motion. Try to move the neck toward the back but don’t force
it. It takes time to loosen up those muscles. If you feel any discomfort or tightness,
stop. If you experience any areas of chronic pain don’t try to work it out. Pass over
on it and move on to a different area. Face your own boredom and distractions.
• Acknowledge any problem by moving and making sounds, then continue with
the detailed exploration of your body. You can make the specific committed loud
sounds during Relaxation when there is tension. If the number you picked for how
you’re feeling is five or below, it can be because of a general malaise, or it can be
more intense and about a specific issue. In that case make a long deep “HA!” or
“AH!” sound. The sound should be loud, committed, and elongated for five or ten
seconds. Stretch your arms out from the side of your body at shoulder level,
opening up the chest area and move the legs. Then lean back into the chair and
let go of the tension, collapse, and breathe. The bad feeling stops you from going
further and the movement and sounds break you through. The explosive “HA!”
sound can help you deal with specific, Page 16 troubling
of 29 issues, such as anger. Stand up,
Theatre: The Basic Elements of
make a short loud staccato “HA!” or “AH!” Acting | Julius Caesar M.
sound, andMartinez.
punch 2020
and kick the air
three, four, or five times, then collapse back into the chair, relaxing, breathing
easily, and letting those feelings dissipate. Making these types of sounds and
 further and the movement and sounds break you through. The explosive “HA!”
sound can help you deal with specific, troubling issues, such as anger. Stand up,
make a short loud staccato “HA!” or “AH!” sound, and punch and kick the air
three, four, or five times, then collapse back into the chair, relaxing, breathing
easily, and letting those feelings dissipate. Making these types of sounds and
movements when necessary – that you don’t make in life – asserts the will and
helps to eliminate tension and frustration.

*Any such muscular activity or tautness is exactly the opposite of being relaxed,
which is the point of the exercise.

B. Focus

Focus, as an element of drama, refers to the exploration of ways the

attention of an audience can be drawn to certain elements of what is
happening in a performance space.

Running race – students need to stand as if you are spectators at a

running race. You need to imagine the race moves from your left to right.
You are encouraged to show your emotion to the race progressing as well
as shifting your vision. A horse race, final of a tennis match, etc. could also
be used depending on your interest, age and experiences as students.
Shared space is also being engaged through this activity, as you are
required to move together (imaginatively) as a cohesive group.

ACTIVITY
Add a Freeze
1. Find a pair.
2. Student A must create a pose (a frozen image with his or her body).
Student B must then, without thinking about it too much, create
their own pose that compliments Student A’s pose. For example,
Student A may have posed doing a karate chop, and student B
may then freeze in a scared/defensive pose.
3. Student A then unfreezes and creates a new pose that
compliments Student B’s pose that they are still holding.
4. This then continues in the same way until you and your partner start
to feel tired.

*To do this online, you can use your Messenger Video Chat/Call feature or
other apps with video features. Please screen record this and/or take
photos and share it to the designated thread in the Google Classroom.

Page 17 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 C. Meditation

Meditation has long been associated with focusing one’s thoughts.

Through breathing exercises, the practice helps to regulate emotion and
attention. But recent research shows it’s more than breathwork that helps
meditators focus.

A study by the Journal of Neuroscience examined twelve zen

meditators who had been practicing for at least three years. Researchers
compared the meditators to a control group of twelve individuals who had
never meditated. An MRI showed the meditators had more stability in their
ventral posteromedial cortex (VPMC). Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Basically,
the VPMC region of the brain is linked to spontaneous thoughts and mind-
wandering.

As researchers tested the subjects with logic games, they found the
mental focus of the meditators to be stronger and more reliable. Getting
distracted can sabotage acting roles. With its ability to stabilize wandering
thoughts, meditation again proves to be a valuable resource for actors.

We know that there are no certainties in life. But compared to

other professions, there seems to be more uncertainty in the world of art
than anywhere else. Actors, writers, directors... they all experience an
emotional spectrum that ranges from rejection to elation, sadness to
acceptance, all in one day! It’s a ride that can be both hugely satisfying
and very scary.

By meditation, it is not only the mindfulness practice most people

think of when they hear the word. There are many different types of
meditation: visualization practices, heart-opening practices,
concentration practices, practices that anchor the body and spark the
imagination, etc.

And when it comes to the benefits of all these different types of

meditation, actors are among those who can get the most out of them,
both in their personal lives and work process.

Page 18 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 ACTIVITY
Now, it is time to do some meditation. Check out the mp3 file
posted on our Google Classroom or go to our Google Drive. Simply listen
to it and follow the instructions. Enjoy meditating!

D. Control

Actors must learn how to develop their powers of concentration.

They must be aware at all times of their current situation (being an actor on
stage, with an audience out front) and the context of the play (what is the
character doing/feeling/etc.) “What am I doing?” and NOT, “how am I
doing?”

If relaxation is the foundation and Sense Memory is the structure of

the "house of method", then, concentration is the mortar that fuses the
structure to the foundation. Without extremely developed powers of
concentration, nothing you do as an actor will have much substance.

INSTANT REMEDY FOR STAGEFRIGHT

"Stage fright" should properly be termed "Audience fright", because

that's what it is. When the actor becomes aware that he is being observed
by "them", "out there", tension finds its way into the actor's life on the stage.
The key word here is "aware". The actor must first become aware of being
observed before the observers can cause the actor to suffer that state of
self-consciousness known as stage fright.

So, the "trick" here is not allowing oneself to become aware of the
audience. For the actor, that means concentrating on a specific object.
If you are concentrated fully on a specific object, it is impossible to be
concentrated on the audience.

On what does the actor concentrate? The actor concentrates on

an object. On which object does an actor concentrate? Ideally, the actor
concentrates on an object that is suggested from the logic of the play. But
this is not always the case, nor is it always necessary.

Page 19 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 CONCENTRATION & EMOTIONS

I have told you that the Relaxation Exercise and the Sense Memory
Exercise help develop the actor's powers of concentration. I assume that,
after a period of practice, you have become proficient with relaxation and
the creation of sensory objects on the stage. Now, how do you get to those
difficult moments in the scene where it becomes obvious that who you are
representing in the story is going through an extremely difficult emotional
experience?

There are many ways to achieve true expression of emotion

onstage. Based on what we have learned up to this point, we would
choose an object that has a personal association for us, which we have
tested for reliability in the workshop (and know that by concentrating on
the sensory elements of this object, we will produce a desired emotional
response), then we would commit our full attention to the object without
concern that the emotion we desire will appear.

This is the most difficult part of using objects to produce emotions.

You've tried it in the workshop and at home. It works consistently. But in the
performance of the scene, it fails. Why? Because you wanted it to work, it
didn't work. The lesson here is that you must never go for the emotion, only
for the associated stimuli that have in the past helped produce the
emotion. In other words, make the effort to create the sensory stimuli
associated with the object of your attention without being at all concerned
with the results of this effort.

You cannot "will" emotions. In life, emotions are produced of their

own accord as a result of certain stimuli which affect the human organism.
It is the stimuli upon which you work to recreate, as you did in the workshop,
when the audience was not there to "pressure" you to "perform".

E. Sense Memory

ROLE OF THE SENSES

Lee Strasberg reminded us in his classes that all acting takes place
in the character’s present moment, as well as in the actor’s own present
moment. This duality must be merged, and can be achieved by activating
each of the five senses so that they are receptive to interpreting the reality
of your character. It’s for this reason that I stress – as Strasberg did – the
importance of planting yourself into the now of the situation.

Page 20 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 In being fully present in the now – Strasberg taught us that an actor
was more likely to give a performance full of sensory awareness and
capable of fulfilling William Gillette’s concept of the “Illusion of the First
Time in acting”.

Engaging and strengthening the senses builds both your stage

presence and the ability to have the audience believe in what you’re
doing. In each exercise, you do a sense-by-sense exploration of imaginary
objects, activities, places, people, and physical realities for approximately
one hour as described below. Your goal is to experience the inner
landscape of your sensory life arousing your subconscious as an agent of
change and the basis for your artistic choices.

Taking all of this history into account, Strasberg created the Sense
Memory Exercises, which are designed to help actors develop their senses
and use them. The Foundation Sense Memory Exercises aren’t designed
to provoke emotional responses – that will be dealt with in the Advanced
Sense Memory Exercises.

Practicing the Breakfast Drink Exercise, you’ll use each of your five
senses to imagine and explore every detail of having your usual morning
beverage in the cup or glass with which you’re most familiar.

Strasberg always reminded us to not imitate what you did with the
real cup at home. You re-experience the sensations afresh and learn not
to fall into the bad and limiting habit of physically imitating how you
normally deal with the object. It’s not a miming of the activity but a
detailed imaginary exploration using each of the senses one by one.

Strasberg was emphatic about actualizing your will and making the
effort to keep working, which is more important than the results. With each
exercise, persevere, revise, and continue. Brecht’s observation that,
“Those who try may lose. Those who don’t try have lost already” – applies
here.

ACTIVITY
• At first practice at home with the real cup and liquid for a substantial
amount of time – a half hour to forty-five minutes. Then switch to the
imaginary cup for about an hour to test your senses and concentration.

Page 21 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
• Don’t use a cup that you think may have a particular emotional value,
such as one given to you as a present or that you used in emotionally
charged circumstances.
•Do Relaxation first and only practice with an imaginary cup in your
present location.
• The drink should always be exactly the right temperature and the way
you like it. You don’t mime the preparation of it. It’s just there with you at
your command.
• Start the exercise with the cup already full. Don’t stop because you
finished the drink. Keep going until your inner teacher says stop or the time
you have allotted for the exercise is done.
• Question yourself about the drink: What is the weight of the cup? How
does the handle feel? What’s the shape of the cup and what’s it made
of? Listen to the sound of the liquid as you swish it around in the cup. Hear
the scraping or clinking of the glass.
• Sip the drink. Can you feel the heat or coldness against your lips? Be
aware of swallowing and the feeling as it goes down your gullet or into
your empty stomach. Smell the drink; inhale it. Allow it to permeate
through your body. Lift the imaginary cup to your face. Feel its texture and
temperature against your cheek or temples like a child experiencing
something for the first time with a curious and inventive nature.
• The cup doesn’t always have to be in your hand. It can float in midair or
be placed anywhere you like. Experiment with the cup by doing out-of-
the-ordinary things like having the cup fly or placed on your shoulder.
• Your actions and how you experience the cup don’t have to be literal
or logical. Anything you can think to do sensorially will help you stay
connected and concentrated.
• At some point you may think you’ve run out of things to do, or you may
feel distracted or bored. This must be acknowledged and dealt with. As
with any distraction, speak out the problem, make sounds, do relaxation,
then continue your work exploring, perhaps switching to another sensory
aspect of the cup and using your will to stay with the exercise.
• After you’ve learned the exercise, continue to practice at home with
your imagined daily beverages. If the exercise leads you to an emotion, a
memory of a person, or a specific place, be aware of it, but don’t focus
on it or go with those feelings. Bring yourself back to the exercise.

Page 22 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 F. Improvisation

Improvisation (aka acting improv) is not a new invention - actors

have been using these skills for centuries. For example, Commedia
dell’Arte, dating back to 16th century Italy, relied on improvisation for much
of its storytelling.

Improvisation is really an example of heightened communication,

relying on an actor’s ability to engage completely with their fellow
performers as well their own character. Taking a character off-script and
seeing how they react in different situations helps create a rounded
character and can lead to more natural, believable performances.

There are number of techniques actors can develop in rehearsal to

develop these skills. From playful games and exercises designed to ignite
creativity, through to identifying ‘states of being’ to help ‘switch on’ energy
and charisma. These are acting techniques which can be developed
through practice and repetition.

Robin Williams was famous for his improvisation skills both in his stand-up
comedy and in his television and film work. He started his career as a stand-up
comedian in comedy clubs in LA and also graced the stage of London’s Comedy
Store. Williams’s ability to improvise was legendary and he has been hailed by
many as having a unique comic genius - a true comedy improv great. His skill for
adlibbing could also be seen in his screen work. Merrill Markoe who worked as a
writer on a show Williams starred in wrote, “You didn’t really need to bother writing
for him, when the camera was on, he blew through doing what he did and stole
the show.”

Page 23 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 ACTIVITY
Character Relay

Start a timer that beeps every 30 seconds and then, for that 30 seconds,
begin a character monologue. There is no prompt. In fact, as much as you
can, avoid pre-planning any of the characters, or even thinking about the
exercise. Jump right into the improvisation, and say whatever is on your
mind. This is the point of the exercise.

After those 30 seconds have elapsed, instantly jump to a new character.

Ideally, make it as different as possible from your previous character. Do the
monologue for 30 seconds, repeat.

*This exercise fits well into Napier's framework of improvisation. His goal is to
throw out the "rules of improvisation", and instead focus on following one's
instincts. Whether or not you buy into the idea, forcing yourself to be
creative for 20 minutes on end is no easy thing, and it'll certainly show you
what habits you have under pressure (maybe you do that drunk cowboy
character a little too much.)

Happy improvising!

G. Spontaneity

According to actingcoachscotland.co.uk, all good acting is

impulsive. All good acting is based on spontaneous impulse. All good
acting is essentially improvisational in nature. We should respond to the truth
of the moment and repetition helps us to do this without the editor in our
heads getting in the way and trying to be ‘nice’.

Whether we’re living, acting or doing repetition, we feel impulses all

the time. An impulse is a reaction, often an emotion response to something
that has a significant momentary or long term meaning to you. The emotion
that starts or sparks the impulse does not need to be major. It can be tiny,
but it causes some kind of psychophysical response in the actor. Some
impulses do not cause a strong physical reaction, but the stronger the
impulse, the stronger the physical action associated with it. We must learn
to untether ourselves and allow ourselves to experience our impulses
without getting in our own way.

Page 24 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 Acting is about being human, not pretending to be characters. We
need to forget that we’re acting and start living truthfully on stage or in front
of the camera. Through practice, you can help the actor to forget that
they’re acting and respond naturally, just as they do in real life. In fact, the
line between acting and real-life blurs.

ACTIVITY
Gibberish

People required: Two

Direction: This is the most basic exercise which requires only two people and others
can watch. One actor is THE speaker and other is the translator. Speaker speaks
gibberish. It has to be silly sounds, but he or she must be truthfully saying something.
Translator has to translate what the other actor said, in your native language, that
everyone understands. Translator must try to listen from all his sense, look at the
speaker’s gestures, tone, expression and try to guess what he is trying to say.

Important note: Translator must immediately translate and not think about some
sort of story. It has to be spontaneous.

Advantage of this exercise: This exercise help actors listen through all their senses,
which is key aspect when it comes to improvisation in drama. This also keeps the
actor out of his or her head. Even, the story that’s translated is spontaneous which
could be really useful when improvising dialogues.

STUDY BREAK:
Check out the links and watch, observe, and enjoy the stage plays.
Rated: PG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG0OptDrchE

Page 25 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 A Game of Trolls | PETA Theater Online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yC9dtNKJK8

ASSESSMENT TASK
Create a 60-second video (one-take-only) applying the basic elements,
skills and techniques of acting.

Guide for the acting output evaluation:

1. 50 % for proper use of the basic elements and skills of acting

2. 30 % for overall impression
3. 20 % for originality
Submit the video and upload an mp4 file to Google Classroom, your folder
in Google Drive, or album in the Facebook group.
The video file name must follow this format:
ABEnglishLanguage2A_Theater_Student’s Surname,
First Name, M.I.

Example:
ABEnglishLanguage2A_Theater_Martinez, Julius Caesar M.

Page 26 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The symbol for theater in the Philippines is

the morion mask decorated with paper
flowers.

Theater, in Filipino, is “dulaan”. When written using the

Baybayin Script, it will be like this:

Dolan+
DU LA A N
The font used is Baybayin Simple Tawbid by John Leyson from Baybayin Buhayin, Inc.

REFERENCES/ SUGGESTED READING AND VIDEO:

A Brief History of Acting. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://mightytripod.com/a-

brief-history-of-acting/

Actor and Spontaneous Impulse. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://actingcoachscotland.co.uk/blog/actor-and-spontaneous-
impulse-part-1/

Cultural Digital Streams. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://streams.culturaldigital.com/

History of Theatre: Ancient Greece to Modern. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NmD2TGKnY8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeTeK9kvxyo

Improvisation. (n.d) Retrieved from https://www.city-

academy.com/news/what-is-improvisation-acting/

Intonation Exercise. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqtgq6f/revision/2

Lee Strasberg. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/art/acting/Genuine-and-feigned-emotion

Page 27 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
Meditation. (n.d) Retrieved from https://castingfrontier.com/meditation-
can-help-acting-
career/#:~:text=Learn%20To%20Focus%20For%20Acting%20Jobs&text=Me
ditation%20has%20long%20been%20associated,breathwork%20that%20he
lps%20meditators%20focus.

Meditation. (n.d.) Retrieved from

http://www.theatrgroup.com/Method/actor_concentration.html

Meditiation: Actors’ Tool for Stronger Performance. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/meditation-actors-tool-
stronger-performance-5141/

Space.(n.d.) Retrieved from https://www2.anglistik.uni-

freiburg.de/intranet/englishbasics/DramaTime01.htm

The Elements of Drama. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.monkeybaa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/The-
Elements-of-Drama.pdf

Thespis, Athens, and The Origins of Greek Drama. (n.d.) Retrieved from
Voice. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/7-
acting-warmups-games-and-techniques-for-actors#6-vocal-warmups-for-
actors

Tiongson, N.G. (1991). Tuklas Sining: Essays on the Philippine Arts. Manila:
Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas

Prepared by:

Julius Caesar M. Martinez

Faculty, BUCAL
Humanities Department
[email protected]

- END OF THE READING MATERIAL -

Page 28 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020
 Page 29 of 29
Theatre: The Basic Elements of Acting | Julius Caesar M. Martinez. 2020