Theatre Thread

[Bnightwing]

I don't know where else to put this, but I was wondering who in Hype! is apart of Theatre, or anything of that nature. I was gonna make this thread just to talk about plays people have done, or films, but I was wondering if someone could give me a good memorizing technique to memorize lines. Thanks for any input!

 

[Nave 'Torment']

Hey nice thread! I haven't really been IN any major productions yet - just school stuff, and now here in college. But I'm immensely in love with theatre. Nice to see someone on SHH shares that.

I'm writing from Bangladesh right now (been here since my O-Levels), so there's a lot of strange and crazy methods that differs from the way theatre is done in the West. Whose your favourite playwright (if you want to answer that is)?

 

[SpideyVille]

I just started taking my first acting class this semester, which sucks, only because the class is awesome and its my last semester so I won't have an opportunity to continue after this. I'm pretty shy as it it is, but I can feel this class helping me overcome it and I'm kinda anxious to see what kind of show we'll put on at the end of the semester.

 

[tzarinna]

Free to See: U.S. Theater

I work in theater in DC, but I'm not an actress. I've seen a lot of cool performances.

 

[Bnightwing]

^ That looks awesome. I've always wanted to do Shakespeare in an outdoor theatre.

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

I've worked in Theatre in London for 5 years now, both onstage and behind. Have a 12 hour technical rehearsal tomorrow actually, fun times!

 

[SpideyVille]

I've been considering doing some stagehand work at my school's theatre. They say they're always looking for volunteers, but I don't really know how to use any tools so I've always stayed away from that.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

I've always felt a lot more comfortable backstage than frontstage. One thing that really gets difficult for me aren't lines, or improv, but trying to do so in Bengali. I've always been familiar with the details and speech-patterns in English, and, sadly, not my own language. But anyway. Yeah. Haven't taken a course on theatre yet, just working it out with the school.

 

[Bnightwing]

I wanna get to know more plays, but I have no idea where to read scripts and such. I may borrow some from my director.

I agree with you guys. Backstage can be fun. I have worked numerous times backstage on the sound and lights, and it's not as stressful as "what's my line?" and plus it gives more people a chance to have the stage.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

How long do you think someone's going to quote Ra's Al Ghul here?

 

[Bnightwing]

How long do you think someone's going to quote Ra's Al Ghul here?

I'm not following you, Detective.

 

[SpideyVille]

How long do you think someone's going to quote Ra's Al Ghul here?

I'm not following you, Detective.

I'm going to assume he meant "You took my advice about theatricality a bit … literally." - Batman Begins.

 

[Bnightwing]

I'm going to assume he meant "You took my advice about theatricality a bit … literally." - Batman Begins.

Ah I see?

 

[Erin]

I have my BFA in theatre, with a double emphasis in Classical Acting and Set Design. I've been in several shows, been nominated for small-time awards, and as for memorization, all I can say is
repetione mater studierum est.

 

[Bnightwing]

I have my BFA in theatre, with a double emphasis in Classical Acting and Set Design. I've been in several shows, been nominated for small-time awards, and as for memorization, all I can say is
repetione mater studierum est.

What is "repetione mater studierum"?

 

[Erin]

Repetion mater studierum est.

Repetition is the mother of learning.


In other words, again! Again! Again! There is no easy way or quick trick. There is hope, though. It gets easier to memorize with practice. I am to the point where I can memorize 90% of my lines by reading through them twice.

 

[Bnightwing]

Repetion mater studierum est.

Repetition is the mother of learning.


In other words, again! Again! Again! There is no easy way or quick trick. There is hope, though. It gets easier to memorize with practice. I am to the point where I can memorize 90% of my lines by reading through them twice.

That's awesome!

 

[Nave 'Torment']

Oh no I meant "Theatricality and deception are powerful agents - you must become more than just a man in the minds of your opponents" . Not that the audience is your opponent, but that line right there solidified the Batman character as some strange vaudevillian to me.

Anyway, just a poor man's joke.

Repetion mater studierum est.

Repetition is the mother of learning.


In other words, again! Again! Again! There is no easy way or quick trick. There is hope, though. It gets easier to memorize with practice. I am to the point where I can memorize 90% of my lines by reading through them twice.

That's a very good advice! I'm among those who encounter words that they cannot recognise, but through the idea of practice tries to deliver. Learned a lot of words that way. That ever happen to you guys?

 

[Erzengel]

The only film making I've done is in the bedroom. But I did make a riveting Batman vs. the French Maid movie.

 

[Shlee]

Love threads like this.

I almost went for my Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, but have recently decided I just want to get a vocal performance music degree instead. ^_^;; I was in a couple productions in high school, but not any big roles.

I'd love to be in a production of Phantom of the Opera as Christine one day though. XD

Bnightwing: We read plays in high school, so you could drop into your local book store and have the clerk help you find a lot of different kinds of plays, or even your local library will have plays too. You can ask people at the library or book store what some of their favorite plays/playwrights are and look them up that way, or if you know any Lit or theatre teachers, you can ask them too. Guaranteed they'll have great suggestions.

Nave: I have to say that, especially when I was younger, I learned a LOT of words just by reading books (which I love to do). Anymore, http://www.m-w.com is my best friend. If I come across a word I don't know (or even a word that I sort of know how to use it in the right context but don't know its exact meaning), I always look it up. Lately I've been using the crap out of the thesaurus there too, hehe.

I can't wait to finish my associate's at my community college and move onto my big university so I can actually try out for productions and get back into music and even some theatre. I will probably check into this thread often. XD

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

I'm actually starting Acting classes next semester at a community college. If I enjoy it, I'll probably continue it when I go to a university.

 

[Bnightwing]

Oh no I meant "Theatricality and deception are powerful agents - you must become more than just a man in the minds of your opponents" . Not that the audience is your opponent, but that line right there solidified the Batman character as some strange vaudevillian to me.

Anyway, just a poor man's joke.




That's a very good advice! I'm among those who encounter words that they cannot recognise, but through the idea of practice tries to deliver. Learned a lot of words that way. That ever happen to you guys?

I must say we all have a taste for the theatrical.

Ok that's the last one :P but I may read some from my theatre teacher. She has A LOT to read.

Tell me this guys.

1. What roles have you had? (include the role and the play/musical it was)
2. What roles do you think you could do?
3. Do you have any monologues that you enjoy doing?
4. What is more fun to you? Back stage or on stage? (if you have only worked on it's okay)
5. What got you started?

If you wanna add anything else that's fine too. I just like reading people's experiences.

 

[SpideyVille]

I've never been in a play, aside from a brief cameo from the one I wrote and directed at the church that I used to go to. But when we did stuff in my playwriting class, I always liked to play characters that were either crazy (in the wacky sense) or characters that were high/stoned/drunk, just because it was really fun to act like someone that is the complete opposite of me.

I really liked writing and directing, and hope to do more of it in the future, though I still think acting is fun. But ever since I was young and went to my first Broadway show, I've always said if there's one character I could play, it would be the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera. I just love that character so much and wish I could have a singing voice to do the role justice.

 

[jonathancrane]

Theatre is a major part of my custom degree, so I have had ample experience as a critic, performer, and technician.
I worked on "Twelfth Night" as a background designer: I assembled images to be projected as backgrounds on the windows of the castle.
I also cut and applied gel inserts to stage lights on an original production "Corduroy Prayer."
As a performer, I took an acting class and had the project of researching and becoming Janis Joplin for the performance at the end of the semester. In high school, I was involved in a string of romantic comedies, usually playing the eccentric of the piece.
As a reader, I took numerous Theatre Criticism classes and have fallen in love with the works of Suzan Lori Parks, Bertolt Brecht, and Samuel Beckett.

 

[Erin]

I must say we all have a taste for the theatrical.

Ok that's the last one :P but I may read some from my theatre teacher. She has A LOT to read.

Tell me this guys.

1. What roles have you had? (include the role and the play/musical it was)
   - Prince Escalus, Romeo and Juliet
   - Palace Messenger, Oedipus the King
   - Kate Mundy, Dancing at Lughnasa
   - Knowledge, Everyman
   - Nora, A Doll House
   - Mother Courage, Mother Courage and Her Children
   - Eva, Never Odd nor Even (an ex-boyfriend wrote it, so I don't know that it counts)
   - Prudence "Blackbird", Long Day's Night (Beatles Noir) <- This was another original work that is unpublished, so again I'm not sure it actually counts.
   - Witch, Macbeth
   
   And then various roles in university and, of course, high school.
   
2. What roles do you think you could do?
   
   - I'd love to play Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing
   - I'd love to play Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. I have some really great ideas about the concept of casting a woman in the role.
   - I'd love to play Peter Pan in the original non-musical production, but unfortunately I look WAAAAY too feminine to pull off the role. But I'd still love to be in the show.
   
3. Do you have any monologues that you enjoy doing?
   
   - I can't even begin to describe how much I love the Palace Messenger's monologue I was lucky enough to perform. Four pages describing the violence and gore that is the climax of the play? Yes, please!
   
4. What is more fun to you? Back stage or on stage? (if you have only worked on it's okay)
   - Honestly, I love being on stage because it's less work. I know that actors love to play like they work so hard and have you feel for them, but think of it this way: An actor stands on a set that someone else has designed and built. They wear costumes someone else has constructed. They are lit with lights someone else has designed, hung and operates. They say lines someone else has written in the manner in which someone else directs. Someone else guides their entrances and exits. Actors do not create, and honestly they are very little more than absolutely 100% replaceable props. The real talent is backstage, and never forget it.
   So while I love being onstage because of the applause, I enjoy the satisfaction of working behind the scenes and knowing I've actually contributed more than my presence.
   
5. What got you started?
   
   I grew up going to shows, and when I got into high school I was terribly uncoordinated. So I tried out and discovered I was good at it, and went from there.
   
   
   Favorite playwrights:
   Sophocles and Shakespeare are probably my two favorites, though I have a morbid fascination with Webster, and even though they are more modern than my focus runs, I will always have a soft spot for Brecht and Albee.
   
   Favorite plays (as of right now):
   
   Oedipus the King
   Hamlet
   The Caucasian Chalk Circle
   Zoo Story