{"id":5037,"date":"2017-05-12T16:02:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T16:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/?page_id=5037"},"modified":"2017-05-12T16:02:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T16:02:34","slug":"inner-and-outer-actions-and-why","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/?page_id=5037","title":{"rendered":"Inner and Outer Actions and \u201cWhy?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lesson 6: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Inner and Outer Actions and \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Objective:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students will demonstrate their ability to use inner and outer actions by answering the \u201cwhy\u201d to what they want and do in their performance piece.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Materials Needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Place and time cards\u00a02.Time.Place.Objective Card Ideas<\/a><\/p>\n

Lines of dialogue cards or slips of paper<\/p>\n

Object with a lot of texture\/flaws in it<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOOK<\/p>\n

Do the INNER ACTIONS<\/strong> (KS<\/em> Exercise 4.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a pair of students come up at get the two cards: place and time.\u00a0 Then give each of them a line of dialogue.\u00a0 For the improvisation each can only say the words on their card.\u00a0 Focus on the relationship and actions of your partner to know what to say and when to say it. Look for the precise moment when your line of text absolutely fits your own inner action and with the silent action going on in the scene.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lines from plays:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re so lovely.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to set foot inside this place again.<\/p>\n

How boring these people are.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the matter with you?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m too simple to understand you.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is the very thing I needed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n

I had a feeling we\u2019d see each other again.<\/p>\n

Shut the window, there\u2019s a draft.<\/p>\n

Touch me and I\u2019ll scream.<\/p>\n

You have such beautiful hands.<\/p>\n

You going anywhere?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not meeting anyone.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not perfect, I know.<\/p>\n

I knew it wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

I thought I was a bird.<\/p>\n

Tell me what you want me to do.<\/p>\n

Is your friend coming today?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reflect on the exercise.\u00a0 What worked and what didn\u2019t?\u00a0 How can the focus on the inner actions (what is this? Thoughts, feelings, subtext, checking with partner, etc.) help you in your performance piece?\u00a0 You need to absolutely know your text, but the focus can\u2019t be on the lines themselves.\u00a0 It needs to be on the meaning behind the line \u2013 the objective and why you\u2019re saying what you\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MODEL<\/p>\n

Model this idea OBJECT SA<\/em> p.75<\/strong> \u2013 using the inner action by doing the following: have a student stand in front of the class simply holding an object in his\/her hand.\u00a0 Have the student simply stand there for a full minute or so.\u00a0 It should be awkward and odd to just have everyone watching the student just stand there.\u00a0 The student might start to fidget and play with the object \u2013 direct them to not do that and to just stand.\u00a0 Now direct the student to look for defects in the object they are holding.\u00a0 Encourage him\/her to examine the object carefully and say what he\/she finds as the exploration goes on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ask the class audience and the actor separately: What was different between those experiences?\u00a0 What does having some specific action do for you as an actor\/watching as an audience member?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

INSTRUCTION<\/p>\n

With students taking notes in their actor\u2019s journals, review the term super-objective.\u00a0 A character\u2019s super-objective must have urgency: every action and objective must have immediacy (how badly do you want it and what will happen if you don\u2019t get it?)\u00a0 If it\u2019s too easy to reach then look for\/create obstacles for your character to need to work though (that are grounded in the text).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Connect the outer actions, inner actions, and objectives by encouraging students to keep testing their objectives with the question: \u201cWhy did I do that?\u201d so that the the outer actions (what am I doing?) will collaborate with inner actions (what do I want?)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Share the following quotes with the students (you can print them out and distribute them to three students to share with the rest of the class):<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens onstage should be just as complicated and just as simple as things are in real life.\u00a0 People are sitting at a table having dinner, that\u2019s all, but at the same time their happiness is being created, or their lives are being torn apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow might actors experience artistic inspiration?\u00a0 The answer lies in ACTION.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPhysical actions are small, achievable tasks that are directed straight towards the other actor(s) on stage.\u201d (or invisible partners)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To accomplish the experience of real feelings the actor must work moment-to-moment talking and listening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWHY?\u201d PRACTICE<\/p>\n

Pair monologue students up and have them perform one action unit or beat for their partner. \u00a0Have the partner say “Why?” and the actor has to justify the bit before being allowed to move on. \u00a0The scene partners could do this with one line\/section going back and forth. \u00a0The constant justification of the text should include subtext from their paraphrasing as well as action\/objective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DISCUSSION<\/p>\n

Bring the students back together and discuss their experience with that practice.\u00a0 How does having to know why they think\/do everything alter their interpretation or performance?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

REHEARSAL & CLOSURE<\/p>\n

Give students the rest of the class period to rehearse their pieces; focusing on the actions of their piece.\u00a0 They need to work moments, not just run through the piece over and over.\u00a0 But rather, direct them to work a moment or a beat a few different ways (change the outer action; try a new inner action; play the opposite, etc.) and get away from their preconceived notions on voice and body.\u00a0 Only after that beat is worked should they move to the next one.\u00a0 They should run through what they\u2019ve worked at the very end of the class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lesson 6: Inner and Outer Actions and \u201cWhy?\u201d \u00a0 Objective: Students will demonstrate their ability to use inner and outer actions by answering the \u201cwhy\u201d to what they want and do in their performance piece. \u00a0 Materials Needed: Place and time cards\u00a02.Time.Place.Objective Card Ideas Lines of dialogue cards or slips of paper Object with a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5037"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5038,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5037\/revisions\/5038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}