{"id":1204,"date":"2015-03-16T19:41:29","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T19:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tedb-wp.byu.edu\/?page_id=1204"},"modified":"2015-05-15T19:29:20","modified_gmt":"2015-05-15T19:29:20","slug":"acting-to-the-fourth-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/?p=1204","title":{"rendered":"Acting to the Fourth Wall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Objective<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Students will demonstrate an understanding of \u201cThe Fourth Wall\u201d principles by performing a content-less scene where they will visualize, and\/or break, the Fourth Wall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Materials Needed<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Video clips:\u00a0Ferris Buhler\u2019s Day Off, Wayne\u2019s World, Space Balls, The Muppet Show, Wit, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Lesson Directions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Begin class by showing a variety of video clips where the fourth wall is broken, cinematically speaking. This means the actors speak directly to camera. After three or more clips are shown ask the class, \u201cWhat do all these clips have in common?\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the actors are talking to the camera. They are \u201cbreaking the fourth wall\u201d by talking directly to the camera.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Transition:<\/em>\u00a0Explain to the students that in order to break the fourth wall we need to know what it is we are breaking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Instruction:<\/em>\u00a0What is the fourth wall?<\/p>\n

It is an imaginary wall (as at the opening of a modern stage proscenium) that keeps performers from recognizing or directly addressing their audience.<\/em>\u00a0(Webster\u2019s dictionary)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Discuss:<\/em>\u00a0What does this mean for us as performers? What does this look like on stage? Get ideas and suggestions for students.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read Uta Hagen\u2019s\u00a0Respect for Acting<\/em>\u00a0pg 107 Paragraph 1,2,3. \u201cWhen the play \u2026\u201d Ask the class to share examples of filling the fourth wall. Share specific examples. (A Midsummer\u2019s Night Dream \u2013 filling in the entire forest, must extend past the audience)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What other types of media break the fourth wall? Video Games, Movies, TV, Plays, etc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the purpose of breaking the fourth wall? Show and discuss the following clips.<\/p>\n

Comic relief \u2013 Wayne\u2019s World<\/p>\n

Further along the plot \u2013 Most Shakespeare plays, A Midsummer\u2019s Night Dream<\/p>\n

The Audience Plays a Role \u2013 Wit, The Office. Arrested Development, Improv Shows<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Discuss:<\/em>\u00a0Show clips from\u00a0Light in the Piazza.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Discuss.<\/p>\n

Remember: If a play is going to break the fourth wall, it often times needs to be previously established early on. Otherwise the audience could be taken aback. However, that may be the point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Group Practice:<\/em>\u00a0Ask the students to pair up. Hand out content-less scenes to each group and invite them to do the following: Decide whether or not they are going to break the fourth wall. If they decide they are going to, they need be clear on their purpose. If not, it needs to be clear what they are filling in as their fourth wall. Students will perform their scenes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>CLOSURE<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Review what the fourth wall is. How do we fill in the fourth wall? What does it mean to break the fourth wall? What are the three purposes for breaking the fourth wall?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>SUPPLEMENTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n

http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/fourth-wall<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/filmbabble.blogspot.com\/2007\/08\/here-i-go-again-with-another-meta-movie.html<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students will demonstrate an understanding of \u201cThe Fourth Wall\u201d principles by performing a content-less scene where they will visualize, and\/or break, the Fourth Wall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3483,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions\/3483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tedb-old.byu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}