Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Burt and welcome to our drama lesson.

Now this is the first of three drama lessons looking at a unit of learning called posture, gesture, and voice in performance.

And throughout all three lessons, we're going to be using those key words and a lot of others to see how we can improve our performance skills.

And in this first lesson, we're going to be looking at particular at posture, stance, proxemics and use of space.

But first, let's just check what equipment we need for the lesson.

So for this lesson, you will need a worksheet or a piece of paper to work from, a pen, and you might want to highlight some of your lines.

So make sure you've got those pieces of equipment before we make a start.

Right, let's have a quick look at what we're doing in our lesson today.

We're going to start with looking at some key words that we need for our lesson.

Then we're going to get really active with those keywords.

We're going to start with an activity, looking at posture and stance, and then we're going to do another activity using proxemics and use of space.

Then, we're going to do some analysis of our performance.

We're going to watch someone else's performance and see how they've used posture, stance, proxemics and use of space in their performance.

And then we're going to do a performance of ourselves.

So let's have a look at some of the keywords we need to succeed in our lesson.

We're going to need the word posture.

Now posture is the position of a person's back and upper body when they are sitting or standing.

Stance is the position of a person's legs when they're sitting or standing.

Proxemics is the distance between two characters.

And use of space is how the actor uses the space around them on stage.

Now let's just check our understanding of some of those key words.

Posture is the position of a person's legs when sitting or standing, true or false? That's right, it's false.

Posture is the position of a person's back and upper body when sitting or standing.

Whereas stance is the position of a person's legs when they're sitting or standing.

Now, we're going to go through some examples and I'm going to go through the first example with you.

So the first thing I want you to do is I want you to stand up and I want you to adopt the posture and stance of the person that you see on the screen.

Now I'm going to do this one with you.

So let's all stand up and I want you to adopt the pose that they're in.

So something like that.

And as you're in the pose, just think, what is happening to your stance and to your posture.

And could you use words to describe them? Excellent, relax for a moment and come sit back down.

So, describe to me now what that character's posture is? Well, this is what I've got down.

So they're leaning forward and they have one hand outstretched.

Describe to me now what that character's stance is.

Well, this is what I've got.

They have their legs wide apart with the right leg one step in front of the left.

Now this is a good description of this character's posture and stance but what does it communicate to you as the audience? What is it telling you about what the character is doing? Or maybe about what the character is feeling.

So tell me now what you think this character is doing and what this character is feeling based on what you know about their posture and stance.

Tell me now.

Well, what I think is that the character might be angry, might be shouting, they're leaning forward.

So they're trying to close some space between them and another character, and they might be trying to communicate something which is quite urgent.

So over to you now, I want you to stand up and adopt this character's stance and posture.

And as you are doing so, I want you to think about how you would describe their use of stance and posture and what that is trying to communicate to the audience.

So pause the video now and resume once you've finished.

Okay, so tell me now what you think and how you describe this character's posture and stance.

Okay, so this is what I've got.

I've got that their back is straight but their neck is leaning slightly forward and they're pointing a finger.

And stance wise, their legs are wide apart, but next to each other.

So having thought about describing their posture and their stance, tell me now, what is this communicating to the audience? Excellent, so I think this is probably communicating a sense of authority and power and there's definitely a confrontation because this person is pointing towards someone else.

So let's have a look at these two characters here.

I'd like you to do the same thing.

So starting with the character A then moving onto character B, take on their stance and their posture, think about how to describe it, think about what is communicating to the audience and then move on to the other character.

Pause the video now and resume once you've finished.

Excellent, so describe to me now the posture and stance of character A.

All right, this is what I've got.

I've got the character A sitting back in their chair with their back almost flat and their hands to their face, their legs relaxed and together.

So tell me now the description of the stance and posture of character B.

So this is what I've got for character B.

Now sat upright in that chair slightly leaning forward and onto the table.

Their legs are together.

So tell me now, combined, what does character A and character B communicating to the audience in their posture and their stance? Excellent, well, I think perhaps that these two characters might be in the same place, perhaps might be in a lecture or in school listening to someone, but we've got character A who's very relaxed and laid back listening.

Whereas you've got character B who's upright, paying attention, taking notes taking interest of what is being said.

So over to you now, you're on your own.

I want you to create a still image that focuses on your use of posture and your use of stance to communicate a character.

I'm going to demonstrate the first one which is an angry teacher.

So I'm going to stand with my legs wide apart, my feet facing forward and my legs straight and put my hand on my hip, lean slightly forward but bring my neck up so that I can make eye contact with the person I'm talking to and I'm going to point towards them.

Okay, your turn.

You've got 30 seconds to make your version of an angry teacher.

Think about what you're going to do.

How are you're going to create it.

You've got 30 seconds.

Your 30 seconds starts now, go.

That was 10 seconds, you've got 20 seconds left.

Think about your stance, where is your feet positioned? Are the legs straight? You've got 10 seconds left to think about details, eye contact, fingers, arms, five, four, three, two, one, freeze.

Excellent, well done relax.

Excellent, now it's over to you.

So you've got 30 seconds now to create a still image.

You're either using a chair or standing up, thinking about the posture and stance of a relaxed and calm adult.

You've got 30 seconds, your 30 seconds starts now, go.

That's 10 seconds gone, you've got 20 seconds left.

Really think about how you would use your posture.

How you would use your arms, your shoulders, your elbows.

You've got 10 seconds left.

Really think about how you use your stance.

Really think about details now.

Where are you looking? Where's your eye contact and three, two, one, freeze.

Excellent, well done.

You can relax, let's have another one.

You've got 30 seconds this time and this time it's an eager and interested student.

I don't have to think about how you can create that using your posture and your stance in a still image.

Your 30 seconds starts now, go.

Excellent, that's 10 seconds gone.

You've got 20 seconds left.

You don't need to panic.

Think about how you'd use your posture.

How would your back be? Would it be straight? Would it be slumped? What about your neck? You've got 10 seconds left.

Think about the details, about your fingers, about your eye contact, where your face is looking.

Three, two, one and freeze.

And let's just do one more.

This time, it's going to be a busy shopper.

Someone in a shopping street, in a supermarket, it's really busy and they are in a hurry.

Have a think about when you might going to create, you've got 30 seconds, your time starts now, go.

Well, there's 10 seconds gone, you got 20 seconds left.

Think about how you can use your posture and your stance to suggest that it's really busy around you.

Not just that you're busy as well.

10 seconds left, think about the details.

Think about your stance, your feet.

Where are they? How far away are they apart from each other.

You've got three, two, one, and freeze.

Excellent, when you to keep this phrase for this one, I'm going to give you five extra seconds.

I want you to look at what you've made and I want you to improve it.

I want you to make three different movement changes to improve your image.

Think about all your improvements.

You've got five seconds to make those improvements now.

Five, four, three, two, one and freeze.

Excellent, well done, you can relax now and sit down, well done.

So let's move on to our next exercise which looks at the keywords proxemics and use of space.

But before we do that, let's just check that we understand those words.

So tell me now, what do the keyword proxemics and use of space mean? Excellent, well, proxemics is the distance between two characters and the use of space is how actors use the space around them on the stage.

To help us explain use of proxemics and use of space, we've got two volunteers here.

Now we shall start with proxemics.

So proxemics is the use of space between two characters and what that space communicates to an audience about their relationship and how they feel about each other.

So we've asked two volunteers to create their first still image.

And within a still image, the two characters are sat close together.

They are both watching something in the audience perhaps a television and their relationship between them as indicated by the space means that they're quite close to each other, they're comfortable with each other and they know each other for some time.

And so we compare that to this still image which our volunteers have created, where again the two characters are watching something like a television set over the audience, but perhaps the two characters don't know each other so well.

So they're sat a little bit further apart from each other.

They also aren't sat leaning into each other either.

So their use the space communicate something very different to the first still image with the same scenario.

Now to demonstrate the use of space, we've asked our volunteers to create one last performance.

It is about a performance about a couple arguing.

Now they start both centre stage sitting next to each other and then the argument starts and this character moves from a seated position upstage, to stand at the back and then halfway through her monologue, she moves around the chair and goes downstage towards the audience.

Now the way that characters moved around is the way is use of space.

So the way the character moves from upstage to downstage around the seat is the use of space.

And what does that communicate when she goes that way as opposed to going past this character down to here? So use of space is the way in which actors use the stage space around them and proxemics is the way the distance between two characters and what that communicates about the relationship between them.

What we're going to do now is we're going to build on the still images we created in the previous exercise by adding into it proxemics and use of space.

Now we're going to start with the angry teacher and I'm going to demonstrate it and then I'm going to give you 30 seconds to create your own.

Now previously, I was looking in a different direction but this time I'm going to close up the proxemics with the person I'm talking to and I'm going to assume that is the camera.

And I'm going to continue with that same stance, but this time I'm going to bring my posture down a little bit and point towards the person that I'm talking to and continue to put my hand on my hips.

All right, so I want you to change and adapt your still image.

You might want to get a chair and sit down.

You might want to think about the use of space, change the use of proxemics while you might want to completely create a new still image for it.

So angry teacher, 30 seconds over to you, go.

10 seconds gone, you've got 20 seconds left.

Excellent, final 10 seconds.

Think about those details, think about that proxemics.

Is that close? Is that too close, too far away? Changing things, though as slightly, changes the way it communicates to the audience.

You've got three, two, one, and freeze.

Excellent, well done and relax.

So over to you now, you've got 30 seconds to build on the still images that we created previously.

The first one is going back to a relaxed and calm adult.

So you've got 30 seconds, your 30 seconds starts now, go.

It's 10 seconds, 20 seconds left.

Final 10 seconds, time to think about the details.

How are you going to put your fingers, your elbows? Where is your eye contact? Where is your head facing? You've got three, two, one, and freeze.

Have a look at what you've created.

Think about how you can improve it.

I want you to make three improvements just by making small movements.

You've got five seconds to do that.

You've got your three-move changes.

Okay, I want you to implement them now.

Five, four, three, two, one and freeze.

Excellent and relax, well done.

Let's do our second still image.

So a busy shopper.

So think back to what you created for your busy shopper still image the first time around, and this time we're going to add objects around us and use the proxemics and the use of space to create a sense of busy-ness within the shop.

Have a think about what you're going to do for that.

And you've got 30 seconds, your 30 seconds starts now, go.

It's 10 seconds gone, you've got 20 seconds left.

Remember it's a busy shop, interacting with lots of other characters.

Think about eye contact, you've got 10 seconds left.

Five, four, three, two, one, and freeze.

And again, in that freeze, just look at what you've created.

Think about where your eye contact is.

Think about where your stance is, think about what's happening with your upper body, your arms and I want you to make three improvements.

Have a think about what those improvements are going to be.

Have you got them in mind and I'm going to give you five seconds to make those improvements.

Five, four, three, two, one, and final freeze.

Excellent, well done, you can relax now.

So let's have a look at the monologue we're going to be working with today.

And this monologue comes from a play called "His Dark Materials".

And it comes at the very, very beginning of the play.

And it is delivered by a character called Lyra who we've only just met and she's talking to another group of children and she's showing off.

She's boasting about her uncle and the monologue goes like this.

I got an uncle and he's famous.

He's old, like 40 at least.

And he's ferocious.

There was some Tartars caught him once, and they tied him up, and one of them was just going to cut his guts out.

And Lord Asriel looked at him, just looked like that and he dropped down dead.

So we're going to watch a performance of this in a moment.

And I want us to analyse the performance.

So watch the performance of the monologue and analyse the use of proxemics, the use of space, posture and stance and how they are being used to communicate the character to the audience.

Remember, the character is young and they're boasting about their uncle to the other children.

So as I perform the monologue, I want you to analyse how I'm using proxemics, use of space, posture and stance to communicate the character's excitement and boastfulness to the audience.

Now to help, I'm going to assume that the camera is going to be the other character that I'm talking to.

I've got an uncle and he's famous.

He's old, like 40 at least.

And he's ferocious.

There was some Tartars caught him once and they tied him up and one of them was going to cut his guts out.

And Lord Asriel looked at him, just looked like that, and he dropped down dead.

So pause the video now and just make a few notes on a piece of paper.

How did I use proxemics, use of space, posture and stance in that performance to communicate the character to the audience? Pause the video now and press play when you've got a few notes written down.

So how have you got on? How's your list? I'm going to go through a few things that I've done in that monologue, but I'm sure that you've got a lot more than the things I'm going to point out.

So what was important was to communicate how excited and boastful she was about her uncle.

So she starts by sitting down and slowly leaning in because she's telling the story and then she's too excited.

So then she stands up and closes the proxemics between herself and the people that she's talking to.

Then she's got this kind of really wide stance and leans in and uses lots of gestures to talk about how the Tartars caught him and tied him up and try to do something to him.

But then I really closed in the proxemics by leaning right in and putting my face in to the camera to talk to directly as close as I possibly could to the other character to say, "Just looked like that." Now I'm sure you've got a few other things that you've noticed about that performance but using proxemics, use of space, posture and stance all together really communicate a lot about a character to an audience.

So it's over to you now, this is your main task.

I'd like you to perform that same monologue that I performed and I want you to experiment with changing your posture, stance, proxemics and use of space until you feel it is communicating your interpretation of the character to the audience.

So using the monologue on the screen or the one on your worksheet, pause the video to rehearse and perform the monologue and press resume once you've finished.

So how did that performance go for you? Were you able to play around and manipulate the use of space and the proxemics and were you able to communicate your character through your posture and your stance? So before we finish today, let's just have a quick check on some of those key words we learned at the beginning in the lesson.

So which of these statements are correct? Option one, proxemics is the use of stage space around the actors.

Option two, proxemics is the distance between two characters.

Option three, the use of space is the use of stage space around the actors.

Or option four, the use of space is the distance between two characters.

You tell me which of those statements are correct now.

That's right, option three, use the space around the use of stage space around the actors and option two, proxemics is the distance between two characters, well done.

Before we finish up today, I just want to say, well done.

Performing can be really hard.

And this lesson, how you've see I've done a lot of performance work.

So well done, you should be really proud of yourselves.