Author: Yana Stoyanova

INTERACTION AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE PARTNER ON STAGE

August 27, 2021

Yesterday I was invited to an informal reading of a new play. The host is a famous playwright. He had invited actors and a small audience to his artistic apartment.

The actors were sitting in chairs across from the audience, who were sitting on the couch. There were five actors and one of them was reading the remarks of the play. Each of the actors had the text of the play with underlined lines of the character he had to portrayed. Everyone was very focused on the text before the reading started.

My students: exercise in an interaction with a partner

Just in time, the reading of the play began. The actors, although reading their lines, managed to create vivid nuances of their characters. In the given circumstances of the roles, they communicated convincingly with each other, listened and evaluated the partner. The play, a poetic comedy, provided opportunities for interacting with the audience. The actors partnered convincingly with each other and sometimes sought contact with us, the audience.

The actors, sitting on the chairs, created lively, interesting and appealing characters.
We applauded, and after a short break for a glass of wine, we discussed the new play.

I asked the actors how long they had been rehearsing before reading. They replied, “We haven’t met, we haven’t rehearsed together!” The author sent the text to each one of them with the assigned characters. They prepared alone before the reading and here is the result!

Then I thought again about how important the preparation of the actor is, how important is the ability to communicate on stage, the ability to listen and understand what the partner is saying. What we say on stage is important, but even more important is what the partner is saying.

The acting technique I teach includes theory and many practices in mastering the process of communication between partners. It is a process with established steps that build acting qualities which makes the communication with the partner on stage more convincing.

My students: exercise in an interaction with a partner

Of course, here I give an example with a reading of a play. If we prepare a performance, we will do the appropriate number of rehearsals. We will start with a script analysis and we will build relationships and characters on stage.

In this case, I emphasize the qualities of the actors who had prepared at home and their ability to interact convincingly with each other, presenting a dramatic text.

Yours, Eva

ON ACTING TECHNIQUE

August 19, 2021

Acting techniques are important for both professional actors and anyone who wants to enrich and develop personal qualities.

For professional actors, refreshing acting skills is an important part of developing acting skills and keep them sharp. When an actor has been absent from the stage for a long time, returning and practicing the elements of acting technique is a good investment in the development of his professionalism.

Just as ballet dancers practice exercises every day to maintain body flexibility, musicians play etudes for perfecting a particular musical skill, artists draw sketches, so does the actor practicing elements of acting technique who will help him develop his imagination, the ability to work with emotional memory, to enhance concentration, to exercise muscle control, etc. Interaction with the partner is an essential part of the acting techniques.

Acting technique is also for everyone who is not a professional actor, but wants to master the elements of this technique, to develop qualities that stimulate the growth of the personality. On stage we ask ourselves questions such as “what am I doing”, “what is my goal”, “why am I doing a certain action” in order to gain confidence in the image, we can easily use that approach in order to construct different projects in our lives.

The ability to expand our imagination, to increase concentration, the ability to communicate, listen and understand what the partner says, to show emotional understanding of others, to influence – all these qualities are exercised through the acting technique.

Courage and confident presence in public performances are also important qualities that are built through acting technique and can help in real life.

Yours Eva