MATERIALS:
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-Video: Laurence Fishburn’s OTHELLO
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Laurence Olivier’s HENRY V
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(View sc i, ii, iii, Globe Theatre)
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-Books: New Folger Library “OTHELLO”, and books with drawings of the Globe Theatre, photographs of the Mediterranean, Venice, and the Island of Cyprus, maps and atlas
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-Props: Two fencing foils, dagger
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-Costumes: Student selected costume pieces, embroidered handkerchief
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1. Studying Fishburn’s performance in OTHELLO affords an excellent opportunity to team teach with the English teacher who teaches OTHELLO. We will divide into ensemble teams,and scan much of this great poetry. We will consentrate on many of the plays monologues and soliloques.
Some of What Actors Need To Know About Shakespeare’s Verse
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-By writing passages in verse, Shakespeare could ‘direct’ an actor to stress whatever word he wanted the actor to stress.
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-In this way he would give a particular meaning to the line.
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-By scanning the lines the actors can use the verse to help them act the part more accurately and quicker. The actor will learn not to ‘smooth out ‘ the verse so that it sounds and plays like prose.
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-Verse is easy to learn because it has a rhythm, a cadence.
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-The pattern of rhythm Shakespeare mostly wrote is called iambic pentameter.
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-An iamb is two syllables with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. De-DUM
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-FIVE iambs in one line of verse gives you IAMBIC pentameter (five sets of de-DUMs).
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-de-DUM, de-DUM, de-DUM, de-DUM, de-DUM,
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-Analyzing verse in this way is called scansion.
Sample of monologues / soliloques to scan, rehearse, memorize and perform:
Othello—ActI,iii.
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Her father loved me, oft invited me,
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Still questioned me the story of my life
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From year to year—the battles, sieges, fortunes
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That I have passed.
Othello—Act I,iii.
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My life upon her faith!
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(The Duke,the Senators, Cassio, and officers exit.)
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Honest Iago, My Desdemona must I leave to thee.
Iago—Act I,iii
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Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.
Othello—Act II,i.
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It gives me wonder great as my content
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To see you here before me. O my soul’s joy!
Iago—Act II, i.
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That Cassio loves her, I do well believe ‘t.
Desdemona—Act III,iii.
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Why then tomorrow night, or Tuesday morn,
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On Tuesday noon or night; on Wednesday morn.
Othello—Act III,iii.
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This fellow’s of exceeding honesty,
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And knows all qualities with a learned spirit
Emilia—Act III,iii.
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(picking up the handkerchief)
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I am glad I have found this napkin.
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This was her first remembrance from the Moor.
Desdemona—Act IV,iii.
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My mother had a maid called Barbary.
Othello—Act V,ii.
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It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.
DENZEL WASHINGTON
Denzel Washington was born in 1954 in Mt. Vernon, New York. He studied acting and performed at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He was trained on the stage, and acted in Shakespearean and modern productions. He made his film debut in 1981. He won an academy award for best supporting actor for his role in GLORY (1989). Some of his films we may be viewing will include MISSISSIPPI MASALA (1991), MALCOLM X (1992), and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993).
Since Denzel Washington is a favorite of the acting students, I will ask them to select two of his films for study. They will also be asked to share with the class photographs and articles about him and his films. I will suggest that we study his performance in MALCOLM X along with his autobiography and the play EL HAJJ MALIK: A PLAY ABOUT MALCOLM X by N.R. Davidson, Jr.
Some Acting Terms.
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Action (internal or emotional)—Acting is doing. Action is what you do to get what ever it is your character wants.
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Activities—The physical things you do on stage (sometimes called stage business or tasks). You might drink a cup of coffee or slice an orange, etc., while carrying on the the dialogue.
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Anticipation—Basing your acting choices on the fact that you know what happens next. Stanislavski said that one of the actor’s greatest problems was “anticipation.” The actor’s involvement must
not
be in the future, but in the
present
. Most acting techniques are designed to keep the actor focused in the present . . .”in the moment.”
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Blocking—The physical arrangement of the actor’s movements on stage. It serves to tell the story physically.
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Character—The person whom the actor is playing.
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Choices—Choices are what you do or tell yourself so that you create the role.
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Cliche—Cliche is a mannerism or approach to the role that has been done many, many times before.
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Given Circumstances—This is the information in the play set down for the actor by the playwright. They are clues as to how the actor makes choices. What are the circumstances of my character? On the simplest level . . . does the play take place in or out of doors? What is the season of the year? Over how many hours, days, months, etc., does the action of the play take place? What is my character’s urgency to move through the events of the play?