marking scripts
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Acting
Forum Discription: Q&A about auditions, character development and other aspects of the craft
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2387
Printed Date: 5/01/24 at 11:28pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: marking scripts
Posted By: HillDrums
Subject: marking scripts
Date Posted: 5/02/07 at 11:51pm
| I'm looking for information on marking scripts for dramatic emphasis. Any ideas or sources? I'm looking for standard notation on marking words to accent, bend the pitch up or down, stretch, etc. |
Replies:
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 5/03/07 at 8:54am
Please tell me this isn't for directing actors on how to say their lines.
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Posted By: HillDrums
Date Posted: 5/03/07 at 12:22pm
I'm a first year drama teacher with a degree in music. Give me a break and help me out. I took voice and diction at IU, but that was eons ago.
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Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 5/03/07 at 1:04pm
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First off, congratulations on teaching Drama. Secondly, there are many books about acting and theater (not sure what book you are planning to use in your curriculum) but here are a few that may help you out inparticularly. Theater: Preparation and Performance by Charlotte Lee and David Grote or Acting: Onstage and Off by Robert Barton.
Now, these are older books that I have used when I taught and there are many others to look into as well.
Hope this helps.
-Daniel J. ------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |
Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 5/04/07 at 9:35am
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There's an article out there, listed on ERIC at the link below, that looks like exactly what you need:
http://tinyurl.com/2e5jxk - http://tinyurl.com/2e5jxk
You may be able to find it in a local library. For my part, I use underline for emphasis, a double slash for a // pause, and not really a whole lot else. Frankly I don't set a whole lot of that stuff until after the books are gone anyway (either as a director or as an actor) -- some would say I never set that stuff  -- so I've never found a notation for, say, "bend the pitch up" very useful (although I've seen a curved arrow above the word used for that).------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: avcastner
Date Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:03pm
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Stage and the School has a page on script scoring (generally used for the classics like Shakespeare). It's in the acting chapter (I think page 137). If you PM me your snail mail address, I can mail you a copy (I don't have a scanner unfortunately). ------------- |
Posted By: theactordavid
Date Posted: 5/23/07 at 8:21am
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I guess this would be analgous to the markings found in music that tell a musician when to play forte, pianissimo, staccato, ritardando, crescendo, etcetera. To an extent, this can be helpful. But there are differences (yes, more than one) between a score and a script. Not the least of these is the intent of a character's line. S/he is often trying to create some change in another character, and it is through the understanding of the line's intent that the delivery comes. (Rarely does the oboe player try to influence the first violinist's performance.) I'm not sure there is a notation for that in the books. I always think of the line "Shut up." At first glance, this would be said with forcefulness, perhaps even anger. But if your intent is to get the speaker to stop talking about a topic of secret content, you might say 'shut up' under your breath with a sing-songy 'up'. Think Ralph Kramden trying to get Norton to not give away their plan to Alice. There are so many ways just to say 'shut up' depending on the intent. Also, the "kids today" will say shut up in place of "you're kidding", and it is said with curious disbelief, not anger. Knowing why are you saying it will make it clear how to say it. ------------- There are no small roles, only roles with a low line-load and minimal stage time. http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com |