Understanding a Drama Approach to Developing Communication Skills: Practice and Theory - Essay Example

Running Header: Understanding a drama approach to developing communication skills: practice and theory In theatre performances, actors employ a variety of techniques relating to the voice, body movements and group work in order to provide a better understanding of the play. The group and the individual body movements are used to complement the voice by aiming to stimulate and develop the imagination. Martin and John (2012, p.45) note that the group is used to create images while the body and the voice creates the art employed by the actor. The use of these techniques enables the performer to create the characters as well as the environment of the play. This ensures that the audiences understand the play depending on the ability of the actor to demonstrate and illustrate what the play entails. This is done by using the appropriate body languages to design and develop characters in the play. This paper is going to describe and analyze the use of voice, body movements and group works as used as a tool for communication. In addition, the paper is going to explore the examples of performances where these techniques have been employed. According to Linkalater (2006, p.343) the voice acts as an instrument of communication whereby it brings the texts of a play faithfully to life. Through the use of the voice, the actor translates the written text in the play into spoken language. The actor is therefore able to create the feeling of the idea that is expressed in writing. The motive of the voice is to inform the words that are in the printed document (Berry 1973, p.16). In the play ‘The Ice Demon’ act one started with the Lindergren family taking their place in the stage followed by children who entered into the stage in the order of their family groups. Mrs. Lindgren: Christmas is almost here and nothing is ready. Mr. Lindgren: (putting his arm on his wife’s shoulder) come on dear. Try to relax a little. In this scene Mrs. Lindedgren used her voice as a means of informing the audience that it was the Christmas season. On the other hand Mr. Lindgren used his voice in a low relaxed tone as a means of communicating his emotional support towards his wife. The play employed the art of body movement which was represented by Mr. Lindgren act of putting his arm on his wife’s shoulder which was used to further communicate and emphasize his emotional support. In the play, the use of group support was employed by the use of the children who entered the stage. The group was used to represent Mr. Lindgren family hence emphasizing the reason why Mrs. Lindgren was worried. In the play ‘Pinocchio’ as Puppet Pinocchio tried to master the walking and the talking skills he pointed to his foot and called it ‘nose’. In this play the actor communicated the puppets’ unawareness regarding the meaning of word. The performer further ascertained this by pointing to his feet to indicate the nose. Linkalater (1976, p. 7) argues that the need to speak is the first step in ensuring that the voice works effectively in human beings. This need is converted into electrical impulses which go through the spinal code into the nerve openings and thus controlling the muscles that guide speech organs. Abdominal muscles contract and expand the rib cage in order to control the breath response. The respiratory action on the vocal folds creates sound vibrations which can be identified. The vibrations on the other hand are amplified by the resonators. This depends on the tension of the muscle tissue which tunes a specified pitch in relation to a given resonating area. The reflex action is the main dependant of the ability of the voice to respond effectively. For instance in the play ‘A Midsummer Night’s dream’ Helena says while smiling ‘Demetrius! Demetrius! Demetrius! Ohh. Demetrius! How happy….’ In this play the actor emphasized her emotional happiness towards Demetrius by repeating his name in a moderate intonation. The actor emphasized this by staying in a constant motion and portraying a joyful facial expression. Murray (2003, p. 129) emphasizes that the movement of the body provokes emotions and at the same time it assists in remembering. The art of body movement improves the actor’s physical awareness and also creates a resource for emotional states. Moreover, physical actions and body movements provokes other characteristics of individual capability leading to more understanding of the play. Therefore, the actor gains a deeper understanding of the dynamics that are employed in each category of play relative to the body movements. The movements in the scenes present a better definition of the prevailing situations. In the play Macbeth, although Duncan murder is committed off the stage, Lady Macbeth washed a spot of blood from her hand. She then sat for a while without making any movements. Finally she stood up and started to make some small circular movements. The actor in this case employed an emotional technique to communicate the occurrence of the murder. This is because the blood shedding act is hidden from the audiences and through the physical act of washing the blood spot; Macbeth created the awareness that she had murdered Duncan. The action of sitting down motionless and then standing up to make some circular movements was a means of communicating her inner emotional feelings after committing the murder. Laban (1988, p.50) states that the art of body movement is used as an instrument for communicating and expressing feelings. The body functions like bending, twisting and stretching are indications of mechanical undertakings and this can be easily analyzed when the body moves against motion. The neutral mask is used by actors to achieve a state of calm and this ensures that they respond to the encounters of the world as portrayed in the play. The movements of the trunk indicate great versatility in motion and carriage. On the other hand, movement of the head causes subsequent movement of the chest and this can be considered as observing different directions hence an indication of differences in performing unrelated activities. Furthermore, the twists of the legs and the hands can be used to indicate different gestures. In the play ‘fat pig’ Carter sarcastically described Helen by claiming ‘she’s off to the bathroom… with a basket of dinner rolls hidden under her skirt.’ She accompanied these words by twisting her hands outwardly. In the play the actor communicated her negative emotional feelings by describing Helen with the use of sarcastic words. The act of twisting the hands outwardly enhanced her negative attitude and displeasure towards Helen. In the play Pinocchio, Pinocchio jumped across the table. Geppetto the puppet maker used facial expressions to communicate his amazement regarding the movement of Pinocchio whenever he glanced away. He accompanied this by maintaining his hands open in a constant motion to emphasize his amazement. Acting in groups creates strength which enables the release of knowledge which is more than the contribution made by a single person hence enables group to share and agree (Spolin 1983, p.37). The group enhances the actor’s collaboration with the play by providing them with the necessary space required to install their own expertise, interests and reactions. Group cohesion facilitates the quality of scene improvisation whereby the players are able to act upon themselves. In addition, acting in groups helps in problem solving through developing relationships and sharing ideas hence making it possible for actors with different backgrounds to work together. Oddey (1994, p.24) emphasizes this by stating that members of a group begin by understanding the requirements of a scene and then come up with an appropriate way to effectively achieve the objectives of the scene. This motivates every member to develop unity and affiliation with the group. Therefore, to build and develop trust and unity members of an acting group must be open to each other. This allows for members to be criticized in order for them to give up personal interests and favor group decisions. A group devising to act should identify how to work together in order to achieve the audience expectations. In the play Monologues for women, the scene was set in a hospital where 6 patients were in a waiting room. Rita, an outspoken woman has just escorted another patient to the lavatory leaving her friend Dolly on the front bench talking with another lady. Dolly: I’m her best friend...you wouldn’t have known her. Her husband walked all over her last year… (As Rita returns)...I was telling this lady about you Rita. In this performance the group was used to communicate the play environment whereby it represented the patients in the hospital. The act of escorting the patient as illustrated by Rita enhances the understanding of the play by communicating its setting in the hospital where nurses escort patients to the doctors. Through the use of voice, Dolly is able to communicate the relationship between Rita and her husband by stating that Rita’s husband walked over her. To conclude, the art of acting becomes more effective when the actor is able to improve the audiences understanding of the play. The use of voice and movement in drama is used by actors to promote their self-expression. It enables them to bring out the aspect of character and diversity which promotes the actors self understanding. Therefore, in order to create attractive performance actors must involve their whole body in order to develop their character and auditioning skills. The use of the group enables the actors to create a situation that matches the scenes of the play. This will further assist the audiences to gain a better understanding of the situation prevailing in the play. References Berry, C 1973, Vocal Development’ in the Voice and the Actor, Harrap, London. Fava, A 2004, The comic mask in the Commedia dell’Arte: Actor Training, Improvisation and the Poetics of Survival, Northwestern University Press, Evanston. Laban, R 1988, Movement and the Body (Part II), Northcote House, Plymouth. Linklater, K 1976, Freeing the Natural Voice, Drama Book Publishers, New York. Linklater, K 2007, Freeing the Natural Voice: Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language, Nick Hern Books Ltd, London. Martin, L & John, R 2012, Teaching Classroom Drama and Theatre, Routledge, London Murray, S 2003, Practical Exercises’ in Jacques Lecoq, Routledge, London. Oddey, A 1994, Beginnings: How and Where to Start’ in Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook, Routledge, London. Spolin, V 1983, Workshop Procedures’ in Improvisation for the Theater, Northwestern University Press, Evanston. Read More