Acting Narrative Speeches: The Actor as StorytellerMeriwether Pub., 2002 - 445 pages Narrative speeches, both classical and contemporary, are used to reveal how an actor can discover the inherent energy, the essence and the subtextual colours of every word and sentences of a dramatic speech. This book clearly demonstrates that any memorable performance needs far more than acting technique alone. In eighteen chapters actor/director/teacher McDonough defines in depth how an actor can find the often overlooked subtleties that create characters with dimension and moments of heightened reality. |
From inside the book
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Page 146
... mean is conveyed by how they sound . Pope's words do more than echo sense ; they embody what he means . Embody : in poetry , as in all expressive language , sound is the flesh of sense . - A speech that tells a story whether the text is ...
... mean is conveyed by how they sound . Pope's words do more than echo sense ; they embody what he means . Embody : in poetry , as in all expressive language , sound is the flesh of sense . - A speech that tells a story whether the text is ...
Page 147
... means . The “ a ” of “ at ” so quickly echoes the previous vowel that it makes us hear another little tap . Why ... means but because it is what it means : its meaning is embodied in its text . That is the gist of a poem by Archibald ...
... means . The “ a ” of “ at ” so quickly echoes the previous vowel that it makes us hear another little tap . Why ... means but because it is what it means : its meaning is embodied in its text . That is the gist of a poem by Archibald ...
Page 386
... means . You pry open the window with the last strength you've got and the shock of cold air almost kills you on the spot . " If only I don't die before I find out what he means ! " You say . “ Just let me live five minutes longer ...
... means . You pry open the window with the last strength you've got and the shock of cold air almost kills you on the spot . " If only I don't die before I find out what he means ! " You say . “ Just let me live five minutes longer ...
Common terms and phrases
acceleration acting action actor Agamemnon Appendix Athi audience beginning body build caesura central moment chair character character's choices circumstances climax Clytemnestra conjure create deceleration develop draft E.E. Cummings emotional emphasize endwords energy example explore expressive eyes fade father feel feet from/to gesture Gus Edwards Hamlet hand happened hear Hotspur I'm Not Rappaport Imagine implicit scene impulses indirect quote inner conflict inside the story Juliet language layered look metaphor moments Monologues move movement narrative speeches onomatopoeia onomatopoetic opposites performance phrase physical play point of view possible pullback Puntila rehearsal reliving rhythm rhythmic Romeo Romeo and Juliet Sam Shepard seam sentence set the scene Shakespeare shape single image slow snake handling sound sense space specific spondee stage syllables talk tell the story telling a story theater Titania transition trochee Tybalt voice Wesley Weston words