Page 122 - Theatre_Arts_Form_5

Theatre Arts for Advanced Secondary Schools

(e) Technical awareness: Though both film and television acting require an
understanding of technical aspects, degree of involvement may vary. Film
actors are likely to collaborate closely with the director of photography
and camera crew so as to achieve specific visual aesthetics. This is contrary
to actors in television drama, who need to adapt their performances to
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accommodate multi-camera setups or work with various directors on
different episodes.

Differences between performing for stage and screen
While performing may generally seem similar, the form and technique at which
a performance is presented draws significant attention on a part of performers.
Indeed, memorising the lines and familiarisation with each scene is the same to
each performance format. However, there are key differences between performing
for stage and performing for screen or radio as follows:

(a) Energy: The amount of energy exerted to the live performance aspect of a
theatre production is never quite captured on the screen. Performers should
exaggerate the physical expression of their actions while performing on
stage. This is due to performing and delivery techniques employed in
performing for stage. Performers for screen perform more realistic with
minimum manipulations of actions employed.

(b) Projection: Every gesture and facial expression in theatrical performance
is uttered with some level of exaggeration to capture the attention of the
audience. For screen, performers do express each gesture naturally letting
the camera that plays the role as immediate audience and editing do the
rest. There is no need to extensively use facial expressions as well. Without
projection, only the front liners in the stage play audience will notice
an action or hear the spoken word. Projection reminds stage performers
to perform for the back row not the front row. This means gestures and
anything that indicates emotion or mood must be vividly exaggerated. It
is equally important to performers to project voice for the backrow. Vocal
volume is a key part of a performance to let the audience experience the
emotion of a scene or of a line audibly.

(c) Location of audience: Stage performances are live with audience taking
seats very close to the stage as well as extremely far from the stage
depending on the size and type of the stage where the performance occurs.

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