Read the below article, then do the starter listed at the end.
Starter: Have you had positive or negative experiences in drama/public performances in the past? Why? What do you think makes people good performers? How do you think you can develop these skills?
Task: Create a poster with your group that defines the terms, one in each corner of the poster. Each poster should have both a definition and a picture written on it.
Beating Stage Fright
Many top artists seem natural extroverts and performers, but severe stage fright is more common than you may think. Adele, Andre 3000, Bob Dylan, and Rihanna are just a few platinum artists who have confessed to debilitating stage fright. In addition, a study found that eighty percent of professional actors reported experiencing stage fright at some point. http://www.backstage.com/news/study-shows-stage-fright-is-common-among-working-actors/What is it? And how do you conquer it?
What is “Stage Fright?”
“ Stage fright” (or performance anxiety) is now considered by many psychologists to be a genuine phobia. Nervousness, or “butterflies” in your stomach, is a natural human response to public performance – be it playing music, a sports game or public speaking. Your body’s naturally-produced adrenaline can make you perform really well.
However, more severe cases can produce more noticeable biological reactions. Your muscles may contract, and your body may have sporadic bursts (and saps) of energy. Blood vessels in your extremities may constrict, resulting in tingling and numbness. An increase in heart rate will make you sweat. Sound at all familiar? You’re not alone
“Stage fright” can be considered a human’s body’s natural alarm response to what a performer has judged an emergency situation. But why do so many entertainers – clearly with talent to perform for others – respond as they would an emergency situation?
“I'm scared of audiences,” the singer Adele told Rolling Stone in 2011. “I get really scared. One show in Amsterdam, I was so nervous I escaped out the fire exit. I’ve thrown up a couple of times. Once in Brussels, I projectile-vomited on someone."
Tips For Dealing With Stage Fright
1. Practice
A no-brainer. Know what you are going to play. Recite your lines over and over again. Write them out, make recordings on garageband and listen to them, practice with a friend or family member reading the script--whatever technique works for you. Knowing your lines will make you light-years better.
2. Learn To Breathe Better: http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/how-to-activate-your-diaphragm-to-improve-breathing-and-performance
--As you breathe in, your stomach should expand and your stomach muscles should relax. As you breathe, out, your stomach should contract. When we are nervous or stressed we do the reverse--when we we breathe we expand our chest and contract our stomach. Consciously avoid this. Breathe with your stomach, always. It decreases your heart rate and sends messages of calm and safety to your brain.
3. Warm up
Acting is a physical thing. And you’ll always feel less stressed if you physically warm-up. That can be hand-exercises or more general body-relaxation techniques. We will be doing these in class. Participation is required. Don’t pretend to be too cool. You’re not. Just do it. It will make you a better actor no matter what your part is, and it will wake your body up and make the day more enjoyable.
4. Keep the show in perspective
You may feel the whole audience is looking at you constantly. They’re not! They are there to enjoy the whole experience of the play. And, they are on your team, and are hoping for you to do well. And you will.
5. Embrace Your Anxiety
It’s quite normal to have fear when stepping onstage. Remind yourself: this is normal. Begin the show confidently, and your fear will likely dissolve. Singer Ellie Goulding says, “I’m not afraid anymore. It’s gone past that point now. I get scared before shows, but it’s like an adrenaline-nervousness excitement. I will always have some fear, but in a good way now. I used to get really paralyzed by fear, but now, it makes me more focused and it doesn’t bother me--I just accept it as part of the deal.”
Starter: Have you had positive or negative experiences in drama/public performances in the past? Why? What do you think makes people good performers? How do you think you can develop these skills?
Task: Create a poster with your group that defines the terms, one in each corner of the poster. Each poster should have both a definition and a picture written on it.
Why are we doing this?
*The terms from Group 1's poster will help you write an effective Poetry Conversion.
* The terms from the other poster will be used in the Socratic Seminar next week to create deeper understanding of the text and drop intellectual bombs that amaze your colleagues.
Note: Double-check your work with Matt to make sure you are not creating a poster that has an inaccurate or incomplete understanding of the terms.
Group 1: Figurative Language (give a quote from the text as an example for each), along with a picture.
Simile
Metaphors
Personification
Imagery
Group 2: Seminar terms (give a quote from the text for each), along with a picture.
Characterization
Motif
Theme
Infer (verb)
Can use this resource or others you find on your own: https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd/themes.html
Group 3: Rhythm (give example from text). Use your slideshow notes or review the slideshow posted earlier on the DP to define these terms.
Iambic Meter
Blank Verse
Heroic Couplets
Prose
Group 4: Find four ideas that MND is about and cite two quotes that illustrate opposing views of different characters on the topic.
Idea 1: Love and Marriage
Idea 2: Order and disorder
Idea 3 Appearance and reality
Idea 4 Creativity vs Rationality
Possible resource: http://www.rsc.org.uk/explore/a-midsummer-nights-dream/teachers-resources/themes.aspx#imagination
And also ask each other and use your annotations to explore these questions as well!
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