ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, TECHNOLOGIES + CONVENTIONS
A cheat sheet about Drama Aspects used in the play by director Ryan Knighton
ELEMENTS
Role – What are the part/s the actors play? Each actor plays multiple characters and there are characters that are mentioned and talked about off stage.
Time – When is the play set? The time the play is set is always in the now. What has happened for the characters is they have just finished school. The year is not important; the work always aims to be relative to and age group not a time period.
Place – Where is it set? It is set in Wellington and follows the journey of the boys up the North Island to Dargaville with multiple locations in-between.
Situation – What has happened? The given circumstances of the play are that Jude has never met his Dad and has convinced his friend Brian to road trip with him in order to find him.
Action – What keeps the each scene and the overall plot going? The Dramatic action of the story is the relationship between Jude and Brian and the very different viewpoints they have on life despite being best friends.
Tension – What are the stakes of the play? The tension comes from the physical danger Jude and Brian are in at different points in the play, e.g., Tony’s boatshed or When Brian is on the rocks or the emotional danger they are in when they are talking about things that they have not dealt with in full, e.g. Sarah and Alice.
Mood – How do the audience and the characters feel during the play? The mood of the play reflects the age of the characters; it is angry, funny and full of angst while remaining genuine.
Contrast – What are things that highlight each others strengths and flaws when compared? Brian and Jude have a strong contrast between their philosophies and beliefs, with Jude being an optimistic, gentle guy and Brian being cynical and harsh.
Focus – What is the Audience most interested in? The focus of the play is always on the relationships the characters in the play have. Including the offstage ones.
Symbol – What objects or signs have a deeper significance? There are some symbolic elements in the script, like the final monologue, which refers to Spider-Man but also we have use a transformative set to symbolize different locations.
TECHNIQUES
Voice – How does the actor speak? Each character has a different voice and way of speaking. Volume and rhythm are both used to show how the characters feel about what they are talking about. Jude has a strong and soft voice while Brian has a yappy way of speaking.
Body – How does the actor move? An actor must be connected with their bodies. Each gesture or tick is something chosen to represent that character and this is reflected in their body language. Brian has a lot of physical ticks which how he is never really happy being still or remaining in one place.
Movement – When/why does the actor move? An actor is always moving following an impulse just like we do in every day life. When and why Brian and Jude move can be linked to their wants and needs.
Space – How does the actor use the set and building? How do the actors transform and use the space and the distance between eachother? Brian and Jude have to change location and in order to make this believable, treat it with the correct geographic response.
TECHNOLOGIES
Sound – Sound is very important in Theatre. It can be used to show action that is happening off stage as well as adding to the world of the piece, adding a context and texture to the scenes without having to have the characters state the obvious. Music can also be used to invoke emotion. I’ll be fine has sound constantly running through the entire play right up until the final monologue. Because we are in a small theatre this time, sound is our main use of technology.
Set – Set can be used to visually show what is going on. We have opted for a minimal set that is transformable (Also a convention) in order to show the ever-changing locations.
Lighting – Lighting can be used to show a transition between scenes but its primary function is so you can see what is happening on stage. We have minimal naturalistic lighting, which changes as time passes. There are some surreal lighting states to show flash backs or dream sequences which the LED lights were used for.
Props – Props are the smaller items used by the actors. We have many props in the play because it was easier with a touring show to instead of having the set show us where we are, the props would also do that job. As well as functioning as they naturally would.
Costume – What character wears what? We have two actors with multiple roles so quick simple costume changes have been used to support this convention.
CONVENTIONS
Aside – When a character pauses the scene to speak out to the audience before continuing the scene from where they left off. We did not use this convention in I’ll Be Fine.
Entrances and Exits – When characters enter and exit the stage. We chose to only have one exit, in order to try making it more meaningful. All the costume changes and set changes are done in full light on stage, rather than off stage.
Flashback and Flash-forward – A jump through time, backward or forward from the present moment the play is set in. We have no real flash backs or forwards in the play, but we do have abstract surreal scenes.
Narration – A comment on the story. Due to our lack of set we use a form of narration called scene painting. This is when at the characters start painting invisible objects to show where the characters are.
Slow motion - A stylized version of time happening in slow motion in order to create tension or gravity. We have no moments of slow motion in the show.
Soundscape – Any sound that is constant rather than a sound effect. Every scene in I’ll Be Fine has it’s own individual soundscape.
Split Focus – When two different pieces of action are happening on stage at the same time. This is much more common with plays with a larger cast. We have one moment of this in I'll Be Fine during the town monologue.
Split scene – When the stage is split into two different locations to help keep the pace and show contrast. We have a moment of this in I’ll be fine toward the end when Jude is at his fathers house and Brian is at the beach.
Spoken Thoughts – Basically thinking out loud. Any monologues in the play that can be considered spoken thought.
Stage directions – These are the text in the script which define the blocking and other tech elements.
Still Image – A frozen picture, which has significance behind it. I'll Be Fine does not use this convention.
ELEMENTS
Role – What are the part/s the actors play? Each actor plays multiple characters and there are characters that are mentioned and talked about off stage.
Time – When is the play set? The time the play is set is always in the now. What has happened for the characters is they have just finished school. The year is not important; the work always aims to be relative to and age group not a time period.
Place – Where is it set? It is set in Wellington and follows the journey of the boys up the North Island to Dargaville with multiple locations in-between.
Situation – What has happened? The given circumstances of the play are that Jude has never met his Dad and has convinced his friend Brian to road trip with him in order to find him.
Action – What keeps the each scene and the overall plot going? The Dramatic action of the story is the relationship between Jude and Brian and the very different viewpoints they have on life despite being best friends.
Tension – What are the stakes of the play? The tension comes from the physical danger Jude and Brian are in at different points in the play, e.g., Tony’s boatshed or When Brian is on the rocks or the emotional danger they are in when they are talking about things that they have not dealt with in full, e.g. Sarah and Alice.
Mood – How do the audience and the characters feel during the play? The mood of the play reflects the age of the characters; it is angry, funny and full of angst while remaining genuine.
Contrast – What are things that highlight each others strengths and flaws when compared? Brian and Jude have a strong contrast between their philosophies and beliefs, with Jude being an optimistic, gentle guy and Brian being cynical and harsh.
Focus – What is the Audience most interested in? The focus of the play is always on the relationships the characters in the play have. Including the offstage ones.
Symbol – What objects or signs have a deeper significance? There are some symbolic elements in the script, like the final monologue, which refers to Spider-Man but also we have use a transformative set to symbolize different locations.
TECHNIQUES
Voice – How does the actor speak? Each character has a different voice and way of speaking. Volume and rhythm are both used to show how the characters feel about what they are talking about. Jude has a strong and soft voice while Brian has a yappy way of speaking.
Body – How does the actor move? An actor must be connected with their bodies. Each gesture or tick is something chosen to represent that character and this is reflected in their body language. Brian has a lot of physical ticks which how he is never really happy being still or remaining in one place.
Movement – When/why does the actor move? An actor is always moving following an impulse just like we do in every day life. When and why Brian and Jude move can be linked to their wants and needs.
Space – How does the actor use the set and building? How do the actors transform and use the space and the distance between eachother? Brian and Jude have to change location and in order to make this believable, treat it with the correct geographic response.
TECHNOLOGIES
Sound – Sound is very important in Theatre. It can be used to show action that is happening off stage as well as adding to the world of the piece, adding a context and texture to the scenes without having to have the characters state the obvious. Music can also be used to invoke emotion. I’ll be fine has sound constantly running through the entire play right up until the final monologue. Because we are in a small theatre this time, sound is our main use of technology.
Set – Set can be used to visually show what is going on. We have opted for a minimal set that is transformable (Also a convention) in order to show the ever-changing locations.
Lighting – Lighting can be used to show a transition between scenes but its primary function is so you can see what is happening on stage. We have minimal naturalistic lighting, which changes as time passes. There are some surreal lighting states to show flash backs or dream sequences which the LED lights were used for.
Props – Props are the smaller items used by the actors. We have many props in the play because it was easier with a touring show to instead of having the set show us where we are, the props would also do that job. As well as functioning as they naturally would.
Costume – What character wears what? We have two actors with multiple roles so quick simple costume changes have been used to support this convention.
CONVENTIONS
Aside – When a character pauses the scene to speak out to the audience before continuing the scene from where they left off. We did not use this convention in I’ll Be Fine.
Entrances and Exits – When characters enter and exit the stage. We chose to only have one exit, in order to try making it more meaningful. All the costume changes and set changes are done in full light on stage, rather than off stage.
Flashback and Flash-forward – A jump through time, backward or forward from the present moment the play is set in. We have no real flash backs or forwards in the play, but we do have abstract surreal scenes.
Narration – A comment on the story. Due to our lack of set we use a form of narration called scene painting. This is when at the characters start painting invisible objects to show where the characters are.
Slow motion - A stylized version of time happening in slow motion in order to create tension or gravity. We have no moments of slow motion in the show.
Soundscape – Any sound that is constant rather than a sound effect. Every scene in I’ll Be Fine has it’s own individual soundscape.
Split Focus – When two different pieces of action are happening on stage at the same time. This is much more common with plays with a larger cast. We have one moment of this in I'll Be Fine during the town monologue.
Split scene – When the stage is split into two different locations to help keep the pace and show contrast. We have a moment of this in I’ll be fine toward the end when Jude is at his fathers house and Brian is at the beach.
Spoken Thoughts – Basically thinking out loud. Any monologues in the play that can be considered spoken thought.
Stage directions – These are the text in the script which define the blocking and other tech elements.
Still Image – A frozen picture, which has significance behind it. I'll Be Fine does not use this convention.