Interesting Example Of Theatrical Blocking

Steve K

"In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors in order to facilitate the performance ... " (Wikipedia) 

I attended a lecture once ay a professor of drama and several of his college actors.  They took the same Pinter scene and changed it completely just by the arrangement of the actors, and maybe a little change in the delivery of the lines.

The revival of the old "All In The Family"/"The Jeffersons" last night was fun to watch.  It was  a very good effort by the top notch cast.  But it made me realize just how great the original cast was, especially Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) and Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson), and also that something was missing in the remake.  Note the former was about half a foot taller than the latter, made for some good comic blocking.  A lumbering bigot facing off against the bantam-like neighbor.  Woody Harrelson and Jamie Foxx are about the same height.

I recall a description of a classic movie with a short lead actor.  They used trenches for the other actors to stand/walk in to make the lead look taller.  Kind of difficult in a live show in front of an audience, I guess.  But pretty easy in animation, don't even need trenches.

evilproducer

Things like sitting or standing can change the dynamic of the scene as well because of the perception of power or leading the conversation. Of course like all rules, they should be considered more like guidelines. For instance, someone standing delivering lines to someone sitting generally gives the impression of dominance. However, depending on the delivery, the actual lines, etc. A person sitting can give an air of dominance. Thinking back to film, think Don Corleone as the Godfather making his lackeys kiss his ring.

For my plays, I also use sitting when I want an intimate conversation between two actors. I may have them both seated on a couch or two chairs that are close to each other. If there is an exclamation, or some plot development, I'll have one of them rise and say or do whatever needs to happen.

 

evilproducer

Here is a scene from a play I directed called, Ghost of a Chance. The clip is about 5.5 minutes and shows a good mix of different blocking, including a short example of what I was talking about with sitting. Also, watch some of the expressions on the Crystal character. The actress, Dawn, does a great job with some of her looks conveying her emotions.