Transcript Reader’s Theater

Ensemble Interpretation
Duo Interpretation
Choral Ensemble
Chamber Theatre
Readers’ Theatre
Ensemble Interpretation
Ensemble interpretation – Two or more
performers set out to bring a literary
selection alive
 Interdependence – Reliance on each other
for performance outcome
 Independence – Reliance on self for
performance outcome

Ensemble Interpretation
Presentational staging – Suggestion, not
reality; the art form is being portrayed,
not life
 Action, Movement, and Physical
Arrangement

 This
to be kept to a minimum but still
necessary
Ensemble Interpretation

Focus – where attention is directed
 Offstage
focus (Out-front) – reader addresses
or speaks to other reader/characters as if they
were out front or in the audience
 Onstage focus – reader/characters relate to
each other on the stage
 Narrator – focuses eye contact on audience
Ensemble Interpretation

Body positions:
 Entrance
– face audience
 Exit – back to audience or lowering of head
 Freeze position – temporarily have withdrawn
from the developments on stage
 Varying head levels or heights of readers – a
means to provide emphasis and contrast in
performance
Ensemble Interpretation

Multimedia devices – to help share
meaning but not to be used as gimmicks.
 Overhead
projections
 PowerPoint presentations
 Slides
 Videotape
 DVDs
 These
provide visualization to performance
Ensemble Interpretation
Audio tapes
 CDs
 Live music/sounds

 These
help to set mood for a performance
Duo Interpretation

Two person interpretation of any type of
material
 Humorous/Serious
 Poetry/Prose/Drama
Performers may not have eye contact
except in the introduction and during
transitions
 Performers may not touch

Choral Ensemble

Group interpretation of poetry
 Individuals
understand and express the ideas,
emotions, and moods inherent in their poetic
selection
 Poem
should allow for the possibility of
organized mass effects
 Poem should be enhanced by the addition of
an ensemble
 May divide the group into solo(s) and chorus
(works well with refrains)
Chamber Theatre

A group interpretation of narrative prose
 Narrator
usually delivers his/her lines with an
out-front focus. (Characters use out-front
focus when they express their own unspoken
thoughts or engage in indirect discourse.)
 Narrator has the opportunity to physicalize
his/her relationship to the character.
Readers’ Theatre Ensemble
Group interpretation of drama or dramatic
poetry
 May use props

Assignment 1: Duo Interpretation

Chose any type of material


Humorous/Serious
Poetry/Prose/Drama
Use all Your Oral Interpretation Skills
 Plan Stage Arrangement




Use Offstage (out-front) focus during body of piece
Introduction may use offstage or onstage focus
Plan transitional movement
Assignment 2: Choral Ensemble

Group interpretation of poetry








Individuals understand and express the ideas, emotions, and moods
inherent in their poetic selection
Poem should allow for the possibility of organized mass effects
Poem should be enhanced by the addition of an ensemble
May divide the group into solo(s) and chorus (works well with
refrains)
Must have at least three in group/no more than six. All parts
should be equal.
Use all your oral interpretation skills
Plan stage arrangement
Plan stage movement
pp. 341-355
Choral Ensemble Pieces
“There Was a Frog” pp. 341-343
 “Trio” pp. 345-348 (3 or 6 performers)
 “The Walrus and the Carpenter” pp. 353354
 “Love Your Enemy” pp. 352-353
 “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen?” pp.
351-353
 “Macavity, the Mystery Cat” pp. 255-256

Assignment 3: Chamber Theatre

A group interpretation of narrative prose


Narrator usually delivers his/her lines with an outfront focus. (Characters use out-front focus when
they express their own unspoken thoughts or engage
in indirect discourse.)
Narrator has the opportunity to physicalize his/her
relationship to the character.
Use all your oral interpretation skills
 Plan stage arrangement
 Plan stage movement

pp. 356-361
Chamber Theatre Pieces
“The Cat and the Mouse Together” pp.
357-360 (3)
 “Zapp” pp. 360-361 (5)
 “The Little Prince” pp. 236-238 (3)
 “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” pp.
240-243 (5)

Assignment 4:
Readers’ Theatre
Group interpretation of drama or dramatic
poetry
 Use all your oral interpretation skills
 Plan stage arrangement
 Plan stage movement

pp. 361-369