Levels

Often a set or performance area will have multiple levels. Even an environment as simple as a classroom will have chairs and tables. These can be utilised to good effect for some plays. For instance, when I was in high school many students performed a famous monologue from the Shakespearean play Henry V, where Henry gives an inspirational speech to his troops. Some students used the tables to good effect as they built to the climax of the monologue. They started standing on the floor, then, as the intensity of the speech increased, gradually moved towards the table. Then, for the last part of the speech, they jumped up on top of the table and addressed the ‘troops’ (our class) from high up, as if mounting a horse before charging off into battle.

You can also do other things, like partly hide behind props or lean against them. Just make sure that you don’t overdo it. It would look a little ridiculous to see someone jumping up and down from a table over and over again during a three minute speech. The main thing to remember is to make clever use of the props and environment to suit your play.

Click here to move on to the next topic: Accents