Humorous Interpretation

Humorous
Interpretation
Courtesy of:
The Perfect Performance
Overview
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Styles of HI
Level of commitment needed
Creation and portrayal of characters
Body positioning
Master Gestures
Evaluation of competitive space
What will get me the win?
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There are two styles of HI
Low humor
High humor
What is the difference?
Low humor
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This is your crotch grabbing, air humping
crude and rude humor.
Who is this attractive to?
Uneducated college students, uneducated
high school students, uneducated people in
general
High Humor
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This is humor that requires intelligence and
it has a soul
Characters are based in reality
Reality and connecting to the human
condition provides a lasting humor
Humor teaches us something about life and
ourselves
So which one wins?
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In the short race, the raunchy stuff wins
In the long run the high humor will take the
race
YOU WILL NOT USE A LOW HUMOR
PIECE!!!!!!
High humor may have elements of low
humor, but it has a soul
I wanna be the very best…
Like no one ever was…
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HI separates those who are willing to give it
their all from those who are not.
If you have worked the piece, worked your
environment and worked your characters
then you should be exhausted by the end
of the round.
It’s ALIVE!!!!
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Your performance should begin by consciously
creating a real character from the inside out
Each character should have their own tempo and
be unique
If you create a superficial character from the
outside it will have no heart and soul.
A character without heart will fail to make that
connection to the human condition with the
audience
Portrayal of a character
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How do I portray a character?
All of the best characters begin in real life
You then take that real life person and
morph them into a stereotype that
everyone can recognize.
Even an outlandish fantasy character must
be based on reality to tap into the human
condition
Mighty Morphin’ Oral Interpers!!!
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The secret to portraying exaggerated
stereotypes is a combination of vocal
technique, creation of environment and last
but certainly not least our body position!
Disjointed Units
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We need to think of our bodies as disjointed units
Feet
Legs/Hips
Trunk
Arms/Hands
Head
You should have a worksheet that you can fill in
for each character.
GET A SPINE WHY DON’T YA!?
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Each character should have their own
spine
The spine of a character is not just the
spinal column in your body, but the attitude
from head to toe that your body takes while
in a particular character
Let us analyze a few spines please.
What is his spine?
HeadJutted forward and
cocked to the side
Arms/HandsOpen, left hand
Holding book,
right hand in air,
both hands
mitten like
Feet Forward
Trunk-
Upright
Legs/HipsStraight
What is her spine?
Head
Straight up leading with forehead
Arms/Hands
Left arm parallel to ground elbow
bent so arm goes toward ceiling
wrist bent Right arm bent with
hand on hip elbow at 4:00
Trunk
Ribs high shoulders arched
Legs/Hips
Left leg straight, right leg bent,
hips cocked
Feet
Toes pointed to two o’clock, left
foot flat, right foot up on ball.
What is his
Headspine?
Pulled back and looking over left shoulder
Arms/Hands
Left arm parallel to body until elbow, hand
held out as if in meditation
Trunk
Shoulders back and trunk straight up
Legs/Hips
Hips thrust forward, weight on right leg, left
leg bent at the knee
Feet
Ballet third position both feet flat on ground
What is her spine?
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Your turn!
Feet?
Legs/Hips?
Trunk?
Arms/Hands?
Head?
What is his spine?
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Feet?
Legs/Hips?
Trunk?
Arms/Hands?
Head?
What is her spine?
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Feet?
Legs/Hips?
Trunk?
Arms/Hands?
Head?
What is the meaning of life?
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Sorry can’t help ya there, but each body
position does have meaning.
Leaders – When your character moves
what body part leads the rest of their
disjointed body?
Leading with the head
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This is an
intellectual cerebral
person
Leading with the chest
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This is a hero,
someone who is
flawless or
untouchable
Leading with the pelvis
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This is someone
who is insecure, has
self doubt or is
deeply questioning
things
Growth
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Each character will grow throughout the
piece, as events mold and shape them.
You can show the growth of your character
by subtly (or not so subtly if the text
requires) changing the spine or lead style
of your character.
Master Gesture
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Another thing that should grow along with
the spine of the character is the master
gesture
This is a movement unique to the character
that helps the audience to do two things:
Buy into the stereotype
Identify the character instantly
“Acting is Reacting”
-Charlotte Brown
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The “pop” is the instant change from one
character spine to another.
It is best to “pop” into the master gesture of
the next character and allow them to react
to the previous line before getting into the
next line
This also allows for the internal tempo
changes that need to happen between
characters
Work it baby!
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What size is the space you have to work your
piece in?
Now what if you are in an auditorium?
Now what if the tourney is overbooked and you
are performing in a closet?
Work your space, but evaluate that space first
because it probably will change from performance
to performance
Not only might your space change, but your floor
may change too. Find shoes that will work on
various flooring surfaces.
Review
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Styles of HI
Level of commitment needed
Creation and portrayal of characters
Body positioning
Master Gestures
Evaluation of competitive space