The same line on a page can land two different ways once somebody stands up. "You're packing already" said while folding clothes is not the same line said from the doorway, bag already in hand.
Today you take a short scene, mark who stands where, decide one prop or sound, and try it out loud. Your Performance Plan goes into your Communication Portfolio as m1_l19_performance_plan_<your-initials>.
Four words you will use today:
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Blocking | Name where each person starts and one move that matters | One character turns to the door on the last line |
| Adaptation | You cut, shorten, and add directions an actor can use | Cut Aoife's food line to a nod at the fridge and add (still not looking up) |
| Props | One object that says something the line does not | A packed bag nobody picks up |
| Performance | Even one classmate counts as an audience | Two classmates stand the scene once while the rest watch |
Model scene: The bag by the door (written for this lesson)
Kitchen. Late afternoon. A packed bag sits by the door. AOIFE is at the table. SEAN stands near the bag.
AOIFE (not looking up): You're packing already.
SEAN: The bus is at four.
AOIFE (still at the table): You said you'd stay the weekend.
SEAN (hand on the bag strap, not lifting it): I said I'd try.
AOIFE: There's food if you want it.
SEAN (already turning to the door): I ate.
Blocking note: Aoife never stands. Sean never sits. The bag does the arguing. The last line lands as he reaches the door, not as he faces her.
Before you write: notice that Aoife never stands and Sean never sits. That is the whole argument.
Now adapt a scene of your own: the dialogue you finished last lesson, or a short moment from your anchor text where two characters clash. Put eight to twelve lines of it into the script builder below, in place of the starter lines. Add a direction whenever the way a line is said, or where somebody stands, changes the meaning.
No scene of your own with you today? Grow the Aoife and Sean starter by at least two more exchanges instead, and plan your own blocking and prop for it, not the ones in the model.
Rehearse a short stretch out loud, then file the Performance Plan that records it.
First: fill in scene, roles, blocking, one prop or sound, and what the choices show about the characters in the box under this step.
Then: stand and deliver one short stretch to a partner or small group. That live pass is the main delivery. Working alone, do a one-person reading in two voices (the studio tool is there if you want a private practice pass).
After you say it out loud: come back and write the rehearsal note only.
Save the plan as m1_l19_performance_plan_<your-initials> in your Communication Portfolio.
If time is tight: finish every plan field before you say it out loud, still say a short stretch to a partner, and save the file. The review step can shrink to one priority change only.
Hold your Performance Plan (and the rehearsal you just did) against the list below. Anything below the top level needs a specific comment. End by naming the one change you would make first if you ran the scene again.
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