TABLEAUS

PART ONE:

Vocal and Physical Warm-up: Each small group will lead the whole class in a vocal and physical warm-up by doing a call and response with their 4 line character name song and movement piece.

 

PART TWO: Plot Summary: Group reading of the Summary of Shakuntala.

 

PART THREE:

Tableaus:Tableaus are live snapshots of actors holding a pose that tells a story. If you've ever seen the TV game show, Family Feud, you will have seen an example of a tableau at the very beginning of the TV show.

A) Divide into 7 groups. Each group will get one of the seven Acts of Shakuntala and the Ring of Recongition by Kalidasa.

B) Cast yourselves, including the Stage Manager, who will read the Stage Directions.

C) Introduce yourselves using your Character Names along with a Physical Gesture that symbolizes your character. Do a few rounds of Pass the Character Name and Gesture Exerise. (The first person says her character's name with her gesture and then calls out someone else's character name with their gesture etc. )

D) Read the Act together!

E) Summarize the Main Events of the Act in chronological order and put them in a list. There are at least seven main events for each act.

F) Each Main Event Includes:
(1) On Paper: A title-thematic summary with a picture showing the main event.
(2) On Stage: The actors create a physical tableau of the picture you drew. The Stage Manager serves as the Narrator and calls out the different titled tableaus and tells the audience what is happening in each tableau.
(3) Rehearse your tableau performances.
(4) You must have at least 7 tableaus, but no more than 15.

G) Perform the Tableaus on stage for the class. We will move sequentially from Act One through Act Seven.