Unit One - Introduction to Drama
Module 2: Actor's Tools
Lesson 5- Concentration and Focus

Introduction:
Concentration and focus are essential skills for you to have. The ability to remain "in the moment" (respond as the character would when exposed to something for the first time) makes the character real for the audience. This lesson will teach you the skill of remaining in the moment regardless of distraction.

Activities:

Activity 1 - Baby if you love me
• Sit in a large circle with one person in the middle.
• The middle person approaches any member of the group and says "Baby if you love me, will you please, please smile!"
• If this member of the group smiles, the middle person takes his or her place in the circle. Now the new person in the middle must find someone else in the group to speak to.
• Anyone in the group may be approached, and any school-appropriate method may be used to get the other person to smile.
• This game should be played for 5 to 10 minutes.

Activity 2 - This is a pen • You break into groups of two and designate yourselves A and B. • You practice saying the A and B dialogue with A holding the pen. • After you have it memorized, you try it with other objects like a key, shoe or book.

A: This is a pen. B: A what? A: A pen. B: A what? A: A pen. B: Oh, a pen.

A This is a book. A what? A book. A what? A book. Oh, a book.

B This is a pen. A what? A pen. A what? A pen. Oh, a pen.

• Once all of these steps are mastered, you each speak all of the lines yourself, but at the same time as your partner. • A speaks the dialogue about the pen, while B speaks it about the shoe at exactly the same time. • When this is successful, you trade your objects with another group and try again. • This game should be played for 10 to 15 minutes.

Both activities encourage concentration. Baby if You Love Me breaks the habit of response, and This is a Pen enables students to practice speaking and listening at the same time.

Activity 3 - Exercises

Break into groups of two or three, and practice the open scene. You should memorize the lines so that you can stay "in the moment". The lines are set and can not be changed, but you create the setting, character, objectives and obstacles. After between 20 minutes and half an hour of practice time, you do the scene for the class. Other students say "out of the moment" each time they can see an actor anticipating, rather than experiencing events as the character might. Each group is done when the scene is completed without interruptions. This exercise is difficult because of the interruptions, and because the scene must be redone. Getting and staying in the moment becomes increasingly difficult. This process may take an additional 10 to 30 minutes.

Open Scene (pdf)

Evaluation:
A mark of ten should be assigned to use of class time on the open scene, and additional mark of ten should be assigned to staying "in the moment". A mark should be deducted from the class time mark each time you are off topic. The same procedure should be used each time you are caught "out of the moment".

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