Assignment #10: Cyrano de Bergerac performance

With a partner(s), perform a scene from this play; submit an annotated script of the scene.
a. Goals. To appreciate how actors turn text into action.
b. Context. A good performance requires line-by-line decisions about motion, meaning, and
diction. As you learn your lines, keep experimenting with ways to perform them. When you
find what works, record it. Think about meaning, motivations, and feelings, as well as
gestures, attitude, and diction.
c. Choose a passage with at least 20 and no more than 50 lines per performer. Cyrano has most
of the long speeches, so you might have to adapt text to distribute lines evenly; do this while
honoring linguistic and dramatic integrity. Consider these alternatives:
i.
Have a group of three students do a scene for two; half-way through, one Cyrano steps
out and the other steps in. (Change only once, to minimize discontinuity.)
ii.
Cut out some lines. Do this carefully, so the remaining speeches make sense. You could
cut out a few stanzas of the No, thank you speech, for example.
iii.
Give some of Cyranos lines to another character. No one in the play has Cyranos wit, of
course, but you might, e.g., give de Guiche a few lines about space travel.
d. Steps.
i. Understand the scene: study its literal meaning and emotional content. What are its
emotional turning points? What moods, emotions, tensions, etc. are revealed in it?
ii. Choose apt gestures, phrasing, intonation, expressions, etc., to depict your interpretation
of the scene. Remember that you are still acting even while your character simply listens.
iii. Meet with partners for a coherent interpretation; discuss gestures and delivery.
iv. Rehearse alone to learn your lines; rehearse with partners to perfect your timing, etc.
v. Annotate your part of the script this means, not only when you are speaking but how
you are reacting to the others; see example below. After your performance, submit this
script.
e. Memorize. Make a good effort to memorize your speech. Record yourself reading it, and
then listen to this many, many times. (It might help to break your part into sections; some
actors learn the last lines first.)
f. Note. If you cannot memorize it all, at least memorize the first two lines of each of your
speeches. Do not plan to hold the book or your script in your hand; this will hinder your
motions. Instead, print a copy in large font to place on the floor or table near you. Rehearse
with the script in this location, to pace your glances at it and to ensure that you can follow it.
g. Good advice. Do not postpone this assignment. Get started early, and keep working at it.
What to submit: an annotated script.
An annotated script makes all directorial decisions explicit. Create one as you prepare your
performance, and submit it on the day of the performance. Download your scene from this link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22637704/Cyrano-de-Bergerac-FULL-BOOK (That is, you should
use Hookers translation.) Add plenty of inter-linear space to the text, and then print it out.
Annotate by hand, in a neat and legible script, using the following:
Interlinear directions: sits down looks away etc.
Marginal notes: He is angry because he expected more cooperation.
Vocal directions:
Softer and louder:
(diminuendo) and
(crescendo).
Emphasis: a caret over a word, bold font, or underlining.
A breath taken: a raised apostrophe between words.
A pause:
, a fermata, above a syllable or between words.
Be as explicit as possible about your directorial choicesboth what they are and why you made
them. See the example below:

Ragueneau knows that the poets listen to his verse only because he feeds them; he will not embarrass them
or himself by watching them gorge. He holds his hands in loose praying position at the start, rotating them
up and down to emphasize the obviousness of his point:
I would not look
A look almost of indignation.
it might embarrass them
he almost winces at the thought.
You see,
right hand extended to Cyrano, as if to be
analytical, but he hesitates. The friendly audience he will mention does not include his wife! A slight
drooping reveals melancholybut drawing himself up almost immediately, he decides not to be sad. He
gives his outstretched hand a jaunty twist so that it points more to the ceiling; he changes to comedy.
I love a friendly audience.
An involuntary glance at Lise, to see if she is
listening, and to include her as the unstated contrast to a friendly audience.
Besides another vanity
with a shrug.
I am pleased
both hands out and up, a gesture that
incorporates everything. A broad smile: with no more hesitation or shame, he makes a proclamation!

When they enjoy my cooking!

He pats his belly with both hands.