In my Acting II class at UH Manoa, my teacher went over a vital aspect when learning a piece that I feel should be shared. Whenever you perform or even say a speech, divide your text into beats.
You can do this mentally, but usually better done by actually making your script. Use pencil because it can easily be erased. Beats can be divided in many ways, but I personally divide with slashes (/). This slash to many usually means to slow down or speed up what you are doing, but that is a common misconception. A beat is a change of intention. This usually then results in a pause (either a really short or long one) before you continue on after the beat change.
My explanation may be complicated and confusing... but here is an example.
You can record yourself with a webcam with this exercise.
1. Set your video cam. facing a table.
2. Turn it on.
3. Leave the room with your school bag (with a notebook and pencil inside).
4. Come inside the room with your school bag and put it down.
5. Take out your notebook.
6. Then take out your pencil.
7. Open the notebook to a desired page and pick up the pencil.
Now do it all again, but after every step from steps 3-7, take a pause around 2 seconds. Analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it. Check how you feel and if it affects how you will initiate your action.
Although the first time you do it is more natural, the second time usually is the one that seems natural to other people (especially in plays and movies). This is usually how plays and movies become so dramatic, but at the same time seem so naturalistic.
Anthony Lee
Your post reminds me of the speech contest I participated in years ago. My instructor did the same thing you do. He picked up some of my sentences of my speech paper, put slashes, and showed example of how to impress the audience. I remember that the same sentences sounded quite different depends on how to say. This tip will be very useful for my presentation next time!
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