Black box theater is a kind of open theater mainly used in small and medium-sized plays, which can easily change the stage and audience and adapt to the needs of different activities. The biggest difference from the framed theater that controls the audience’s visual range is that the entire theater is a performance space, and the performance space and the viewing space are interactive. In addition, the black Box theater is small in scale, usually less than 300 people, there is no obvious dividing line between the stage and the audience, the main area in the middle is the performance area, and the surrounding area can be used as the audience, mainly to meet People’s Daily literary and artistic activities, including small musicals, concerts and plays.

Now, let’s assume that you are in the Black Box Theater to start today’s theater tour!

Step 1: Choose a play text that you like. (3 mins)

Here are three different styles of drama scripts from different plays and literary works.

If you are an individual learner, try a third theatrical text: the one-man play. Please don’t be afraid to choose your favorite clip. If none of the following is satisfactory to you, you can find your own play fragments or create your own using the following script formats.

a)

Oedipus:

Tiresias, you who see all things, both what is and what is not, why do you refuse to speak? Do you not care for Thebes, suffering as it is under this plague?

Where is your wisdom now?

Tiresias:

O Oedipus, how blind you are to your own fate. Do not press me further. The truth will bring you only sorrow. Leave it to the gods.

Oedipus:

Leave it to the gods? You sit here silent, knowing the truth that could save us! Or are you perhaps complicit in this crime yourself?

Tiresias:

(With a cold smile) Complicit? You accuse me? Oedipus, you do not see where you stand. The truth is before you, yet you choose not to see it.

Oedipus:

(Angrily) How dare you speak to me like this? You obscure the truth while accusing me!

You—

Tiresias:

(Cutting him off) Enough, mortal!

The truth will come, and it will cut deeper than my words ever could.

The murderer you seek is none other than yourself.

(Tiresias turns to leave, Oedipus stands in shocked fury.)

b)

Vladimir: Let’s go.

Estragon: We can’t.

Vladimir: Why not?

Estragon: We’re waiting for Godot.

Vladimir: Ah, yes.

(They remain motionless, deep in thought.)

Estragon: Are you sure it was today?

Vladimir: He said Saturday. (Pause.) I think.

Estragon: You think?

Vladimir: He didn’t say for sure he’d come.

Estragon: And if he doesn’t come?

Vladimir: We’ll come back tomorrow.

Estragon: And then the day after tomorrow.

Vladimir: Possibly.

Estragon: So long as we keep waiting.

Vladimir: Yes.

Estragon: But for what?

Vladimir: (shrugging) For Godot.

(They lapse into silence. Estragon begins to take off his boots; Vladimir looks off into the distance.)

c)

A woman:

To you, to you who have never know me.

Do you know how much I love you? You don’t know who I am, but you are everything to me. I’ve always silently been by your side, and you never knew it. You didn’t even know we had a child, and he died yesterday.

His dark eyes have been closed and his hands have been crossed over his breast. Four candles are burning, one at each corner of the bed. I cannot bear to look, I cannot bear to move; for when the candles flicker, shadows chase one another over his face and his closed lips. It looks as if his features stirred, and I could almost fancy that he is not dead after all, that he will wake up. But I know that he is dead. Now I have only you left in the world; only you, who do not know me. Now, in this world, there is only you, only you. But you don’t know a thing about me. My heart has always trembled for you, been anxious for you, but you don’t even know. It’s like the pocket watch you carry with you. You feel nothing of its tight wound spring. That spring, in the darkness, patiently counts the hours for you, calculating time, at an imperceptible pace, following you as you wander, while in its endless ticking of millions of seconds, you glance at it only once, hurriedly, without a thought. Now, in this world, there is no one else I can love but you. But who are you? You’ve never recognized me. You passed by me as though walking by a river. You stepped on me as though I were a stone. You are always walking, walking endlessly… while I am left to waste away in waiting, my whole life gone.

Step 2:Choose a way you like to try it! (12 mins)

Plan A

Performance & rehearsal 

Cooperate to rehearse the script, in this process, we must understand the psychology of the characters, design appropriate movements and tone for them, and determine the stage position.

Here are some suggestions you may need:

Line technique

Clear pronunciation: Both lines and individual words need to be clearly pronounced. Good pronunciation can make the audience understand the story better and enhance the expression of the characters.

Control the speed and volume of speech: The speed and volume of the lines should be changed according to the needs of the plot. For example, intense conflict may require a higher volume, while delicate emotional communication is appropriate to use a lower, slower speed.

The use of stage space

Center/Edge stage: The center of the stage is usually the most dramatic place and can be used to represent a character’s central conflict or key moment. The edge of the stage or backstage is often used to show the character’s hidden emotions or temporary withdrawal. Choose the right position according to the mood of the character.

Foreground/Background relationship: The foreground (near the audience) is often used to express strong emotions or important plot developments. The background (a place away from the audience) can be used to represent isolation, reflection, or reversal of the character. When walking, choose the foreground or background according to the needs of the story.

Choreography

Reflect the character’s personality: Each character’s actions should be consistent with his or her personality. For example, a decisive, powerful character may make large, rapid movements, while an introverted, timid character may show cautious, restrained movements. It is an important means of dramatic performance to show the character’s character through action.

The character’s emotional changes: The character’s actions should change with the emotion. When angry, the movement may be more intense; When you’re sad, your movements may be slower and more subdued. Through body movements, postures, gestures, etc., actors can intuitively convey the emotions of their characters.

Body posture and facial expressions: Body language is not limited to hand movements, the whole body posture and movement should reflect the character’s inner world. For example, a straight back can convey confidence, while a bowed, crouched posture may show a character’s vulnerability or withdrawal. Facial expressions and body movements are also crucial, and the movements and expressions should complement each other to ensure the accurate expression of emotions.

Plan B

Intensive reading of script

Read the script carefully. Guess where the story is going before and after based on the text given, and guess the character’s personality by his lines. If there is still extra time, think about what events the character had experienced to get this personality and whether you have a friend with a similar personality around you and what are his traits? You can discuss this with your partner.

Here are some tips on characterisation for scripts：

Clarify the core traits of the character

Motivation and Goal: Each character should have clear motivations and goals which drive their actions. For example, the protagonist may seek freedom, while the villain may want to protect his power.
Distinctive Personality: Give characters unique personality traits, such as bravery, introversion, impulsiveness, or caution.
Weaknesses and Flaws: Characters’ weaknesses make them more realistic and open up possibilities for plot conflict.

Plan C

Creative theatre games

Game 1: Circle of Trust

Everyone forms a circle, selects a person to stand in the circle with his eyes closed, the other players give the closed-eyed person a push, the closed-eyed person advances in his direction, please do not let the closed-eyed person go out of the circle.
The way to push the person with closed eyes should let the players feel that they can be trusted, and the person with closed eyes can accelerate the speed of advancement due to the sense of trust in the process of the game. This game increases teamwork and trust among members. In this game, please control your body to make sure you don’t hurt the player who is moving forward with his eyes closed.

Game 2: Pass the Pressure

Step 1: All people hold hands in a circle, eyes closed
Step 2: Starting from one of them, hold the hand of the person next to you on the left or the right, and pass the pressure through the handshake (you can hold each other’s hands with different strengths to differentiate between different pressures)
Step 3: Pass the pressure clockwise or anti-clockwise, make sure the pressure you pass is as similar as possible to the pressure you receive from the other person.Through this game, you can improve your limb control and feeling ability. Only when you master controlling your own body can you perform with ease.

Step 3: Understand the story behind the script. (5 mins)

a)Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is a tragedy by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. It is one of the most iconic works of Greek tragedy and the basis for the psychological concept of the Oedipus complex.

The story follows the tragic fate of Oedipus, the king of Thebes. As a child, Oedipus was prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid this fate, he left his adoptive parents and traveled to Thebes, eventually becoming its king. However, unaware of his true parentage, he unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy—killing his biological father, King Laius, and marrying his mother, Queen Jocasta.

In his relentless pursuit of the truth, Oedipus uncovers his origins and realizes the devastating reality of his actions. The discovery leads to catastrophe: Jocasta takes her own life, and Oedipus blinds himself in despair.

Oedipus Rex explores the conflict between fate and free will, as well as humanity’s struggle to confront inevitable destiny. It embodies the essence of Greek tragedy, illustrating that while humans can make choices, they often cannot escape the predetermined course of fate.

b) Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, first published in 1952. The work is one of Beckett’s most famous plays and one of the most influential of the 20th century.

Waiting for Godot takes place in a desolate place where two vagabonds – Vladimir and Estragon – wait for a mysterious figure named Godot. The two have been standing under a tree, constantly discussing, arguing, and doing meaningless things, hoping that Godot will show up and bring them relief. However, Godot never showed up, and their wait seemed endless.

In the play, the dialogue between the two characters is full of absurdity, repetition and nonsense, showing the emptiness and aimlessness of human life. Despite Godot’s absence, Vladimir and Estragon’s wait symbolises the human longing for meaning, redemption and hope, as well as the inescapable loneliness and despair of life.

Waiting for Godot deeply discusses the philosophical issues of time, existence, meaning and human condition, and is considered a classic work of absurdist drama.

c)Letter from an Unknown Woman

Letter from an Unknown Woman  is a novella written by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, one of his most famous works.

The story is about a mysterious woman, who, in her final moments, pours out her lifelong passion in a heartbreaking letter, revealing her desperate love for a famous writer. She has never had any formal contact with the man, but has always loved him in secret. In the letter, she recalls their chance encounter, her unrequited love, and the pain and sacrifices she has endured for this unrequited love. The novella is written in the voice of a woman who has suffered the most intense pain, expressing the depth of love and devotion.

Extended Thinking

a)About modern adaptations of ancient Greek plays. How to put a story that happened two thousand years ago on the modern stage, how to better combine the modern context and create a drama that is more acceptable to the audience?

b)Why should you read Waiting for Godot? What is the meaning of these mysterious plots? How did the birth of this play change the history of theater?

Reference List

Beckett, S. (2011) Waiting for Godot : a tragicomedy in two acts. New York: Grove Press.

Sophocles. & Dawe, R. D. (Roger D. (1996) Sophoclis Oedipus Rex. 3 edition. Stutgardiae: Teubner.

Stanislavsky, K. (1937) An actor prepares. London: G. Bles.

Zweig, S. (1945) The royal game : with, Letter from an unknown woman, and Amok. Second edition. London: Cassell.

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