Page 46 - Year 7

Performing Arts: 2 of 3

VOCAL SKILLS TO BECOME A CHARACTER FOR REHEARSAL AND PHYSICAL SKILLS TO BECOME A CHARACTER FOR REHEARSAL AND
PERFORMANCE (USING YOUR VOICE) PERFORMANCE (USING YOUR BODY)

1.D DICTION Diction means pronouncing your speech clearly. 1.G GESTURES Using your hands to highlight meaning or convey emotion.
AND Projection is making sure your voice can be heard E.g. Scratching your head if you are confused or Waving to
PROJECTION (this doesn’t mean shouting). say ‘Hello’.

2. E EMPHASIS Emphasis is when you make a word stand out “I
AND never said you stole my hat” is different from “I 2. S STANCE The way someone stands usually to do with feet
never said you stole my hat”. positioning.
VOLUME Volume is how loud or quiet the voice is. Don’t This could be with your feet really wide apart or really close
forget words such as whisper and shout. together, for example.

3. P PITCH Pitch means how high or low your voice is. 3. P POSTURE Posture and body language is how you hold and position
Low pitch may convey sadness, whilst high pitch AND your body to show emotion or a character’s personality.
could convey joy. E.g. shoulders back and chest out to show confidence.
BODY Hanging head and shoulder may show shame or sadness
4. A ACCENT Accent is the way you pronounce your words. It is LANGUAGE
used to indicate where a character is from,
specifically which country or region. It can help 4. E EXPRESSION Also known as ‘facial expressions’.
distinguish class and status. Using your face to communicate emotions and reactions.
Smiling to show happiness, frowning to show anger, raising
5.R RHYTHM Rhythm is where we pause and leave gaps in one eye brow to show confusion for example.
AND speech.
This could show a character is thinking or Looking into someone else’s eyes. This could be another
TEMPO distressed. 5. E EYE
CONTACT character or an audience member.
Making eye contact makes it clear who you are speaking to.
Tempo is how fast or slow the speech is. Avoiding eye contact can suggest feeling awkward or
E.g. a fast tempo could show someone is excited, upset.
a slow tempo could show someone is sleepy or
confused. 6. D DYNAMICS Dynamics means HOW you move. For example, sharply /
AND smoothly.

6. T TONE Tone describes the emotion behind the line. It can MOVEMENT Movement is HOW your character walks. For example, with
convey meaning. For example: an angry tone. a limp or taking large steps