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From Issue #6, Fall 2004 The Readers Theatre Institute defines Readers Theatre as a presentational performance based on principles and techniques of ORAL INTERPRETATION and conventional theatre to present all kinds of literary and non-literary material in a choice of staging styles to entertain, instruct, and persuade. The
Spoken Word: It Is Different Most of us can remember speeches by Former Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Regardless of our political perspectives, I think we would all agree both were effective speakers. Both were able to convey a sense of deep commitment and believability in what they said. Whether or not they were committed is irrelevant to our concerns and will not be debated here. What is relevant to us is that both men were able to convey integrity and sincerity most of the time. We all are aware that Reagan was a trained actor and knew how to convey emotional nuances but Clinton, in spite of his lack of training in this area, was quite proficient. So how did they do it? The answer to this question is important for our study of Oral Interpretation because it underscores an important ingredient in becoming a reader. Reagan and Clinton were acutely aware of the fact that words have both denotative and connotative meanings. So what does that mean? The denotative quality of a word is simply its meaning, while the connotative is the suggested significance of the word apart from its explicit meaning. The word chair, for example, denotes a device usually with four legs and a back upon which one sits. The word home denotes, among other things, a house, apartment, or other dwelling serving as the abode of a person or family. Connotatively, however, the words home or chair can take on a special significance. I would like you all to say the word home. A perceptive observer might well get some sort of idea about your feelings toward your home by the way in which you said the word. For example, let us say the word again, this time giving it a different connotation. Assuming that most of us recall our homes as pleasant places, I want us all to think of our home as a raunchy place. Say it out loud with this connotation. Can you hear the difference? Good! Now I want you to say the word home as if it were the most desirable, beautiful place on earth. Again, do you hear the difference? You should. Now say the word home as if it is a mystical, far out place . . . like ET's destination. Amazing, isn't it? Home can suggest a whole range of emotions from bitterness to happiness simply by the way we utter the word. What is interesting about this phenomenon is that the connotation of a word may be controlled by the human voice simply by making the auditor or audience associate the sound with a known quality. It is possible, for example, to make the audience associate a series of sounds with the act of running or with an emotion such as anger. This process is called "sense association," not unlike the so-called "method" preached by Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theatre. It is important to understand, then, that the way in which a word is uttered is so significant that in some instances it is possible to alter the denotative power of the word dramatically. Let us take three connected, often-used words, whose denotative powers are well known: "I Love You." The meaning of these words -- I should say phrase -- is a given known to all of us. But it is possible to slightly alter the meaning of this phrase by the way in which we give the words a "suggested significance" without altering its denotative powers. We can, for example, give the words various connotations. Now let us see if we can express some of the different connotations of "I Love You." First, I would like you to say these words, I Love You, as a sister might say them to a brother or should I say a nice brother? Now let's make a subtle change. I want you to say the words as a father/mother would to a child. Good! Now let's make a not so subtle change and say "I Love You" as we might to a lover with promised passion. Can you hear the difference? I surely hope so if we want to receive the promised . . . well, you know. Now we have shown we can change the connotative power of the word. But can we also change the denotative power through speech as well? Let's give it a try. I want you now to say the phrase "I Love You" as if you really hated the person. Can you do it? Try saying the words in a mockingly angry manner. You see! By altering the voice, we can project connotations irrespective of the denotation of the words. What does this all mean? It means we can apply the non-verbal to the verbal and get some amazing results and that we can actually project meaning without the use of words. In class I will demonstrate to you how we can communicate a whole range of emotions without the use of words, or at least words with any kind of denotative relationship. We can, for example, demonstrate how one can communicate a whole range of emotions without the use of words, or at least words with any kind of denotative relationship. Try using just the numbers one through ten in an attempt to give them varying connotative power. We can count to ten demonstrating severe anger or we can count to ten connoting happiness, sadness, or even passionate love. Try it and you will be surprised at the full range of emotions one can project with only non-verbal sounds. Specifically, we have altered the denotative power of these numbers by an overwhelming connotative suggestion. We have, in effect, appealed to some very basic human senses through the process of association. Simply put, Oral Interpretation is making words come alive by being able to connect the denotative with the connotative power of the words. Put another way, the interpreter is able to stimulate the audience's senses through the process of association. The way in which the words are spoken in effect makes the audience associate the sound to an emotion and that, in turn, colors and enhances the meaning of the words. There are basically ten senses appealed to through this process. They are the following: SENSE STIMULI VISUAL--The
sense of sight appealed to through the process of association. One should
be able to make an audience see what is being described. EXAMPLES: visualizing
a favorite childhood place, visualizing and describing an experience AUDITORY--The sense of sound appealed to through the process of association. One should be able to make an audience hear what is being described. The word "onomatopoeia" means the use of "onomatopoeic" words or words whose sounds suggest the meaning. EXAMPLES: buzz, fizz, rattle, drip or the more complex onomatopoeic words such as down (as in doaooowwwwnnnn), or echo (as in echoo, echooo, echoooooooooo). Hearing some sounds can cause emotional responses such as a dentists drill, crickets, bacon sizzling, or, most dramatically, music (such as Toccata and Fugue in D Minor), etc. KINAESTHETIC--(EMPATHIC) The sense of physical, muscular, skeletal, movement appealed to through the process of association. This is the first of three empathic responses, so-called because they can be separated in theory only as they are connected. EXAMPLES: Athletic events frequently cause Kinaesthetic reactions. Pole vaulting, boxing, watching football games . . . anything that causes tension or relaxation in the observer. I once found myself sprawled out on the floor in front of the television set because while watching a football game, I tried to intercept a pass and fell over the couch. ORGANIC--(EMPATHIC) The sense of visceral as opposed to muscular reaction appealed to through the process of association. EXAMPLES: Feelings that occur generally inside. The feeling one gets in the tummy when one sees someone to whom one is strongly attracted. The feeling one gets upon seeing an automobile or any kind of accident in which someone has been seriously injured. Deep-seated emotional responses start off as organic but may later become kinaesthetic. Something that you see may cause a feeling of desire so strong that you react physically to it. KINETIC--(EMPATHIC) The sense of movement outside of the body, in the mind as opposed to the muscle, appealed to through the process of association. This is the last of the empathic responses. EXAMPLES: Some people have dreams that they can fly and the feeling is quite real. In the dream you really do swoop and dive and stall and float. Some poems use the anapestic meter to suggest movement da, da daaa . . . da, da daaa . . . da, da daaa. We frequently suggest movement in our speech. The suggestion of movement may become so strong as to produce organic and even kinaesthetic responses. For example, a student once wrote an empathic piece about his honeymoon. It seems a friend lent him a houseboat on which to spend his first night with his bride. That evening a nor'easter blew up the coast and caused both him and his wife to become deathly ill. He read his story to the class: the description of how the movement of the boat (Kinetic) eventually made them both queasy in the tummy (Organic) until they both rushed to the boat railing and threw up (Kinaesthetic). The class listened intently to his narrative and empathized so completely with the experience that some actually became queasy. Those students were able feel the rocking of the boat through sense association to such a degree, they became seasick. Have you ever seen a 360 degree movie? In these films your mind is so fooled by what you see, you actually react to the phenomenon as if you were experiencing it. If it involves mental movement, it is a kinetic experience. EQUILIBRIUM--The sense of balance both physical and mental appealed to through the process of association. EXAMPLES: The art of skiing requires balance for it to feel good, whereas loss of balance makes the skier feel very bad. In my youth, while showing off in front of a bunch of girls, I pushed a boat to launch it from the dock. As I pushed I felt wonderfully strong and virile but I pushed a bit too much and lost my balance. I pushed past the point of no return, my toes on the dock, my hands on the boat, the dock standing still, the boat moving. My virility and I took an embarrassing plunge into the dirty waters of Newport Harbor thanks to equilibrium or, I should say, loss of equilibrium. Artistic balance, another form of equilibrium, is found in literature, painting, and architecture. Plays, for example, have a beginning, middle, and an end. Architecture has mass and line; painting has color and composition. Any violation of artistic balance tends to offend the viewer or auditor. Have you ever looked at a view so beautiful it relaxes your soul? Imagine returning later to find that somebody had dumped garbage on the very spot? Not only would you feel outraged at the rudeness of the perpetrator, but your emotional calm would be broken. Why? Because your sense of artistic equilibrium or natural equilibrium would have been violated. TACTILE--The sense of touch both physical and mental appealed to through the process of association. EXAMPLES: Most of us like to be touched by others. Sometimes, that desire is so intense we actually feel pain if we are not touched. Sometimes we don't want to be touched or we fear to be touched. As a young teacher, I warned the students in a class to wear clothing they wouldn't mind having on while sitting on the floor. I moved them all to a room I could make absolutely dark and proceeded to tell them a story called "The Bamboo Trap." This story is about an entomologist who went to Brazil in search of a huge carnivorous spider. The scientist discovers the lair of the spider but falls into the cave where they breed. It begins to rain and all the spiders try to climb on his body in an effort to get out of the water. I carried a feather hidden in my coat and at that point used the feather to tickle a victim I had already selected. In this case it turned out to be a young woman who had severe arachnid phobia and went into a panic. It took three days to get her back to normal and three days for the President of the university to decide not to fire me. Touch can also be mental. We can touch somebody by a presentation or work of art or a gift. In such cases we are actually stimulating their organic sense. OLFACTORY--The sense of smell appealed to through the process of association. EXAMPLES: Have you ever noticed if you have gone with someone for a long period of time, particularly if you have had a close relationship, when you begin to see someone else you notice how differently they smell? There are some smells that produce other reactions. The smell of bacon or coffee cooking on a campfire or the smell of a certain kind of perfume may produce interesting reactions in us. I once had a girl friend who wore a hand lotion called Aqua Marine. She was one of my first loves. To this day, if a woman walks past me with the scent of Aqua Marine, I will turn around and follow her. A habit, I might add, which has produced some rather unpleasant reactions.
THERMAL--The sense of temperature appealed to through the process of association. EXAMPLES: Our temperature has a great deal to do with pleasure and comfort. Try rendering the word warm to show how you feel lying out in the sun on the grass during a "warrrrrmmm" June day. Try rendering the word cold to describe some of the days in Maine during the month of January. Notice how those words may also be used to describe relationships. These, then, are the senses appealed to through the process of association and they are the key, along with an intellectual analysis, to making poetic, prosaic, or dramatic text come alive. Through association, it is possible to give the words a new and exciting power over an audience. Yet we should never forget that true connotation must come out of the material through proper understanding of what the writer has intended and must never be imposed upon by the interpreter. Many times I have witnessed students suddenly shouting out a word to make an auditory point or whispering to give a word a sensual connotation when no such connotation was called for by the author. The best interpreter NEVER imposes on the material but understands and feels what the author intended. If the reader understands what's being said and intended, the work itself will be a guide on how to convey its power. Open yourself up to the literature and it will help you in making interpretive decisions. Only then will the words come alive. Walter Stump
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