TASC Theatre Performance cheat sheet

Given circumstances are the total set of facts a character faces: time, place, relationships, social position, and prior events; every choice must be justified by them.

Objective (what the character wants), obstacle (what blocks it), and tactic (the action used to overcome it) form the basic unit of scene analysis; playable objectives use active verbs, not nouns or emotions.

Stakes raise tension: the larger the consequence of failure, the higher the dramatic pressure; identify what the character loses if the objective is not achieved.

Beats are units of action that change when a character's tactic shifts; mark beats at each change in what is being done to whom.

The magic-if (Stanislavski) is a conditional question ('what if this were happening to me?') used to make given circumstances personally credible.

Subtext is meaning carried beneath the spoken line; delivery, pause, and physical action can contradict the literal text to reveal it.

Status transactions are visible in posture, eye contact, space claimed, and vocal pitch; status can be played high or low regardless of social rank.

Ensemble listening requires reacting to the partner's actual behaviour rather than anticipating a rehearsed cue; reaction timing drives comic and tragic rhythm.

A character's physical life (centre of gravity, tempo, habitual gesture) should be consistent across entrances and adjust when circumstances change.

Blocking records actor movement and stage positions; notation uses stage directions from the actor's view facing the audience: downstage is toward the audience, stage right is the actor's right.

Stage areas divide into nine zones (downstage, centre, upstage crossed with left, centre, right); upstage positions read as stronger because the actor is farther from the audience and faces them.

Levels (standing, seated, floor) and planes (open, quarter, profile, full back) control emphasis; open positions share the scene with the audience, closed positions isolate a character.

Pace is the overall speed of a scene; rhythm is the pattern of variation within it; a scene needs contrast between fast and slow units to avoid monotony.

Projection is supported breath and resonant tone aimed at the back of the house, not shouting; articulation carries consonants so meaning survives distance.

Sightlines: anything upstage of a standing actor may be masked; cross-stage moves should be checked from extreme side seats to confirm visibility.

Cue calling follows the sequence standby, then go; technical cues are numbered and written into the prompt copy alongside the actor's script.

Dramatic climax placement: the strongest visual and vocal emphasis should land on the moment of highest stakes, not automatically at the end of the scene.

Rehearsal progression typically moves from read-through and blocking to working runs, then technical and dress rehearsals, then performance; notes reduce in volume as opening approaches.