Praxis Speech & Theatre cheat sheet

Communication process elements: sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver, decoding, feedback, and noise; noise is any interference that distorts the message at any stage.

Aristotle's three artistic proofs: ethos (credibility of the speaker), pathos (emotional appeal to the audience), and logos (logical argument and evidence).

Claim types: fact (what is/was/will be true), value (worth, morality, quality), and policy (what should be done); each requires matching evidence and organizational pattern.

Organizational patterns: chronological (time order), spatial (physical arrangement), causal (cause-effect), problem-solution, and topical (natural subdivisions); choose pattern to fit the claim and topic.

Monroe's motivated sequence for persuasive speeches: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action; used especially for policy claims.

Delivery modes: manuscript (read verbatim), memorized, impromptu (no preparation), and extemporaneous (prepared outline, spoken spontaneously); extemporaneous is the standard for most classroom speeches.

Speech structure: introduction gains attention, states thesis, establishes credibility, and previews main points; conclusion summarizes and provides a memorable closing; transitions signal movement between ideas.

Fallacies to recognize: ad hominem (attacking the person), bandwagon (popularity), false cause (post hoc), either-or (false dilemma), and hasty generalization (insufficient sample).

Listening types: appreciative, empathic, comprehensive, and critical; critical listening evaluates evidence and reasoning, while comprehensive listening focuses on understanding and retention.

Aristotle's six elements of drama, in order of importance in Poetics: plot, character, thought (theme), diction (language), music (sound), and spectacle.

Greek theatre conventions: open-air amphitheaters, masks for character and amplification, the chorus as commentator, and the unities of time, place, and action.

Stage directions from the actor's perspective: stage right and stage left are the actor's right and left facing the audience; upstage is away from the audience, downstage toward it.

Stanislavski system concepts: given circumstances, objective (what the character wants), super-objective, emotional recall, and the magic "if" to justify action.

Brecht's epic theatre uses the alienation effect (Verfremdungseffekt) to prevent emotional identification and provoke critical social thought.

Blocking is the planned movement and positioning of actors onstage; cheating out means angling the body so the audience can see the face.

Technical roles: the stage manager runs rehearsals and cues, the producer handles finances, the director shapes interpretation, and the dramaturg researches context and text.

Play structure terms: exposition supplies background, inciting incident starts the conflict, climax is the turning point, and denouement resolves the action.

A cue is a signal for an actor or technician to act; cues are called by the stage manager and marked in the prompt book, the master copy of the production.