Many people are horrified by the phrase “pause in conversation”; they associate pauses with embarrassment, confusion, inability to express their thoughts and fear of communication. Such pauses really occur when a man goes on a date with a woman for the first time or when he really needs to talk to a stranger, but, as luck would have it, nothing comes to mind. Let's call such pauses empty and let's not confuse them with other types of pauses, of which there are many and which are not destructive, but on the contrary, indispensable for a conversation. The ability to pause a conversation when necessary is a useful skill that every speaker should learn.
An empty pause is a gap that has nothing to fill. This is the only type of pause that should be avoided like fire.
Any pause, except an empty one, carries meaning or performs a certain function: from punctuation (breaking out commas) to artistic (increasing tension). There is an expression known in theater circles: “MKhAT pause”, introduced by Stanislavsky. Holding a pause according to Stanislavski means a long pause that the artist maintains on stage, forcing the audience to freeze and hold their breath. This virtuoso acting technique can only be achieved by outstanding actors who feel the audience and know exactly how to catch the moment for such a pause and how long to hold it.
Everyday speech pauses are of the following types:
- a pause to select the right words - the thought comes instantly, but it still needs to be somehow expressed in words, and preferably in such a way that it is understandable and makes an impression;
- structural or syntactic pauses are dividing pauses; they serve to indicate the structure of a sentence (major members, minor members, etc.) and often correspond to punctuation marks in writing;
- logical pauses - emphasize the meaning of the sentence and its message;
- emotional - a strong influx of feelings interferes with speech and often requires a lot of time to evaluate and make a decision.
Emptiness is not empty
We can discuss at length the art of pausing and its wonderful ability to enliven speech, but all these words will go down the drain if you don’t test them yourself in practice. Therefore, I propose an experiment:
- Choose your own short prose passage. This should not be just a piece of text, but a complete logical block that has a beginning and an end.
- The best place to look for the passage is in fiction. Since we are initially talking about oral speech, let it be an emotional monologue of some literary hero.
- Read it deliberately, trying to avoid any pauses other than those necessary so that the words do not run together into one word.
- Add punctuation marks - highlight commas, periods, colons, ellipses, etc. with pauses.
- Start highlighting with pauses the most powerful words in sentences, those on which the hero emphasizes and on which the meaning of the monologue rests.
- And finally, use your imagination, imagine how the hero feels when he says these words. Feel something similar for yourself. Feel how emotion changes speech, how unexpected pauses arise in places where passions are particularly intense, how difficult it becomes to chatter in the manner of the first reading.
You have just gone from complete absence to an abundance of pauses of different levels and can judge which text is more expressive, which is easier to read, and which you yourself would listen to with greater pleasure.
Without pauses, speech becomes a meaningless jumble of words, and this applies not only to monologues from literary prose. A person who jabbers often has to repeat a sentence to be understood.
Pay attention again to how you read the text the first time, without pauses. What suffered the most in this reading was intonation. Even if you try very hard to maintain intonation, you will get the feeling that there is not enough time for it, not only for the reader, but also for the listener to fully perceive it. This is another reason to pause correctly on any topic of conversation - intonation rests on it.
In the previous section, we looked at pauses, which make speech meaningful, logical and expressive. To master them perfectly, take lessons in correct speech from professional teachers. Such classes are available in any theater school, in public speaking and negotiation courses. There you will also learn how to perform on stage, how to express thoughts correctly, how to overcome inhibitions, awkward silence and much more. Here we’ll talk about how to achieve superiority in a conflict situation with the help of a pause.
Considering a pause as a reprieve or time-out can bring considerable benefits from it. During a pause, you can collect your thoughts, master your emotions, and even repel an attack from an enemy who expects an immediate emotional reaction from you.
An easy way to avoid losing face during an argument is to not let your emotions get the better of you. You've probably already read and heard this truism many times, but you still think that this is difficult to achieve in practice. Everything is not as difficult as it seems: the secret of restraint is to take time and not allow yourself to react to events at lightning speed. For example, if they try to insult you with a word, the goal of the offender is to provoke you into similar behavior, to piss you off and force you to stoop to the same insults. And indeed, the blood rushes to your head, anger flashes in your eyes, you are ready to throw thunder and lightning. At this moment, you just need to not do what you want most. Tell yourself, “I'll do it in a minute,” and begin a mental countdown. After 60 seconds, you're guaranteed to have a better idea. Most likely, you will simply laugh at the offender, which will negate all his attempts.
In the same way, you can use pauses in difficult negotiations: if you are provoked into a hasty decision and a quick answer, take a pause and carefully weigh the pros and cons. If you feel that you are under the power of emotion and cannot adequately look at the situation, take a break. Strong emotions do not last long, you just need to give yourself time to cool down.
theatrical break
Alternative descriptionsAt what point during the concert at the conservatory did our hero throw out the adjutant of a high-ranking official from his box?
The time allocated for eating bodily food in the interval between portions of spiritual food
Concert smoke break
The best time in a performance for hungry spectators
Interaction
Break in the theater performance
A break between acts of a play, or between parts of a concert
Break between parts of a concert, circus performance
Rush hour at the theater
Theater break
Time for spectators to walk through banquets and toilets
Time to satiate theater audiences
Translate the expression “between actions” into French.
Theatrical "time out"
. "rush hour" at the theater buffet
Respite for spectators
Break between actions in the play
Musical introduction to any act
Break between actions
Theater breaker
Smoke break between acts
Smoke break between shows
Theater smoke break
Smoke break at Lenkom
Lunch break at the theater
Interact respite
Interact “smoke break”
Gourmets' favorite part of the show
Concert break
Theatrical interaction
Theatrical "inaction"
Theatrical "timeout"
Change for Melpomene
Big change in the theater
Buffet time at the theater
. buffet break
Pause in the performance
. "quiet hour" in the theater
Theater break
Rest time for the audience and the actor
Rest between acts
Pause between acts
Concert break
. “smoke break” between acts in the theater
. “smoke break” between acts in the theater
Theater time to quench your appetite
Break between acts in the theater
Break between parts of the concert
A break between acts of a play, or between parts of a concert
Break in the performance to visit the buffet
Rush hour at the theater buffet
Break in the theater performance
. Buffet break
. "Smoke break" between acts
. "Smoke break" between acts in the theater
. "Smoke break" between acts at the theater
. "Quiet hour" in the theater
. "Rush Hour" at the theater buffet
At what point during the concert at the conservatory did our hero throw out the adjutant of a high-ranking official from his box?
Concert "smoke break"
M. French intervening, inter-interaction, inter-action, interval, inter-interaction. Entrepreneur m. Entrepreneur f. entrepreneur, entrepreneur, entrepreneur, entrepreneur; keeper, organizer, owner, founder, breeder, breeder (of business), head of the industry, horse breeder. Mezzanine f. mezzanine plural the upper half-tier in the house, chambers separated in height from the back rooms, while the front ones remain in full height; floor with railings, semi-light. Mezzanine tier, half tier. Entresha, entresha, entresha cf. inclined in a dance: jump up, with a kick, jump
Interact "smoke break"
Translate the expression "between actions" into French.
Smoke break at Lenkom
Smoke break for Hamlet
Lunch break at the theater
Theatrical "inaction"
Theater "smoke break"
Theatrical "timeout"
Theater is magic. Anyone who has been here at least once and plunged into the sparkling world of incredible transformations and vivid emotions will return again and again.
It’s good when a love of art is instilled from childhood: theater becomes for a child both a friend, a teacher, and a wise assistant who will give answers to the most exciting questions. A person will carry these memories throughout his entire life: the applauding audience, the feeling of celebration and the feeling of involvement in the unfolding action. The young viewer is left alone with the stage - and this allows him to choose his hero and find the right guidelines in life. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the coming 2019 the Year of the Theater, so the School magazine is especially for you. Moscow" has prepared a list of the most interesting performances that you can attend with the whole family.
What if there are actually not three heroes, but... four? And suddenly they are closer to ordinary people than to superheroes? After all, heroes can be lazy, sad, worry not only about Mother Rus', but also for some of their own personal reasons, and also go to fairs and master other crafts.
Much water has passed under the bridge since the mighty Vorg defeated the great trinity of Russian strongmen. The proud heroes could not accept defeat - they folded their caps and left in all directions. Ilyushenka is back under her mother’s wing to work on the stove, Alyosha Popovich is to become a merchant, and Dobrynya is to serve the enemy tribe. It would seem that nothing can unite these brothers, nothing will make them friends, not even a common misfortune in the person of the bloodthirsty Vorg. And then he appears - Filya.
Who is Filya? With his appearance, the action of the play begins. A mysterious figure in rags miraculously escapes from his enemies to return to his homeland. It is Phila who is destined to shame the heroes for their weakness and force them to come together again. Fili has a special magic word for each of them, but you will find out from the play “The Fourth Hero” whether he will be able to unite his old friends and save Mother Rus'.
The director of the play, Natalya Shumilkina, told us about the production: “The idea itself arose six years ago. I wanted to create a very light, funny story about Russian heroes. We tried to make sure that the images of our heroes were recognizable, real, and close to modern children. As history progresses, our original “under-rich people” change: they grow up and become who they are. And we don’t touch on any global topics, but we talk about ordinary people and their relationships.”
Magazine “School. Moscow" has prepared an interview especially for you with all the heroes of the play, as well as with the mysterious Phil.
Ilya Muromets - the greatest Russian hero
Ilya Muromets turned out to be the most laconic hero: “I am the strongest, the greatest Russian hero. Russian soul, Russian word. With a big heart and a big fist." His magic word is the name of the bride Daryushka.
“Children should see such heroes; they always need a guide as to where to go and where. Ilya Muromets has his own “engine” - his mother. Largely thanks to her, his conscience leaped into his mind. And, of course, the desire to find his bride, who disappeared in the face of the enemy, played an important role. In the future, our heroes will have many trials, which, it would seem, will quarrel between the heroes. Ultimately, it was the common enemy that finally united the old friends and helped them find themselves.”
Ivan Vorotnyak, performer
But Dobrynya Nikitich does not look at all like a Russian hero. His clothes and image fully correspond to the style of the enemy tribe. He even managed to grow a braid so that Vorg would trust him: “I am a double agent, a spy. Rumor spreads that Dobrynya began to serve the enemy. But this is all untrue. Vorg is hunting for Liberia - the royal library, for human memory. And if there is no memory, then there will be no Mother Russia. My task is to prevent this from happening.” Believe him or not, you decide for yourself. His magic word is a mention of Tsarevich Eremey, with whom Dobrynya Nikitich was friends.
“In fact, Dobrynya is the hero who cares most about the fate of Rus'. He makes many sacrifices: he bears the mark of a traitor. But all this in order to save their homeland at the right time. Dobrynya is the brains of the company, he has always been the person who has a plan. He still has it, although he was ahead of Phil. Many adventures await our heroes - this includes a battle with enemies, a hike across an abyss, and confrontation with a hurricane storm. But friendship helps them overcome everything with honor.”
Iznaur Ortsuev, performer
The restless Alyosha Popovich
Cheerful Alyosha Popovich is a clever trader who always finds his own profit: “My name is Alyosha. Alesha Popovich. I have a lot of goods, so if you have the opportunity, come to my shop. In our team, I am responsible for cunning and good mood, so my two heroes are never bored.” For Alyosha Popovich, the magic word is not a word, but a whole phrase: “No need to cast a shadow on the fence.” Let's decipher: there are flowers in pots on the fence, and the pots are made of gold. This is, of course, how the cunning Filya bribes the enterprising Alyosha Popovich.
“My character is not so epic. All our heroes are not the same as we imagine them to be, for example, according to Vasnetsov’s painting. They once lost a battle and decided to bury their swords in the ground. In general, we show heroes in a form in which children have never seen them before. Everyone will be able to recognize their school friends and their company from the street in the heroes.”
Alexey Bobrov, performer
Is Filya the fourth hero?
Finally we got to Fili. This mysterious hero with a sly look unexpectedly easily made contact: “My name is Philip. Maybe just Phil. Have I become the fourth hero? You decide for yourself. The heroes help me in everything. If Vorg finds out where Liberia is actually hidden, the country will perish. So there’s a lot to do..."
“My character is not as clear-cut as it might seem. And our whole history is not simple. Anyone who seems like a holy fool, stupid, strange is not like that at all. Filya loves heroes, understands that, despite all their grievances, these are truly courageous, strong people. They just need to be given a chance again.”
Denis Fomin, performer
The characters of the play will be able to become good friends to both young and adult spectators. You immerse yourself in the adventures of heroes and go with them all the way - from capricious, selfish boys to strong-willed men. Everyone recognizes themselves among these completely non-canonical characters. Our editors recommend “The Fourth Bogatyr” for viewing and invite you to think: maybe there are heroes among us?
By the way! This performance is the premiere of the season.
You can also watch:“Like a cat walked wherever he wanted”, “Deniska’s stories”.
Young Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, forced to linger in the town of Bolshoye Boldino due to quarantine, wrote back in 1830 his first surviving completed prose work, “The Stories of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin.” The famous Boldino era became a period of creative takeoff for the poet. True, in contrast to the calm, reclusive corner of the village, the world of Belkin’s Tales can hardly be called idyllic. Rather, on the contrary, the living story of each character makes you think seriously about the difficult themes of love, human dignity, and social inequality. The performance “Belkin's Tale” by the Moscow Drama Theater named after A. S. Pushkin, lasting just under two hours, included four parts of the work: “Blizzard”, “Shot”, “Undertaker” and “Station Agent”. “Previously, the performance was performed on a small stage, and the actors were accustomed to close contact with the audience. When the decision was made to move to a large hall, the artists were very worried that the contact would disappear. But it turned out great - the action has not lost any of its dynamics, and all the spectators are still greedily catching every word of the characters. The energy of the production only intensified due to the fact that the space became larger,” said theater teacher Olga Shevnina.
The action of the play takes place in an inn, where the characters while waiting for horses pass the time in quiet, confidential conversations. The stage space is limited by white benches and a small screen that serves as either a window or a mirror for the characters. Each character is a storyteller, conducting a monologue; he shares memories, feelings, and emotions with the viewer. Each story has its own direction. In “The Undertaker” we immediately notice elements of mysticism and a gothic story: in the production of the Drama Theater, with the help of light and sound effects, an almost mini-thriller was created, although not at all scary, but rather intriguing. But “Blizzard” is a story in the spirit of sentimentalism, told to Belkin by a noble old maid with the initials K.I.T. The “cozy” story of this lady performed by People’s Artist Tamara Lyakina will not leave anyone indifferent: every viewer will be able to feel involved in the events of bygone years. The language of the “Tales” - laconic, classic - is not changed at all in the performance. The beauty of Pushkin's style allows one to clearly trace all the characters; however, the actors managed to add some of their own touches to the long-familiar images. For example, actor Konstantin Pokhmelov - aka B.V. from "The Undertaker" - despite being faithful to Pushkin's word, he always allows for some small improvisation. His quotes are recorded in Belkin’s large notebook and then are constant “participants” in all theatrical skits.
Video art is organically integrated into the performance - it helps you move from one story to another. The screen allows you to examine the faces of the actors down to the smallest detail, be it the tears in the eyes of Dunya as she leaves her father, or the phantasmagoric grimaces of the undertaker. But random fellow travelers waited for the horses - they left the stage, and the audience, full of new emotions, called the actors to bow with applause. The performance is perfect for introducing schoolchildren to the works of our great poet. In general, theater is one of the simplest methods of getting acquainted with Russian classics: after all, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. You can verify this by visiting the production and enjoying the wonderful monologues of the characters with the preserved Pushkin intonation: ironic, lyrical and sometimes sad.
By the way! Olga Shevnina conducts theater lessons especially for school groups before the performance - completely free of charge. “The lesson includes acting training, information about the theater itself, costumes, time and era of the production,” she notes. Thanks to the lesson, the viewer comes to the hall already prepared and interested.
You can also watch:“The Scarlet Flower”, “Much Ado About Nothing”.
“War and Peace” is a work that still evokes complex feelings in every reader. The number of pages is daunting, the variety of characters seems impossible to remember, and the twists and turns of the plot begin to confuse your head. But, on the other hand, this is an immortal classic, which is still important to read and try to understand. What will help with this? You can try to scroll through the criticism, get acquainted with thematic programs, watch the film of the same name. But still, the best option is to go to a performance and see the characters with your own eyes. Pyotr Fomenko did not strive for literalness, but his performance is suitable for every viewer, including the unprepared - it’s just that everyone has a different level of understanding. People familiar with the work of Leo Tolstoy perceive the characters differently than those who have vaguely heard something about “War and Peace.” The first ones already know about the fate of the heroes, they watch the progress of the performance, like seers: while the little princess Lisa is still bursting with laughter, not tears, the birthday girl Natasha dances smartly with Pierre, Andrei Bolkonsky defends his idol Napoleon. The latter will finally begin to distinguish between this motley group of characters in Tolstoy’s work.
"War and Peace. The Beginning of the Novel" covers a very small part of the epic: you will see a meeting in Anna Pavlovna Sherer's salon, a holiday in the Rostovs' house, the death of old Bezukhov, the intrigue with his inheritance and other events that precede Andrei Bolkonsky's departure to the front. Nevertheless, this world, ringing with joy, is filled with a feeling of war in the air. It has not yet reached the heroes of the work, but in every word, in every action there is this invisible, painful cloud of approaching enmity. Here the two universes of “War and Peace” united and at the same time split: prim, important St. Petersburg and homely, cozy Moscow. They do not oppose each other: the events in the play are replaced by movements from one corner to another - but they are completely different in the characters and views on the lives of the people inhabiting them.
The characters are lively: even the strict, tall, thin Prince Andrei, performed by Ilya Lyubimov, looks expressive, every now and then replacing the Napoleonic cap on his long-suffering head with a basin. Pyotr Fomenko loved to overturn stereotypes and loved to work with strokes. A creative person, he did not change the original text, but considered it interesting to involve the characters in the process of reading the epic novel. Here Natasha Rostova is running, and in her hands is “War and Peace.” The girl reads her description with indignation: “How ugly?!” - and throws the book onto his mother’s lap so that she continues reading. This is the performance - it all strives somewhere, draws you in, calls you to follow it. Actions replace each other, moving like a fast river, carried away by the irresistible force of the current. This great but complex work has the same power. “Pyotr Naumovich hated dots, but loved ellipses. So it is in this performance - everything follows each other, but does not end. Even the last action ends at the most interesting point. Where you can put an end to the plot is an ellipsis, and what happens next, you can read in the novel,” Anastasia Sergeeva, press secretary of the Peter Fomenko Workshop theater, shared with the magazine.
Artist Vladimir Maksimov worked on the performance with the message that everyone - both spectators and actors - are in the workshop of the Great Author. And in the workshop everything is done with strokes, which ultimately form a harmonious picture. “After all, to show a horse in the theater, you don’t have to bring a real animal to the stage,” notes Anastasia. Pyotr Fomenko’s favorite words were “but” and “although,” and his famous phrase was “Just don’t put an end to it.” A paradoxical thinker, he managed to create an atmosphere of creative disorder in his theater. His “War and Peace. The Beginning of a Novel" cannot claim to be a serious, thoughtful production: it is full of irony, allusions and metaphors. Although…
By the way! The Pyotr Fomenko Workshop hosts special lectures that allow everyone to plunge into the history of the theater - from its ancient origins to the present day.
You can also watch:“Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “Alice through the Looking Glass”.
They call him “Lvovich” and consider him their theatrical “dad.” They are young actors, and he is Alexander Fedorov, artistic director, inspirer and founder of the Children's Musical Theater of Young Actors. The theater's repertoire consists of plots that are familiar to everyone. The heroes of the performances are kind, eternally young characters: Pippi Longstocking, Tom Sawyer, Oliver Twist. “Today’s children find it difficult to tell a fairy tale. Playing a smile, playing a bright story is much more difficult than playing what they see every day. The characters in the performances of the Children's Musical Theater are pure fantasy and kindness. They are pure childhood. Children are now growing up early, and in order to surprise them, you have to try,” admits Alexander Fedorov. Alexander Lvovich is sincere with his wards. “My adventures, my fantasies - everything is for them. When it comes from you, they believe. That's why I always go from myself. And the children accept it with joy,” he says. One of the roles that all the boys of the Children's Musical Theater dream of is Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer. Each of them recognizes themselves in the full-energy tomboy, and therefore our review will be devoted specifically to this performance, which is rightfully considered one of the best in the theater.
Who is Tom Sawyer? Incorrigible dreamer, inventor, merry fellow. He lives with his Aunt Polly and every day he excites the entire small town with his pranks. Despite this, the city kids love Tom's easy-going nature and his ability to always remain himself. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a musical play. Young viewers will enjoy the cheerful songs and fiery dances that create the image and atmosphere of a small American town in the mid-19th century. In addition, the children in the auditorium will feel like they are in a familiar environment (oh, those school breaks, where everyone is running around at breakneck speed). The characters are also realistic - boys who outwardly despise girls, but secretly dream of friendship with them; girls squealing at the sight of a rat, but ready for various tricks; adults who punish for every nonsense, but are not without a sense of humor. One of the central plot lines is the love of Tom and Becky. This is where the boy is transformed: from a “noble pirate” he becomes a real romantic knight, ready to always defend his beloved. But this does not in any way affect his friendship with his friend Huck Finn: together they still play cowboys, look for treasure, and fantasize. “If I became a millionaire, I would buy myself a bicycle and then bring a circus to the square!” - the boys indulge in dreams.
And you will be very surprised to see Aunt Polly. She resembles less a prim old lady and more an energetic activist high school student.
Scene from the play "The Adventures of Oliver Twist!"
This performance has everything: romance, travel, adventure and even intrigue associated with a creepy story in the cemetery! In a word, it won’t be boring, that’s why “School. Moscow" recommends this performance for family viewing.
Scene from the play "Pippi Longstocking"
By the way! Nikolai Baskov once played in the Children's Musical Theatre. “Kolya was always a bright, noisy, active child, a wonderful actor since childhood,” recalls Alexander Lvovich. And every young viewer can become an actor - just come to the audition and try hard!
You can also watch:"Pippi Longstocking", "The Adventures of Oliver Twist!", "Moscow History 1205".
text: V. Razvodovskaya photo: N. Arefyeva, theater press service
No fuss! The speaker's basic stance should go with this. Especially at first, when a relationship with the audience is established, when any unnecessary movement will be subconsciously interpreted by the audience as excitement.
The rule is this. You go out into the hall, take a position in the main place in the speaker’s stance and pause. During a pause, you behave like a rock man, like a monument to yourself. No flirting, antics, twitching of shoulders, squeezing of hands, fiddling with fingers, moving lips, tapping feet. We exclude this! Vice versa. You are a rock man! Strength, confidence, composure. And be sure to take a break before starting the speech.
Why do we need a pause?
What role does it serve? Why not start talking right away? The pause serves a very important function. Firstly, it attracts and captures the attention of the public. And even if you pause in the middle of your speech, the attention of the audience will return to your performance. Secondly, during the pause, in fact, the so-called “public performance” occurs, that is, the relationship between the speaker and the audience is finally established, “who is in charge” - the speaker speaks, the audience listens. Of course, a pause is a test for the speaker’s nerves. But if you pass this test, the public will respect you. The audience will accept your right to be the leader for the duration of this speech.
How long should the pause last?
Let's evaluate it using the theater as an example. Before the start of a performance in the theater there is always a certain bustle in the hall, noise, discussion of programs, rustling of wrappers. Everyone is already seated, but the attention of the audience is still scattered. And imagine this picture. The curtain opens, the light shines onto the stage, and we see a man standing in our basic speaker's stance, facing the audience, holding a pause. And the bigger the artist, the longer his pause...
What will happen to the public? Gradually it will calm down and focus on this actor. Those who are not yet ready will be pushed by their neighbors - quietly, shhhh, put away the candy, it has already begun... The attention of the theater audience will be gathered in an increasing parabola. And after some time, a maximum will be established - the peak of public attention. There will be dead silence in the theater with the full attention of the audience on what will happen next.
This is reminiscent of one of the stories from the popular magazine "Yeralash".
Spring. The boy is standing in a puddle. The puddle is large and deep. Several adults gather around and ask: “Boy, why are you standing here, are you going to catch a cold!?” He stands and is silent - he pauses. There are already a lot of people around the boy asking the question: “Boy, why are you standing here, why are you standing here, will you catch a cold, what, why, will you catch a cold...” He stands calmly and pauses. Already a crowd of perplexed adults are stretching out their hands to him and asking: “Boy, why are you standing here, you’re catching a cold, what, why, why are you standing here, why are you standing here...!!!???” And finally, with the words: “Here it is!”, the child jumps and lands noisily in the middle of the puddle. A fountain of spray bursts out from under his feet. He waited for his finest hour - all passers-by were wet. This boy has strong nerves! He doesn't just waste his energy. He gathered his attention, paused, and the efficiency of his hooligan actions became much higher!
It's the same in public. You come out, fixate yourself in the main speaker’s stance, pause – and all the attention of the audience will be turned to you: “And why are you standing here? And why are you standing here?? And why are you standing here???” And aerobatics - at the peak of attention. I have a speech here! And your first words sound. If this is the Bolshoi Theater, then I estimate the time from appearance to the peak of public attention to be about 12-15 seconds. If this is an ordinary conference room for fifty people, then the maximum attention time will be about 5-7 seconds. This is the time we need to focus on. If the audience is very small, you can shorten the pause to 3 seconds, but there must be a pause!
If the pause is overexposed, what will happen to the audience?
That's right, when the peak of attention has passed, it will inevitably weaken and the noise will start again: “What is this? What are they doing? Are they making fun of us?” Therefore, it is important for a good speaker to sense the timing and start speaking at the peak of attention!
What to do during a break?
The pause itself should also not be empty. An empty pause frustrates the audience. It must be filled with inner life. There is a story about Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky, who during acting training gave tasks to his students to simply pause on stage in front of the audience. Almost everyone couldn’t stand it, they smiled, giggled, hesitated in place, and played with their facial expressions. And finally, Stanislavsky came out himself and began to look carefully into the hall - and all the students felt the fullness, the significance of the pause, and felt his inner thoughts. He silently looked into the audience for two minutes, and the audience was not bored - the rich pause held their attention.
That's why the rule is like this. During a pause, you collect the views of people from different sectors of the hall, assess their readiness, think about their faces and internal state: “So, well, are you ready or not? What do we have here? Okay. And who do we have here? Okay. And on gallery? Not everything is in order yet..." Outwardly, there is no need to specifically demonstrate anything - this will lead to falsehood. Only internal work makes the pause rich and not empty.
Remember that you must be in the state of the Master of the Hall. What does the Boss do in life? Business. And so he came on stage and he has a business - he chooses people for his business. The owner is a good psychologist, so he observes and evaluates: who is suitable for him and who is not, with whom he can cook porridge and with whom only compote, who to hire and who will not. And then the pause becomes meaningful and rich. The secret of such a pause is to concentrate attention on the people in the room.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL PAUSE
Explaining the nature of a psychological pause at one of the lessons, Konstantin Sergeevich gave the following example.
Let’s assume,” he said, “that tomorrow, after a long break, I play Famusov and invite your entire class, with the exception of two people, to the performance.” Those students with whom I am dissatisfied for their poor discipline will not go to the performance. “You won’t go,” Konstantin Sergeevich said sternly, addressing the most undisciplined student. “And... you,” he turned to a very capable student, who was recently late for class for the first time in his life.
“Did you notice,” Stanislavsky asked after the phrase he said, “that I paused after the conjunction “and.” You know that this is a violation of the laws of speech, since the conjunction “and” does not allow any stops after itself. But I had this psychological pause in order to soften the blow that was preparing for you. I believe that your action will not happen again, and I wanted, by punishing you, to make you understand this. Remember that the psychological pause is an extremely important communication weapon.
Konstantin Sergeevich highly valued the psychological pause, believing that true art arises when an actor, having mastered the initial stage of the art of speech - the logic of speech, learns to reveal and identify subtext through a psychological pause. But Konstantin Sergeevich warned against the danger hidden in the abuse of a psychological pause, the danger that begins from the moment productive action stops.
We know of cases where an actor, having correctly sensed the need for a psychological pause, begins to abuse it. Knowing the power of his impact on the audience, he, as it were, languishes the viewer before moving on to the subsequent text, and thereby transfers the viewer’s attention from the development of the action to himself, to his own “skill.”
In such cases, the psychological pause degenerates into a simple stop, which creates a stage misunderstanding - a pause for the sake of a pause. Such a stop is a hole in a work of art.
A deeply justified psychological pause is an important element of stage speech.
From a psychological pause, entire scenes are often created, which in our language we call “tour breaks,” Stanislavsky said.
A “tour break” occurs when the actor, in the process of work, has accumulated sufficient material for assessing the proposed circumstances, when the line of action is absolutely clear to him, when the nature of the character’s state is not only clear to him, but he internally and externally controls its tempo.
The “tour break” is one of the powerful means of acting psychotechnics, and a number of major Russian actors expressed the most subtle experiences in their roles during the “tour break.”
The famous pause of A.P. Lensky in the role of Benedict (the second act of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) is widely known. Lensky - Benedict overheard a scene specially played for him that Beatrice loved him. As soon as the instigators of this joke - Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato - have left, Benedict - Lensky emerges from his ambush. He is shocked by the news. Beatrice loves him madly, but does not want to admit her feelings, fearing his ridicule. Shakespeare puts a magnificent monologue into the mouth of Benedict, but Lensky was in no hurry to get to the text.
He needed time to realize what had happened, to surrender to the thoughts crowding in his head. For this he needed a pause.
This is how Lensky’s contemporary describes this moment: “..Benedict stands for a long time and looks at the audience point-blank, with a stunned, frozen face. Suddenly, somewhere in the corner of my lips, under my mustache, a vein trembled slightly. Now look carefully: Benedict’s eyes are still frozen in concentration, but a triumphantly happy smile begins to creep out from under his mustache with an elusive gradualness; the artist does not say a word, but you feel with your whole being that a hot wave of joy rises from the bottom of Benedict’s soul, which nothing can stop. As if by inertia, following the lips, the muscles of the cheeks begin to laugh, a smile continuously spreads across the trembling face, and suddenly this unconscious joyful feeling is penetrated by a thought and, like the final chord of the facial scale, the eyes, so frozen in surprise, flash with bright joy. Now Benedict’s entire figure is one continuous rush of stormy happiness, and the auditorium thunders with applause, although the artist has not yet said a word and is only now beginning his monologue...”
V. N. Davydov was also famous for his masterfully designed “tour breaks” (in “The Marriage” of N. V. Gogol, in “The Wedding of Krechinsky” by A. V. Sukhovo-Kobylin, in “The Warm Heart” of A. N. Ostrovsky and many others plays).
“Tour breaks” by K. A. Varlamov entered the annals of the Russian theater.
We know that major actors used “tour breaks” to the same extent as in comedy, so in tragedy.
Since the “tour pause” arises from a psychological one, Stanislavsky argued that the ability to express a complex of thoughts and feelings during a pause depends entirely on the intensity of “internal monologues”, on the continuous train of thoughts arising from the assessment of the proposed circumstances.
This ability of continuous thinking in a role, expanding the author’s text, must be trained by the actor from the very beginning of work on the role. Then, as a result of rehearsals, he will have a need to pour out accumulated thoughts and feelings during a pause. I remember how Stanislavsky worked with L. M. Leonidov on the role of Othello.
Stanislavsky considered Leonidov the greatest tragedian of our time. He talked to him a lot about the conscious distribution of temperament and persistently encouraged Leonidov to use pauses.
Remember, said Konstantin Sergeevich, that during pauses the artist mentally examines what he is talking about. Such pauses prepare and strengthen the temperament and rhythm and save from the manifestation of an open temperament, which should not be abused. The open temperament should be given a separate, definite place in the role, which can be compared to the high “C” for the tenor. If there were a large number of high Cs in the singing score, the singer would risk losing his voice.
Therefore, in a number of places in the role, which seem to push the actor to throw out the accumulated feeling in an open temperament, one must try to restrain oneself, abandon the straightforward move, which most often leads to screaming, and find diverse ways to express one’s feelings in psychological pause.
Rehearsing with L. M. Leonidov a scene from the third act of “Othello” and revealing the nature of Othello’s state in this picture, Stanislavsky said that the piece, after Iago poisoned the Moor’s imagination with the thought of Desdemona’s infidelity, is a decisively important piece in the role of Othello . For the first time, a terrible thought crept in and immediately disrupted his happiness. Othello does not yet know what to do; pain, excruciating pain clouds his consciousness, and he needs time to realize what happened. Konstantin Sergeevich said that performers of this role rarely convey the boundless happiness that Othello experienced before the moment of cruel doubts instilled in him by the words of Iago. But in essence, this is extremely important, since the tragedy of the scene lies precisely in the fact that Othello says goodbye to the highest degree of happiness that he experienced and with which he lived.
Losing happiness, he values it even higher and compares it with the future, which seems to him infinitely dreary.
You need, Stanislavsky told Leonidov, to withdraw internally into yourself in order to remember the past and see the bitter future. This is a moment of enormous self-absorption. Othello does not notice what is happening around him, and when faced with reality, he cannot help but pour out his accumulated bitterness and pain.
At one of the rehearsals, when Leonidov was rehearsing this scene with indescribable tragedy, Stanislavsky, pleased and happy, suggested to him:
Try, Leonid Mironovich, to play this scene now without words. Remember what a person does from excruciating internal pain, when he cannot find a place for himself, when he tries to find the most incredible positions to soothe this pain, when his fingers make some kind of mechanical movements, some kind of senseless scratching, expressing the internal rhythm of this suffering.
Leonidov, an actor of great thought and temperament, played this scene in such a way that for me personally it remained in my memory as one of the most powerful impressions in my life.
And now,” said Konstantin Sergeevich, hugging and kissing Leonidov, “go back to the text again.” ; Remember that to perform any task, the actor first of all needs a word, a thought, that is, the text of the author. An actor must first of all act with words; actors often forget this. Now expand the scene, using pauses, inflate it so that the viewer sees those enormous internal torments that we just saw.
Konstantin Sergeevich marked possible pauses in the text.
Othello. Yeah, deceive me! Me! (Pause.)
Iago. Well, general, enough about this.
Othello. Away! ( Pause.) You betrayed me to terrible torture!
(Pause.)
I swear, it’s better to be completely deceived,
It's not enough to know. (Pause.)
Iago. How is it, general?
Othello. What did I care about debauchery?
My wife, to her tricks? (Pause.)
I didn’t see them, I didn’t think about them:
They didn't torture me. (Pause.) Calmly
I slept at night, was cheerful and happy (pause)
And on her lips until now
I found no kisses for Cassio.
He didn't find out about it.
Iago. General,
It pains me inexpressibly to listen to you.
Othello. Oh, let at least the whole army, let everyone
The soldier owned her beautiful body:
I would be happy without knowing it; (pause)
Now forgive me everything, forgive me forever,
Forgive peace, forgive my contentment! (Pause.)
Sorry, feathered troops.
And proud battles in which
Ambition is considered valor -
That's it, forgive me everything! (Pause.) Sorry, my neighing horse,
And the sound of the trumpet and the roar of the drum,
And the whistle of the flute, and the royal banner, (pause)
All the honors, all the glory, all the greatness
And the stormy anxieties of glorious wars!
Forgive me, deadly weapons,
Which roar sweeps across the earth,
Like the menacing thunder of the immortal Zeus!
That's it, forgive me everything! Othello's journey has been completed! (Pause.)
Having marked the pauses, Konstantin Sergeevich warned Leonidov to treat these pauses not as obligatory, but as possible, and suggested that he mark the pauses throughout the entire role in order to, as a result of the work, outline two or three large pauses that need to be developed as "touring"
A “tour break” is impossible without an “internal monologue.” It is the “internal monologue” that complements the author’s text, revealing the inner spring of the action, that pushes the actor to reveal his feelings during the pause.
Othello-Leonidov's pauses were born from a thought that completely absorbed him, struggling with an unsolvable riddle - why, why Desdemona is deceiving him. This thought brought him to the point of insane suffering, he tossed about, groaned as if from physical pain, and, not knowing what to do with himself, finally pounced on Iago in order to take out his anger on him.
Konstantin Sergeevich said that, in addition to pauses, there are other auxiliary technical techniques to keep yourself from playing on your bare temperament.
Remembering Salvini in the role of Othello, he said that he was amazed at how the famous tragedian built a plan for his role from the point of view of proportioning his creative internal and external expressive capabilities, which allowed him to correctly distribute them and wisely use the material accumulated for the role.
Salvini, said Stanislavsky, knew all the time the line of perspective of the play, beginning with the moments of the ardent youthful passion of the lover at the first exit and ending with the greatest hatred of the jealous and murderer at the end of the tragedy. With mathematical precision and inexorable consistency, moment by moment, he revealed throughout the entire role the evolution that had matured in his soul.
From the book Psychology of National Intolerance author Chernyavskaya Yulia VissarionovnaGustave Le Bon. Psychological hierarchy of races When in the field of natural science it is necessary to establish the basis for the classification of species, this work is made easier by the fact that the unchangeable and, therefore, basic characteristics by which each species is determined are very
From the book Guiding Ideas of Russian Life author Tikhomirov Lev
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