Interpreting and staging a scenePower points and levels

Some parts of the stage are more ‘powerful’ in terms of the audience’s focus than others. For example, downstage centre (in the middle near the audience) is a more prominent position than upstage right at the back of the playing area. These are known as power points. Consider where you want the audience’s focus when you decide where the actors should stand onstage.

Levels can also affect the audience’s perception of the status or importance of a character in the scene. This is known as status placement. If a weaker character is sitting in a chair while a stronger character stands above them, their relationship is mirrored in the levels they use.

Status placement exercises

Try the following status placement exercise for a group of actors.

• The first actor stands in the position on the stage that they feel is the most powerful.
• The second actor must now try and find a position on the stage that’s more powerful than the first (remember to experiment with levels too).
• The third actor does the same thing and must be more powerful than the second.

So the game goes on - note how different levels and the position of the actor onstage really affects status.

In this clip, actors Adrian Lester and Lolita Chakrabarti demonstrate how to create status by delivering the same line in varying styles and judging it on a 'status scale'.