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View Full Version : Ehancing Roleplay: Acting and Rhetoric?



Conners
2012-07-06, 10:10 PM
Me and some friends are wondering about taking lessons in Rhetoric, Acting, and maybe Public Speaking, since it's be a benefit to campaigns (smooth out awkward communication). Would also be handy in general to a friend of mine.

Do those things sound like the right subjects?


One thing we're currently stumped with, is where to get good DvDs or audio books to learn off (we can't all get lessons).
Anyone have suggestions on where to look or what to look for?

VanBuren
2012-07-07, 12:21 AM
For acting? I'd recommend a book: Respect for Acting by one Uta Hagen.

As for public speaking, I'd listen to recordings of some of the greatest speakers in the last century or so.

Anxe
2012-07-07, 12:37 AM
The only way I know to learn those things is to practice them. You can practice acting by copying lines from movies while taking a shower, driving, or going for a run. My players and I often pull good lines from movies and use those. We've actually started making fun of each other for doing it.

You can read a book on rhetoric, but you won't get good at it until you start applying it in a variety of topics. One good way is to write an essay in favor of slavery in your campaign world using rhetorical devices and then write an argument against it. Do essays for prostitution, drugs, wars, and religions in similar ways. I'm not sure how useful this one will be for roleplaying, but it doesn't hurt to improve yourself regardless.

Public speaking helps some players and is unnecessary for others. My players and I are not the best at public speaking. This leads to awkward pauses as we search for the right word or phrase to say to the King/VIP NPC next. As a group we just pretend that the pauses didn't happen and that the whole speech was one glorious explanation of why the King should let the dashing Paladin sleep with the Princess. I think public speaking lessons would be a good idea, but again the only way to get better is practice. Luckily, this one you can just practice in your own group. Just start doing more speeches than normal. My players are starting to do this one as well and they're getting pretty good at it.

Hope all goes well. I can't recommend any books on rhetoric, but I'm a personal fan of Classical Studies. You could check out Cicero's De Oratore, one of the first instructional books on oration and rhetoric.

jackattack
2012-07-07, 12:50 PM
For RL career stuff, you want Public Speaking first, Rhetoric second, and Acting last.

Public Speaking teaches how to engage an audience and overcome fear of talking in front of groups. If a player is too shy to speak up at the game, this is the course to take.

Rhetoric teaches persuasion and debate. If a player can't get other players to listen to his ideas or plans, he should take this.

Neither will teach you how to assume a role, nor do they encourage improvisation. A guiding principle that does apply to gaming, however, is "know your subject". The more the players know their own characters, backstories, and gameworld, the better armed they are to role-play smoothly. Where familiarity with your subject ends, Public Speaking and Rhetoric encourage the speaker to say "I don't know" (or "I can find out").

For roleplaying, I'd say Acting is the best option. It teaches you how to step outside of your own persona and to think about how someone else would act (and why). Improv teaches you how to think on your feet and keep a scene going, even when someone throws a curveball (or a monkey wrench).

If the problem with lessons is money, try going down a step. See if courses or workshops are available through a community college, or even your local community center.

See if there is an improv group you can go see, just to see how it's done. Or check out episodes of "Who's Line Is It Anyway?", which is basically improv drills on screen.

Here's the first rule of improv for free. Say "yes, and" instead of "no, this".

nedz
2012-07-07, 07:27 PM
Try Amateur Dramatics or LARP, especially LARP.

7RED7
2012-07-08, 11:57 PM
Are there LARP events with good acting? I don't know if it's a case of silent majority or whatever, but I can't say I've ever heard a LARPing story that didn't involve horrible acting.

Conners
2012-07-09, 03:32 AM
One good way is to write an essay in favor of slavery in your campaign world using rhetorical devices and then write an argument against it. Do essays for prostitution, drugs, wars, and religions in similar ways. I'm not sure how useful this one will be for roleplaying, but it doesn't hurt to improve yourself regardless.That's a good idea for practicing, and also for making detailed campaigns. Though, how do you judge the quality of your rhetoric, come to think of it?

Will make sure to check out Cicero's De Oratore. Have a friend who loves classics


@Jackattack: Money isn't too much of a problem, we're willing to spend a bit on DvDs or whichever since these skills would be useful in general. Time to go out to classes is more the issue (though, with Public Speaking, it might be hard to teach privately).

Partially, I'm just not sure where to look or ask questions to find a good starting point. I guess an acting/theatre forum for acting... but not sure where people discuss Rhetoric and Public Speaking.

nedz
2012-07-09, 08:14 PM
Are there LARP events with good acting? I don't know if it's a case of silent majority or whatever, but I can't say I've ever heard a LARPing story that didn't involve horrible acting.

Yes, absolutely.
LARP players tend to come from one of three backgrounds:

Gamers
Re-enactors
Amateur Dramatics


The last are the best actors.

You have to pick the right game though.

jackattack
2012-07-10, 02:20 PM
The problem with LARPing is that it doesn't necessarily teach you how to act or role-play. You will have the same problems in a LARP that you do at the table. If you want assistance, you'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers.

That said, if you want to LARP, I recommend a weekend one-off, not an ongoing cmapaign-style game.

Jay R
2012-07-10, 04:18 PM
Are there LARP events with good acting? I don't know if it's a case of silent majority or whatever, but I can't say I've ever heard a LARPing story that didn't involve horrible acting.

My experience is that the SCA has very wide variance in this, as in everything else. You will find everything from horrible acting to superb acting. Everything from horrible fighting to superb fighting. Everything from horrible arts to superb arts. Etc.