Acting Your Dreams: Using Acting Techniques to Interpret Your Dreams by Ben Tousey Read Free Book Online Page A

will in fact walk away
from that verbal exchange saying, “I wish I had said…” But as it happened in
real time, we could not prepare for it. Even if we are in a situation where we
can plan our responses, such as a job interview, the conversation is still
going to take several turns that will only allow us to stick to an outline.
     
    The same is
true of dreams. Dream scripts are often improvisations, and while they may come
across as carefully scripted, there’s a certain amount of play it as it goes.
That is not to say that your Dreamwright is making it up as it goes along, it’s
doing both. The Dreamwright knows how to use dialog, monologue, and
improvisation or extemporaneous speaking in such a way so that your Dreamplay
is fresh and alive.
     
    Words inspire
imagery and create emotion and the Dreamwright knows that. Because it knows the
power of words, the Dreamwright will organize the words in just such a way as
to force a reaction from us. This reaction may be fear, anger, frustration or
whatever that word calls for. If someone in a dream says something that really
hurts your feelings, you can believe that it’s on purpose. The Dreamwright is
trying to get something very important across and it knows the power of the words
it chose.
     
    Intonation
    Intonation
refers to the rise and fall of pitch in the voice during speech. When someone
is angry his or her intonation tends to rise. When they are in love, their
intonation drops and they have a more sultry tone. Ben Stein is a man well
noted for his lack of intonation. He plays the monotonic teacher in the teenage
classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; the teacher who called: “Bueller… Bueller…
Bueller…”
     
    Sometimes
intonation is subtle while at other times it’s not. It can range all over the
board, but when we’re carrying on a conversation with anyone, we can easily pick
up on their intonation, whether we consciously realize it or not. A good
example of the subtle intonation would be the DJ’s voice on the radio. They
talk to us, inform us, and still maintain a comfortable and relaxed sound.
     
    In life our
intonation discloses our attitudes. If you’re describing your boss to a friend
and you happen to strongly dislike this person, your intonation will reveal
that. If you’re passionate about your job, your intonation will show that as
well. Engage anyone you know in a conversation about computers and listen to
the intonation.
     
    An “up tone” on
the end of a sentence signals a question. A “down tone” on the end of a
sentence signals the end of the sentence. A gasp signals surprise. A breath in
a sentence signals a break. There are so many ways that these “incidentals” can
be added to a group of words to help us recognize intonation.
     
    Melody
    Melody ties in
with intonation as it represents the basic tone of a word or phrase. It can be
soft and gentle, fast and harsh, monotone, or all over the place with no real
melody at all. The most obvious use of melody is found Shakespearean theater. As
the characters run through their lines we hear the melody as if they are
singing their lines. This feeling of movement is due to Shakespeare’s use of
Iambic Pentameter. Poetry is another great example of melody. When a television
or radio advertisement comes on, the voice is usually melodic as it tries to
convince us that our lives will be worthless without the product being
advertised.
     
    Sub-Text
    Subtext refers
to “what isn’t being said” during “what is being said.” You might have heard it
called reading between the lines. This is common in our communication with each
other. Sometimes it’s a backhanded compliment. The words were nice but it
seemed they were meant to convey something else. The value of the word is not
always in the word itself, but in the subtext around it. Things are often implied
which are not being said. A good example of this type of communication is the
old “inside joke.” We’ve all heard someone