The Fourth Wall

(from the HARMONIZER, March/April Edition, by Connie Keil with Richard Treptow)
Note – this is the summary from the article.

The Fourth Wall for Dummies: How to do it without falling off the risers

  1. Understand the basic choices available. Learn the language.
    • Presentation mode Communicate directly with the audience. Eye contact. Not imaginary “fourth wall” between you and the audience. This is the way most of our performances are done. Very effective for many of our songs, especially in story-telling (“Hard Hearted Hannah”) or commentary (“Zipadee Doo Dah”)
    • Representational mode, fourth wall in place Ignore the audience – they'll get it. Great for acting out lyrics from a character's perspective.
    1. Be a character addressing an imaginary person within the “wall” (“I Love You Truly”).
    2. Be in character, talking to yourself. Be in soliloquy, like Hamlet (“I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles”).
    3. Talk among yourselves, you and the other characters on stage (“There's a Brand New Gang on the Corner”).
    4. Be clear about whether you're in character through the whole performance, or just during the songs.
  2. Know your character. If you're in character with the fourth wall in place, you need to know who that girl (guy) is – then just “be” her (him). In 3DTechnicolor. Let your imagination and visualization instincts loose. Be free! Be authentic!
  3. Know whom you're talking to. If it's the audience, be sure to let them feel that you have genuine personal contact with them, not just the director. Don’t let them see that “deer in the headlights” blank stare. If it’s to someone within the fourth wall, make sure you can imagine who that is, and where they are.
  4. Know why you’re doing what you're doing. Examine the lyrics, especially. Method acting: what’s your motivation? What emotions do you want the observer to see in you? What emotions do you want to create in the observer? Emotions, plural. Because they change as the performance develops to a climax. Remember a time in your life when you really experienced those emotions – then recreate those feelings in your performance.
  5. Know when to shift roles. If that happens within a song, you need to anticipate it and get there on your own. Identify cues ahead of time. If it happens before, between, or after songs, be smooth and genuine as you make the transition.
  6. Fit in. Your role must be consistent with the rest of the ensemble – quartet or chorus. While you need to be authentic in your own role, it must be seen to be part of a believable whole.
  7. Have fun. The fourth wall can be a safe place to be. The more you enjoy this, the more the audience will enjoy it. Let it free you up to really “live” the music and the whole performance.