Showing and telling—How directors combine embodied demonstrations and verbal descriptions to instruct in theater rehearsals

In theater as a bodily-spatial art form, much emphasis is placed on the way actors perform movements in space an important multimodal resource for creating meaning. rehearsals, are created series of directors' instructions and actors' implementations. Directors' how to conduct movement often draw embodied demonstrations contrast verbal descriptions. For instance, instruct actress act like school girl director can use depictive (he demonstrates expected behavior) instead descriptive (“can you girl”) means. Drawing corpus 400 h video recordings rehearsal interactions three German professional productions, from which we selected 265 cases, examine ways movement-based actions rehearsals. Using multimodally extended ethnomethodological-conversation analytical approach, focus details that constitute complex action types. present article, have chosen nine instances, through aim illuminate (1) The difference using versus descriptions instruct; (2) typical directors combine with their instructions. First, ask what constitutes demonstration it achieves comparison case, illustrate four characteristics all cases studied share. Demonstrations embedded instructional activities; show do not tell; (3) responded by emulating was shown; (4) rhetorically shaped convey instruction's focus. However, none investigated were produced without second step therefore accompany when play scene. We distinguish basic Verbal be used build itself; delineate verbally within instruction; indicate positive (what should done) negative avoided) versions demonstrations; independent means describe addition demonstration. Our study contributes research resources create meaning they depend resources.