Aglay Saenz

ENC 1101

06 November 2017

Discourse community and activity theory: My high school acting and theatre

community

Intro

Acting first originated in Greece and is one of, if not, the most powerful forms of

entertainment, whether it be performed in the theatre, in movies or even in a game. Acting may

range from novice to professional, but requires imagination and concentration, and to devote

ones self to a character. It requires a manipulation of truths, to make what is happening

convincing to the audience. But acting alone might not be enough. There are also stagehands,

playwrights, directors, and producers, all that are involved to create an engrossing story. This can

be described as a discourse community, as all these people work together and share a common

goal/purpose, and work to achieve that goal.

The acting and theatre community may be overlooked as a discourse community in itself,

so I would like to build on how the acting and theatre community is in fact a discourse

community, specifically the acting community I was a part of in high school, using the lens of

activity theory to do so.

Methods
 As I am talking about the acting and theatre community I was a part of in high school,

during my time with Into the Woods, I will draw upon the memories I have of my experience

in that community and describe from there.

I will also refer to a phone call I made with a fellow member of this community, Darby,

and share what she said here. I explained this essay to her and she has completely agreed to

allow me to use her statements here.

Also, as I am using activity theory, I will divide my results by sections of an activity

system, specifically the community itself with the divisions of labor, the rules of the community,

and the object/outcome (the motive) behind the acting and theatre community.

Results

As stated, this will be viewed with an activity theory lens. As such, the results will be

divided by the sections of an activity system: community with divisions of labor, the rules of the

community, and the object/outcome (the motive) behind the acting and theatre community.

Community with Divisions of Labor

I recall that the troupe I was a part of was close-knit, and worked hard at what they were

assigned to. Darby stated that we all loved each other and what we did, and we always helped

each other out when we needed something done right. Of course, a theatre group does not only

consist of actors. It also consists of the directors, producers, and stage crew, all with the same

motive in mind.

Each had their specific role to play, and each component of the theatre crew had their part

to play in order to make the production as smooth as possible. Each member of the community
had their own specialties and tools to use in order to do so. For example, as the actors, it was our

responsibility to run lines with each other, meaning that we had to memorize the script and

help each other out by rehearsing the lines with each other, and know how to effectively deliver

those lines through voice and body language. For the stage crew, it was creating the scene as

appealing and believable as possible through lighting, props, costume sets, etc., setting the

physical background of the story. The directors job is to visualize what the script says and guide

the crew to make it a reality, and the producer manages the finances in order to raise money for

the play and generate revenue after. All these jobs, these roles, are quite different from each

other, and all have their own tools to perform their task successfully, but working together as a

community helps bring the goal to reality.

If a role in the community was not properly fulfilled, the discourse could fail or not even

exist in the first place. For example, if the actors were unable to memorize their lines and stage

directions, the show would either come out horribly, or even be cancelled from the start. In terms

of discourse, there might not be a discourse to begin with. As a discourse community, each

member must perform their respective roles using the tools they have in order to effectively

communicate the text- the play, in this case- with the audience and successfully achieve what is

desired by the community as a whole.

Rules
 There were certain guidelines in our group that had to be followed in order to be a

legitimate member in our acting and theatre community. It was our own little acting etiquette,

and in order to not get kicked out we must follow them. Darby recalls cellphones must be

turned off, have professionalism in the workplace, and be willing to work a lot. I too recall

those rules, and will add the following: Have confidence in what we do, be committed, and work

to improve our skills. Although it was never put in a pamphlet for us, we were all consistently

reminded of these rules and did well to remember them. There was one incident where one new

member refused to stay professional about his part and, as Darby puts it, did not pull his

weight. With his disregard for hard work and professionalism, two main rules in our

community, the director and producer eventually took notice and pulled the new member from

the troupe permanently. This serves as an example as to how our community deals with members

who do not follow the protocols. The rules were a mutual agreement on how we would all

progress (Kain and Wardle, Pg. 399), and breaking this agreement warranted a negative

consequence to those who prevented progression in our community.

Those were, however, just the rules for the entire theatre crew put in a broad sense. Each

member of the community had their specific protocols to follow, whether stated aloud or not. For

the stage crew, they had to follow the rule of creating props, costumes, etc. within a certain time

limit, while also making them of good quality so the audience would not be too distracted by

their work. For the director, he had to follow the rule of following the script as he creates the

scene, to not deviate completely if the script truly did not call for it. And as for the producer, his

guidelines were to be truthful about the finances, and be as diligent as possible with the money

spent and earned.

 Following the rules kept conflict to a minimum (Kain and Wardle, Pg. 400), and

affected how everyone in the community worked, which in our case was to work as efficiently as

possible to get the job done. Everyone in the community had their protocols and codes, followed

through and through to keep the whole community in order, so that the goal can be achieved.

Again, as a discourse community, to abide by the rules means staying a member of the discourse

taking place, which would be important if one wanted to be a part of what our community was

trying to achieve.

Motive

Motive can be divided into two sections: the object- the immediate goal- and the

outcome- the ongoing/long-term purposes of the community. (Kain and Wardle, Pg. 399-400) In

my troupes case, it was to deliver the portrayal of the characters in Into the Woods effectively,

doing our best to portray the various characters as what they are supposed to be. For our long-

term purpose, we wanted to improve our acting skills and, as Darby cheerfully added, have fun

with what we do. For the entire community, however, the object was more about creating a

story the audience would enjoy and pay to see, and the outcome is to create more stories later on

following the success of the previous one.

We all had one common motive in mind, and with that our community was able to focus,

combining our skills and knowledge to carry out Into the Woods and entertain the audience,

while also completing the long-term goal we had in mind. Having the common goal in mind

allowed my community to concentrate on communicating the text to the audience, in the form of

a play made by teenagers for everyone to see.

 Conclusion

As I have proven through my observations, my high school acting and theatre

community- as viewed through the activity theory lens- counts as a discourse community, using

the activity system effectively and carrying out the goals we had set in mind for the play we were

working on. However, for the acting and theatre community as a whole, be it in the Broadway

sense or international, there will need to be more research into that as to how the community as a

whole is indeed a discourse community.

I believe that my contribution through my experience in high school will help encourage

people to study the connection between the acting and theatre community and discourse

communities, and to give attention to the fine art of theatre and the intricacies behind what it

takes to be successful in it.

Work Cited

Kain, D., Wardle, E. (2017). Activity Theory: An Introduction for the Writing Classroom.

Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.