Elements of Tableaux

Regarding curriculum this week, we discussed the elements of tableaux, which are character, space, gestures, and level. In the Ontario Arts curriculum (2009), tableaux is defined as "A group of silent, motionless figures used to represent a scene, theme, or abstract idea (e.g., peace, joy), or an important moment in a narrative. Tableaux may be presented as stand-alone images to communicate one specific message or may be used to achieve particular effects in a longer drama work" (p. 172). In class, we separated into groups to define the features of tableaux and provide examples of each. The following chart describes various examples of each element. Character refers to the character being portrayed in the tableaux: their personality, feelings, thoughts, perspective, voice, and role. Space refers to the space your body takes up during tableaux, which can include the space above, around, between, in front, and behind you. Gestures refers to how you form your body in a tableaux to portray a theme, scene, or meaning and it refers to your use of body, hands, and face. Lastly, levels refers to the vertical space that is being used: whether you place yourself in a low, medium, or high position.

Elements of Tableaux	Examples
Character	Perspective	Voice	Feelings
Space	Above	In front	Behind
Gestures	Hands	Facial Expressions	Body
Level	High	Medium	Low