What is an Aside?
An Aside is when one of the people on stage has a line addressed directly to the audience members as a one sided conversation, rather than out to the abyss. When breaking the fourth wall, the other characters on stage are not aware of the aside.
When breaking away from the scene for an aside, the actor will usually take a step toward the audience, and look directly at an audience member to make it obvious that they are speaking directly to them.
Although similar, a soliloquy is when an actor is alone on stage and speaks directly to the audience to reveal their thoughts.
Examples of Asides
There are many examples of asides in theatre, with the most common being in Shakespeare plays. Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors, and Macbeth all have asides in them, where a character breaks out of a scene with another character to say something directly to the audience.
Because showing may be more effective, I have included this example which helps visualize the concept. Although this example is on tv, the concept still applies.
In TV and Film, looking straight at the camera is usually a dead giveaway. In theatre, looking straight at an audience member in the first few rows gives the same effect.
Some other examples in modern culture are Deadpool, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, as well as the TV show House of Cards.
History of the Aside
The aside started in Elizabethan Theatre, and was popular in Shakespeare plays. This was the first time audiences were consistently close enough to make the aside possible, and his use of the aside popularized it. After the Elizabethan era, the effect has been used commonly in other plays, and in TV and Film.
