Characterization, Part II

Reminder: Play reviews are due within a week or two of the time you attended the performance. I'm not interested in what you remember about a play you saw a month ago. :) Instructions for the review can be found on the sheet I handed out the first day of class OR online at my class website.

For Thursday:
Walker Stalker
Character info sheet's due to me on Wed (I'll give it back to you on Thursday)

PICTURES POSTED



Characters: Crawling into their heads
Remember the chicken game from Friday?

That wasn't just a random act of humiliation for my drama students. (hehe... it WAS funny tho')
I had a point: you can't import your view of the world into your portrayal of a character ... or you'll make the character act just like you.

You have got to understand what makes your character "tick":
what are his/her motives? loves? desires? secrets?
... not just what's in the scene, but how your character would react to a new situation.

It's kind of like getting to know someone new. You've got to ask questions, observe the person's reactions in different situations. Live with them for a while.

1. Read your script.
Now read it again.
Now go read the book/chapter/story that your scene comes from.
Do you understand it? Really?
OK, read your script again.

2. Figure out the Motives
NOW ask yourself, "What does my character want? Need? Desire? Love? Hate? ... " according to the script?

Start writing stuff down. Yep, with a real pen on real paper. Start a drama section in your notebook ... and write like a fiend. Rip the scene apart.

3. Invent a character background
Once you've got a handle on what the text says, you're ready to let your imagination soar. There are lots of questions you could ask that can't be answered by your script. Guess what! You get to invent the answers! Woot! (This is the fun part of acting ...)

"What did I eat for breakfast today?"
"What kind of childhood did I have?"
"Do I like chocolate cake?"

OK, so maybe you should focus on more important questions. :)
But the point is, there's a lot about your character that only YOU will know. You'll never mention it in a scene .... probably. But if you don't give yourself a background - a history, memories, dreams, desires -- you'll find your acting to be very "flat."

4. Write a subtext
Without a subtext, your acting is hollow. Your character is nothing but a shell.

Subtext.
Subtext
SUBTEXT!

You gotta have a subtext for every line.... you might not write it all out, because your subtext will change as you work on the scene with your partner.

But DO write the basics in your margins. Or get another sheet of paper and rewrite the scene as the subtext, not the actual lines.

And when I walk in the room during your rehearsal and ask you, "Hey, what's the subtext behind that line?" .... you want to be able to give me an answer.


5. Try creative writing.
A few ideas to try -- I'll ask you to give at least one of these a shot during the next 2 weeks as you build your character's history (and work on memorizing your lines)

• Character Journal: Start a "diary" for your character. It's up to you whether you make entries from "your" childhood ... or yesterday ... or today ... or right before you walk onstage ... or after the scene ends. But this is a great way to invent character background.
  
• Dream Diary: Something to try once or twice ... invent a dream for your character. You know how dreams are weird combinations of odd thoughts, fears, people, ideas -- what might "you" dream about? For some characters, it's a nightmare . . .
  
• Freewrite: Think about what your character was doing just before he/she entered the scene. Write that activity at the top of your paper. Now freewrite what the character is thinking during that activity until s/he walks onto the scene.
  

Got enough to do? :)

Hey, it's work. I know
but it's FUN work

and your answers on that post down there (about what's going to be hardest for you to do) are great ... keep them coming!