Rehearsals, Part Three

As I already mentioned in Part One, this will probably be the time where you'll get your chance to talk more in depth to your director about your character,and where he or she will give you specifics about how to "act."

Once you start running through the show, he or she will also start giving notes.  Since notes are a very important part of the process, I think I'll do a post completely devoted to them at a later time.

For now, I'd like to talk a little about creating your character. 

What your director tells you might be very specific.  I've known directors to help their actors build characters from the ground up.  On the other hand, I recently did a show where the only specific character note I was ever given was "Maybe he's a chromosome short."

All of this will be very dependent on your director, but also on you.

There are many "schools of acting" which you may or may not want to study, such as Meisner or Shurtleff (his 12 guideposts are looked at in depth on this blog on the subject).

I don't really feel able to discuss them specifically, myself, because I don't read a lot of books on acting, and because I didn't retain most of the Meisner class I took because the teacher was really hot, and though an excellent actor, not very articulate in class.

If I learn anything about these techniques that I find extremely useful, I will certainly share it.

One of the problems with giving out acting tips is that all actors works differently, and quite effectively.

I know actors who spend so much time creating an utterly unique character that that person seems like they might be able to take on a life of their own.  It's amazing to watch.

I've also recently worked with an actress who felt that any character is essentially the actor, put into a different set of circumstances.  Since my favorite part of the theater is becoming someone else, I don't agree, but I can only argue so far.

She gave one of the most brilliant performances I'd ever seen.

For these reasons, I know that a lot of what you do with your character will be entirely up to you.  You may find it an exciting creative challenge to design an elaborate back story for your character, or you might not be up to it.

There a few things that I unreservedly recommend, however.

If you don't want to create a back story, that's fine, but I think it is vital to know of at least one (or as many as you like) of the most important moments in your character's history.

Do this by thinking about his or her relations with other characters, and asking questions.  Who does he care about, and why?  He does he hate?  Who cares about him?  Why?

In some ways, it can be useful to have one very significant event that has essentially put the character where he or she is today.  Often, it will be able to dictate what they do within the play as well.

If you can, you might want to have an event in the character's past which resembles something happening to another character in the play now.  How might that effect your character?  Is she a mother, who lost a son of her own?  Does her heart break at the sight of something similar happening to another woman?

By the same token, it's possible that your character's history will make it impossible for you to feel sympathy with the other characters.  What kind of situation might cause that?

Perhaps you will base some of these answers on your own reactions as an actor.  If, for instance, the closing scene of the play consistently brings you to tears, it might be a good idea to find what part of your character would also be crying.  By the same token, if you don't think you could possibly cry, it might be a better idea to think about why "you" aren't crying, then to force it.

Everyone is different, but I believe that you should never throw away an honest emotional reaction (whatever it may be) on stage in favor of a contrived one, if you can help it.

In a perfect world, you'll be so in tuned with your character that you will naturally feel what the feel.  Realistically, even some of the greatest actors probably can't do that all the time.  This is where my co-actor who believes that your character is basically you has the right idea.  Underneath layers of make-up you aren't used to, and a costume you'd probably never wear, and a physicality that isn't yours, you're still you, no matter how hard you think about that back story.  Don't toss what you feel out the window.

On the subject of physicality some of that may come from the director, or from the script.  If you're playing Richard III, it's probably pretty clear that your need to take your movement back to the drawing board.

If, however, your playing a small role without any obvious physical characteristics, it might feel natural just to move the way you do normally.  This might not be a good idea.

Years on the stage have improved it considerably, but I still have terrible posture.  I cross my arms when I'm bored, clench my fists to my sides when I'm nervous, possibly worrying a loose segment of my clothes.  Numerous acting teachers have almost completely broken me of the habit of putting my hands in my pockets, on stage or off, but it still happens on occasion.  I walk with my head down, and I shuffle my feet.  I have what one might call an "absentminded walk."  When still, I naturally lock my knees and lean more heavily on one foot than the other, popping out one hip.  I raise my chin, sticking my head forward when I speak.  I make intense eye contact when speaking to someone, but I have terrible eyesight, and as I generally choose not to wear glasses on stage, I usually find myself looking directly at someone's face without the first idea where their eyes might be.

Some of these habits are quite subtle, some of them are not.  Most of them are unconscious, and I am only aware of them because I have spent so much time thinking about them.

I am a college age woman of the twenty-first century.  I wear my hair short, and play boys often enough to enjoy a little androgyny.  My clothes are generally a little baggy because I am much thinner than I think I am, because I so often forget to eat.  I am more than a little socially awkward, and my physical attributes are equally so.  Any grace I have is the result of years of acting class.  At a given moment, I am far more likely to be thinking about when I can next wash my hands than the actual task I am performing.

This is all well and good.  I have studied my mannerisms and I know that they are a direct result of my personality.  Therefore, if I want to project another personality on stage, I will need to think very carefully about the way that I move.

It doesn't mean changing every little thing, but if I am playing a wealthy, confident, classy woman in heels and a dress, I can't reasonably expect to slouch or shuffle.

Finding a character who is unlike you in every way can be very freeing.  If you haven't been given a note about how your character moves or behaves, and you can't find specifics in the script, think of it as an opportunity rather than a obstacle.