Character Creation Exercises
Finding given circumstances (why you are doing something)
To find the given circumstances you need to know the rules your character lives under and the world they live in. You can do this by looking through the play and writing down things you know about the character fact or opinion?
To find the given circumstances you need to know what you have just done, where you are, what time of year it is and what you are there to do. When you know these things you will be able to figure out why you need to this and what the thing is you have to lose. It is very important to know what the given circumstances are because then you know exactly why you are there and it makes the performance more believable.
Researching
Character/Play
Historical,
Cultural, Social, Political
It is extremely important to research your character and also the play. It is important to research your character because then you get a better understanding of your characters situation and what they have been through. I have researched my character by making a character blog. This is a good technique because the blog is actually about your characters life and it is from your characters point of view. This helps you to get to know your character better and be able to step into your characters shoes easier. Also to create your character you need to know their character trait layers;
- physicality - what is their body language like is it closed or open?
- status - are they powerful or not, are they popular or alone, high or low status?
- energy - what is there energy from 1 - 10. 1 = lazy 10 = really excited
- the given circumstances - Why are they here, what is the world like they live in?
- objective - What is there purpose of being here? what do they have to lose?
- voice - Do they have an accent? are they loud or quite? High pitch or low pitch? fast speaker or slow?
- These are extremely important because it gives your character a purpose and you can understand how to portray their feelings better.
I have researched the play by researching the rwandan genocide. This is my historical research because it is important to know what alex had to go through at such a young age and why it may be affecting her now. It is also important because if you don't know what happened in the past you may not understand what the characters in the play are talking about.
You also need to research the cultural, social and political aspects of the world your character is living in. You need to know what life is like during the time zone and what the world is like in order to understand what your characters daily life would be like.
Hot
Seating
Hot seating is a technique used to get to know the character better and find out the truth about how they are actually feeling. You can do this exercise by choosing a person to sit on the chair and pretend to be their character. Then the rest of the group ask the character questions to find out more about them. You need to remember when asking questions try and make sure each question is relevant to the previous question so you can dig deeper and push the character to tell the truth. I enjoyed this activity because you got to look closer and really find out what the character was feeling. You also sometimes get to see a different side to the character. It is very useful to do this activity because you can better relate to what the person you are playing is going through and also by learning the small details about you character, you can use them to help relate to the script.
Improvised
Scenes
Acting is not repeating, you should always remember to re-hear-all. Improvising a scene means that you can change the scene around and play with it. By doing improvised scenes you can learn what works and what doesn't you can try different things and see what suits you. I really enjoyed this activity because it makes you think alot more and it is fun doing different things and changing what you have already done. It also makes you realise how important objectives are because if you don't know why you are there on stage and what your purpose is you can't build an improvised piece. Finally remember in an improvised scene you should always say yes don't block someone elses line.
Create
the previous scene
This activity is when you think about the scene that has just happened before yours has begun. With this you can then build an improvised piece which would lead into your scripted piece. I found this extremely useful because you know what has happened which might determine your character's mood and you also discover what other things your character does, they don't just start on your scene, their lives continue. I really loved doing this activity because it put me into the right state of mind when performing my scene and it helped me relate to the character more.
Working
with physical objectives
- Playing objectives
- Finding useful physical objectives
To be a good actor you need to know your purpose of being on stage, why are you there and what is your motivation. You can do this by looking at your script and writing down verbs that fit your line and give you something to do on stage. Objectives are useful to have because when you aren't speaking you still look like you have a purpose and you aren't faking.
You can test to see if you have a good objective by playing your objective in different ways. Your objective should be able to be done without using speech and you should be able to play it in more than one way.
For more on objectives look at my previous post: http://hollygarciaactingskills.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/objectives.html
3 Lines scenes
3 lines scenes are when you choose 3 lines containing a maximum of 3 words. Your lines should be related to the scene you are doing. Your partner will also have 3 lines and using these lines you have to act out the scene. I really enjoyed doing this activity because you can say your line using different objectives. This means you can figure out how you want to say your line and everything you do is fresh and new.
Taking Direction
Taking direction is when your director or even a cast member tells you to change something during your scene. It is extremely important to listen to them the first time and make sure you do exactly what they say. They are often more experienced and know how to make the scene better. A director should not have to ask twice, you need give them what they have asked for. I really like being given directions because it helps me realise how I can improve and it does make the piece better.
Working on a prescribed set
Working on a prescribed set is when you have been told exactly what is in the room, what props you have and where objects are for example; chairs, doors and tables. This can both be useful and limited It is useful because you know exactly where you are, what is around you and what you can use during your scene. However it can also limit your acting choices and it may not be how you pictured it to be. I think that having a prescribed set is good because you can use it to your advantage by using the different features in your piece and you also can appreciate the environment you are in better. However having prescribed set might make people repeat when we should always change where we are sitting, standing or even how we say our line.
Acting skills
Voice warm ups
- Sirening
- Breathing
- The tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips
- Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Voice is very important when acting so you need to warm up your voice. Sirening is when you use your voice to make a siren sound and you go from low to high. This helps improve your range and also relax your face, neck and vocal chords.
Breathing exercises are very important because they make your breathing more flexible. It helps you learn how to do different voices therefore make you versatille. You can do this exercise by breathing in and out for counts of ten and when breathing out bringing your body down to touch the floor. Then when you breathe in you should stand back up again. Remember when breathing make different sounds when breathing out and let everything out, every last breath.
Finally tongue twisters are extremely good voice warm ups. To do these you have to make sure your pronounce each word properly. Tongue twisters help your articulation, this is very useful because if you are in a performance the audience needs to be able to hear every word you are saying clearly.
Physical
Warm Ups
- Cat stretch
- Rolling down the spine
- Pull and Pressing Exercise
- Shoulder Rolls
I have said alot that acting comes from the body not the mind therefore it is extremely important to warm up your body.
The cat stretching exercise is when you are on your hands and knees. You then have to arch your back both upwards and downwards This relaxes your muscles and makes you less stiff.
Rolling down the spine is basically rolling down with your head first until you can put your hands on the floor. This helps improve your flexibility You can go further down by breathing out when you go down, remember you should feel every notch in your spine bend over and when you come up your head should be the last thing.
The pull and pressing exercise is when everyone in the room joins hands. When pressing your hands should lean against theirs and press as hard as possible, then pulling you should hold their wrists and pull away. This exercise makes the cast connect together and work as a team.
Finally shoulder rolls is when you roll your shoulders backwards and forwards. This relaxes them so they are down and relaxed when standing in neutral.
