Preparing the Role
Character transformation is one of the great delights of acting. To reveal yourself through the life of another (stage) person is a challenge and a responsibility.
Points to Remember
The script comes first! Characterisation involves a multitude of choices, but don’t make any until you have thoroughly researched the script. It is the script that limits what you can do.
Get a workbook; make three columns on a blank page. Then read through the text and note the following in the columns:
| What I say about myself | What others say about me | Facts about my character |
This is where you list the things your character says about him/herself. |
This is where you list what the other characters in the text say about your character. |
For example: This is a woman; she has had five children. (Remember facts only, don’t make value judgements) |
Judge for yourself whether your character or others in the play talk honestly about themselves and others, make a note of your opinions. You will have discovered a great deal even if you character says nothing about himself or herself. You will have discovered the extent of your freedom to invent. Come to the character “innocent,” that is, try to have no preconceptions at all.
Transform yourself, not the character! Avoid the temptation to make the character more like you. For example, people who don’t like playing old characters might be tempted to make a 60-year-old character, say, 50. Or make character choices that are more likeable or sympathetic. This is not allowed. It makes for very boring work. Decide early in the process how old the character is.
Empathic characterisation. You do not personally have to like your character. You may not approve of the way they behave; you may find their morals disgusting. Your opinions are of absolutely no consequence and must be set aside. Suspend your judgement and awaken your curiosity. You must be able to develop an empathic relationship with your character, stand in their shoes emotionally, and see the world from their point of view. Only in this way will you be able to yield to the character and fully create him or her, undistorted by your own judgements.
A Checklist of Characteristics
As you go through this checklist, other qualities and characteristics may occur to you which you should note down immediately. However, do not rely too heavily on lists, and do not indulge in useless speculation. It is not necessary to know what your character did at the age of five unless the text implies that this is important. Lists of characteristics are only of use if you can find a way, psychologically or physically, of embodying them.
Age: |
How old is the character exactly? How does the character show age? Is it important how they feel about their age? (A young girl may try to appear older, an older woman look like “mutton dressed as lamb”.) |
|
|
Sex: |
Do they affirm there male or female sexuality? Do they exploit their sexuality? Do they use their sex to seduce or frighten others? Are they sexually “needy”? How is this expressed? |
|
|
Height, Weight, |
Is this character a small personality in a big body? A slim person in a fat body? Or does this personality match the physical body? Does this person feel/wish they were ugly/handsome? How do other characters relate physically to your character? |
|
|
Physical style: |
This is the carriage/posture of the character. Is he or she physically casual, relaxed, precise, rigid, awkward? |
|
|
Body type: |
Is the character an athletic type? Is he or she of heavy, medium or light build? What is the character’s shape image: like a stalk, like an egg or a lump of clay? |
|
|
Movement: |
What is the character’s rhythm and way of walking – like a cat, for example, or quick, impulsive, smooth, jerky? |
|
|
Voice and speech: |
What is the most striking feature of the character’s voice? Higher or lower pitch? Smooth or rough? Guttural? Stuttering? Eloquent? Clipped? |
|
|
Appearance: |
Does the character look attractive, clean, neat, fastidious, dirty, unkempt? |
Return to this list throughout rehearsal, and revise it within the parameters of your script analysis as your impressions of your character become sharper.
Inner & Outer Characteristics
Answer the question: “Who am I?” as fully as you can. You must decide on the character’s background, his or her likes and dislikes, relationships and characteristics.
Make a provisional list in a workbook of characteristics; using two columns headed “Inner Characteristics” and “Outer Characteristics.” Inner and outer characteristics are not always the same. Outer characteristics embody the face that the character shows to the world, but the inner characteristics contain the actual inside world of the character that may sometimes surface, for example, when the character is alone. A character who shows a resolutely happy, bubbly exterior may be hiding an inner sadness. The character may feel generous on the inside, but this may express itself to others as extravagance. On the other hand, a character may be gentle, loyal or weak, through and through, inside and out.
Imagery
When you apply imagery, you move from thinking to a feeling, and an instinctive response to the character. Apply the following questions, remembering that the answers can’t be wrong, nor can they be logically argued. Try to let the answers float into your mind before you examine it!
- If my character were an animal, what sort of animal?
- If my character were an hour of the day, what hour?
- If my character were the weather, what sort of weather?
- If my character were a landscape, what sort of landscape?
- If my character were a season of the year, what season?
- If my character were an element (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), which element?
And so on. If the answers to these questions make you want to try out something physically, don’t hesitate!
These informative and entertaining techniques can be found, along with many others, in John Perry’s “Encyclopedia of ACTING Techniques” Designed and Produced by Quarto Publishing plc
here