Throughout the duration of the semester, we have looked at many ways to enhance and strengthen the actor’s process in an attempt to create more fully developed characters. This can be quite the challenge, as finding what techniques work for an individual can take time, trial and error, and even failure. This past semester has taught me a lot about what I need to not only understand a character, but to truly embody them. Through the last semester, I have dedicated time to learning the various acting techniques as well as applying them to my practice in effort to create a more well-rounded character development technique. I have done this by “Walking the Text,” asking Stanislavski’s “Magic If,” and Uta Hagen’s “Nine Questions” to develop my characters physically, emotionally, and holistically.

Each of the previously mentioned concepts has had its own unique effect on my process, and its own way of influencing specific aspects of my characters.

Walking the text.

I was skeptical of “walking the text” at first. It seemed trivial and like it would leave my work largely unaffected other than overcomplicating the dialogue and overemphasizing the speech patterns. I initially tried this with a speech from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Much to my shock, this physicalized the iambic pentameter, and created a mind map through the more meticulous language used by Shakespeare. When later stripping the text of its movements, I found the emphasis and flow of the dialogue was still there, creating a more dynamic and realized performance.

After seeing positive effects from the Shakespeare piece, I applied the same technique to It Only Takes a Moment from Hello Dolly, my assigned song for the course module Acting Through Song. While the language used in the song was more palatable than that of the Elizabethan Shakespeare dialogue, I found that walking the text allowed me to embody the text without the music. This allowed me to temporarily separate the text from the music, thus helping me digest and comprehend the words. This also marks the clear differences between the thought of the character and the musical phrases. When I then re-added the music, the effects of the text walking remained, creating a more embodied performance.

However, I did run into an issue with walking the text in that, sometimes, my mobility issues affected my ability to adequately move through the text. So, I began with the text and highlighted all of the punctuation. Next, I pondered how to invoke the same physical change that walking the text provides. I thought of our Actor Movement module, where we had been learning about the Laban efforts. Some of the efforts, like thrust and flick, had the same sudden and drastic nature that were felt in the change of direction and momentum in walking the text. I considered how I could incorporate these motions without engaging my whole body. Finally, I landed on a long consistent glide of a limb, like an arm, and then, whenever the change it thought occurred, engaged in the Laban thrust, to change the direction and speed of the arm.

While not as physically engaging as fully walking the text, my smaller scale Laban version of the concept still proved effective as I continued to apply the concept to my next Acting Through Song development. I realized that not only does this technique allow me to do it seated, but you could do it at an even smaller scale with just a finger, and changing the thrust to a flick. Furthermore, this could be applied to sight reading text like we did in week one. You can do it small enough to not distract others and still gain the benefits of changing thought. All this to say, walking the text, and applying motion to the early stages of learning text has been an incredible tool to add to my toolbox, as it allows me to physicalize the text, and better understand the train of thought of my characters.

I have attached below a video example of my modified “walking the text” with the same excerpt from Romeo and Juliet that we had originally walked the text with. I have also added a picture of the text appropriately highlighted to demonstrate how to initially annotate the text to prepare for the following movement.

Magic If

One of the most impactful techniques I explored this semester was Stanislavski’s Magic If. When first introduced in class, the Magic If did not immediately resonate with me. Although I understood the concept on an intellectual level, it seemed slightly redundant when compared to the more well-rounded approaches introduced by practitioners like Uta Hagen. Because of this, I struggled to apply it in a way that felt intentional and relevant. The question of “What would I do if I were in this character’s circumstances?” felt almost unrelated to the situation of the character. I always felt that if I were in the same given circumstances as the character, I would make almost completely different decisions.

To illustrate this, I found notes of me trying to invoke the Magic If in the context of the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

After this initial struggle, I noticed a shift when I later retried the method with our next excerpt in class, A View From a Bridge by Arthur Miller. I worked on this scene with a partner, where we were primarily working on character development. In this character development, however, I thought back to our Stanislavski work from a few weeks earlier. As I was researching the role of Eddie, I could not help but think of how different I was from the character. In the scene, Eddie was in an argument with Beatrice, where she was challenging his authority and control over his family and his household. In the scene, Eddie responds in a defensive and aggressive manner, as he attempts to use his aggression to regain control. If I were in that situation, I would attempt to de-escalate and reason with the other party. I realized that instead of trying to focus on the differences, I could find what similar core emotions are shared. This allowed me to create what felt like a more unique and authentic version of Eddie, and one that I could approach with a more earnest perspective. While we never got to perform the scene in class, the comprehension of the Magic If stuck with me, and is something I have found myself coming back to every time we get new scripts.

This exercise reframed my understanding of the Magic If. Instead of viewing it solely as a question of personal behavior, I came to see it as a conversation with myself that draws emotional parallels and brings them to the forefront of the character. By focusing on these shared core emotions instead of superficial differences, I was able to relate to and enter into the character’s situation. This shift allowed my physical choices, emotional responses, and textual analysis to inform one another, reinforcing my overall approach to character development as a holistic process.

Nine Questions.

Uta Hagen’s Nine Questions is one of the concepts we had discussed in class that I had not only read before, but was already a part of my process. I read her book Respect for Acting about a year ago, and already had a love for the concept. Our discussion in class inspired me to go back and re-read Respect for Acting, this time with the knowledge of other practitioners like Stanislavski, whose influence I was previously unaware of.

Her nine questions are: Who am I? What time is it? Where am I? What surrounds me? What are the given circumstances? What are my relationships? What do I want? What is in my way? What do I do to get what I want?

What stands out to me about these questions is not just what they’re asking, but how they are being asked. The questions are always phrased “what do I want” not “what does MY CHARACTER want.” While minuscule, this distinction is critical. Because for me, I find by the end of working through the questions, I already understand the character’s actions and decisions, even if it is drastically different from my own. I find myself able to use this after asking myself the Magic If. As I mentioned before, I sometimes find the Magic If a bit of a challenge when it feels like there is too big a rift between the character and myself. I find Hagen’s Nine Questions bridge the gap in a way that feels natural and healthy. I also find that her questions build on Stanislavski’s “Given Circumstances” quite nicely. In isolation, the given circumstances may seem slightly daunting, and difficult to pinpoint. I’ve found that approaching the given circumstances after first considering character-based questions allows them to become clearer and more accessible.

I found Hagen’s Nine Questions really stood out, when facing a non-specific task. In our Acting Workshop module with Tyrrell, we were asked to develop a character from a random object. Without a script to follow, I found that Hagen’s Nine Questions built a foundation for the character, which then only needed to be tweaked slightly depending on the given circumstances. Below I have attached a screenshot of my nine questions answered from that exercise.

I have found that Uta Hagen’s Nine Questions create a more holistic understanding of the character, rather than a simple emotional or physical connection. These questions are strategically structured to allow for a grounding and understanding of the character that I feel I did not understand properly until this deep dive. I now could not envision a world where my process does not include these nine questions.

Conclusion

Over the course of the semester, the techniques explored in this module: “Walking the Text,” Stanislavski’s “Magic If,” and Uta Hagen’s “Nine Questions,” have each strengthened different aspects of my process, ultimately supporting a more fully developed and embodied approach to character creation.

“Walking the text” creates a physical connection between the words and pacing on the page as well as the physical nature of acting. This allows more rhythmic text, like Elizabethan Iambic Pentameter and even musical theatre songs, to be separated from their structure. The separation creates two different understandings of the text: one rhythmic and musical; the other mental and logical. When you then combine the two, it creates an understanding of the words both in and out of context of the tempo.

Stanislavski’s “Magic If” allows for a mental and emotional dive into the character. Thinking about oneself in the context of what is often a heightened situation creates not only an awareness of the stakes, but also sympathy for the character. This understanding of your own emotions allows for parallels to be drawn between your own decisions, and that of the character. When I then approach the scene, I find myself able to highlight those shared core emotions much better than without the Magic If.

Uta Hagen’s “Nine Questions” allow for all pieces in the puzzle to be connected. The first person perspective of the questions allow for a subconscious bond to be made between myself and the character. The progression through the questions allows for the more complex questions to be asked once I already have a better understanding of who the character is. This creates a holistic approach to character development that can then be reflected back on when changes happen in the script.

By combining these three concepts, I have been able to significantly enhance my process. I now feel more adequately prepared to approach a wider array of characters. I look forward to further developing these concepts, and creating more emotionally grounded, realistic characters.

Bibliography

Eden, C. (2025) Character research and world building [PowerPoint presentation]. Leeds Conservatoire.

Eden, C. (2025) Week 7 presentation [PowerPoint presentation]. Leeds Conservatoire.

Miller, A. (2009) A view from the bridge. London: Penguin Classics.

Hagen, U. (2008) Respect for acting. London: Macmillan.

Shakespeare, W. (2012) Romeo and Juliet. London: The Arden Shakespeare.

Stanislavski, K. (2013) An Actor Prepares. London: Bloomsbury.