Actor and Text Process Assessment Portfolio
For the past academic term, I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from both a director, Tyrell Jones and an actress, Claire Eden. Throughout these classes, we have explored a variety of different techniques that an actor can use to analyse and break down text. In this portfolio, I will document the techniques we have studied through different exercises, whether or not they worked for me and whether I would use them again.
Objectives:
Our introduction to this course began by tackling the challenging text of Paradise Lost and exploring it in groups. Although I am not heavily interested in literature, I found the analytical nature of this lesson very fascinating. We were tasked with selecting one of three monologues from the characters: Belial, Beelzebub or Moloch and breaking the text into sections based on what we believed the character was trying to communicate. Despite initially finding the text intimidating and tricky, Tyrell’s introduction of objectives, “a goal that a character wants to achieve” (Blackwater, 2013), was particularly useful and allowed me to recognise Belial’s targets with much more clarity. After all, I would agree with the statement that “in every story, a character wants or needs something (their goal)” (Chubbuck, 2004, p. vii), which helps with character interaction in a scene. I believe that this technique would be practical for me in the future when faced with daunting texts to ensure my acting is driven by the correct intention and desired effect on the audience.
Super Objectives and Units:
We continued using objectives to deconstruct text throughout the next few lessons by reading and assessing Chekhov’s play, The Bear. Tyrell explained that while characters can have varying objectives between scenes, they also have a super objective that expands over the entire play and “serves as the final goal that a character wishes to achieve” (Blackwater, 2013). This enabled us to study Stanislavski’s idea of units, otherwise referred to as events or beats. Uniting can be explained as breaking a play or piece of text into smaller parts based on a character’s objective, and a new unit can only begin when there is a change of objective within one of the characters (Anonymous, 2018). Our task was to read through the play, identifying where each unit was based on a change of objective from a character, and mark it on the script.
This technique worked well for me because if I was performing in The Bear or a piece of theatre where the scenes were very long, I would be able to break up the dialogue into smaller sections to maintain the focus and drive my acting through purpose. Something I struggle with as an actress is maintaining the audience’s focus in especially long scenes, so this technique is very helpful. Stanislavski stated that “an actor must proceed, not by a multitude of details, but by those important units which, like signals, make his channel and keep him in the right creative line” (Stanislavski, 2013, p. 124), which is exactly what I found in my exploration of units due to its indication of where there should be a shift in my acting.
As I mentioned, we discussed the idea of super objectives within Chekhov’s play in addition to the later work we did with Claire. For Popova, this super objective was to seek revenge on her husband, first by making him feel guilty and then by engaging in romantic relations with Smirnov. This added a deeper understanding of character by allowing for the exploration of subtext, something I consider to be highly intriguing within a performance. The idea of subtext is always something that has attracted me as an actress because I believe it can add another layer of complexity and interest to the character you are playing. Charis Jackson defines subtext as “the underlying meaning or message of a text that isn’t explicitly stated”, which I believe is a critical aspect of an actor’s job because they are responsible for directing this (Jackson, 2022).
Given circumstances:
We continued developing techniques to interpret a text by discussing the method of using given circumstances to aid an actor’s understanding of a character. Meisner defines acting as “the ability to behave absolutely truthfully under the imaginary circumstances”, and my initial approach to this technique stemmed from our acting classes with Adam Stadius, whereby we look at the Meisner technique through repetition exercises (Meisner, n.d). I had begun to see this technique as possibly mundane and repetitive, however, as explained by Jim Jarrett, the repetition exercises we’d focused so heavily on simply “create a foundation of listening” that allows for a more truthful and convincing performance. (Jarrett, 2019) This most definitely improved my performance and approach to these classes as I was able to properly appreciate and understand what Meisner meant by given circumstances. Likewise, I found the use of given circumstances highly effective in my acting through song class when singing ‘Something Wonderful’ from Roger and Hammerstein’s The King and I. Sung by Lady Thiang, the song illuminates the complexity of her relationship with her husband, the King. I found this song challenging because I was not able to empathise or draw off my own experiences, and for this reason, Meisner’s approach became very helpful in delivering an honest performance. I took it upon myself to research given circumstances for the purpose of developing Lady Thiang’s character and found an article that suggests the three main circumstances to consider are what the character wants, when it is and where they’re from (Masterclass, 2022). Lady Thiang wants to persuade Anna to accept the King for what he is despite his flaws and help him with the visiting missionaries, and the musical is set in 1862 in Siam, Bangkok. This focus on key details allowed me to direct my acting and understand attributes of her character as a result of her environment, for example, she is unable to speak out on issues she has due to the oppression of women at the time.
Actioning:
We continued refining The Bear with a technique called actioning (or tactics) by determining a specific action verb that defines a character’s aim. To help understand this technique better, I chose to review Stafford-Clark’s method and read some of Moseley’s Actioning; and How to Do It. He explains that the actioning technique works by looking at each line of text and “assigning each thought an ‘action verb”, which expresses an underlying intention of the line” (Moseley, 2016, p. vii). Working in partners, our task was to choose a section of the script to assign actions to and deliver these lines with an accompanying physical action. While I found identifying the verbs effective in approaching ways to deliver the line, I would say that the exercise of saying the action in performance distracted me from the purpose due to feeling childish. To enhance my appreciation of actioning, I read Script Analysis for Theatre, where the writer considers the idea of actioning and the use of tactics by explaining that to find a playable choice, you must examine “what is literally going on in a scene and then search for actions that differ from the literal” (Knopf, 2017, p.7). I found this instructive because it linked to what I had already discovered about playing into subtext, leading to a better performance.
Even though I could appreciate the method of the exercise and its practicality, it simply did not work for me because I began to find humour in the exercise rather than maintaining sincerity. Furthermore, I found that I was restricted from reacting organically and found myself repeating the line the same way each time. Moseley mentions this in his writing, with actors feeling “straight-jacketed” and “constricted by their action-verb choices, unable to speak as their impulse dictates in the moment”, which is exactly how I would describe the hindrances I felt. Additionally, after appreciating the value of the Meisner technique, it felt as though I was regressing and responding thoughtlessly rather than actively listening to who I was performing with. Therefore, while I can understand the use of the technique to explore the text, I thought it obstructed my performance slightly, and I might be hesitant to use it in the future.
Creative approach to text:
We began working with Claire Eden on more contemporary texts, and she introduced us to Love and Information by Caryl Churchill, a compilation of seven scenes containing no character names. Our first lesson took a more creative approach to assessing text and developing character than techniques we had studied in previous lessons. My partner and I chose to explore Act 1, ‘Secret’, and our task was to imagine a context for our characters from a completely artistic point of view. We were able to create Pinterest boards inspired by our character and Spotify playlists based on the music we believed they would listen to. I found this class extremely enjoyable because it allowed us to be completely inventive and artful in our character analysis, and personally, it gave me a practical resource to base my approach.
This is a technique I will use again in my future work because it allowed me to evolve my character and relate to them in a way I’d never thought of before. I discovered that having a visual or auditory resource worked much better than having the character described in words, and I intend to take this approach more often.
Hot Seating:
Using our contexts, Claire gave us the task of hot seating with our partners, an exercise where “a character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation” (Farmer, 2024). While I’ve not previously found hot seating to be overly useful, Claire’s approach provided me with a new understanding of the exercise with a more professional outlook that allowed me to explore the character intrinsically without overthinking the performance. This connected to the Laban movement we have been doing with Patricia Verity and helped to link my acting classes because both performances stem from expression and individuality rather than the notion of right and wrong. Overall, I really appreciated this style of analysis because it required me to think more imaginatively rather than in a disciplined way. Therefore, when we were asked to bring in our own scene, I decided I would use this technique by creating a Pinterest board to develop my character.
Vocal Variety and Intention:
We continued our work on Love and Information by working with different partners and exploring another scene. My partner and I chose Act 4, ‘Dinner’, and Claire prompted us to use techniques we’d covered to provide context before completing an exercise focusing on vocal variety and intention through repetition. We did this by choosing a specific line from the text and taking turns reciting it, speaking to our partner in a different manner each time, which allowed us to discover the ways that were particularly effective.
Applying Technique to Contextual Studies:
Moreover, this exercise assisted me in my contextual studies classes with the text A Taste of Honey, in which I played a character who spoke in a completely different manner to my own, making it hard to connect to the character’s dialogue. It worked because it allowed me to identify the portrayal that seemed most successful and read with the desired effect, subsequently enriching the performance I delivered to the audience.
Bringing in our own text:
In our final lesson with Claire, we were asked to combine all our subject knowledge and bring in our own piece of contemporary text to evaluate and rehearse in class. For me, I enjoyed having the responsibility of choosing the text, which gave me the opportunity to challenge myself with the potential techniques I could employ. While working with my partner on a standalone scene, I found that I primarily utilised objectives and given circumstances, which helped me to deliver an informed and believable performance.
Conclusion
To summarise, I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and believe my work has benefitted from learning the techniques we have covered. I would say the technique I appreciated the most was making visual and auditory resources to help develop a character. Whilst the other techniques also improved my approach to text, I found that analysing it in a way that encourages me to be creative worked best for me and helped develop my work. I look forward to learning more techniques to analyse text in the future and hope to work with Claire and Tyrell again.
Bibliography
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Available online:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/540b22a1e4b0d0f549866135/t/5a5640abec212d4f5bf4cbcf/1515602091655/Units+%26+Objectives+2018.pdf (Accessed 10/12/24)
Blackwater, J. (2013) Actions, Objectives and Super-Objectives; objectives. The Maydays.
Available online:
https://www.themaydays.co.uk/actions-objectives-and-super-objectives/ (Accessed 12/12/24)
Chubbuck, I. (2004) The Power of the Actor: The Chubbuck Technique. New York: Gotham Books, p. iiv.
Farmer, D. (2024) Hot Seating. Drama Resource.
Available online:
https://dramaresource.com/hot-seating/ (Accessed 17/12/24)
Jackson, C.J. (2022) Why subtext is important for actors. Backstage.
Available online:
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/why-subtext-is-important-how-to-find-it-69877/ (Accessed 16/12/24)
Jarret et al. (2019) Meisner technique. The Meisner Technique Studio.
Available online:
https://themeisnertechniquestudio.com/meisner-technique/ (Accessed 10/12/24)
Knopf, R. (2017) Script Analysis for Theatre. United States: Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 7.
Masterclass. (2022). Given circumstances in Acting; how to get into character. Masterclass.
Available online:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/given-circumstances (Accessed 15/12/24)
Meisner, S. (n.d). Meisner technique. The Meisner Technique Studio.
Available online:
https://themeisnertechniquestudio.com/meisner-technique/ (Accessed 10/12/24)
Moseley, N. (2016) Actioning and how to do it. London, United Kingdom: Nick Hern Books.
Stanislavski, C. (2013) An Actor Prepares. United States: Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 124.
