Introduction
In Actor and Text classes this semester, we have looked at a range of techniques and methodologies that have helped me to create a useful process when approaching a text to help me develop a character. By allowing me to better understand the character, their circumstances and objectives, this helps me to embody them. Methods I have used, created by practitioners such as Stanislavski and Uta Hagen have helped me to create effective acting choices across a range of texts, from Shakespeare to musical theatre. As well as allowing me to work across a range of texts, these different techniques have also helped me to familiarise myself with context quickly or more in depth, depending on what the given task requires.
Given Circumstances
One of the techniques I have learnt is researching the character’s given circumstances in the scene, an element of the system created by Konstantin Stanislavski. This is where we focus “on the beginning and the source of the action” (Poliakov, 2020). For example, we answer questions about the character such as:
- Who: who am i?
- What: what do I want and what am I doing?
- Where: where am I?
- Why: why am I doing this (what is my motivation?) and why now?
- When: what time of day or year is it?
Stanislavksi (1989, p.47) believes we must answer these questions so we understand why we are doing the action, what the circumstances are and our character’s internal motives. Answering each individual question helps the actor to develop their understanding of these. It is important that an actor is familiar with all of this context so they have a justification for their actions and can be coherent and real. (Stanislavski, 1989, p.49)
Figure 1
Figure 1 is an example of when I have used this, when we were looking at “On my own” from Les Miserables. By answering this set of questions, it provides context for the text, helping me better understand the character and her motivations. This then allows me to make more acting choices that are more true to Eponine’s character.
With my newfound understanding of the circumstances, I was then able to go through the text and create more effective choices, as seen in Figure 2. The general motivation to begin with was to create a fantasy in which her love for Marius is reciprocated, to allow her to escape what she has just witnessed. With this in mind, it helped me to make choices such as wrapping her arms around herself to mimic the feeling of Marius’, as well movements to portray the relief she is feeling as she imagines being with him. As the lyrics shift and she acknowledges it was just in her imagination, I decided to make contrasting choices, such as sharply dropping her arms, as well as looking around as she did earlier but now with a bitter look. My research into her circumstances not only allowed me to make choices that are more truthful to the story but also created contrast, making the piece more interesting.
Figure 2 (Schoenberg et al 1998)
I found it was much easier to come up with ideas for movement and thoughts behind each line than in previous instances when I didn’t have a clear method of understanding the circumstances of the scene. This technique has helped me develop as it has provided me with a useful structure that gives me guidance on exactly what information to research about a text in order to give me an understanding of the character and the circumstances in the scene. I find this method is particularly useful when first faced with a new text, as it is a relatively quick and efficient way of understanding the basic context of a scene. I intend to use this method when I am given a new text that I need to begin work on somewhat quickly, to give me the circumstances needed to begin developing a character.
Uta Hagen’s 9 questions
Another technique I have learned in actor and text, is using the 9 questions created by Uta Hagen. Similar to Stanislavski’s given circumstances, Hagen’s questions provide context and information about the text – they provide the information that you have to know to recreate the scene (Hagen, 1973, p.82). Hagen believed that these are the areas that are most important to look at when defining what makes this moment of a character’s life evolve. By answering these questions it allows the actor to understand the motives behind the individual’s actions. Hagen (1973, p.82) defines the following questions:
| Who am I? | Character. |
| What time is it? | Century, year, season, day, minute. |
| Where am I? | Country, city, neighborhood, house, room, area of room. |
| What surrounds me? | Animate and inanimate objects. |
| What are the given circumstances? | Past, present, future and the events. |
| What is my relationship? | Relation to total events, other characters, and to things. |
| What do I want? | Character, main and immediate objectives. |
| What’s in my way? | Obstacles. |
| What do I do to get what I want? | The action: physical, verbal. |
Figure 3
I used these 9 questions when approaching portraying the character of Bill Snibson in scene 4 of “Me and My girl” by Noel Gay. I found answering a longer list of questions, each one with multiple subsections, provided me with a lot of detail and context about the scene and character. I found the questions “What do I want?, What is in my way? and What do I do to get what I want?” particularly useful as it gave me more of a focus and purpose during the scene. These helped me to understand what is driving Bill’s actions and therefore portray him more effectively. Another question I found useful was researching your character’s relationship’s to other people in the scene. This was helpful as it shows you your character’s feelings about the people they interact with and therefore how they would treat them. This helped me embody Bill better as I could interact with the character Sally more truthfully after I have researched and found out he is in love with her. I found the question “What do I do to get what I want?” the hardest one to answer as it consists of turning inner intentions into actions and requires specificity. I aim to improve answering this particular question as I progress because I think it is a really key way of understanding the actions of a character.
This technique has helped me with my character understanding as it is a useful structure to gain detail about the context and character, helping me to understand actions within the scene. I have already used this method when I have been given new songs for acting through song class, and I have found that this research provides me with detail that can then be used and built upon during class. This is a process that I intend to use whenever I am faced with a new text that I have longer to research and need to be more familiar with, as I found it extremely effective in helping me understand the motivations of a character and therefore allowing me to embody the character.
World Building Research
Researching the world in which a play is set is another process we have studied in actor and text this term. I have learnt that this is a crucial step in the rehearsal process when faced with a new text as it defines the world you’re creating and helps provide you with a strong sense of the historical period of the play and therefore your understanding of the text is rooted within that.(Mitchell, 2009, p.15). By understanding the world the play is taking place in, it can give you information about how the character belongs within it. Stanislavksi (1989, p.23) also believed it was important to look at the text from the perspective of its historical period, cultural context, the country, living conditions, social background, literature, psychology, and ways of life in order to allow your own emotional responses to shape it.
In class we have researched areas such as fashion, music, society, politics and money in order to build an understanding of the world in which a text is set as seen in Figure 4. When looking at the character of Juliet from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, I used these areas of research to give me a sense of 14th century Verona, where the play is set. In this instance, I found researching society and politics was particularly useful as it not only helped me understand the world Juliet was living in, but also how she fits into it and how that affects her actions. For example, by learning about the strict social hierarchy and how the more powerful families can affect politics, it showed me the extremity of the power her family holds. In addition, by researching how feuds and marriages shape society, I am able to understand the motivations behind the Capulet family’s action (eg. how they want Juliet to marry Paris). Similarly, by learning about the patriarchal society the play is set in, it helps me to understand Juliet as it shows me the lack of power she has as a young woman in society.
Figure 4
This process has helped me understand both the world of a text more, as well as the character’s actions within that world. By researching these various areas I have found I better understand the character’s circumstances, values, and daily life, allowing me to portray them more accurately. So far I have used this process on various texts in class, including more Shakespeare and musicals. I have found this process is particularly useful when portraying a character who lives in a very different time period, country or society to the one I live in, as I need to work harder to understand the context and what living in that world would be like. I intend to use this process paired with either Stanislavski’s given circumstances or Uta Hagen’s 9 questions whenever I am given a new text to work on. The combination of these techniques will give me a very clear, detailed understanding of the context of the scene as well as the character’s motivations and qualities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these processes have been extremely useful in helping me to understand details about the character, their motivations and actions as well as the world they live in. By learning these various techniques and methodologies in class, it has provided me with useful ways to first approach a new text, which I can take with me and utilise throughout the rest of my course, and into the future. Stanislavski’s given circumstances have helped me develop by providing a clear structure for researching a text, allowing me to understand both the character and the circumstances of a scene. I find it especially useful when first approaching a new text, as it quickly and efficiently establishes the basic context. Similarly, Uta Hagen’s 9 questions have shown me the important information and detail to know about a character to be able to fully understand their motives and actions and therefore allow me to embody them more accurately. In addition, world building research is particularly useful as it provides wider context of the show as well as giving you a sense of the character’s role within the world they live in. Through my classes I have found a useful process to understand a character and text, by combining given circumstances or 9 questions with world building research. This structure can be used and adapted across various genres of text and in situations where the time available for research varies or different levels of detail are required. I plan to use these processes throughout the rest of my course and into the future, whenever I am faced with a new text or song as I have found it extremely helpful when it comes to portraying a new character.
Bibliography
Hagen, U. (1973) Respect for Acting. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [Accessed
Mitchell, K. (2009) The Director’s Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre. Routledge
Poliakov, S. (2020) Perspective in acting practice, Stanislavski Studies, 8:1 (143-154), DOI: 10.1080/20567790.2020.1736443
Schönberg, C. Boublil, A and Kretzmer, H. Les Misérables: A Musical. London: Alain Boublil Music, 1998
Stanislavski, C. (1989) An Actor Prepares. Routledge
