By Lucy Harrison 25100654
Introduction
This Actor and text performance portfolio aims to outline the techniques that I have successfully demonstrated through the collaboration process with both the director and actors. Whilst working on a selection of texts, I focused on the application of methodologies and the reference to specific practitioners such as Konstantin Stanislavski and Katie Mitchell to support both my performance and analysis of the text based upon wider external reading. Discussing techniques such as the ‘Given Circumstances’ (Stanislavski. K, An Actor Prepares, 2013), World building research and text speech analysis, I aim to evaluate the success in which these have helped me thoroughly understand the context surrounding the text and consider appropriate character choices through these processes. I will also comment on the involvement of Claire Eden (who adopted the role as Director) who educated us on how to utilise these techniques in an effective way which complemented the texts we were developing.
Given Circumstances- ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’
“Whatever happens on stage must be for Purpose” is a quote from the book ‘An Actor Prepares’ written by Stanislavski in 1936, which outlines the ‘Given circumstances’ as a method which explores a character’s motivation and actions being driven by a specific situation or condition in which they are subjected to. During this semester, we studied the text- ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ By Oscar Wilde which is a classical theatre text including elements of farcical comedy. Whilst developing characters, we were directed to consider the use of Stanislavski’s system as our process and how the ‘Given circumstances’ can provide the actor with an understanding of the intension of the character using questions such as: “Why is my character in this location?” or “What is their relation to that character?”.
We had been instructed to focus on the extract between the characters Jack and Lady Bracknell and therefore by reading the play and researching the characters I was provided with sufficient information to implement the given circumstances within my performance. I first considered the question of who Jack is as this would impact my quality of speech, tone, posture, demeanour and other dramatic components. After learning that he is a man leading a double life and pretending to be an affluent gentleman, I forced my posture to be upright with a tilted chin lift to represent the archetype of the upper-class Victorian gentleman. I further spoke in an articulated manner by implementing the RP accent to highlight both the geographical location being set in England and the societal expectations of the upper class. I also considered my character’s purpose by asking myself ‘what do they desire in this scene’ and how this translates into my performance. As Jack wants to marry Gwendolyn and wants to make a good impression, I delivered the lines in a confident manner with a louder volume. On the line “I know nothing, Lady Bracknell” (Wilde, O ,2015, The Importance of Being Earnest) I spoke with hesitance, taking a pause between ‘know’ and ‘nothing’ and placing a hand close to my lip as Jack is unsure whether his response is satisfactory for Lady Bracknell.
Keeping this technique in mind, we moved onto working with the ‘Magic if’ which is another technique used within the Stanislavski system to create an instinctive action focusing on the intention of the performance. Stanislavski describes this method as effective as “It arouses an inner and real activity and does this by natural means.” (Stanislavski. K, An Actor Prepares, 2013). During week three, we were instructed by Claire Eden to rehearse this extract first based on our initial thoughts and utilising the given circumstances appropriately. We were then asked to consider the ‘Magic if’, for example, how the scene would change ‘If your character was in a desperate emotional state’. I believe that this emotional focus suited my character’s intention well and presented clearly that he deeply desired Lady Bracknell’s approval. One way that my physicality changed was I leant forwards on my seat, actively listening closely to the other character and I noticed I used more hand gestures to display the emotions such as on the line “well I own a house in Belgrave square”. I gestured to myself placing a hand on my chest and held eye contact whilst nodding firmly to represent jack’s growing desperation.
I found these techniques and applying them during lessons particularly effective as it reinforced my understanding of the importance of a Character’s social or environmental circumstances and how it impacts the way they communicate with others. I believe that I was able to successfully adapt both my vocal and physical qualities to align with a character and portray a truthful and convincing performance. I will continue to work on this in future classes and continue to research into other techniques in the Stanislavski system that I find interesting-like ‘emotion memory’- to build my confidence on developing this craft.
World Building- ‘Me and My Girl’
World building research is a method which collates information surrounding a particular time period, geographic location or specific culture in which a character relates to. This is especially important when rehearsing a text which has an older time period to present day or an unfamiliar location, as the actor can visualise this world in which they have never visited. A practitioner who utilises world building research in the foundations of her work is Katie Mitchell- A British Theatre director whose meticulous approach to character portrayal gives an authentic and truthful performance with female empowerment at the forefront of her focus. The text that we focused on for this lesson was from the musical ‘Me and My Girl’ written by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber and first performed in 1937. This text is set in the 1930s and follows the story of Cockney Bill Snibson who discovers he is the wealthy Earl of Hareford and has to juggle between this new lavish lifestyle and his devotion to Sally Smith. During this lesson, Claire Eden provided us with categories to complete individual research into the 1930s era and the contrast between the experiences of the rich, compared to the poor. I completed research into the politics, economy, fashion and music to immerse myself within this world and begin to translate this into my character of Sally Smith. I created a mind map to collate my ideas visually to refer back to, in order to help support my character choices.
We began workshopping the scene and by using my knowledge of the world building research I had completed previously surrounding the era and Sally’s character, I used a cockney accent which portrays her social class as this accent was mostly associated with the lower class. In the first video attached I Initially began workshopping this scene that Sally is upset that she doesn’t fit in with the higher-class society and therefore I made my demeanour more timid and ashamed which is highlighted by me turning my body away from Bill and using a softer tone when I spoke. I also added a pause between “No Bill, I’ve decided, I’m going back to Lambeth” (Gay, N., Furber, D, 1955, Me and My Girl) to showcase Sally’s uncertainty however, upon receiving direction and feedback from Claire, I learnt that this approach came across as too scripted and calculated. Therefore, when we performed this a second time, I approached this character differently and thought of her as subverting the common stereotypes of a woman of this time period such as being obedient to men and softly spoken and instead I used a more assertive tone. I also used emphasis and a raised volume on the phrase “No Bill, I’ve decided” to showcase Sally’s confident personality and how she is not afraid to stand up to Bill and showcase her desire for him. I also believe performing this as a continuous phrase makes this interaction seem more natural and authentic instead of using pauses for ‘dramatic effect’ which therefore, successfully responds to Claire’s Feedback on this.
I found the technique of world building research to enhance characterisation particularly effective when workshopping scenes from ‘Me and My Girl’ as it allowed me to understand the world in which it is set on a deeper level. For example, I was able to research into the fashion within the 1930’s and therefore consider how this would affect my character’s posture and gait. However, i do feel like this is a technique that is time consuming and limits time for workshopping and rehearsing a scene instinctively. Therefore, for me, i found it more challenging to devise character choices based upon this technique compared to the given circumstances due to the static style of this technique and lack of creative exploration. However, I have experimented with using this technique in acting through song classes as I find this more effective to understand the world surrounding the character in a song to produce informed character choices that may not be entirely obvious at a first glance at the song.
Text Analysis- ‘Macbeth and Stars’
Text Analysis refers to the process in which one breaks down the script or text by it’s punctuation, beats and objectives. This is significant when considering the pace and movement within the scene and also allows the actor to split the text up into sections and meticulously consider the different emotions and choices along the journey of the text. During the beginning of the class Claire Eden lead us through an exercise titled ‘Walking the Text’ which combines the use of punctuation within the text with a physical action to visually demonstrate its effect and establish rhythm. We would change direction when there was a comma, jump at an exclamation mark and spin at a question mark to physically embody the punctuation. I had never done this exercise and i found it interesting on how important punctuation is in dictating the sense of line within a text. Upon conducting further research, I found similarities with Victor Borge’s phonetic punctuation routine which he performed in the Victor Borge show in the 1950s and he used comedic sounds to demonstrate the punctuation. He quoted during a performance, “People don’t understand each other clearly when they speak together, it’s because we don’t use punctuation marks” (Victor Borge Official, YouTube). Whilst workshopping this method, I found more meaning within the text and I discovered that my acting seemed more authentic as I was not focusing on what was said and instead i used an instinctive approach.
I continued to experiment with this idea as we studied Act 2 scene 1 of Macbeth, focusing on the significance of punctuation and beats within the text and how this informs my character choices. I noted that the frequency of interrogative sentences manipulated my voice to be breathier and of a lower volume as if Macbeth is in shock at the violent visions presented In. front of him. I also acknowledged the beat in which the Bell chimes and wakes Macbeth from this trance as Macbeth’s demeanour shifts from uncertainty to confidence and acceptance. I discovered that the increasing number of both commas and full stops as the soliloquy ends increases the pace and the short declarative sentences manipulated my demeanour to be cold and menacing as I stood with a strong gaze and my chin tilted upwards. I found analysing the text in these exercises allowed me to physically experiment with pace and rhythm which further helped me grasp the objectives within the text, which for Macbeth, could be his guilty desire to kill Duncan.
We were then instructed By Claire to complete the same process however using a song instead of a spoken text. By analysing ‘Stars’ from Les Misérables, I was able to make comparisons of the characters between Macbeth and Javert based upon their ethos and super objective. Both characters have a similar commanding posture and stance however both characters have an underlying insecurity that i experimented with portraying to the audience in a subtle manner-like glances to the side or considering my breath to be sharper. I found both texts challenging to physically connect to as they are both are masculine figures however, i was able to successfully consider and explain my character choices in response to the context and text analysis.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that I have successfully demonstrated my use of a range of techniques and worked collaboratively with director Claire Eden into developing my character choices. This has been displayed by my relevant research into practitioners like Stanislavski and Katie Mitchell as well as exploring other mediums of performance like Victor Borge’s routines. The most effective technique that I feel helped enhance my approach to characterisation was the ‘Given Circumstances’ and the ‘Magic If’ exercises. I believe these techniques significantly improved the authenticity of my performance and allowed me to act freely in an instinctive manner based upon contextual information surrounding the character. However, I found world building research as I found this text prohibited my exploration within the character due to the static nature of this exercise. Although it helped me visualise the world of the character, I prefer to work with more active techniques which strengthen my creativity within rehearsals.
Bibliography
[1] Borge V Official, (2024) “Victor Borge – Phonetic Punctuation (with Ronald Reagan!)”, Youtube
[2] Gay, N., Furber, D (1955) Me and My Girl. London: Samuel French
[3] Schönberg, C-M., Boubil, A (1998) Les Miserables: A musical
[4] Shakespeare, W (2012) Macbeth London: The Arden Shakespeare
[5] Stanislavski, K (2013) An Actor Prepares. London: Bloomsbury
[6] Wilde, O (2015). The Importance of Being Earnest. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
