Introduction
This term I have learnt and put into practice many techniques and exercises which have aided me to both break down and perform classical and contemporary scripts. Working with Claire Eden, all of the knowledge that she’s passed to me, has been absolutely critical to my development as an actor and performer. In this portfolio I will be sharing with you the tactics and techniques that have worked for me and how I will use them in the future.
Given Circumstances
One of the first things that resonated with me as an actor was Stanislavski’s given circumstances coupled with his magic if and objective techniques. The given circumstances are not just who, they are: Who, what, where, when and why. Something that I have learnt and now believe is that “the given circumstances are essentially meaningless unless the actor is able to fully believe in their reality” (Acting Coach Garret – 2020). The given circumstances are absolutely essential in the creation and development of a world, they help build mood and atmosphere, a sense of realism/believability for both the actor and the audience. An essential tool in the actors toolbelt.
The first and most prominent time that I worked out and put into practice the given circumstances, was in actor and text when we looked at scene 1 from ‘Punk Rock’ by Simon Stevens. I broke down the character of Bennet, along with my group breaking down the characters of William, Chadwick, Lilly, Nicholas, Cissy and Tanya respectively. I used my prior knowledge of the play along with research and my imagination to fill in the blanks. I knew that his name was Bennet Francis and that they were all 6th form students meaning they were 17-18 years old, I decided he was 18 because of his overall demeanour and his commanding and sometimes threatening tone in his dialogue. Bennet finds pleasure in belittling the people around him, so I made his objective in the scene to antagonise his “friends” and to learn more about Lilly so he could start targeting her as well. With regards to where, they are all in a 6th form grammar school library (which is more like a common room in my mind). As for when this play is set it doesn’t say when it’s set so I decided to set it in the early 2010s, because I know they have regular access to somewhat modern mobile phones which really only came about late 2000s – early 2010s. Lastly the why, now I already touched on this a little in the previous ones but my why was, why does Bennet behave like he does? Well, I think it’s a combination of, yes he does find pleasure in the others reactions to his behaviour, but I also think it is deeper than that. He is attention seeking because maybe he lacked that attention from his parents in his younger years. That’s using my imagination because none of that is confirmed based on the text.
Objectives
With Given Circumstances came the thought and acknowledgement of Objectives and Super Objectives. A super objective is essentially what a character wants to achieve or obtain by the end of the show, a clear goal, it must be strong enough to drive the character throughout the entire show. It must be concrete, it cannot change. Objectives however can change, they are smaller and more flexible but still serve the same purpose as a super objective, just for a shorter time span. They should be a stepping stone to reach the super objective. Objectives are the end all and be all of an actor. You must use them, otherwise you cannot succeed.
I have used objectives in many instances throughout my time at the conservatoire and before that, for example: during one of Claire’s classes I worked on Act 1 scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare with a close peer of mine. In this lesson I was portraying Juliet, which put me very much out of my comfort zone. I used a mixture of given circumstances, my prior knowledge of the show and research of the times to break down the character and work out her objectives. It being Shakespearean meant that I first had to break down the text and understand what was being said. Once I understood the dialogue I got to work figuring out her circumstances but primarily working in the objectives as that was the task of the lesson. Romeo’s objective in this scene was to woo Juliet and to make her understand how he felt, Juliet’s objective was a little more convoluted. Unlike Romeo who didn’t care what people thought of him and their love, Juliet did care. She had a reputation to withhold and even though it was love at first sight she knew it was wrong because they are from opposing houses. So her objective was to convey her to him, but in a more discreet way, a way that didn’t catch people’s attention. That’s how I perceived the scene.
Acting Through Song
I begun to apply some of the techniques I have learned throughout the other practical classes into Acting Through Song. I have started working through confrontation from Jekyll and Hyde sung by Anthony Warlow and I have begun to use the likes of actioning, objectives and plan to implement the given circumstances once I know more about the show. However, a few days ago I sung the song for on of my peers focusing on the actioning and emphasis on words and he loved it and said it was a “great improvement compared to the last time you sang it for me”. I really feel my level of development when I start bringing the techniques into other classes so I will continue to do so.
Conclusion
In Conclusion my work within Actor and Text has been incredibly useful to me, I have developed so much already and will continue to do so. I will absolutely use my techniques outside of lesson and for years to come in my career.
Bibliography
Acting Coach Garret. (2020) What are the given circumstances? Available Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYcAiOpIBmo [Accessed 21/01/2026]
William Shakespeare. (1597) Romeo and Juliet
Frank Wildhorn. (1989) Jekyll and Hyde
Simon Stevens. (2009) Punk Rock
