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This article has a really great approach to discovering a character, however there were some points I didn't agree with in the article. The first being that only the words are how an actor know who their character is. As a design much of the work we do influences the world of the play and sense the character exist in that world they are as much a part of the world as the scenic, light, sound, and media design. Costume designers seem to be above this and have a direct correlation with characters. Their clothing is a direct influence of who they are. The Playwrights letter seem to ignore this and seemed as if a play was just between an actor and text. Secondly the tips seemed to be what actors are taught to do in school and seemed a little self explanatory to me, however the method in which they were explained as part of the mystery was done well. I found this article online last week and almost send in a link for it to be posted. I am very glad that it is on the green page this week.
That picture at the beginning of this article, the one of Leonard from "Memento," steered me through this whole letter. When it began by talking about waking up in a hotel room, that was obviously also forefront in the author's mind. And it's true. When an actor picks up a play, there are endless clues to be discovered in order for them to unlock their character. Some of them do a wonderful job and find John G., while others remain stuck in the hotel room and refuse to pick up the endlessly ringing telephone. The differences come with those little things: the punctuation, or that one-word stage direction that makes all the difference. And the other actors are crucial, learning to feed off of those other actors' discoveries is imperative for an actor to find their own. If the playwright laid it all out on a silver platter, it would be a boring, superficial play that the audience would not enjoy. The complexity comes in the layers of clues that the actor must delve into in order to discover their true character.
I really enjoyed this article. I have to agree with Nathan; there are I think a few more things that help an actor decide who their character is, like the world the designers create. However, I do agree with alot of what the playwright says about words. In any production I was in, the memorization of the exact words of the playwright was always stressed. I think it is important to get the exact words because, in truth, that is exactly how the playwright intended the character to be discovered. I also like that the playwright encouraged experimentation, because at the end of the article the playwright says he hopes to rediscover his imagination, and I think alot of rediscovery has to do with experimentation.
I think this article is a great basis for finding a character, but I must disagree that memorizing a script is the only way for you to find a character, it may be a great way for you to find what the playwright wanted you to find, but a character isn't just what the playwright intended. The actor should'nt feel pressure from the playwright to find exactly what he/she wanted, the actor has every right to take their own perception of their character and portray that instead of having to solve a "mystery." The whole point of theatre is to create art and think and develop. It seems hard to do this with constant pressure of trying to find the character the playwright wanted while also portraying it properly on stage in front of audiences.
I enjoyed reading this article, as it made me think not only about the actors and their quest to figure out their character, but about how a playwright writes, nay, composes a play. I'll jump on this bandwagon and note that there are a few things that this letter leaves out. I think that there is more than one way to play a character. While one way might work better, it's still open ended. The playwright's idea of a character on paper might change when put on stage, therefore, there needs to be some room for an actor's spin on the character. Overall, I loved this article.
5 comments:
This article has a really great approach to discovering a character, however there were some points I didn't agree with in the article. The first being that only the words are how an actor know who their character is. As a design much of the work we do influences the world of the play and sense the character exist in that world they are as much a part of the world as the scenic, light, sound, and media design. Costume designers seem to be above this and have a direct correlation with characters. Their clothing is a direct influence of who they are. The Playwrights letter seem to ignore this and seemed as if a play was just between an actor and text. Secondly the tips seemed to be what actors are taught to do in school and seemed a little self explanatory to me, however the method in which they were explained as part of the mystery was done well. I found this article online last week and almost send in a link for it to be posted. I am very glad that it is on the green page this week.
That picture at the beginning of this article, the one of Leonard from "Memento," steered me through this whole letter. When it began by talking about waking up in a hotel room, that was obviously also forefront in the author's mind. And it's true. When an actor picks up a play, there are endless clues to be discovered in order for them to unlock their character. Some of them do a wonderful job and find John G., while others remain stuck in the hotel room and refuse to pick up the endlessly ringing telephone. The differences come with those little things: the punctuation, or that one-word stage direction that makes all the difference. And the other actors are crucial, learning to feed off of those other actors' discoveries is imperative for an actor to find their own. If the playwright laid it all out on a silver platter, it would be a boring, superficial play that the audience would not enjoy. The complexity comes in the layers of clues that the actor must delve into in order to discover their true character.
I really enjoyed this article. I have to agree with Nathan; there are I think a few more things that help an actor decide who their character is, like the world the designers create. However, I do agree with alot of what the playwright says about words. In any production I was in, the memorization of the exact words of the playwright was always stressed. I think it is important to get the exact words because, in truth, that is exactly how the playwright intended the character to be discovered. I also like that the playwright encouraged experimentation, because at the end of the article the playwright says he hopes to rediscover his imagination, and I think alot of rediscovery has to do with experimentation.
I think this article is a great basis for finding a character, but I must disagree that memorizing a script is the only way for you to find a character, it may be a great way for you to find what the playwright wanted you to find, but a character isn't just what the playwright intended. The actor should'nt feel pressure from the playwright to find exactly what he/she wanted, the actor has every right to take their own perception of their character and portray that instead of having to solve a "mystery." The whole point of theatre is to create art and think and develop. It seems hard to do this with constant pressure of trying to find the character the playwright wanted while also portraying it properly on stage in front of audiences.
I enjoyed reading this article, as it made me think not only about the actors and their quest to figure out their character, but about how a playwright writes, nay, composes a play. I'll jump on this bandwagon and note that there are a few things that this letter leaves out. I think that there is more than one way to play a character. While one way might work better, it's still open ended. The playwright's idea of a character on paper might change when put on stage, therefore, there needs to be some room for an actor's spin on the character. Overall, I loved this article.
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