Write at least 1 paragraph (4 sentences or more) responding to 1
of the questions below. Then write at least 1 paragraph responding to
another student's response to 1 of the questions.
Questions from Chapter 7:
1.
"You can't play 'old.' You can't play 'young.' But you can find physical controls that will make you seem old or young." Describe a moment as an actor when you used the physical controls that allowed you to seem older or younger. What specifically did you change?
2. "Every accent requires an adjustment of the way your tongue forms words. Once you find these adjustments you have a way to control the accent. You're not just doing an imitation." Describe how and where you used the specific muscles in your mouth to create an accent.
3.
"Say the line, 'I'll throw a stone' in your normal voice. Now become a marble statue and say it again." Do this exercise. Describe what the vocal and physical differences were between saying the line in your normal voice and your marble statue voice. How would you personally use this on the stage?
4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
I guess I just kind of allowed my body to be more loose (not sexually) to portray someone younger. I made myself more clumsy in the sense that my mind would act faster than my body could respond, the same as an anxious child would act. I also released short bursts of high energy to create this feeling of sporadic craziness that kids often represent. Also kids use their facials much more dramatically than adults so I went over the top with my expressions.
ReplyDeleteI think that skit was really, really good, Evan. I think that what you did to portray the little boy was brilliant, and the audience absolutely loved it. Even though you are clearly not a (7? year old?) small child, you managed to make the audience think that you and Emily were obnoxious little kids that were just trying to one-up each other. Even the accident with the snapping elastic made your character stand out more.
DeleteThe way you were able to BE such a convincing small, hyper, insane child still sort of blows me away and makes me laugh. Sort of off-topic, but watching your reaction during the scene when the elastic snapped showed me how important it is to maintain character throughout a show, regardless of one of your pals being slapped in the face with a prop. It was definitely a learning experience and showed me, in a weird way, that I hadn't been involved in the character enough if I broke out of her that easily.
DeleteLol. Emily, you mean when you said out loud "That wasn't supposed to happen."?
DeleteOh.. Sorry! This was just the Phillip the Hyper Hypo scene from Amphi festival.
ReplyDelete4. I feel this is the basic principal of action and reaction. When the character does something, they are forced to react to the outcome of this action. So they are not in fact driven by feelings, but by what actions they are doing, because how they feel is determined by how they act and react. (I keep using this play, but I'm going to do it again) In "Noises Off", as I stated before, everything was chaotic. Therefore, how we felt really depended on what we were doing in that moment.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that in this chapter Stella Adler talks about how using specific movements to 1: Show the audience your state, 2: Have you recall how you felt when doing that action. In this way you stay in character and are able to demonstrate the stereotypical movements for a specific emotion. For example, let's say that my character's emotional state is "stressed." You can't send out an emotion to the audience where they will pick up that your character is stressed. I can though sit down in a chair, furrow my eyebrows, close my eyes, raise my shoulders, and keep my arms bent and close to my body while I have two fingers on each side of my temple rubbing them in a circular motion. This action would demonstrate my character is stressed, and it would remind me of a time when I was stressed out and keep me in the moment.
Delete4. "A character doesn't consist of how he feels but in what he does. Feeling comes from doing." Using personal experience from the stage describe what Stella Adler means by this.
ReplyDeleteThe audience has no idea what you, or your character, is actually thinking. That's the whole point of acting. Your job, as the actor, is to TELL the audience what you're thinking, through your actions, inflections, and interactions. As Mr. Canalia said, you only know a character is stressed when they show you that physically. That's what Adler means when she says "feeling comes from doing," because they only learn what you are feeling FROM what you are doing.
In my personal experience, (unfortunately I don't have much so I keep bringing up the same parts, but) I think that An Actor's Nightmare represents this thought the best for me. As Sarah Siddons, I had to portray that, although I was (obviously) an amazing and wonderful actress, my partner clearly had no idea what he was doing, but I was going to cover for him. I did that (hopefully) with nervous actions, and repeated hints at things George was supposed to be doing.
2. For a Christmas Carol, I really pushed Paige to let me have a british accent, even though I wasn't able to maintain one without sounding like an Outback Steakhouse ad. It takes practice and a lot of concentration, and I didn't quite have that down in time for the show. But in other cases I've really been able to pinpoint a particular area of my throat and slip of my tongue that creates the most authentic-sounding bit of an accent, whether I've made it up in a weird rant of mine or not. It's really easy to tell when someone is faking an accent, so it's extremely important to set some grammar/pronunciation-esque rules in your head that you actually abide by contiuously with that accent. Really being specfic with the use of certain muscles and practicing them makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteI agree that an accent in a difficult thing to master. As Stella Adler says, "You're not just doing an imitation". If you are going to do an accent you have to nail it. The audience will see right through a bad accent. Accents are something that I hope to get better at; right now I have a sad attempt at a British and southern accent.
DeleteThere is nothing more worse than a fake accent. It is one of the most challenging part of acting because it can easily become something terrible. It really is great to know how to create an accent and to really make it believable. By doing an accent for a show, one must really commit to the way they are speaking. They can not just keep changing the way they make it sound. I know that myself personally, suck at creating accents unless I am fooling around with friends. I feel like the best way to succeed at an accent is when you don't have to try. When he flows naturally. Practice makes perfect.
Delete4) In playing Lucinda in Into the Woods, I had to show the audience that I thought I was better than everyone else, through my actions. My favorite action was sticking my butt out and puffing up my chest. I also looked down my nose as a literal way of showing that I look down on others. Because I didn't have a large speaking role, I really had to focus on these movements so that the audience knew what I was feeling. As the story progressed, it was also important that I used facial expressions to show my stubbornness and self pity.
ReplyDeleteI feel that often when characters have to rely on the physical rather than the verbal it is when the character comes out the most. This is how some of the most minor characters come out more than the main ones. They steal the scene purely because they come off as more developed because of their silent actions. It is important for characters with a lot of verbalization to realize this so they can have as much silent prowess as their counterparts.
Delete4) Judy from NOTLD had very little lines so her actions had to speak louder than her words. The actions were very important to show how my character was feeling at the moment. I had to show the audience that what was going on, truly frightened me. I was playing a girl who only had her boyfriend left in the whole entire world. She feared for her life as well as his. On one part, I was upstairs to find a sheet and on the way down, I overheard Tom talk about how he was going to go towards the pump, and during the moment I stopped and looked at him and shook my head because during that moment the characters heart sank because she did not want him to go. There was a lot of silent communication throughout the play between Tom and Judy but the one action that really brought together their relationship was when they shared their final kiss. It was a dramatic moment because during that 30 seconds, they showed every emotion and feeling they had for each other. They were scared because they had no idea if he was coming back. But the next action was when I ran out the door to go with Tom. That really showed that she was not going to just let him leave. If he was going, she was going. All those little actions really expressed how I was feeling.
ReplyDeleteKiley- Very good example. I love how you talk about the steamy kiss that was shared between you and Evan. ;)
DeleteBut I see where you're coming from. After thinking about it, Tom and Judy does have a lot of silent communication throughout the entire play. Why? Because they're a couple. Couples tend to have this magic power to read eachother's thoughts. (sometimes.) (emphasis on SOMETIMES) I think that was portrayed well. Actions is an expressive version of speaking in my eyes, so you make a lot of sense.
In "To Kill a Mockingbird" I as Tom didn't have much to say, so I said a lot of things through my facial expressions. Like when Carolyn (the judge) announced my verdict, agony rushed through my face, and a tear went down my cheek. Because of this, I saw a few people in the front row cry. One thing about performing that I love is that you can tell if your actions are speaking to the audience. If the audience is reacting to a certain movement/expression, then you know you did a good job.
While I was a prince I had to be more up and about with everything. The way that I carried myself in my voice and posture and walk all had to tell the audience that I am youthful but matured, strong and ruling. The attitude and appearence is everything to showing who you are. Not every character is going to state his age, and/or give his whole backround to the audience, therefore he needs to show them and make them understand throughout the performance. Let them be able to make an easy educated guess.
ReplyDeleteWhich question are you responding to?
DeleteI love how you end it. It's like in a book, the author doesn't spend 2 pages describing every single new character. They give you some general traits that set up the gist of that character, and the audience fills in the rest. Everyone will draw something a little different, but everyone will still see that you're a prince and what your motivations/attitudes are.
Delete1. Going on this concept, my dad told me this quote that he heard that he, as someone who's not an actor, found really amazing an eye-opening about acting in general and the nature of it. I think it was the guy who played Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (the original), and someone who wasn't an actor told/asked him, "I don't know how to act like this character!" And the actor (the Scarecrow guy) told him, "Well, first off, don't 'act,' just behave." I know that's not answering the question but I feel it's an idea that reinforces the point being made and might be fun and insightful to anyone who actually reads this. As for a case where I've done it, I think the most simple one everyone can relate to is in improv situations where I'm playing an old man. I'll walk in with a hunch, a slow pace and rigidity to my movement, and it'll make it clear that I'm an old man even if I'm only a 17 year old. I don't "tell" them I'm old, I just show it by being that way.
ReplyDelete1. In "Twelve Angry Jurors", I had to play a 40-50 year old man. And as the most of you know, I'm the opposite of a middle aged man. I'm crazy. I think playing as someone old or young revolves around how you hold yourself, and specific characteristics. When I played Juror No. 8, I stood tall, and had confidence in what I said. I also had a lot of passion in what I said. I think that in itself makes me seem older, because an older person has gone through more experienced and wouldn't be as nervous about certain things as much as others would. Like Taylor and Jerriko (Jurors 5 and 2 respectively) were the younger characters in the play. They were both more hesitant to speak due to the fact that this is probably their first time being a member of the jury. The way I walked, my facial expressions, the tone in my voice, and my demeanor all distinguished that I was a middle aged man. In my opinion, that is.
ReplyDelete1. As mentioned before, this past year I played a lazy, vindictive old woman for a scene that you gave us. Now, according to the script, she was in her rocking chair the entire time. (Well, until she had hot boiling oil poured on herself). So, when performing this scene, I hunched my back over, squinted at the objects in the room. I curved my hands to give them a sort of arthritic look to them. I also sort of patted my lips together? Like a cow chewing on a cud, but not constant. I'm noticed that old people like to do that, so I did that. Also, in "Cinderella" (the ballet I was in this year), I was the fairy godmother. However, in my first appearance, I am an old beggar woman. To portray this, whenever I walked on stage I sort of limped in, with my back heavily arched. This movements are things I usually recognize with old age.
ReplyDeleteYou were a very elderly looking beggar woman so your change in physical characteristics was successful! I could definitely see you limping and hunching over, which made the transformation from beggar woman, to fairy godmother much more dramatic, so good job! I took on similar characteristics when I played Granny in Into The Woods. Obviously the audience could see my age lines and makeup and glasses, but it was only believable when i came out from under the bed, voice shaking, and back hunched over.
Delete4.)I think the general idea being expressed with this statement is relatively easy to grasp, especially when thinking just how a play works, but I think it implies something even more important as well. The audience is watching a sequence of physical actions occur on the stage, and those actions are translated by the brain into meaning or motive, whatever you want to call it. That being said, everything a character does must be physical, or else the audience won't see it and nobody gets anything out of the play. Even if it might be more realistic to just feel it in the character because if it was something you were going through, you wouldn't show emotion, it still will come across as nothing to the audience because they don't see anything happening. But that's all just basic theater. The thing that I got out of it is why it is imperative to be larger than life on stage. Everything must be amplified, because if it isn't, it will be much harder for everyone in the audience to grasp the ideas the play is getting at. That being said, if everything is over-dramatic, it makes the audience feel stupid and contemptuous because you keep waving the idea around in their faces loudly, even though they already get it. For example, in my Advanced Drama audition I did a soliloquy from King Lear.It was the one where Edmund is finally cracking over the pampering of his brother, and the boiling contempt and fury is something he is trying to control, but can't seem to get a handle on. I shook with hatred, like it was taking every bit of strength to keep myself from exploding and to continue to layer lighthearted banter on top of the volcano of enmity that was vomiting heated spite all over the malice that had built up over years and years of neglect. The anger was very evident. I still think that soliloquy needs a lot of work, but in terms of portraying the amount of raw pissed-off-edness, I think it was the right amount of theatrical over-the-top-edness.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Keenan, on his first point. You may be in character, and have a strong feeling inside of you, and feel yourself radiating it, but the audience won't see/experience it. If they could, we might as well scrap all blocking and just have some people stand on stage in character. Blocking is a tool for actors so they can tell the point of the story to the audience. And it does have to be over the top. I think that's a difference between life and the stage. The audience won't notice subtle things, so the actor has to master making small movements large, or whispering loud enough for an entire auditorium to hear. And when these elements work together in the right way, the audience notices and begins to think about the play and it's message and all these things. Actors are messengers of themes and ideas, and blocking, doing, helps them deliver the message.
Delete1. I've played quite a few old men during my time here at IRHS(Scrooge, Grandpa, Polonius), and I have some techniques I generally use to portray "old". I hunch my back, to show I have a bad back(though that's not really a technique I'll be able to use, what with my recent surgery). I act more stiff and rigid, because old people's muscles deteriorate, and they get stuff like arthritis. I squint my eyes, to show my eyesight isn't what it used to be. These are just some of the things I do when portraying older characters. There are many other little things like this an actor can do to portray being old.
ReplyDeleteI agree I think those are all key physical characteristics that can help create the image of being old. You could also work on a walk that has a stagger as if you have a bad knee. If you were supposed to be very old, you could focus on your eyes and trying to make them look a little glazed over and distant. Stuart you in particular do a great job portraying an old man, as is obvious my your many old characters. Something I notice you do sometimes is also with your voice. With some of your characters you keep it fairly monotone until your character as something to yell or complain about. I think that in particular makes it easier for the audience to believe your age.
Delete1) Even though I was around the same age as Dorothy when I played her, I still had to exaggerate her youthful like qualities. 13-14 year old girls today don't usually speak in high-pitched voices all the time, nor do they happily skip down brick roads. I changed the way I spoke when I played Dorothy, because her voice needed to be light and very angelic. I raised my eyebrows a lot to look alarmed at the whimsical sights of Oz, when I walked I led with my chest because Dorothy was a very airy, young character. By standing straight I looked interested and engaged as opposed to slumped over and bored.
ReplyDeleteI think establishing a basic number of qualities or mannerisms in a character before making them more complicated and realistic is an excellent way of going about "becoming" the character. I think this is more or less what you did with Dorothy, but it was a lot easier for you because, like you said, you were around the same age. But, regardless of that, once you can identify those things that make a character "old" or "young" you can imagine their movements and reactions so much easier. Answering those typical questions of where, when, how, why becomes a lot more useful when you can answer them with a template of an old woman or a young boy (whatever the character is) in your mind. It allows for a more specific and vivid view point on the rest of the play because you're starting to do it from that of Dorothy.
Delete3. When I say I’ll throw a stone’ as a marble statue, I notice that I automatically sit up straighter and puff my chest out a little. I sit up as if I am an authoritative figure. I notice also that I don’t try to use facial expressions as I say this. I have minimal movement. Last my voice is stern, a little louder, and a little deeper. Personally this could help me onstage because I think one of my weaknesses as an actor is using my voice. I’m pretty confident with my facial expressions and movement, but I feel my voice doesn’t always match up. Especially if I am playing an authority character, this technique of envisioning myself as a marble statue or some other strong structure might help me to better use my voice.
ReplyDeleteEnvisioning yourself as a stone statue when playing an authority figure sounds like a very good technique to use. Authority figures do tend to sit straighter, talk louder, and be sterner than other people, like you said. They also tend to be more grounded and unmoving from their foundations of rules, like a statue. I'll be sure to imagine myself as a stone statue whenever I play a figure of authority from now on.
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