Unit
3 - Character
Module
3: Developing Character
Lesson
2 - Working Internally (Hotseat)
Introduction:
The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize students with
a variety of internal rehearsal techniques.
| Note:
You should have a pretty good idea of who the character
is from the script you wrote in the previous module, and
the work done on external qualities. You are encouraged
to continue to focus on this character and to develop him/her
further in the next 3 lessons. |
Activities:
Activity
1 - Warm Up:
A. "Saying Hello, Waving Good-bye"
Two very simple instructions. What becomes important is how
it is done. What is the objective? First, try it on your own
- think about who your character is and to whom you are saying
hello and waving good-bye. Do the first action, pause, turn
your back and pause, then turn around and do the second action.
What has happened in the pause? What have we not seen? Can you
make it clear?
Watch each other and discuss observations.
B. "Pouring
a drink"
You will make an entrance, pour a drink and make an exit. Three
simple instructions. You may use simple props (or mime) to define
who and where you are. What are all the ways in which this can
be expressed? For example: first ever drink; peer pressure;
in a panic; hate the taste; making a toast; see a bug in the
glass, etc. Make some decisions, such as do you drink it, spill
it, look at it, leave it? What is the objective? What is the
obstacle?
Watch each other and discuss observations about character.
What do you notice about the physical actor?
| Note:
People are complex beings. Assumptions are made about a
person due in part to race, gender and class. How can you
play against type? What happens when you challenge assumptions?
|
Activity 2 - Breathing:
"The
deeper in your body you breathe, the stronger and more personal
your emotions will feel. In rehearsal and performance, when
you don't believe what you are saying you will discover that
you have not placed your breathe deeply enough. What is happening
is that your head is doing all the work and your body isn't
involved." (Acting Skills for Life. Ron Cameron.
The Dundurn Group, Toronto. 1999.)
Think
of the cry for example. If you refer to a thesaurus
you will find there are many shadings to the word. As you
read the words, think about the breath attached to each, is
the sound in the nose, the chest, the head - where is the
tension, the focus?
| sob |
wail |
weep |
| bawl |
whimper |
sniffle |
| snivel |
choke
up |
groan |
| moan |
howl |
blubber |
Demonstrate
one of the words - look for where the sound is coming from in
the body. Breath has a source, an intensity. A whine, for example,
is placed in the head, usually in the pharynx or nasal cavity.
It is a long sustained sound and the breath is placed very high
in the chest and throat. A moan, on the other hand, is much
lower in pitch, is placed at the back of the throat, and is
less energetic than a whine.
What
other words can you do with this assignment?
Remember
there are no rights or wrongs in acting, just choices.
Depending on whether you choose one action word or another,
the images and emotions, physical action, the same line of text
can be strikingly different.
Activity
3 - Rehearsal:
Rehearsal
Techniques
(pdf)
Rehearsals can be an exciting time for discovery and exploration.
It is not the time to worry about memorizing lines (this should
be well rehearsed already). Some actors will tell you to memorize
the words and then forget them, just use the words inside you.
It will be more natural then.
Try three
of these techniques as a way into the character - take on and
imagine the whole character (details not given in the script,
but which exist nonetheless).
entrances
& exits:
Determine what has happened just prior to the entrance
and what happens after the exit, show the before and after
as scenes.
|
inner
thoughts:
As the monologue is shown, audience can call "inner
thought" to freeze the action, and the character must
reveal what is their thoughts not spoken. |
hotseat:
Student remains in character while someone else engages
them in conversation. The partner should ask questions to
encourage the character to elaborate upon life experiences.
The student has to spontaneously create the life of the
character. Rely upon impulses.
|
bigger
and bigger:
Student must play the character with huge emotions. Whatever
the emotion called for in the monologue - they are to play
it as big as possible. Audience watching can encourage them
by calling "bigger" - actor must respond. Remind
them to use breathing techniques. |
phone
calls:
Set up a chair and a phone as props for the scene. The character
enters to answer the phone. They must carry on a conversation,
imagining the person on the other end. The phone call can
be about anything at all. Keep the students ready to act
on impulse. As soon as one hangs up the phone, the next
one has to answer the phone immediately after. |
applying
for a job:
The student is to play their character as they apply for
a job. Ask another student to play the interviewer. The
partner is the one to determine the job being applied for
(don't let on in advance). The interviewer needs to ask
questions of the character to see if they are appropriate
to the job. |
 |
Journal
- Respond to the following
questions in a min. of half a page:
•
How did it feel using your character in each of the
rehearsal techniques?
• Did you discover anything new about your character?
• How did this awareness come about?
• Will this affect how you play the monologue in
performance?
• How will breath affect performance?
|
Evaluation:
Participation in improv exercises may be evaluated.
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