Character History

We have been working on perfecting our contrasting monologues for the past four weeks. This exercise allows us to connect many of the technical skills we have learned about breaking down a script. Our CHARACTER HISTORIES are things that we make up that are outside of what we can get from the script. They help us stay grounded in the world of the character in order to create truthful representations on stage. Blog about your experiences with developing character histories and how they have helped you clarify your OBJECTIVES in your monologue work. Keep in mind the following ideas as they help you make a distinction between GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES AND CHARACTER HISTORY.

MONOLOGUE AND SCENE WORK APPROACH
We have to know what the monologue is about. We must identify the GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES(Who, What, When, Where and Why). We must position ourselves "as the character" re framing our approach as "I" vs. "My character". We must identify a set of ACTIONS that align themselves with the given circumstances and are truthful. Actions (also discussed as INTENTION) are expressed by identifying an ACTION VERB that helps us achieve our emotional state. You achieve your objective by playing your actions. Finding the verb to play is the key to getting what yo want, your objective,in the scene/monologue. If you don't know what you want, neither will your audience, scene partner, etc.
Because we don't play EMOTIONS (such as I am angry, sad, etc) but actions (I want to persuade, to provoke, to affect, to manipulate). WE use SENSE AND EMOTION MEMORY to support our objectives. We also must find a BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END, to our scene and adjust or OBJECTIVES ( What you WANT as the chratcer-also referred to as INTENTION) for each part of the scenes. We must engage both SENSE AND EMOTION memory to find appropriate moments we can draw from to achieve our objectives. Using an array of STRATEGIES help us achieve our objectives.

Emotion Memory

How can you can develop your skills as a actor to remember the details of experience rather than the emotion of a particular experience? This is the goal of emotion memory. We must the details of an experience because those details will lead us to the proper actions that can serve us in the scene. As you blog about your experiences learning about EMOTION MEMORY, think about how recalling your memories can help you believe in your given circumstances. For example, Do you remember your first encounter with death? Can you recall your reaction? What was your voice like? Where were you? How could you use this emotion memory to help you in a scene in which you learn about the death of a friend?

Powers of Observation

This week we had a quiz on your powers of observation. Your personal history is important in developing your own database to draw from to create your characters. What you observe in your life and your ability to recall those observations, is vital to your work. What are some of the ways that we can store our experiences and use them for sense memory? How do you record the details of your experiences? What inner images do you associate with particular senses ( taste, sight, smell, touch, hearing)?
As you write your blog, think about how your senses work together to allow you to recall particular actions. What senses are stronger/weaker for you? How might you develop them?

Scoring Your Physical Actions

There are multiple ways to score the physical actions of a chracter that we play. What is most important is that we identify actions that are appropriate for the character we are portraying in a given set of circumstances. Think about the monologues you have chosen or a scene from a favorite film or television show. How do you see the characters come to life without words? What do the given circumstances give you that help you identify actions for your character? How did you feel in class when you tried to score a the physical actions of a scene without words? What came easily for you? What was difficult? As you learn to create your the score for yoru monologues, think abotu how scoring helps you dig deeper into the work.

Welcome to Acting One KU

Welcome to Acting 106- Fall 2009:
This is the blog for a beginning acting class taught by Nicole Hodges Persley at The University of Kansas, Department of Theatre. Here is a forum for you to discuss your ideas, talk about what we do in class and post assignments. If you are here to take the Stage Terminology quiz, please go to Blackboard where a multiple choice quiz has been posted. In lieu of using this space for quizzes as listed in the syllabus, we will use Blackboard. You can use this space to post your experiences with the exercises in class as well as other topics. I look forward to working with you this semester.
Best- Nicole Hodges Persley