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?