Thursday 30 April 2015

Emotional truth!

There are lots of ways to play emotional truth and probably every actor worth his salt has developed his (or her) own method of getting to a believable performance.  One thing we have to fight against is the feeling of being embarrassed by really letting ourselves go.  Even an old actor like myself faces some feelings of wanting to protect my ego when asked to cry on stage or flirt with someone or reveal personal feelings.

Drama 9/10:  What emotion is most challenging for you to play?  Why do you think it presents difficulties for you?  When have you had to show this emotion on stage?  "Emotional memory" is an acting technique actors use to channel what appears to be real emotion.  The actor remembers a time when he or she experienced something close to the emotion in the scene.  He tries to remember how the emotion manifested itself in him.  Can you think of a time when you felt the emotion that is challenging you?  How did you experience the emotion?  (Sometimes anger makes you feel like you want to cry.  You might have trouble expressing your thoughts clearly.  You might begin to shake.  You might punch a wall.)  The physical feelings of anger that you actually experienced might help you play an angry character with conviction.   In your scenes, two of you will have to pretend to be in love.  How can you make that convincing if you have never experienced love?    Make sure you answer all my questions!

Theatre Production:  Choose one character from your commedia scenes.  What costume will that character wear?  Is there a comparable character in "Twelfth Night"?  Choose one character from "Twelfth Night" (not Malvolio).  What would that character wear?  Think of colour and style and what the clothes say about the character.  Can you find something in the prop room that would work for the character you chose?

Drama 8:  Are you good at working in groups?  Explain why or why not.  What skills or attributes do you have that could help a group?  Would you say you are a good leader?  Why or why not?  What makes a good leader?

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