Principles of acting

Principles of acting

Wednesday 11th September 2013
Stanislavsky  Theory's

Method

- you be come the role in real life e.g. Heath Ledger, the joker in Batman.
Method acting is not always the most accessible way of acting.

System
- preparation

• Body
• Mind
• relaxation                                       Key
• meditation                                      RED - Body
• warming up                                    BLUE - Mind
• imagination

- Given circumstance

• Back ground the character, scene or play

- Magic IF

• Fills in given circumstances interpretation.

- Emotional memory relate

• use own personal experience to feel characters emotions.

To learn given circumstances and to apply them to practical every time I see a script I should ask myself about

• Who?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

when thinking about principles of acting I need to think about what techniques did I study and use during each lesion, in the lesion 11/09/2013 the techniques that I studied was Stanislavski system technique of given circumstances and explore ways of using given circumstances for our chosen character also I study the technique of Magic IF this helps me the fill in any of the missing gap of the given circumstance of my character Helmer back ground.

when using them practical I had to use for four W's and the H to think about the given circumstance for my character of Helmer from the play "Doll House to achieves this I had to read the back to the play which I could find by reading the script to have some understanding how my character would be thinking and feeling physically and emotionally to show this I could use role on the wall for my character of Helmer.


Role on the Wall of Helmer

using this techniques has help me to think more about the characterisation of the character Helmer by thinking about the given circumstances for him and think about what his emotions would be and how use show them physically towards other character also if some of the given circumstances are missing I could use Magic IF to fill in any of the missing gaps.

                                                                         

Wednesday 18th September 2013

Stanislavski's system - preparing the "blank canvas"

Relaxation
Imagination
Circles of attention

 

Relaxation -

chakras + light symbolic centres this helps the actor to focus where the acting tool comes from if they are having trouble working it and also helps an actor opens up their body to take on a role. To do this task we had to lie on the floor and focus on where in the body the tool that the actor need to perform come from by using chakras and using different colour to represent each area.

Imagination

taking on a roles objectives "I want to" gives the actor an drive and motivation to make a character realistic this helps the actor to connect with the character to prove this works I did to experiments with different characters the first character I become was count Dracula with his I want to bring darkness and death, this work as it makes you think about the character as a whole and their backgrounds to want achieve their goal also to think about myself I chose this character as I wanted to explore my own darkness to see if this character could open it up to me, the other character I become was willy Wonka with his "I wanted to bring happiness to everyone though candy" I chose this character to see what good side within my self I could bring to this role.

Circles of attention


Room - Set or other person/actor
Building - Theatre
Collage - Audience           
Ware - Location of the theatre
Somewhere in England - Context of the show
Somewhere in the World - reviews

= All of these help to heighten sense of awareness and peripheral vision

Out of the three exercises Imagination and circles of attention help me the most of focus on my interpretation of a character with the imagination exercise helping me to think about the character objectives which help to develop the character even more to achieve that objective. the circle of attention help me to focus more on my sense and my vision to understand what I am seeing to help explore a character and with what I was seeing meaning. I didn't find relaxation helpful as it doesn't make me feel where a certain tool comes from and if I cant do something how this would help me to improve the tool.

Wednesday 25th September 2013

Stanislavski's system 

Objective: To practically explore emotional memory.

Emotional memory is the use of these technique ......

• works with the imagination.
• influences daily decisions by bridging past - tense + future - tense
• works in coalition with other tool such as imagination and magic if.
• this technique may not work every time - so you will need to be open - playful to all stimuli.
• using past experience + emotions to bring sense of truth to your performance.
• can be called affective memory emotional recall sense memory.
• is an actors store room.

Wednesday 16th October 2013
Magic IF

ways that we use the magic if

• Placing the character into the 'if' situation.
• Imagination
• get to know the character
• adding depth to the character where there isn't enough information.

Monday 4th November 2013

rehearsals for Doll House, we had to come up with a smart target that we could achieve by the end of the rehearsals.

SMART TARGET -  To Develop the relationship between Nora and Helmer and to Develop the movement between the characters.

- we achieved this target by focusing on parts of the script that emphasise the emotion in the relationship and we work on how the character feel though there movement.
we use Stanislavsky system of the magic if to get to know the character to have a better understanding of the two character relationship to have a better understanding on how the character would react in the scene. This was successful as we were able to understand the character better in know where they each stood.


Monday 11th November 2013

SMAR TARGET - To work on the connections between the characters.

we achieve this target by working more on the emotions of the characters by holding hands and the touching of the face.
we used Stanislavski system of emotional memory to work on the emotion of the characters as the scene that we played the characters of Helmer and Nora is the most important scene emotion wise as it is the scene where Nora leaves Helmer so we used emotional memory to get the right emotions for the scene, I used my past memories of anger, hate, sadness and pride to balance the character for the scene to work. This was successful as the we felt that we were the character instead of playing.

Monday 25th November 2013

NO SMART TARGET SET.

For the first full run though with an audience watching and grading us, I felt that I could have done better in my performance as I felt that hadn't played the character as before and didn't interact with Nora as much as the past the props added to the scene I added a newspaper I used this prop to show that at some points that Helmer wasn't interested in what his wife was saying also I felt that I didn't use any of Stanislavski system in my performance, out of the marking from my peers I realised that I needed to pronounce my words clearer so the audience can understand them more. if I could do that performance again I would include more Stanislavski system like emotional memory to help the performance more.


Monday 2nd December 2013

SMART TARGET - To polish off the performance to make final sense of the line and emotions and work on what was said about our performance from last lesson.

To achieve this target we went though the scene add the any emotion we missed and I worked on pronouncing the lines and words right and get the accent right I achieved this by using Stanislavski system of relaxation and using chakras to help set my mind and voice in to getting the words out right and saying the lines as someone in that time period of the 1800s. This worked for me as I was able to pronounce the words correctly and able to say it in a posh accent but the only problem I had was holding the accent and not go back to my normal voice.



Principles of Acting Part 2 Steven Berkoff

We are now looking at a new which is base on Steven Berkoff we are going to look at his interperation  of the play Agamemnon but to start with we did some exercise to get us into the role where we work and interlock together as this is how the performance is going to work as when it comes to the performance we need to work as one as if one person slips it can ruin the rest of the piece to helps us understand working as one we looked at some drama games which are.......

Wednesday 8th January 2014

Frogs in a Pond - This drama game was looking at who we work as a team as one person jump and others have to make the ripple effect of that person jumping the idea is the person who is closest to the person who jump so be the first person to jump after then so on to the last person who is the fetherst away, to add to this there is no commutation is allowed so we have to really on our vision to tell us when we should jump.

Plato Exercise - this game also looks at team work but i a different way as one person is on one side of a disc and the other are on the operate side of the disc the idea of the game is keep the disc balance as the person who is on their own is moving all the time and the group have to move along with that signal  person. This game is testing our concentration and vision to see how well we can adapt to achieve the same goal.


Becoming the Set  - this game is also looking at team work but as well looking at our imagination skills with our communication skills to come to the same goal of becoming the set that was called out a view example of set that was called out was to form a "Tube Train" these is looking at unison movement to help create naturalistic set.

Loupe lop - for this game we had to pretend that a part of our body was looped to something and that sound one was pulling us and we had to show the movement by having the part of the body that was lopped leading and the rest of the body followed, by doing this it can help when developing new characters.

We moved on to look at this section of a script we looked for words that stood out for us and we had to think of an action that would represent the word, i choose the word "Armoured"and used the action of raising my left arm to show that i had arm on. For this task it was a challenge to add the ensemble part when share the movement we had all created and to make it work with the text but as well as to say the text at the same time whilst taking breathes at the same time, the part that was difficult was when we had to say the text at the same time we overcome this by reading the though the text several times and then going though adding in the breaths we could take whilst reading as an ensemble.

But working as a ensemble vocal and physical which means that we a movement or a set is require the actor has to work as a team to make the movement or set look realistic which is the same when vocal is added as the actor with vocal that if one person is out of sync with the rest the audience will notice which comes the same with physical if one person not in the right place they will stand out to the audience.

Wednesday 22nd January 2014

At the start of this lesson we were given the script for Beroff version of "Agamemnon", we looked at the extract that we are going to perform which is about the return of Agamemnon to Argos with the scene starting with the towns people talking to them self then a message from the heralds to Agamemnon wife Clytemnestra.

We did a read though whilst being told what are characters are and the lines that we are each going to say as working in an ensemble require everyone to learn their lines as it can muck up the end performance if some doesn't know a line or miss as we are not working as ensemble so part of this unit does focus on ourselves as well as the others in the group.

We looked at the story of the play and we found out that Agamemnon and Menelaus are best of friends but characters are married but menalys wife Helen is having a affair with Pairs prince of troy, Agamemnon the King of Argos decides to help his friend and fight Paris for Helen, Argos declares war on Troy during this long war lots of Trojans were killed this action angers the Gods which request Agamemnon to make a sacrifice  that virgin blood must be spilled to do this Agamemnon sacrifices his own child which is also the child of Clytemnestra but whilst Agamemnon is been away fighting he has been having a affair with Cassandra when Agamemnon returns to Argos he brings Cassandra with him who is carrying Agamemnon unborn child which angers Clytemnestra after Agamemnon sacrifices their child but Agamemnon wasn't the only person having an affair as Clytemnestra is also having an affair, Clytemnestra is plotting against her husband she plans to kill her husband and his lover at the end of the play Clytemnestra kill the couple.

Wednesday 29th January 2014

Starting to stage "Agamemnon"

For today's lesson we start to block the start of the extract by looking at the start of it with the chorus and the Heralds we discussed as a group what we could do for this as how could we make look like a ensemble, here is the layout of the stage that we created and are going to use.

Diagram 1

From this stage layout we look at the script and started to look what part of the text should we move on for the chorus that is is so we decided that we Clystemtrast played by Sasha for this part says "by a ruined wall" that we turn from facing out towards the audience to face in and look at each but it had to be done in unison so the ensemble works which means that we all turn at the same time. from this diagram you can see that we had decided to set the performance in the round to add more of an effect to the piece.

The line "It shape suggest a man running" is when the herald enter who are played by Kat,Amelia and Natalia the character run around the chorus who are being played by Tom, Tash,Ryan Y and myself with Sasha later on till they chorus finishing say "your there" that is when the heralds stop is the middle of the chorus as the diagram shows.

Once the herald have enter and give their speech to clytemnestra the chorus do movements on certain lines the first line that the chorus move is "Troy has fallen her shrines dissolve in dust" the chorus fall to the floor to show the shrines dissolving the chorus stay on the floor as the lines to continue to "chatting machines of death that spit from iron mouths" the chorus spit then for the line "By the hot breath" they lift their head and take to deep breath then to move up form the floor by the left arm to upright kneeling followed by the right arm to then stand with the arm still raised on the line "sorchech the sins that stank to haven". then as unison all the character say "Aries" this could be the one part the need to work in the ensemble.

then next line that the chorus move on is "dumdum shell exploded" this is were the chorus move back like they have blasted back from an explosion to move on the line "Their scattering claws of steel explore man veins and arteries" the chorus scratch their chrest from left to right then down their arms to then clap when arteries is said.

The chorus don't move the "anti-missile, missile, missile" where Ryan Y falls to the floor on "anti- missile, then I fall to the floor on "missile" and Tash and Tom both fall to the floor on the last
"missile" then the chorus get back up on "thousand tones of weight"to show the weight the chorus they have their hands above the hand to show they are hold something and have their knees bent to show the weight, the chorus keep their arm there until the line "burning under monstrous sun" where they rise to their tip toes and keep arms in the air to show the sun.

that is where we got up to for this lesson but it was clear that we need to work on the ensemble skills as at some points need improving were we are not in time with each other by doing this will improve the performance but aswell shows our skill working in an ensemble.

Wednesday 6th February 2014 

For this lesson we had the whole cast in so to start we showed Ryan Y and Sasha what was created and some of the ideas we have to other part of the blocking that needs to be blocked but as well we had to add Ryan Y to the movement that the chorus do and tell him on what line that the chorus move on but also to tell Sasha the line which she has to stand on the table which is "Why should we give for another losey wife" once we had explain to Ryan Y and Sasha we went over the blocking that we had done and worked on the ensemble skills in the blocking to prevent some slipping up on the performance.

Then we continue with the blocking with the line "And men fall like flies" which fall down but not to the floor then the chorus come back up on the line "we sloshed around".

The next part which required our ensemble skills to make it work as this part would be clear to an audience if a mistake was to happen the lines is "RAT,TAT,TAT,RAT,TAT,TAT, Kaboom, Kablast, Kablam, Splat!, Phutt! Smash! Wow! Watch them! Watch them!" the action that we create for this are for the "RAT, TAT,TAT" part is right hand then left which is repeated for the second "RAT,TAT,TAT"  then for the "Kaboom" our hands come together then apart together again to "splat were our hands raised but out then on "Phutt" we drop our hands then we kneeling on the floor on "smash" we stay on the floor for rest of the heralds speech as they rise to stand after the "RAT,TAT, TAT" part.

The chorus members fall to lye on the floor for the part "For target practice we tock them" the chorus lye on the floor are climbing the wall to show that they are trying to escape before they die which the chorus do.

The chorus don't back up till the line "Our beloved and holly Agamemnon" were the chorus are on their knees then turn to sit on the floor for Clytemnestra speech were chorus just watch her talk about her husband return at the end of the speech Clytemnestra ask the heralds a question "what happen to the other half of Agamemnon" which is the cue for the chorus to move and form a set of a ship with the heralds in side of the ship with Amelia as the front of the ship at start the ship moves clam then it get more ruff this is another part were are ensemble skills were we need to work together in unison as well to create the effect of the ship. The skill that we use for building the ship was Physical theatre as it required the whole of the chorus to create the outer look of the ship and the heralds which move on the balls of their feet to show that the ship was moving.

By using Physical theatre is in the style of Beroff as he believes that the actors should become the set and that the movement that is created by the actor should tell the plot of the play by using complex words help in creating the movement for the actor which makes the text more interesting for the audience visual and vocal.

Once the heralds finish talking about the ship the chorus member return to their original position for the rest of the paragraph once the heralds have finished their paragraph there is a short silence as Sasha and Tasha swap place and character so that Tash become Clytemnestra and Sasha become the chorus, the chorus and the herald as swap from their original position to new position which is shown in the diagram

Diagram 2

as you can see that the chorus are all in new position and that the heralds are now part of the chorus.

if you compare the diagram one and two you can see that the tables you for Clytemnestra and Agamemnon have change we decide to keep them the same as the layout was fine.

The next part we created did really rely on the ensemble as one wrong mistake can though every one as we learn as we created cannon the line "no more horrors the second no more horror" as the script first has the chorus say the paragraph thought once then repeat it as this follows the style of Berkoff who uses repeation in his text even though we were still in an ensemble by vocally repeating the lines in this way add effect to the performance but also as empthise to the plot of the script.

To create this effect we number our 1-7 then after the person has said "widows" then you start so would should all finish one of each other this was the challenging part by saying in sync with each and all starting on the right line and and saying at the same speed as some people were reading it fast and catching up with the person in front of then as other people were saying slow so they were finishing at the same time as the person behind them.

once we finished saying our "no more horrors" we each turn to face Agamemnon who has enter whilst saying the "no more horrors" part we were all giving a line to turn on the last line that is said we all take a bow for Agamemnon who is played by Ryan Y as his is our king and that we are happy to see him.

Wednesday 26th February 2014

For today lesson we look at finish the blocking by  looking at the end  scene between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra by having the character on a table and have the chorus in the middle between the two table watching them talk so that Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have more authority over the town people. whilst Agamemnon is talk the chorus look at him and cheer but also they look at each other when he mention "i know cancers have been grown here" once he had finished his monologue the chorus turn to face Clytemnestra when she starts talking and stay facing her whilst she is saying her monologue once she has finished her the chorus then turn and face Agamemnon again then back and forth twice by having the chorus doing we are using one of Berkoff style of exaggeration by making the argument between the two characters more interesting by showing that the chorus are interested in the couple arguing.

Wednesday 5th March 2014

During today's lesson we start go do full run though as we have now finished the blocking but as well thinking about are characterisation and our vocal of the character that we think we are playing for the chorus we had to think who were are in the scene and how would the character say that line by trying to keep away from monotone but also we looked at where the ensemble wasn't working and going through the movement that wasn't right. for the characterisation I image my character one of the townspeople who lost his son at war my character doesn't agree with going to war with Troy so at some points would say a line sarcastic.

One part that we need to work on was the ship movement when it is rough to start all we were doing was going back and forth but just fast which doesn't show a ship in a storm so we work on changing the movement of the ship trying to get a Mexico wave type of effect which show a ship going up and down in wave the only problem was getting the unison to work as we weren't getting the effect that we wanted.

Wednesday 12th March 2014

During today's lesson we more looked at the characterisation is our voice we did this by doing several run through trying to add the characterisation in our voice as well as continuing looking at the movement and any of the block that wasn't work but we also did several read through to help with our voice but the main problem we found was the "RAT,TAT,TAT" part we were all sound monotone we kept going over and over this trying to change our voice from monotone into something that sounds more interesting to listen to but as well looking at the the dynamics of our voice by changing the tone but as well the volume so at the start we are loud to the last "watch them" is a stage whisper.

But we also looked at the cannon towards to then looking at our timing and our tone and volume of our voice as this as well sounds monotone as some points we kept on going over this to trying and improve the times then going over the tone to make it more interesting and make our voice stand out from each other we did the same with the volume we increase it so it wasn't quiet and you could hear each other.

Wednesday 19th March 2014

For this lesson we continue to rehearse but look at more of our movement and our characterisation of the those movement and during this lesson we made some change to the blocking but when we looked at the movement so we could what each movement was and see if the chorus mainly where in time but to see if everyone of the chorus knew what line that certain movements are on this was working on our ensemble skills make sure that the performance looks like an ensemble piece, also the heralds did the same as the chorus looking at their movement are they moving on the line and had they remember that someone of the movements had been change or cut.

We also had another look at the ship movement to make sure that the effect that we want is there no full which it was we didn't need to work on it but also we looked at the "RAT,TAT,TAT" movements to see if they still work we made one change the chorus once they went down on how they would turn for the part of the arrows.

But Ryan Y came up with some ideas that would change the end scene when Agamemnon enters and does his speech Ryan had the idea of instead of having Agamemnon of the table giving his speech that he step down and walk through the town people he had the idea on the first "I know you" he would touch Sasha.

Wednesday 26th March 2014

For one of our last rehearsals before the assessment we look over the whole performance to see that the ensemble and unions is working that everything is right and did and final changes that needed to be change to make the performance the best and that it was in the style of Berkoff.

the only change we did was editing Ryan Y idea which he edited himself we change the chorus the original idea was to have the chorus kneeling for the whole of Agamemnon speech but we change it so that the chorus would go down to kneeling when Agamemnon is saying " I know you" once he had walk past you by doing this it shows that Agamemnon knows what the towns people have been upto and that the town people are trying to act that nothing happen by being on their knee at Agamemnon feet.

By going down to our knees one by one once Agamemnon has walked past shows the ensemble and show that we are in unison but using cannon to do the movement but when Clytemnestra starts to talk and the chorus all get up to face her was all done in unison and the movement between the two characters arguing was all in unison which is showing off our ensemble skills.