The Actor's Way by Benjamin Lloyd
Author:Benjamin Lloyd
Format: epub
Publisher: Allworth Press / Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. (Perseus)
[Barbara Lewis’s workshop handout]
Questions and Vocabulary
The following are a series of questions you must explore for all scene work brought into class. In exploring these questions, we also define some important vocabulary, which we will use to talk about acting and the choices actors make. Remember there are no “right” and “wrong” answers. These questions are boundaries within which you and your scene partner’s creativity is unleashed. I am not evaluating the “correctness” of your answers, but rather the depth of your creativity.
How does an actor make choices? What criteria does she use? I think an actor should ask three questions about any choice she makes:
• Does it serve the playwright ? (is it appropriate for this character and this scene? Does it enhance the playwright’s vision?)
• Does it serve the audience? (is it interesting, theatrical, provocative? Would I pay money to see someone do this in this scene?)
• Does it serve me? (Am I excited and/or challenged by this choice? Does it stretch me? Is it fun?)
Here are the basic questions that should be explored for all scene work brought in to class. They are listed in the usual sequence in which they are explored in rehearsal:
Who is my character?
The answer to this question describes the character you are playing. Obvious parameters are: age, appearance (you are required to approximate the clothes your character is wearing), occupation, personal history, physical issues (i.e., sickness, exhaustion, etc.). Included in this question is, who is my character in relation to the other(s) in the scene? Subtle, but important variations on this theme might be: what does my character dream of? what is my character’s prayer? what is my character’s secret? The answer to “who is my character” is mostly individual work each actor does on their character alone. Your own imagination is the chief source of inspiration for this research. You may catch yourself daydreaming about your character—seize these sleepy thoughts, they are often quite valuable. The ways in which your character is like or unlike you are important, too. But try to expand the investigation: who in your memory does this person remind you of? Where do you see this person today? As you go about your day, be on the look-out. Your character may walk right by you.
When we get to the final scenes, the play will offer an important source of information about your character. Pay attention to your character’s behavior throughout the play, not just in the scene you are in.
Where is the scene?
This means creating a floor plan, or set design for your scene. Where are the doors and windows? What is beyond the lip of the stage (where the audience is sitting)? If your scene takes place in a building, what’s the building like? What’s the neighborhood like? What things (furniture, props, etc.) are in the scene, and which are most important? You are responsible for providing approximations of those things. Mimed props are not permitted. Also: where is the scene located geographically? What does it smell like? feel like? Odd personal associations are great, as long as you can describe them to us.
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