Character Building is Very Very VERY Important!

While doing my research on some theatre techniques that would benefit my senior project, I came across a very informational article that said that building character is one of the most important aspects to becoming a great actor. According to Lyn Gardner and Dee Cannon in their article "Character Building and What Makes A Truly Great Actor", there are 10 steps/questions to build character effectively.

Building character effectively according to the article means "becoming a fully realised three-dimensional character, with a rich backstory...the character you play is truthful and not a cliche, a caricature, a thin external representation of someone who barely resembles a human being...what you say is real and that you're not reciting, spouting or commenting."

1. Who am I?

• You should know your character as well as you know yourself. This can be done through:
• A good script
• Research details
• Use the imagination

2. Where am I?

• Establish a relationship with your environment, props, and stage pieces.
• Also make sure to know about the geography, for it can change the way your character acts.

3. When is it?

• Seasons can change the way a character acts.
• Modern physicality cannot be brought into an earlier time period.

4. Where have I just come from?

• Work out what your has been doing, where they've been.
• Find the state of being and always know your previous circumstances.

5. What do I want?

• Find your character's intention, motivation, or action.
• Have a life on stage and have purpose for walking and talking.
• Otherwise you will be "just acting" which is fake.

6. Why do I want it?

• Always have a strong justification for your actions, which will give your character a strong motivation.
• This is to make the character more real, and also because plays have a heightened version of reality.

7. Why do I want it now?

• You must know why your motivation has to be right now.
• Gives your character an immediacy that is crucial in acting.

8. What will happen if I don't get it now?

• The stakes should always be high and the consequences of not getting what you want should be very important to you.

9. How will I get what I want by doing what?

• Work out how you are trying to affect the other person with what you are saying.
• "Action" your script
• For every change in though, you need a transitive verb.
• Think about how you can affect the other character by your tone.

10. What must I overcome?

• Outer Obstacle
• Resistance to obtaining your action.
• Inner Obstacle
• Inner Conflict
• There must always be a problem you are trying to overcome.

Blog 4 - Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview?

• I plan to interview my mentor Julian White since he is an experienced actor in a variety of different play genres. He is also the theatre professor at CalPoly Pomona with credentials in theatre.

2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• 5 Required Interview Questions
• I'm interested in studying theatre acting. What can you tell me about it?
• From your perspective, what could I study that would be significant?
• Who else would you recommend I talk to?
• What kinds of places or activities do you recommend I do for the mentorship component?
• What books should I read in this field?
• Why did you want to become a theatre professor?
• What do you love about your profession?
• What do you think makes a successful actor?
• How can an actor successfully engage his/her audience?
• In what ways can an actor improve to become more engaging?
• What is a good pathway for someone who wants to go into the theatre business as an actor?

Blog 3 - Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. List your topic.

• Theatre Acting

2. Write a question that helps to focus your research this month.

• What are the best ways an actor/actress can effectively build character to engage their audience?

3. Post the working bibliography (WB) on the right hand side of the blog so everyone can see it.

• My working bibliography can be found on the right side of my blog.
• It can also be found in the link below.
• Working Bibliography

Summer Mentorship Component

1. Make a log of the specific hours and description of your duties.

• The link below will direct you to my Summer Mentorship Log on Google Docs Spreadsheets
• Mentorship Log

2. What is the contact name and number of where you volunteered?

• Name
• Julian White
• Contact Number
• CalPoly Office Phone
• (909)869-3953

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hour experience?

• Are some warm-ups more effective than others depending on the type of play you are doing?
• What are some other effective methods of reading through a play?
• When talking about a play, what are some important aspects to bring up?
• When performing Shakespeare, what are some methods of making his plays more enjoyable to take part in?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• I gained knowledge on how actors can work together and bond through simple things like talks, warm-ups, and read throughs. From experience, I know how important it should be to be able to get along with your fellow actors and this mentorship showed me how to do that. This knowledge can even let me apply it to my own theatre group.

5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose a topic?

• My senior project topic is going to be Theatre Acting. Being around theatre since freshman year and being able to get this mentorship experience this summer, theatre acting is something I want to look into a lot more. This mentorship has shown me that there is a lot more to theatre than what I think I know, and I want to gain more knowledge about doing what I love.