Getting and staying!! in character?

Question

I can't seem to really get into character very we'll..when i do it dosen't last or i realize that i dug in..then i fall out because im thinking about " I got in"...HELP!! Any exercises?

Answer 1

You are trying too hard. When you are acting, simply be the character and respond to the stimuli in the scene they way he would respond. never stop being the character and start thinking as the actor. Just do it. exercises are for the birds. keep acting. experience teaches you, not exercises.

Answer 2

First off, don't try to fit yourself to the character, fit a character's traits to you. After knowing all of the basics given in a script I often would add more a back story for my characters in order to better understand them and where they came from. Even the most superficial person is multi-dimensional and so are the characters in a skit/play.

Quick and basic research can help (different culture's, life-styles, time periods, etc.). But mostly, all I did was connect with my characters on some basic emotional level. Is the "person" driven by fear, love, hate, disapointment, ignorance, etc? Then find those traits within myself; often recalling a past dramatic time will put me in state to empathize with him/her (yes, I have played a female role). That small seed of your reality can grow into a character on stage that you never relized was within you.

Stop stressing over it, you can feel the flow of energy on stage- when you "dug in" the energy was interupted. Don't get "into character" let the character out. On stage people aren't watching your actions, they watch a character. Being "in" character is a chance to let your imagination and inabitions run wild, I've done things on stage that I never would other wise (and I've done some wild stuff after turning the legal drinking age!).

I don't know about exercises, but my acting group always started with improvation as a warm up to rehearsals or meetings. They lossened us up and prepared us for any mistakes on stage, not to mention the laughs!! Check out the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" (old ones come from Europe and newer hosted by Drew Carey - ABC Family on sat/cable) Do a search - or e-mail me- you can do some in large groups or with just a friend.

[Another idea- read diferent diologe from scripts, short stories, poetry, songs, whatever in every emotion in order to find the multiple different ways the same words can be said/meant for different characters.]

But either way, man, relax. Remember, it is called a "Play" for reason- just play with it and have fun.!!!
Good Luck!

Answer 3

First, know all of your lines and blocking down cold so that there can't be any confusion there. Then, write a detailed backstory for your character including childhood, likes and dislikes, etc, if ever the need to improvise arises. Third, take some time before you make your entrance to run through whatever emotional or physical cues you need to be in character the moment you walk on stage. Finally, don't be self-conscious enough to allow others watching you to make you break character.

I was in a musical revue in which my role was "Man 1," but the director made us come up with a detailed bio on how we arrived at this point in our lives and then told us that when we arrived at the theatre, we were to treat it as arriving at the night club where our characters were to perform. We entered in character, put on make-up in character, then entered through the house talking to patrons and making our way to the stage in character before the show started. If someone on the crew forgot to call me by my character name and called me by my given name, I simply looked at them and said "Who?" While doing Into the Woods, I needed a minute or two before my first leap onto the stage as the wolf to physically and emotionally descend into an animal. On the other extreme, I had to make a physical adjustment in my jaw before entering as an English character in order to keep the accent true throughout and sound like it was coming naturally out of me.

Answer 4

If the play you are doing is a movie try watching the movie and watch the way the actor plays the part. What I do to get in character is if the play takes place in a certain era I try and find out about my character by that era. For example I did Clara in the Nutcracker and found out it took place in late 1880's and learned about the way they held them selves in the 1880's

Answer 5

Once I've gotten into character I stay in by being the character when I'm and off stage. I respond to people back stage as my character...they've realized by now that I'm doing it and they call me by my character's name and treat me as though I were him. I'm not sure how many other actors do this, but it works for me. Good luck to you and try that next time...see if it helps.

Answer 6

That's your ethical side being uncomfortable with pretending to be somebody else. Remind yourself: The audience judges you on what you choose to say and how you choose to move. They know nothing about you personally. What you show them is what they know about you. It's yours to determine what information they get.

Answer 7

Check out this website... I think it will really help!!!

http://www.abwag.com/character.htm