Character Preparation?

Question

Interested to hear what others do....

How do you prepare a character for stage, film, tv?
Is (would) your approach different for each of the above?
Does the genre (comedy, drama, etc) effect your approach?
Do you follow a text book method or do you feel your way into it?

When I say "Text book" I refer to established methods such as Stanislvaski, Grotowski, etc.

In case you missed it - "I am interested in what others do..."

I have been performing for nearly 15 years and directing also during that time. I ask this question out of curiosity, not necessarily advise.

Everyone has different styles that all work for them. I am curious to know what those styles are.

Answer 1

I think you do have to feel your way through. The methods are a part of you. They're what you learn in your training and they're what help you to interpret your character, how you break things down. I don't think I ever use one particular method. It's always a combo but everyone takes what they've learned and applies it in their own way making this the unique craft that it is. No two actors would do any role the same way which is so awesome.

I think you definitely approach roles for different mediums in a different way because you need to relay things to your audience in a different way. For instance lets for stage, you have to convey the same emotions but do it 'bigger' so that the audience can hear you and 'see' you. Your movements will have to be different and you're telling the complete story in order in a couple of hours. In essence you can live it as the character does.

For tv you have closeups so your movemenst don't have to be as exagerated. You also have commercial breaks therefore more points where dramatic pause will come into play, the technical aspects are completely different in dealing with set pieces, marks, etc. and your shooting schedule will be something else.

A film on the other hand is more like a vacation compares to the other two (in my opinion). Less pages per day however the trade off is spending sooo long on one scene getting every angle, etc. Keeping continuity in mind while staying in character is another consideration. Your movements will be more subtle because they are magnified so much. Your face will be 15 feet tall and the audience can see the look in your eye or the cocking of your eyebrow as opposed to needing to see your whole body language like when you're on stage. Nuances like a slight smirk can be caught by the camera but an audience member in the balcony when you're on stage would not see that without high powered opera glasses.

All of these difference come into play for your character's traits and should be kept in mind depending on the medium your role is for.

Make sense?

Answer 2

Wow, there are so many different ways and opinions about this that it's hard to have a right answer, but that's why they call it the arts....
Anyway, I start by writing a list of the character's traits. after I've read the script a few times. How she feels about certain aspects of her life, about certain characters, etc. I'll go back to the and add things through out the rehearsal time. The genre of the piece defiantly effects my approach. With a drama, you'd want to keep the character's past more serious, and realistic. With a comedy, you can use your imagination more wildly.

I'd prepare for TV, film and stage all differently, because they're all different. A TV character might be in the show for only on episode, so you have to put so much more effort into it if you wanna be good. But with stage and film, you have more to work with.

I don't think you can actually read a textbook and know how to act. Acting is like life, you live and learn. You try things, experiment, see what works, and how to get the character into you. This is an art from,people. Do you think Picasso learned to paint from a textbook?


Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Text books are often useless. The main guide is the script, anyhow, as interpreted through the director. Those two sources need to be the starting point, after that, it's up to the actor to attempt to figure out the character's motivations, strengths, weaknesses and personality. If your understanding of the character produces the desired effect for the director and author, then you're probably on the right track. Do the mind meld.

And break a leg.

Answer 4

I always start the same way. After I read through my part thouroughly, I have a friend "interview" me in character. It's something I picked up from a class. The questions ask all kinds of things about the character that wouldn't have been developed in the script, so it forces you to fully flesh out the role beyond what's simply down on paper. If I stumble on the questions and can't make convincing answers on the fly, I know I haven't worked on it enough. It makes me feel like I truly know and understand my character and her motivations and voila, I'm her!

The questions are things like:
How many years did you study in school? What was your favorite subject and why?

Where have you lived or travelled?

What made you fall for your first love?

How many siblings do you have, and how do they feel about you?

What was your religious upbringing?

What in life do you regret the most?

Where does your clothing come from? Who chose/bought/made it for you?

What makes you feel good/excited/stressed/angry?

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Find your way, through the words you are given, and your direction, into the character's head. Your first, and biggest, question should be: why? Why these words and not others?

Acting styles vary with the medium, but characterization (the "why" question) should be a constant.

Come on. This is really Acting 101.

My approach is to hang out and have a beer or two with my character. Let my (our) hair down, so to speak. I usually find that we are really not all that different. I, of course, can improvise, while he is stuck to the script, but, with time, we can come to a meeting of the minds.

When the time comes for me to speak his words, we both know that I am doing him justice.

Answer 6

Don't know, role playing games could be good practise though. GURPS rather than D&D, as GURPS is a bit more real world like.