Concentration . . . not to be confused with Mark's "moving" monologue on constipation as demonstrated above. : )
Now to the lesson . . .
(p. 5-10)
Richie asks "The creature" to perform something for him, and she makes the same mistake a lot of us do. She tries really hard, but it's just a bit too much. He says "You do not hesitate for a second before cursing heaven. Yet you are unable to speak these words simply and plainly, to show their inner meaning . . . You grimace, you mutilate the words of the poet and eternal emotion, and at the same time you do not possess the most elemental quality of a literate man--an ability to transmit the thoughts, feelings, and words of another logically . . . Let us try to create a small, but real artistic value according to your strength." (So it wasn't Marcus Buckinghm's original idea!)
What makes us want to draw out lines a little too much or make things a little bigger than needed? Two things:
1.) HABIT! Let's face it, many of us were in high school, college and community theatre, and all we heard was "I need more! Bigger! Louder!" That made perfect sense in a large auditorium with no wireless mics to hide in our costumes. But have you ever noticed that even the people in the front row of a service will sometimes be watching imag the entire time? It can be a pretty intimate medium and those mics pick up every sigh, every gasp, everything. We will also be doing more and more on camera acting now that we have the big screens, which as you know is incredibly intimate and adds the perpective of the camera into the storytelling mix.
2.) TENSION! Have you ever noticed that people can act really odd when they are on stage or camera in the tension of being watched? Do car salesman come at you in person like they do in their screaming commercials? Do the lawyers looks as uncomfortable and stilted in the courtroom as in their TV ads? Of course not, but there's this odd tension of needing to perform or entertain. That's where concentration comes in handy.
Question #1: What effects does tension have for you on stage?
(Example: For me, I tend to rush, while others might slow down and add even more pauses.)
Richie asks his pupil about her favorite actor John Barrymore (yep, Drew's grandpa) and what she noticed about him. She said "He paid no attention to me". He tells her this is important and reminds her "He was acting in his work as the pilot would, the scientist, or the architect--he was concentrating . . . .the quality which permits us to direct all our spiritual and intellectual forces toward one definite object and to continue as long as it pleases us to do so . . . This strength, this certainty of power of yourself, is the fundamental quality of every artist"
Stanislavski calls it "public solitude" and uses an exercise called "circles of attention". We'll talk about these at the September meeting.
I find concentration much more difficult with monologues than scenes. For instance, Kyle and I did a scene last year where a couple argued over money. I had concrete objects to concentrate on in the immediate vicinity (the bills, the checkbook, and Kyle) which made it easy to forget the audience was there and focus in on the moment.
Question #2: Do you have any tricks for getting rid of tension on stage or helping yourself focus in on the scene?
In a monologue, however, concentration can be more challenging, especially if you are addressing the audience. Scene assignments where we focus on the other relating asects of acting will come later, but monologues are a great exercise for concentration. Hence, assignment #2: you will be receiving e-mails from me with assigned monologues of characters that will stretch you. (We're stepping outside comfort zones for the greater good!) Many of these monologues include an exercise in concentration where there is an invisible person on the stage whom you are addressing about a certain tough issue. It will be up to you to decide who that person is and there will be a lot of blanks you have to fill in. Once you get your monologue via e-mail (no later than Tuesday the 11th), answer the questions below regarding your character, and bring them with you to the September meeting when we will perform these. Filling in these blanks helps the actor concentrate on the concrete and defined rather than trying to overcompensate for unanswered questions and awkwardness. Have fun, and keep those heroes stories coming in!
Characterization Questions:
1.) Who am I talking to? How do I feel about them?
2.) What happened right before I spoke? What will happen right after?
3.) What is my age? Family life? Status? Occupation?
4.) What am I trying to accomplish or obtain by what I am saying? What different tactics do I use throughout the monologue to achieve this objective?
5.) Create a sketch of the setting of your monolgue as if it would be in a film. (Placing objects in the room in your mind is a great trick that helps maintain your focus.)
Question #3: Any other questions you think are important to ask about your character?
(I'm sure Dalene has a million more. She is the characterization Queen!)
Thanks so much for the effort you guys are putting in. See you all Monday the 24th at 7!
3 comments:
Ick..."the creature" Personally, I feel for her. It's not easy to be on the receiving end of Simon Cowlesque treatment. However, I also understand the brutality with which his honesty pushes her to evaluate her talent. Like a lot of actors, she's just suffering from the pain of knowing that she's not quite getting it. Ok, so it's not the nicest way to effect change but sometimes as cliche' as it sounds...the truth really does set you free.
Concentration...hmmm I think in some ways you have to learn to trust in your character and scene enough to let honest things happen consistently...to just hold yourself with every ounce of strength in that moment. I've often seen actors do an amazingly deep performance in practice only to throw every honest action out the window at performance due to a lack of concentration.
The ability to hold this state of mind helps you to avoid the temptation to make the "safe / obvious" acting choices when you feel the tension of performance. It makes you stay in the moment, for the moment, and produce consistent results.
I have to confess, I didn't know this had to be learned because I began theater so young and it became a triggered response so early. I just didn't realize it was happening. So, for the first few years I directed I skipped over this aspect of training, instead trying to "fix" the characterization and couldn't understand why they weren't able to become this person easily. Once I realized that most people just never learned "concentration" it made perfect sense why they couldn't hold a character on stage and why they made unpredictable and inconsistent choices. But trying to go back to this basic skill, I felt some resistance from actors to "practice" in this way. I would get, "I'll do it on stage." or "When I perform, I'll 'be in character'." This creates a dangerously unpredictable and undirectable performance. So...don't get anxious to move on to the next chapter. It seems like such a small thing, but it really isn't optional. It's absolutely crucial to begin to get this now.
Question #1 What effects does tension have for you on stage?
(Monologues are actually easier for me than scene work.)
Confession #2: I haven't performed in so long, that in last month's performance I recognized a lot more tension indicators in myself than there should have been. (Not to mention, as your director, I feel like there are some expectations for me... yeah, no tension there.)
I do tend to pace in first runs especially when I'm not fully off script. That's not necessarily bad, since if your character is truly in thought, it can be a natural choice. But, when YOU the actor are deep in thought because you can't remember your lines, there's a drop in energy that's difficult to recover. Ooops...
Question #2 Do you have any tricks for getting rid of tension on stage or helping yourself focus in on the scene?
Tension is merely a reaction to feeling self-conscious or embarrassed by carrying the attention of an audience. It's kind of like how your body goes into shock in reaction to trauma. Your brain trips out & makes you do weird things on autopilot to release the tension. (Hand gestures, hair flipping, shifting weight, facial expressions, stiffness)
Like Kristin said, it's important to be able to know where you carry your tension and how it shows itself. When you recognize these rough spots, it's helpful to think about building in tiny bridges where you can focus on an inner calm all the way across to an easier scene, line or reaction. Sometimes that means holding your focus on an object in the scene or even how your scene partner is breathing, something simple. For people that hold the tension in a specific area of their body like their shoulders, I find that leading with a different part of the body, like the feet or knees, helps balance the tension. Lastly, practice in front of any audience who will sit still long enough. The only way to recognize and minimize tension is to force it out in the open as much as possible.
Characterization - Make sure you understand and ask what REAL people would do. Sometimes it seems like actors pull out the dictionary for an indicated emotion. It's right, but it's too direct and lacking real meaning.
I, too, relate to the "creature". Trying so hard to do the right thing but confused by what that is. My high school acting coach was an extremely eccentric man who demanded "big gestures", "PROJECT",he would scream, "I want over-acting!!!". But so much of what we do is life situation drama and all the theatric aren't necessary or realistic. It takes much more concentration to focus on "real life situations". I've caught my mind totally wandering when I've been on stage before..Scarey!!
Thanks for sharing that, Sherry! And yes, a lot of what we do is life situations. It is complete and utter control of the vehicle of delivery. But it's also your safety net. When you've practiced well, concentrated well, stepped into your scene in practice fully prepared and in control, you have nothing to fear from the stage. It will receive you just as well and you will be free to enjoy your character and your audience equally.
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