p. 55-64
In the beginning of this chapter, Richie introduced what he refers to as the "leading strain" but we'll call it the superobjective. This is when you ask: What is my character trying to accomplish or obtain? The student questions him on this with regards to a superobjective of love when there are fight scenes. His response is a great tip.
"I would make them remember it. I would ask them to have it behind every curse, every quarrel, every disagreement."
Like all of our speaking pastors, he looks around for an illustration to make his point clear and sees a tree:
"First, the main trunk, the idea, the reason. On the stage it comes from the director. Second, the branches, elements of the idea, particles of reason. That comes from the actor. Third, the foliage, the result of the previous two, the brilliant presentation of idea, the bright conclusion of reasoning."
We won't address what the lame joke he uses to make fun of writers . . .
After he shares the vision metaphorically, they replay their conversation like a play so he can demonstrate practically what he means. He asks her to define her actions and objectives. She uses words like "complained, scorned, piled up evidence, reproached" these are the actions and objectives she uses to support her superobjective of trying to solve her problem of struggling with working on camera. He reminds her that it is crucial to describe her actions in verbs.
In a nutshell:
When you are in a scene where someone dies, instead of thinking "I am sad" think of all the different stages and ways people grieve (an action) and choose certain points/lines to "deny" or "blame" or "argue" or "accept".
This is the crux of method acting. We're finally getting in to the practical ways of using the system. When method actors get a script, they immediately grab a pencil. Yes, they write down notes from the director and record blocking direction, but that's not all. They make intentional decisions about what actions and objectives their characters choose in their minds that affect their behaviors.
He then compares it to a piece of music. The author gives you the lyrics but you have the create and perform the melody. The superobjective is crucial, but who wants to hear a song with only one note? That's why we try as many different tactics or actions as possible to try to achieve our objective.
So . . . 2 Questions:
What is your current assigned character's superobjective?
What are some actions (verbs) that you will use to try to achieve this objective?
(If you already performed your scene last time, choose the most recent character you played.)
See you Monday night! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I am definitely thankful for all of you!
4 comments:
My character' super objective is to finally take responsibility for her actions & choices...after aloooooong time....YIKES!
Heather N
My objective in an upcoming drama is to tell my husband (played by Kyle) some news and convince him that it is a good thing.
The hitman's superobjective was to secure a contract to either hurt or kill someone for profit. Actions I tried to use for this role were insensitivity, toughness, deliberate movements & speech, "cold-hearted" eye contact.
My character is on the defensive for almost the entire scene. He is unknowingly in the process of being set up to be the "patsy". He starts off in innocence, then comes to the realization of what is intended for him. He then seeks an escape, only to find his ruin has been carefully planned. His objective is to find sanity in a situation where there is none.
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