Happy MLK day! I was reading an excerpt from a well known director this morning and I thought about 3M. Many of you have heard the following before from school, workshops, readings, but I always think it is good to hear it again and again, especially after being cast in a show. It is back to the basics moment and a good review for everyone.
The challenge with this specific show is quickly developing your character. Your mission is to establish your own character and surprise or unset the audience from their preconceived notion (especially with 3M).
To do this, we need you to develop your character's system of wants, also known as objectives. I prefer system of wants, because it is more primitive and actable imho. My role is to help you find these, so I will frequently refer to this by asking questions, chatting about your character's wants, spine, desires (all known as objectives). Establishing your character's system of wants will help you experience a character's feelings rather than just indicating them. Wants: create drama, give life to a character, are perpetual, cause the action, create conflict and are the very energy of your character.
William Ball insists that "the art of acting is your ability to sustain a character's inner life experiences."
To experience your character's inner life, your wants:
- Should be ongoing--expressed in a verb that is actable for 5-10 minutes (this is a good rule of thumb).
- Should have a receiver (the character you are speaking to typically in that scene)
- Should have a desired response (what do you want from that person in that scene or line).
Example:
I want father to reassure me that I will be a great musketeer!
- Father (receiver of your want/desire)
- reassure (want/actable verb)
- I will be a great musketeer (desired response).
Move through your script line by line and write down your want in terms of an actable/sustainable verb and desired outcome for each line.
Be relentless and obsessive in your quest for character's systems of wants line by line, scene by scene, moment by moment on stage. No offense to anyone ;-), but the audience is not paying to see you Cole, Morgan and Jonathan, they are paying to see d' Artagnan, Sabine and Buckingham!
I invite you, give you permission, grant you right of way to come to each rehearsal to take risks and play with your character's wants, as long as you do not rehearse as Mark, Sherry and Kiara (for illustration), rather Richelieu, Mother Superior and Elise. If you are having conflict over this, I can help you. If you are unsure, take a risk and let's see what happens. If you are confused, get with me before or after rehearsal and let's talk it through. In a few cases, I will give you exactly what I want you to do or we will work together to change your character's wants. That said, there will be many instances when I will ask you probing questions for you to find your character's wants. There will be times that I will want a specific blocking or a line on a specific beat, but I need you to "have a take" on stage at all times on your want/desire and verbs.
See you tonight and thank you for the vine!
Cheers,
Michael.
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