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Week 1 Research 8/10/2024 Who is Konstantin Stanislavsky?

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Week 1 Research 8/10/2024 Who is Konstantin Stanislavsky?

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Konstantin Stanislavsky was a Russian actor, producer, director, and founder of the Moscow Art Theatre. He was born in 1863 to affluent parents who named him Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev. The name Stanislavsky was a stage name that he gave himself in 1885, when he was 23 years old and entering his prime as an actor on the Russian stage.

Stanislavsky developed many techniques for actors over his long career. Although his ideas about acting continued to evolve throughout his life, some core principles to the Stanislavky method did emerge:

Given circumstances refer to the specific details, conditions, and situations surrounding a character in a play or a film. They include aspects such as a character’s:

Background

Relationships

Beliefs

Desires

Motivations

They also include the broader social, cultural, and historical context in which a character exists. It’s the who, where, when, why, and how of your character. Understanding these circumstances helps you develop a comprehensive understanding of your character, allowing you to make informed choices and deliver a more authentic performance.

The Magic “If”: This is probably the best-known Stanislavsky concept. He did not believe it was beneficial (or even possible) for an actor to truly believe that staged events were reality. Instead, he taught actors to put themselves in the characters' shoes and consider what they would do ifthey were in the character’s situation. The magic if makes the character’s motivations the same as the actors.

Super-Objective: The super-objective is the character’s primary motivation in the play. This is the backbone of the character, the thing they want more than anything in the world. All of the actor’s objectives and actions on the stage should connect to this super-objective.

Objective: Essentially, the objective is the answer to the question, “What does the character want?” The best answer to that question involves a playable action. As Stanislavsky writes, “Every objective must carry in itself the germ of an action.”

Physical Action: Stanislavsky taught that actors must build a character’s behavior through specific, concrete, performable actions. The best actions are achievable on the stage, within the world of the play.

Communion: Believable action in the play must be directed to the other actors on stage, not the audience. When the actors communicate with one another through their actions, the performance captures more human truth than playing actions to the audience.

Emotional Memory: Stanislavsky encouraged actors to develop their ability to observe emotional reactions in their daily lives. The emotional memories developed off-stage provide the actor with strong feelings to draw from when their character experiences a similar emotion on stage.

Subtext: Subtext is the meaning behind the words on the page. To determine subtext, actors must have a rich imagination to determine why their character says or does something in the play. Subtext drives the performance of a play. “Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext,” Stanislavsky explains. “They can read the text at home.”

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What my group did?

Today with Blanka we worked on given circumstances and magic if.

What I contributed to my group?

I create a scene with my partner of two women in a cubical. My partner was a student and I was a homeless person. We imagined our individual given circumstances and acted out a scene.

My given circumstances:

Who?- I was a homeless middle aged woman

When?- In modern day to day society, in the afternoon.

Where?- We were in a town centre with public toilets.

Why?- What is driving the action forward in this scene is showing the contrast and differences between the two characters.

For what reason?- My objective in the scene was to get high

How? My character was conscious and could hear someone else in the neighbouring cubical.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in todays session? and Why?

I embodied the the demeanour of a homeless person and adapted my physicality as I sat on a chair that was meant to be a toilet, I slumped and slouched. I did this by using my imagination and adapted my physicality by hunching over slightly and walking slow and sloppily. I also used my physical expression such as my gesturing to smoke.

What did I find difficult/challenging today?

It was tricky trying to portray the walls of the cubicle and props but I imagined the gap between each cubicle and the opening underneath the sides of the walls to envision someone else there.

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What my group did?

We begun our class with some fitness drills to get the blood pumping. This got me ready and in the mood to work, switched on and focussed.

Today we practiced standing in our truth and in our power individually whilst in the middle of a semi circle at close proximity.

What I contributed to my group?

I stood in the middle of the semi circle in my truth and in my power whilst the rest of the group stared back at me, this lasted for a few minutes. This made me feel exposed and raw as if there was nothing to hide behind.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today's session? and Why?

This activity can help my acting by fully embracing a character and owning their truth as my own, rather than putting on a performance. Doing this activity developed my audience awareness as I was fully aware and conscious of my classmates and attention was magnified towards them.

What did I find difficult or challenging today? And why?

It was difficult having to stand in front of a group of people and be watched for a few minutes at close proximity. This made me feel uncomfortable and awkward as I resulted in trying not to laugh.

My targets for next rehearsal:

For next rehearsal I plan to come prepared to be put on the spot and expect an activity I'm not used to

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What my group did?

For homework we were given the task of choosing a private moment to share in class for example an activity I would normally do with no one watching or an activity I do at home.

What I contributed to my group?

My private moment was tweezing my eyebrows. I did my exercises standing up looking into a pocket sized mirror I had brought in along with the tweezers.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? and Why?

From this exercise I discovered that even though it was not a performance it felt like one because I had an audience and was being watched.

As an actor this has shown me that your awareness of the audience can influence your performance and that in a more private setting of a scene acting requires a high level of concentration in order to remain naturalistic, less uncomfortable and self conscious.

What did I find difficult or challenging today? And why?

I found it challenging to focus on the private moment and make it feel truly private, I was too aware of the audience.

My targets for next rehearsal:

I aim to be more focused on the tasks set in class so I can challenge myself more and take advantage of each technique.

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What my group did?

We was given homework to think of a personal moment of hope that we’ve experienced from the past.

What I contributed to my group.

Today I shared a personal moment of hope in my life as part of a task we were given. The goal was to allow ourselves to be seen by others in the group and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

This was uncomfortable for me as I’m quite a private person but doing the task allowed me to make a connection with how I felt emotionally to how I was speaking and remembering my story. If I’m able to visualise and trigger emotions from memory I will give a more realistic and natural performance. I think that being able to tap in to my feelings from memory and open myself up to being more vulnerable allowed me to access emotions which usually occur as a result of something happening.

What performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? And Why?

In today’s session for the task we did I used storytelling to tell my personal moment. I also had to use my audience awareness to speak clearly and not shy away from making eye contact.

What did I find difficult or challenging today? And why?

I found it challenging trying not to get emotional as I was sharing my story. It was hard to ignore the feelings that were coming up with I was sharing.

My targets for next rehearsal:

Be prepared to be more open and vulnerable, this will allow me to connect with my audience more when sharing or performing.

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What my group did?

We began the session with some fitness drills. Then we got into the spirit of connecting with or bodies.

What I contributed to my group?

We did some solo work exploring vocal sound and taking a physical approach working from the outside in, focusing on the physicality of a character.

What performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? And why?

In today’s session I used my attitude, tempo and imagination.

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Week 4 5/11/2024 Research. Who is Jacques Lecoq

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Week 4 5/11/2024 Research. Who is Jacques Lecoq

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Jacques Lecoq was a French actor, mime, and theatre instructor who developed a methodology that has become renowned around the world. His approach drew inspiration from various art forms like commedia dell’arte and improvisation exercises.

Jacques Lecoq’s approach to physical acting is based on the idea that the body is the actor’s primary tool for expression.

His methodology and theatre techniques emphasize the importance of observation and playfulness in creating a compelling performance.

Key elements of his approach include self-directed learning and the concept of physical expression as a pure form of expression.

Lecoq’s 7 levels of tension can be a way to explore characterisation. This technique can help you create an overall character's physicality or to explore how your character may act within their circumstances.

The 7 levels of tension are as follows:

1. Exhausted – jellyfish. No tension whatsoever. Limp, can hardly move.

2. Californian. Laid back, relaxed.

3. Neutral. Efficient. Just enough energy as you need to get things done. No urgency. Functional.

4. Alert. Curious. You are interested in the world around you. Exploratative.

5. Suspense. Is there a threat in the room? Suspicion. On edge. Jumpy.

6. Passionate. There is a threat in the room. Frantic, wild, quick, irrational. Heightened state.

7. Tragic. Petrified. Deer in the headlines. Frozen stiff. You are so tense you are locked tight.

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What my group did?

We worked on given circumstances with a script called The Secret.

I noticed how smaller spaces for the scene made it more private and intimate.

Small space is acting for camera. Big spaces is acting for stage.

We talked about what creates atmosphere such as sound and lighting, closing of the space with a spotlight and actor’s paradox.

We used Jacque Lecoqs 7 levels of tension to experience different states before we acted the script.

7 levels of tension

Jacques Lecoq

1 jelly

2 California

3 Economic

4 Suspicion

5 Curious

6 Danger

7 catatonic

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What my group did?

We were given the task of learning The Secret script. Me and my partner Yael worked on the secret script further before lesson.

What I contributed to my group?

I worked out my given circumstances and a back story. The given circumstances for my character:

Meeting room- patient, therapist.

Who- therapist.

Where- in therapist office.

When- afternoon 4/5pm.

What- emergency session out of hours.

Why- patient is feeling suicidal.

How- attentive, concerned

Intention- to get information from patient.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? And why?

For todays session I had to collaborate with my partner and come up with a back story, this was to help us create context. I used my physical expression to portray a therapist by using props as well which was a makeshift notebook and pen. I also had to use my vocal expression and adapt my physical to one the was more serious.

What did I find difficult or challenging today and why?

I found it difficult performing in a small area with people watching around us as it was very close proximity to fit the whole class in the room. This made me feel a bit suffocated.

My targets for next rehearsal:

Come prepared to learn another script.

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What my group did?

We began the session with some fitness drills then we watched Karl’s short films that he had directed.

We got given a text and had to learn a line out of it, taking it in turns one after another saying each line in the order of the text.

We said each of our lines in small groups of three and four and one pair. We took it in turns saying each of our lines walking around the space and commanding and leading as we said our lines. We found a rhythm and had to not perform the text but lead with each of our lines.

What I contributed to my group?

We were only given a few minutes to learn the lines which I felt pressure as learning lines can be challenging for me. Being given a certain amount of time made me want to push myself harder and really break down the lines in small chunks. I visualised the small chunks of each section in my head which gave me a visual representation each section of the text I was given.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? And why?

In today’s session I had to use my lateral thinking in order to quickly learn the lines and be flexible in my technique. This will help me as an actor to learn and memorise lines quicker as I used visualisation to really create sections where I could use my imagination in connection to the text.

What did I find difficult or challenging today? And why?

I found it challenging learning the lines I was given and felt pressure but I kept going over them repeatedly I my head and out loud.

My targets for next rehearsal:

I aim to get better at learning lines quickly in a short amount of time.

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What my group did?

We started of with some fitness drills. In today’s class we were focusing on monologues. We looked at two clips from Anatomy of a fall and Hidden figures. Hidden Figures was my monologue that I'd memorised some time ago, playing the lead role of Katherine, I read it out to the group.

We looked up what connections we made with the story of each of our monologues . We looked at breaking down monologues and carving out a beginning middle and end.

What I contributed to the group?

I read out my monologue then looked at it and broke it down into a beginning, middle and end.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today's session and why?

In todays session I read out my monologue clearly and articulated as I projected. This was so each sentence was heard clearly as it wasn't suppose to be a performance.

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The Girls Guide to Saving the World By Elinor Cook 

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What my group did?

We got given duologues to learn over the next coming weeks .

What I contributed to my group?

I found the given circumstances of the script:

Who- My characters name is Jane and she is in her late twenties. Besties to Bella

When- modern day twenty first century

Where- London, in an apartment. Bathroom

Why- Support Bella

For what reason- Bella is doing a pregnancy test

How- being open and calm

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Week 8  5/12/2024 Karl Jackson Research 

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Week 8  5/12/2024 Karl Jackson Research 

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What my group did?

We got given the task of finding a monologue to memorise over the next few weeks for an assessment.

What I contributed to my group?

I decided to do a monologue from a play called Trans Action by K. Woodzick and Alya Sullivan. The character I was playing is called Woodzick.

I looked into the given circumstances of the script

Who- Woodzick 32 assigned female at birth, uses they/them/theirs pronouns. Genderqueer and non-binary. Writer/actor/director.

When- Twenty first century modern day, today.

Where- London, in an apartment

For what reason- to get get empathy from the audience.

How? By directly addressing the audience, appeal to the audience.

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What my group did?

In today’s session we recited our duologues.

What I contributed to my group?

I read out my characters lines with my partner Yael of my duologue for The girls guide to saving the world.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today’s session? And why?

For the scene I had to use my vocal expression and gestures to show the interaction with my partner.

What did I find challenging today and why?

In today’s session I found it difficult to really get into the character as I hadn’t learnt my lines. This interrupted the flow of the scene because I kept having to refer to the script.

My targets for next rehearsal:

I will practice my lines so I can be of script.

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Me and my partner decided to make some edits to the script. We underlined where there was a new event and took out some lines.

We took out some lines as it was a bit wordy and identifying when there was a new event helped with remembering lines as there was a change in the scene.

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What my group did?

We began our lesson with some fitness drills. We then got given the task of finding a spot on the wall at the front of the room to focus on and say our monologues to.

For our second task we walked around the space at different tempos being prompted to change our focus points on que whilst saying our monologues.

What I contributed to my group?

I said my monologue when prompted out loud whist standing still and walking around the space at different tempos.

What performance /creative skills were being developed in today session? and why?

I had to use my lateral thinking to say the monologue at different speeds whist moving, this meant I had to be flexible too as I had to think on my feet and adapt to the tempo changes and direction walking around the space.

What did I find difficult or challenging today? and why?

I found it difficult to recite my monologue whist moving around the space especially when the tempo was increased, this made me loose a bit of focus.

My targets for next rehearsal:

I'll go over my lines to be more comfortable with the monologue and focus more on a point whilst saying my lines.

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What my group did?

Today we did our duologue assessment on camera.

What I contributed to my group?

I performed my duologue with my partner to camera in front of the class. I used chairs to make a bathroom set up for the scene and used a prop to make a pregnancy test.

Which performance/creative skills were being developed in today's session? And why?

I used a lot of gesture to show the closeness of the two characters and to show how comfortable I was with my partner in the scene. I tried to be more theatrical and use my vocal expression as we were in a big space.

What did I find difficult or challenging today and why?

I found that in rehearsals it felt that it went more smoothly. It was difficult to portray the pauses in the scene from the pauses I was taking in between lines. This would flow more smoothly the more familiar I was with the lines.

My targets for next rehearsal:

Get familiar with the context of a scene and backstory of a character so I can be more comfortable with a character.

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What my group did?

In todays session we watched our monologues back on the projector.

What I contributed to my group?

I said what I thought was good about other peoples monologues such as using different levels of intensity to go up and down, this was effective because it demonstrated the different emotions or if there was a change in emotion or subject. Having stillness and seriousness was effective too. Having stillness made a performance more intense and made the character seem more serious or to be taken more seriously.

I thought my performance was better than I had anticipated. I like how I remained natural in front of the camera and didn't stumble upon my words. I took my time and had pauses where I thought was necessary.

What did I find difficult or challenging?

I was a bit uncomfortable watching myself at first but then I got in watching the performance and analysing

My targets for next rehearsal:

I am to learn my lines quicker and be more comfortable with them so I can give a more convincing performance

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https://actorstoolkit.co.uk/

Jacques Lecoq (1921-1999): Neutral Mask, Mime and Theatre of Gesture

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/given-circumstances-acting-explained-76219/

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/the-definitive-guide-to-the-stanislavsky-acting-technique-65716/

Konstantin Stanislavsky-An actors work