LESSON PLAN: CHARACTER EXERCISE

Full Lesson Plan

Character Exercise

a) Go through the script and write down everything the character says about himself, what other characters say about him, and what the author says about him.

b) Reread what you wrote down in "part a" and make a list of adjectives about this character.

c) Narrow this list down to three or four BIG ADJECTIVES that separate this character from any other character. These are the adjectives that drive the character - forcing him to do what he does throughout the entire play. This is what you will need to connect with to play this character. GO FOR THE BIGGIES!!

d) Find in the script what you don't believe in (use your heart). This could be  one of the adjectives, something the character does, etc. Find what you need to connect with to play this role. This is where your work will begin.

e) Sit in a chair and relax.

f) Speak outloud, in the first person, and fill out these things you need to connect with. You must speak out loud - do not write anything down and memorize.

g) Create specific instances as to why your character is the way he is; how he became this way, etc. Make sure that you create specific "memories" - or images - that relate to the play and the playwright's given cirumstances. Use the adjectives that you discovered above. You must be specific.

h) At first you will get a lot of junk and you may get frustrated. Do not sensor! Use everything. YOU ARE WORKING YOUR IMAGINTION.

i) Only deal with the things that you need to play that role.

j) Eventually after 6 or 7 days, 30 mins/day of this, things will happen - providing you work this way and that you are not lazy.

k) After about the 7th day, YOU  WILL MAKE A TREMENDOUS DISCOVERY! THIS WILL GIVE YOU YOUR CHARACTER'S SUPER OBJECTIVE - HIS PATH THROUGH THE ENTIRE PLAY!

l) You will use these specifc stories that you have created as images, subtext, emotional memories, etc. as you play your role.

m) This exercise leads you on an emotional train that helps you figure out what the character's wants and needs are. Then you will know him. You can put your character in any situation and you will know what he would do and how he would react. You have found the soul of your character.

Character Work Example from "The Lark" by Anouih/Hellman

My role was CHARLES, THE DAUPHIN

Character adjectives: Terrified, Intelligent, (These were 'biggies'. Everything he did was based on his intense fear.) Imaginative/foolish

To realy play the role successfully, I needed to emotionally connect with THE FEAR. I sat in a chair and created specific stories of times that he was terrified. You must look in the script. This is where you find everything! Please look at the italisized example excerpt from the script for an example of a story that I created.

Joan: You will have courage every day. Beginning now.

Charles: You have a charm in a bottle or a basket?

Joan: I have a charm

Charles: You are a witch? You can tell me, you know, because I don't care. I swear to you that I won't repeat it.

I have a horror of people being torchered. A long time ago, they made me witness the burning of a heretic at the stake. I vomited all night long.

Joan: I am not a witch. But I have a charm

Charles: Sell it to me without telling the others.

Joan: I will give it to you, Charles. For nothing.

Charles: Then I don't want it. What you get free costs too much. I act like a fool so that people will let me alone. My Papa was crazy so they think I am, too. He was very crazy, did all kinds of strange things, some of them very funny. (Hellman, 29)

You always use the script. One of my strong adjectives is Terrified. So, in using the script above, I created a story about how La Tremouille, the Archbishop, and others of high power in the French "govenment" knew that I was planning on creating a treaty with the English (this did happen at this time in history) and that they found out about it before I could secretly accomplish this treaty. They woke me up very late at night, blindfolded me, and took me out to an open field. They said that they knew what I was planning and that if I ever tried to go against their wishes again, they would do this to me. At the point, they took off my blindfold and burned the woman in front of me. I imagined this story complete with smells, sights, sounds, etc. When I then spoke the above speech, I saw the images that I created and that affected the way the speech came out. It was created out of my imagination. In this way, I did not have to use anything from my real life just to have an emotionally filled moment. I filled it out so completely with my imagination, that it affected my emotions. It also gave me the fear that I needed when dealing with the characters of La Tremouille and the Archbishop.

This is what you want to do. Find these places in the script. The whole purpose of the character exercise is to use everything you create in your performance. I filled out what was important. THE FEAR. When you look up on the stage at the character Charles, you should see a terrified, foolish little man.

Through this exercise, I also found that Charles' superior objective (his main want throughout the entire play) was TO PROTECT MY LIFE. I know that intellectually; however, once I experienced the character exercise, I knew it in my heart. THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE STRIVING FOR,

1) Start with the script and ask yourself:

- In order to fulfill the givens of the script (what the playwright wrote), what do we need to see up on the stage?

- Don't put things that don't belong there.

- The more you defend your choice with the actual written script, the better the choice is. If you have trouble defending a choice with the written words, then it is a weak choice.

- What do I need to connect with to play the role.

2) Sit in a comfortable chair and fill out your role.

- The character exercise CAN NOT BE WRITTEN DOWN AND THEN MEMORIZED! It must be spoken out loud in the first person.

- You must work through the playwrights givens - only deal with things that you need to play a role.

- If an image comes to you and it really effects you - examine it fully. Try to uncover as much as you can.

- When you are doing the character exercise at home, use everything your imagination sends you. DO NOT SENSOR. Don't change anything. Keep the junk. It will turn into something good. You will know when good things happen.

- Make your stories/images as specific as you can. Every time you go through the story you can make it more specific.

- Make sure that your adjectives come out in the character work.

-Make sure you are IN THE MOMENT. Some of us have a habit of "standing outside" watching and commenting as we are acting. You play your objective, keep the thinking going, and see the images that you have created - this is where your concentration should be and not on how things look to the audience.

- You will emotionally discover your super objective. The super objective is your main want throughout the entire play. You need to find it emotionaly - not just intellectually. Emotionally discovering something does not necessarily mean weeping. It may mean laughing, it may mean anger, etc. Whatever is appropriate for the role you are playing.