Character

In the spirit of yesterday's post, I've decided to write about this acting lark. I've worked on a lot of shows since I started. Dead Reckoning (shameless plug: Sept 11th-14th, Gladstone Theatre) is in fact the 51st production I've done. Not all of them have been acting mind you. some have included doing sound, lighting, directing etc.

When I look at them, the majority of the acting roles have been the straightforward one-character show. When I think about it I didn't really put much effort into characters when I first started. In fact, as I go through the history of shows that I've acted in, I think the first one where I actually gave any thought to character was Mill On The Floss (Riverside Players, 2011). I was cast both as Stephen Guest and Mr. Stelling. I think by that time, I'd seen and been involved with enough shows that I was beginning to pick up things that I'd not realised were part of acting. You know things like how a character would stand, or their voice or, well anything really. By no means was it the first time I'd ever done two parts, but it was the first time a director had got me to think about how the two characters would be different from each other. It was on that production that I began thinking more about this acting lark.

Now, I think I'm a different actor to what I was before. It feels like each time I really push myself it adds more to what I'm doing throughout rehearsals. With Dickens, Drood and the Best of Tomes (Off Book, 2012), I began to start thinking about how to reflect the character's personality in their voice and movements. Scrooge, for example I moved my feet in a flat-footed way and spoke in a nasally tone. It was a heck of a lot of fun.

What gets me right now though, is how easy it can be to slip back into doing little work on character for a play. When you read some scripts you just know who this character is and how you want to play him. Sure, you don't always get there to begin with, it can take a while. Jason, in Jason and the Argonauts (Riverside, 2012) for example. I knew he was an absolute idiot. The script was written that way and I just wanted to play the character as almost an inept fool. I'm not saying I achieved it, but that was how the character leapt fully-formed off the page. It made it easier.

Other characters, I've spent page and pages in my journal examining just how I can get better and what little thing I could try in the next rehearsal to create a strong character. Again, I'm not saying I've always been successful, but still, let's not forget the adage: 'you only fail if you stop trying'.

When we really think about it though there are some characters where the temptation to just say the lines and move where the director tells you is awfully big. Twelfth Night (Riverside, 2012) for example. Sure there was a little though that went into Sebastian, but for the most part he's just another character. I really don't think I did as much as I could have done. That's probably not the sort of thing I should say in public. That said, I've learnt so much since doing some shows that I'd love to have another go at them. Lord Darlington in Lady Windermere's Fan, or the very first thing I did on Wirral, Laurie in Little Women (Carlton Players, 2011). Maybe, there's nothing more that I could have done with the parts, but occasionally I do wonder. What if?