Character Study
Hello, my pretties! How are you all doing? Is anything new going on in your life? Feel free to leave me a "life update" comment. I don't have a lot to update you on. My life isn't too interesting right now. The only thing keeping me sane besides school is musicals and working on my craft as an actor. This brings me to my post for today.
A character study is an essential tool for actors and can benefit dancers. A character study is an enjoyable, creative process. It involves creating the character, whether it be an original character or your version of a well-known character. With your script, you look between the lines of the text. Why do your characters feel what they feel? What'sWhat's their story? Why do they behave the way they do? What'sWhat's their relationship with the other characters?
When developing a character, there are five main questions to think about.
Who am I?
Where am I going?
Who will I meet/what will I do when I get there?
What do I want?
To what extent am I willing to go to get what I want?
There is also a sixth question that is ONLY for dancers or actors in a musical.
What is the music/song telling me?
For dancers, the music is our guide to tell us what is happening. A choreographer could choreograph the same dance to two different pieces of music, and both of them will look entirely different. Be very in tune with your music, and pay attention to the accents or details. Enlarge them to scale (make them stand out a bit). Also, listen to when the music changes because that's your cue for a different set of emotions to emerge. For example, if the song is super happy and lively, I will dance with a smile and a pep in my step. If the next song is sadder, I might dance with a sad expression, and the movements might be slower and more emotional. Do you get what I'm saying? And don't be afraid to over-exaggerate your characters' emotions because that's the only way it'll get across to the audience, as we don'tdon't speak in a ballet.
The same thing goes for actors in a musical. My theatre professor said once, "The times a character sings in a musical is a life or death moment." Musical characters sing when they are in extreme emotional states or when there is a specific message to get across. For example, in the musical The Spitfire Grill, Percy believes that she is a dark, cold, and hard person who is better off alone and without love. When she is taken to the top of the mountain and sees the sunrise over the trees in Gilead, she is overcome by God'sGod's beauty. She sings the song Shine, which sounds like a prayer at the beginning and a worship song by the end. She is overcome that someone could love her - even after all that happened in her past. She realizes that she is worthy of God'sGod's love, and that's why she sings that song.
Some other questions you might want to think about are:
How old am I?
Where do I live?
What is my personality? (innocent, mischievous, feisty, etc.).
What do I think of the people I'm with? (my scene or pas de deux partner etc.).
To finish this up, as an example, I'll answer some of these questions as my home girl, Yelena Fyodorovna Belova. I did not originate this character, but I have done a lot of reading and research on her, so it's safe to say I know her well.
Character: Yelena Fyodorovna Belova
Who am I?
I am the greatest child assassin the world has ever known. I trained under General Anton Dreykov and Madame B at The Red Room in Russia.
How old am I?
I am 27 years old.
Where do I live?
I live in Budapest, Hungary.
What is my personality?
I may seem quiet and reserved at times, but that is because I prefer to observe people first (assassin/spy training 101). I am trying to figure out who I am now that Dreykov isn'tisn't controlling my mind. I am very passionate, feisty, and caring. I care about people more than they think, Natasha especially. I am strong and tough. I speak my mind and am not afraid to tell them exactly what I think. I do not try to make people comfortable. I don'tdon't smile at people unless they are friends or family. I am fiercely loyal, but I am also not someone you'd want to mess around with. If you mess with my family or me, it will not end well for you.
Where am I going? (place, career, etc.)
I was given a new mission by Oksanna to find and free the other chemically subjugated widows. I travel around the world to find and help them. I teach them to be ""normal"" and make good lives for themselves.
Who will I meet/what will I do when I get there?
While on this mission, I sent vials of red dust to my sister Natasha Romanoff. I figured she could help me. Natasha ended up coming to my apartment, where we came to the realisation that The Red Room is still active. We had to team up and take them down so I could continue my mission of freeing the other widows. Along this journey, we met our parents, Melina Vostokoff and Alexei Shostakov. We get to The Red Room and find that it is still active.
What do I want?
I want to take down The Red Room, spend time with my sister and save the other widows.
To what extent am I willing to go to get what I want?
I am willing to do whatever it takes, go to whatever end, to achieve this goal.
I hope my character study example was helpful to you. As always, make sure you like, comment, and share this post. Don'tDon't forget to follow me on social media (listed below), and I'll see you next time. Sending you all the light and love in this world.
