Feeling The Character

How can one feel the character? For that one needs to know what do you mean by a character then what defines the character. But how will one really feel the character when we often tend to use feelings and emotions as similar words? Our emotions are associated with our bodily reactions, be it hormones, whereas, our feelings are the conscious experience of emotional reactions.

Each character is unusual and eccentric in itself. I believe in living a character, rather than playing it. On the stage and in films, it is the illusion of being a human person when enacted by an actor. All the illusion has to be is convincing. But we as humans have so many mental blockages and restrict ourselves from the possibilities of this universe that we tend to forget how to live in an imagination. All one needs is the imagination and inquisitiveness of a child. One has to believe in the state of question and live the life of 'íf' as stated in An Actor Prepares(Stanislavski). It's all about imagining the given circumstances. Where do these general circumstances come from? Maybe described by production manager/director at some point, maybe offered by the play or the story, maybe the story's narrative or even your own artistic conception. These factors might help one outline the life of the character to be enacted and the circumstances surrounding her/him. It is about believing in general possibilities of life. This is how one might become accustomed to it and come close to it.

Now, the resultant would be the sincere emotions of the character felt by the audience through your performance, the true feelings of your subconscious. How does one really execute it? Practically one would jot down the 5W's and 1H as to make a general outline. Who is the character, what is it doing, why is it doing, when and where it is and how it is doing. Inner and external changes of the character adds on to what you do. External changes can be the displacement of an object or the atmosphere and the character would tend to respond to it as every change is for a reason. The inner changes might be thoughts, feelings, impulses and acts that are suggestive of the character's nature or define to how one would externally react to a particular change.

So, it is a rigorous creative process. You initiate your imagination, you assess whether it is suggestible and will it develop by itself?

Let's learn with my example, a monologue adaptation of Jo March from Greta Gerwig's Little Women (2019), played by one of my favourites, Saoirse Ronan. To me she is one of the honest actors be it on stage or on screen. Be right back next Friday, I assure you my time and efforts in recording and yours in reading and watching wouldn't go in vain. Ciao, see you next Friday.

Image courtesy: Woman vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com