TH 218-02 Character Building for Performance

Assignment 1 Character Monologue

Guidepost for Assignment
The actors job is to reflect the human experience and become a masterful
storyteller. The characters you create are from your imagination and embody much
physical and vocal work and specificity. But your characters need to have a basis in
you and be a part of you. You must find a way to infuse your characters with
elements of the personal so that the humanity and deep connection is always there.
The actor is always serving the text, creating from the imagination, and working
personally with the situation and given circumstances. Juggling these elements
takes practice and is the craft of the actor.
This assignment is designed to connect the actor with the different yous that
you are every day. We all play many different people in many different situations
though out the course of one day. I, myself, play teacher, husband, father, artist,
bratty son, activist, etc. The list goes on and on.
Complete the assignment in The Actor at Work as listed on the syllabus.
Complete one or more journal entries on this assignment, noticing how many
different yous that you play over the next couple days. Be specific. Journal
through the specifics of the different yous and how you held your body, how you
spoke to the other person in the situation, how you reacted to the moments in the
situation(s). Once you have completed the assignment in the text and made a
journal entry about it, do this exercise to prepare for class on Wednesday.
1) Lie on the floor and breathe freely for five minutes, true relaxed breaths. Do
some stretching and vocal warm-up work as we have done in class (or as you
have learned in other classes). More on vocal work later in the semester.
2) Go through the you that you have chosen to work withyour perfect
student you, your rebellious friend you, your goody two-shoes you,
etc Think through the entire situation where you played a variation of
yourself, or a different you, a version of you. Once you have thought
through the situation, notice how your body was held differently, notice how
you talked with a different sound or resonance in your voice, notice how you
wore a mask and surprised yourself in your reactions.
3) Move around your room with your body slightly altered to match what you did
physically in the situation where you were another you. Pretend you are at
a bus stop and meeting strangers for the first time. How would this you
meet strangers and present herself/himself?
4) Create an imaginary situation for this other you, a dramatic and tense
situation with another fictional character you create beyond the fourth wall.
You will talk to this imaginary second character while playing the other
you you are working with.

5) You will write and memorize 8 lines of text only while playing this other you.
Rehearse these ten lines that you create and see how it feels to play this
other you. Journal about this and be prepared to speak about it in class and
dialogue about what you noticed.