Emotion Memory

Emotion memory is a technique Stanislavsky developed that pertains to using ones own past experiences that are compatible with the situations of the character you are playing.  As I have touched in my glossary of terms it is a complex system of using imagination, senses and your emotion centre located in the stomach to fill you entire being with analogous feelings. In class we did an exercise that began to employ this technique by using a past experience of great happiness.

We laid on the floor with our eyes closed and we were talked through various steps in how we connect with this past emotion. I remembered watching the sun rise with my best friends after pulling an all nighter of just talking and feeling absolutely at one with the world.  I found it slightly hard to recall this memory as I didn't want to remember a time of such happiness because equally it makes me sad that I am not longer in that mind frame. I also found it hard to radiate this glowing sensation within my stomach. I could visualise it emanating from my centre but I only felt slight tingles which means I wasn't feeling the full effect of the emotion memory. It was also hard to share this with the rest of the room. I wanted to keep this feeling for myself and only myself. However I did feel happier and I could have managed to put it into my performance somehow. I found this exercise useful as it gave me insights into how difficult emotion memory is but it also made me realise that in order to hone this skill it is going to take practice.

We were taught that emotion memory has certain rules that we need to follow so that we get the best results from it:

• Learn the character biography. This entails all the detective work and character research we do and making sure we know our interpretation of the character like the back of our hands. If we don't do this we won't be able to target the specific emotions we need to access. 
• We must identify the exact emotion we need. If we are looking for sadness but we find the memory and it turns out to actually be anger then it's futile. We won't be using the correct emotion memory and it won't match up with the playwrights intentions. 
• Think about the subtext; what is our character really trying to say? What's bubbling under the surface? We can't just think about what's going on in the first dimensional plane. 
• We must also find the appropriate action that will arise the emotion. If we want to actually utilise emotion memory then it is key we can find the action that will activate it in a performance scenario. 
• We must control the emotion; We are the masters of our emotions - not the slaves. We were given a wonderful anecdote about playing Claudio from Measure for Measure and how putting yourself in that mind frame can be dangerous and how you have to be able to bring yourself out of the frame of mind. 

I find emotion memory difficult and I know I need to work on it more before I can replicate it on the stage. This technique is experimental and is an ongoing process in the rehearsal room and should be treated as such. 

Units and Beat Changes

In this session we discovered how to divide up our text into sections known as "beats" and annotate them to unlock the true crux of each unit. This exercise enabled us to give a label to every change in dynamic within our scenes and made us delve deeper into our characterisation of our characters for "Hedda Gabler".

Drama = conflict however in order to portray these conflicts with a sense of truth and reality we must find the light and shade in what we are saying. As already mention a beat is just a bit of text where miniature objectives our pursued then blocked or achieved which leads to a change in dynamic. It is often marked by a character exiting or making an entrance; change in subject matter; silence or inaction; or change in character behaviour. An example in my own work of a beat change is Eilert enters and the light conversation between the three of us ends and an air of tension and awkwardness comes in as he brings all this emotional baggage with him. I labelled this beat as "Eilert in, Tension up" to encapsulate the feeling my character has towards this development. Brack doesn't have too much of an affiliation with Eilert but he is a highly perceptive man and is always judging so he has a very apparent opinion and by marking this beat change I have effectively identified the change in my characters thought process.

If we are to split up the text we must make sure to stitch it back together; This is key in creating a strong structure. As I have aforementioned you need to give the beat change a title. It needs to be punchy and clever. Using a alliteration helps as well as descriptive language, adjectives and actually using the words of the text. Although it still can be mundane as long as it is packed with information; for example "Good morning George" insinuates an awakening which could be metaphorical or real.

I found uniting very useful as after working practically for awhile it made me go back to the text and look deeper within the words on the page. I was really connecting with the most important aspects of each unit and how the dynamics of a scene can shift within a few sentences. I found coming up with good titles quite difficult as finding the exact right words to use was quite tricky especially because the titles shouldn't be long.

Peer Feedback

In this session we were instructed to watch another actor who was playing the same character as you and to assess them and write them ways in which to improve their performance. I found this exercise helpful as it made me look for nuances in others work and ways in which I can reflect it back into my own performance. Charlie Norton assessed me and here was some of the peer feedback I received:

"He has established the character well through his stance that infers high authority, leading in power on stage appearing as if he really owns the other characters and the drawing room on stage. Therefore it is evident that he has understood the text well. These are similar and apparent in his vocal choices. With projection and articulation used however to improve he needs to commit to his script more,

"You have a constant confident character throughout the scene with clear intelligent thought s behind it. Maybe at times work your thoughts"

"Listening to the other characters in the play confidently created a connection with the audience"

With this critic in tow I can now change and tweak my performance style to create a more rooted and text based scene.

Stanislavsky - Glossary Terms

Relaxation - Stanislavsky wanted his actors to be aware of their muscles and what they were doing. He created exercises that involved tensing and relaxing muscle groups so the actors could be begin to sense what their whole bodies were like. Stanislavsky believed that unnecessary tension restricts and actor and locks away imaginative possibility moreover in order to be fully present in the moment you can not be carrying round and physical tension.

Given Circumstances - All the information the playwright gives us through the text; the unchangeable concrete facts of the play. We can use these to guide our interpretations of the characters and how we portray our intentions on stage. Examples of given circumstances include: - events, time, place, set. sound etc.

Action - Every single moment and every line of text contains an action. This is directed towards the other characters in the scene and can be paired with a transitive verb such as "to persuade". The general aim is to string all the action of an entire performance together and voila! You have a performance!

Active Analysis - Rehearsal process developed by Stanislavsky in the later period of his life. At it's core lies improvisation; "Here, Today, Now" utilizes all the tools and actors holds with them in the moment. Task using own words and tightening the link between actor and text.

Affective/Emotion Memory - The process of recalling feelings/emotions from own past experiences that are applicable to the characters situation and story. It involves engaging the imagination, the 5 senses (taste, touch, sight, sound and scent). It's a deeply psychological and complex form of connecting with character but it is a very strong way to just feel.

Beat/Bit/Unit - A section of text where a character is pursuing a particular objective. This usually ends with the objective being blocked, dismissed or achieved and after this happens there's a complete change in dynamics and the scene shifts. These beat changes mostly occur during the exit or entrance of a character as well.

Inner motive forces - The three main components of the actors psycho-physical instrument: intellect (thought-centre) feelings (emotion centre) and physical manifestations of intentions (will or action centre). The relationship between these three is key in creating good psychological performances.

Objective - What the character wants and is striving for in a particular scene. This is expressed through and active verb. These are the most important factors in playing truthful interactions within scenes.

Tempo- Rhythm - The tempo is the speed in which an action is performed and the rhythm is the intensity. Inner and Outer tempo rhythms may contrast n which shows a conflict within the rich inner life of a character.  

Final Performance Evaluation

This evening we took part in our final performance of "Hedda Gabler" by Henrik Ibsen. After 6 weeks of rehearsal, research, character development and planning we managed to pull off an insightful and sensitive exploration of the text through Stanislavsky based acting methods. Although the piece was not with out it's fault and things didn't go totally flawlessly. In this evaluation I will be analysing and commenting on the piece and how we applied the appropriate Stanislavsky systems to achieve this.

As I entered the space we stood with our backs to the action and got into character. I did this through psychological gesture. This called upon an exercise we had done earlier in the day, where we laid on the floor and found an abstract gesture that represented our characters objectives throughout the entire arch of the play. My gesture focused around the hands and the want of power. I flexed and contorted my appendages to represent the writhing sexual lust inside of Brack's heart and then closed and ringed my fists like I was squashing a butterfly; which pertains to my characters need to cage Hedda. This helped to bring my character's wants and desires into my physicality and bring my mind into the present. It also helped to energise me and get my head in the space to do some deep emotionally responsive acting. I also took this time to centre my breathing so my vocal quality was strong and rooted before stepping into the stage space.

I entered the space with strong intentions and because of the previous work I didn't need to warm up; I easily slid into the role of Brack without any sticky transitions. However I did leave a second pause between my cue line which I wasn't happy with. I didn't want to come in at the wrong section so I let my logical side takeover instead of relying on my actors instincts and trusting the text. On the other hand I did not let this insecurity show as I remained 100% focused and in the moment moreover the hesitation looked like a character choice. I feel like my use of space was good as I didn't become stuck in any positions and I utilised the theatrical configuration to my advantage by placing my back to the corners. Although I did have a tendency to slightly wander without a strong physical purpose behind my movement. This would have lessened by status and weaken the facade of strength that I found within the character, but a postitive of this was when we all became bunched up it helped to extend our performance to all four sides of the audience. I combated this idosyncrasy by adding a purpose to my movement such as moving towards the drinks table so I can pour myself Brandy, moving towards Eilert because the conversation interested me, moving towards Hedda because I wished to flirt with her. This made my performance rooted and naturalistic, purpose makes action meaningful and true. 

Another time in which my performance style slipped was when I missed a cue line that was supposed to be a cut off. I was so invested in the action of pouring the drink, swirling it and tasting it I got distracted because I was truthfully playing out this interaction. This is an example of how playing your objective can sometimes have negative repercussions; Brack was disinterested in  the academic conversation so he stopped listening however me as an actor shouldn't have stopped paying attention just because my character does. Next time I will focus on really listening to my fellow actors on stage simultaneously whilst still perusing my objective. I managed to save this by remaining in character and reacting off my scene partners and using the add-libed line "Oh sorry" like I'd been asked a question and rudely forgot to respond. This kept up the energy and made the pause seem intetional. 

My vocal quality was strong throughout most of the performance and I performed with articulation and clarity. After I missed my cue line I got nervous and worried and lost my sense of pacing and garbled my lines. I was quite disappointed in myself as I let anxiety affect all my preparation work and the particular beat change. This nervousness also changed the pitch that I was working moreover changing the already established character I had brought onto the stage. It also affected my dialect as I reverted back to the way I speak in my everyday life as a sort of safety blanket. I would make sure in another performance to never drop my vocal quality because of added tensions. I projected and resonated my sound around the space and effectively communicate the story through my vocal choices. 

A note I got before the show was that I wasn't showing the characters inner dark side. I had the outer charm but it was lacking the depth of his inner evilness. I spent some time working out specific lines in which to show this. My director gave me a real life equivalent of people being all kind all the time but when no one's looking they kick a dog out of their way. I attempted to demonstrate this through my reactions to Eilert. When he wouldn't drink the punch I give him this distasteful look of scorn as I sized him up. This gave the audience a key insight into the true character of Brack and made my work deeper. I used subtle nuances like looking at my scene partners with mock laughter and fake smiles. This helped me to engage with the "life of the human spirt" and my opposing inner tempo rhythms. I feel like this made my performance interesting and watchable. 

In conclusion I feel like I have given a good Stanislavsky based performance which has helped to develop myself as an actor. Next term I look forward to applying these techniques to a wide range of performance texts.