Okay, I'll say right now that I am not a fan of improvisation in acting. Yes it can sometimes work, kind of, after a sort, maybe, if everyone has drunk enough beer.... But my experiences of improv-acting is a bunch of actors who turn up and attempt to show the audience how clever they can be. Something that invariably turns into an ego-driven wank-fest of a somewhat tedious nature.
But.... But.... After working intensively with the actors of Dating by the Book, a comedy I wrote and that will play out at the Steeple Aston Village hall on 22nd, 23rd and 24th March, I am starting to realise there is more to improvisation than meets the eye. In fact I am now beginning to understand that it isn't just about a bunch of actors dancing around to 'give me a word audience any word' and acting out scenes that could have been written by someone with brain cells in single digits....
It's about something much deeper. It's about Real Acting.
Last night was our second rehearsal. During that rehearsal, much like the first one, I worked with the cast (I am also the director) to breath life into the characters. It's a rewarding if somewhat challenging process. There are obstacles to overcome, sometimes physical ones such as where an actor should stand, or indeed if they should stand. Sometimes these obstacles are to do with tone of voice, for example, why, when Juliet is annoyed with Jacques, actually really pissed off with him, why doesn't she say so? Why doesn't she just really bollock him?
The answer to both is: it's all to do with character! Juliet is really pissed of with Jacques, but Jacques is her top client and as such represents a source of income. Therefore she can be pissed off, but she can't outwardly show it to him. Jacques is as relaxed as he is arrogant, but when he is cornered, he retreats in a physical as well as an emotional level, which of course is something he tries to hide. But how do we show that? And how do we know when to do something or rather when to allow something to happen?
Simple. Understanding of Character through Improvisation.
The lines that I wrote in this play, the black words on white paper, can only take the character so far. The rest is all about the acting and that comes from understanding the character, actually becoming the character they play and then, when they are on the stage, be able to react to events inside the characters voice and actions. No matter what happens. Scripted or non-scripted. Rehearsed or improvised.
It's a tricky concept for a non-actor to understand. After two rehearsals I am only just starting to understand it myself. But it's magical to watch the transformation from actors reading out lines, into actors starting to believe in the characters and their relationships, and their motivations. Once that starts to happen, the play takes on a life of its own. It becomes this organic thing that grows every time the actors improvise a different way of saying their lines, a new way to react to a line they just heard, a new insight into why their characters are behaving they way they do.
It's theatre people, and without being overly dramatic, it is where magic happens.
Paul
0 comments:
Post a Comment