Preparing For the Role

Preparing For the Role

There is always someone who can step on stage and steal the whole show. They are such a good actor/actress that they pull you into their world and leave you on the edge of your seat.

1 ) Read the entire script 2-3 times. You need to know the entire play/movie well, not just your character. Actors exist to drive forward the larger theme and plot of a movie. If you don't understand the larger themes and ideas of the script then your performance will seem out of place. When reading the script, ask yourself what the main theme of the work is. How does your character fit into the story?
Once you're got a grasp on the full story, turn to your parts and read them an extra 1-2 times. Now, focus on your character's role and lines.

2) Ask and answer several key questions about your character. To really get into your character, you need to dive past what is on the page and start thinking about what makes your character tick. All of this might not make it to the screen/stage, but these little facts will help you fully portray the character and can lead to important discoveries about how you'll play the role.

When coming up with "answers," trust your gut, or ask the director or writer for help.

Who am I?

Where am I from?

Why am I here?

3) Know your character's defining desire. All characters, in almost all stories, want something. This is the basis of plot. The desire can be to save the world, to get a date, or simply to grab a bite to eat. But you need to know this desire, and why your character has it, in order to accurately portray them. All of your character's actions will stem in some way from this desire. It is what drives and fuels them.
A character's desires can change, and you need to note when this happens. It is almost always a major scene or moment to portray.As an exercise, try and pick out the desires of your favorite characters/actors. In There Will Be Blood, for example, the main character is completely driven by the need to find more oil. Every action, look, and emotion springs from this unending, passionate greed

4) Practice your lines until they become second nature. You shouldn't ever have to stop and think about what you're about to say. You should be more concerned with how you're saying it. The only way to get to this point is to practice your lines over and over again, doing your best to recite them without consulting the script. Get a friend to play the rest of the parts so that you can realistically bounce the conversation back and forth.
Experiment with the lines as you read. Try them multiple ways, with different inflections or emphasis, and see how it affects your character.
Recording yourself and watching it later can help you see small mistakes, or hear new ways to deliver the lines.Focus on getting the lines down first before worrying about perfecting the lines. You want to be able to recite the words now, then make them perfect later.

5) Talk to the director about their vision for the character. If you've already got the role, sit down with the director to see if there is any specific direction they want to go with things. Briefly let them know your ideas about the character and how you see them contributing to the themes in the project, then listen to their ideas as well. Remember that you are there to serve the project as a whole, not just yourself. You need to be able to take constructive criticism and ideas gracefully.
If you don't have the role yet, and are going to an audition, pick a direction for the character and stick with it. Don't try and give people what they want to hear. Instead, read the notes and prepare the lines in the way that feels natural to you

6) Put yourself in the shoes of your character. You can not adequately represent a character unless you can get inside their head. Even though your words are scripted out, your actions and blocking aren't always written in stone. In addition, knowing your character well will help you improvise should someone forget their lines. Preparing for a role is the process of getting into your character's head, embodying them the best you can.
Method acting is when an actor refuses to break character on set. In between takes, they stay in the role, trying to fully inhabit the character so that they are always perfect when playing the role on camera.

Kanchan Chauhan

29/01/2016