Photo Credit: Nic McPhee via cc
When acting Shakespeare it is very easy to make more generalised choices as the situations and emotions you are exploring can often seem alien to you.
Here is an exercise from the BBC archive which you can play with in rehearsal for any play or monologue performance where you are unsure of the specific decisions you should be exploring.
The exercise forces you to explore the facts of the performance.
You explore:
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WHO you are
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WHERE you are
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WHAT you are doing
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You don’t just answer these questions, you explore within these questions and really come up with some specifics.
Then take yourself to some more exciting places, try playing the scene or monologue in some unusual situations: what you will discover is probably not the right way to play the scene. Allow yourself to remove any blinkers you may have about how the lines must be played you will discover nuances and styles you might not have explored.
BY exploring a scene or audition monologue in different ways, by answering Who, Where, What differently you will break out of your box and discover a new way of delivery or simply return to your preferred way of delivery with some exciting new insights.
Watch the video and try it out for yourself:
To see the original page on the BBC website please click here
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