We have been given our new play "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov and have started rehearsing it only a day or two after finishing our last play "The wardrobe". We have had a couple of rehearsals this week and the performance is in about weeks so this is one we need to get moving on. I play the character Leonid who is Lyuba's brother and Anya's uncle.
The play focuses on a family of people and some of their associates as they welcome back Lyuba after staying in Paris for a few years and having some horrible things happen to her. They welcome her back and this is during the liberation of the serfs (A time when a lot of servants were allowed to leave their masters and chose to do so) and they are somewhat trying to get used to living without them even though they still have two left. Lyuba is in debt and can't pay off the mortgage of the cherry orchard estate and neither her nor my character Leo can pay it off so the bank is going to auction the house and they will lose everything. The play has quite a few sub plot but the one that gets the most attention is to do with Lyuba's debt because it's the one that has the most consequence or at least in the script we've been given. as of now I have not read the complete script but I feel I may need to in order to try and flesh out my character Leonid.
Strengths and weaknesses of this rehearsal week:
Strengths: We have worked out the staging of the overall set quite well and did it quite fast, so less time was focused on that and we get more time to focus on actually blocking the scenes. We've put a table in the middle with some chairs which is where we'll spend most of the time, there's another table that may become a cot which should be on a separate higher piece of stage to show it's another room. Also everyone including myself seemed very open and willing to do their parts over and over again because Karen wanted them perfected while it may have been a little annoying having to do a single piece about ten times, we all did it and got through it and we achieved what Karen wanted.
Weaknesses: A major downside to these rehearsals is that I have no idea how to portray Leonid at all. I don't know whether or not he is overly sarcastic, bitter, energetic, optimistic, pessimistic, somber, melancholy or all of the above. I'm finding it really hard to define him and it definitely comes across in the rehearsals because I feel that what I'm doing doesn't really match what's being said but on the flip side I can't think of what matches in anyway. So I think I'm coming across as quite inconsistent or just a bit wooden and confused at the moment. Another weakness is that we are quite slow with blocking the scenes at this point because Karen is trying to perfect everything and while being a perfectionist isn't the problem, the fact we're taking so long with a limited time is and I feel that we'll most likely get it done it will just take a while.
Rehearsal methods: The class has had one read through of the play and that was when we were doing "The Wardrobe" and it was very quick and to be honest not very well done and we haven't had another one since then. We're just focusing on actually blocking it and rehearsing our lines at the same time. This is a somewhat slow process because we have to do individual pieces over and over again at points and go slow for some parts just to figure out how they should be done. While this may take up some time, I honestly think it's a good way to do it because it helps me somewhat with remembering lines alongside learning them outside of class. So it's an effective way and a good compromise to how we do it normally due to the time limit.
Personal Aims: My main aim is to try and focus or to figure out Leonid's character. I'm going to have to try and do some research into the play and the character to see what conclusion (If any) I can come to. At the moment I have not done much in terms of research except look up a character synopsis and it says he is one of the more comedic character but I don't know if that really means much because it doesn't say if it's bitter humour, energetic, light hearted humour or what but I'll figure it out the more I play around with the character.
Saturday 24 October 2015
Sunday 18 October 2015
The wardrobe Blog 4: Rehearsal updates 2
Strengths and weaknesses:
One strength is that I have got more time with Chloe on scene 5 and that we got to try our costumes on for it which gave me an idea for how the character in scene 5 should walk and I think it works but maybe should downplay it to keep it natural. Also Karen finally got to see it and give us some constructive criticism which is well appreciated and it's made us realise we need a little more depth with in the piece itself such as to convey some very subtle yet effective emotions. Another is that I have been rehearsing more with Sam due to that he has been in more and we've been running through it more thankfully.
The weakness of this was that me and Chloe realised our characters motivations for the scene didn't really make much sense or were at least a bit far fetched so we sat down and came up with something a bit more believable and easier to portray in my opinion and I feel the back story we've come up with is good so while there was a down side in some initial time wasting it's made up for it with an even better story for us to do.
Creative ideas: Like I said I had an idea of how the character should walk. If I had to describe it I'd say it's a bit like Jack sparrow's from "Pirates of the Caribbean". It looks very similar to how I saw some certain stances from a play called "Double dealer" and it made me think that it did suit the time period and character but I decided to tone it down and make it a bit more subtle so that it stays with in the realms of naturalism. Another one was the back story I mentioned. We performed it and she said it was great but could do with adding some depth to it. She asked us who is "He" that is mentioned in the script and neither of us knew. I always assumed that meant whoever was hypothetically attacking him meaning anyone but that means it would've been written "They" instead of "Him" so we thought it would be wise to go into more detail. Even though the audience would not know this it will hopefully develop us enough so we can add some subtle yet effective expressions or actions to the scene. Me and Chloe thought about what we could do and we ended up changing some of our motivations and set up. We originally thought that she'd do this teaching self defence thing as an excuse just to be violent and get back at me for just being annoying but really i don't think that works to well. So Chloe came up with the idea that she is genuinely teaching me self defence so i can't protect my self from our eldest brother who has violent tendencies. I think this can add a sense of urgency to it as in I must learn before my brother strikes again and I hope it may bring out some form of care in Chloe's emotions but we'll see the next time we have to practice the scene.
Teamwork: Since Sam is in now and I don't think he's been practing his lines I have been prompting him in the scene. I know my lines so glancing at the script to see if he gets his right is appropriate I think. I think it is helping him, I'm trying to do what I can and he is even correcting me on some of my lines when I get the occasional mess up so we're both benefiting each other.
One strength is that I have got more time with Chloe on scene 5 and that we got to try our costumes on for it which gave me an idea for how the character in scene 5 should walk and I think it works but maybe should downplay it to keep it natural. Also Karen finally got to see it and give us some constructive criticism which is well appreciated and it's made us realise we need a little more depth with in the piece itself such as to convey some very subtle yet effective emotions. Another is that I have been rehearsing more with Sam due to that he has been in more and we've been running through it more thankfully.
The weakness of this was that me and Chloe realised our characters motivations for the scene didn't really make much sense or were at least a bit far fetched so we sat down and came up with something a bit more believable and easier to portray in my opinion and I feel the back story we've come up with is good so while there was a down side in some initial time wasting it's made up for it with an even better story for us to do.
Creative ideas: Like I said I had an idea of how the character should walk. If I had to describe it I'd say it's a bit like Jack sparrow's from "Pirates of the Caribbean". It looks very similar to how I saw some certain stances from a play called "Double dealer" and it made me think that it did suit the time period and character but I decided to tone it down and make it a bit more subtle so that it stays with in the realms of naturalism. Another one was the back story I mentioned. We performed it and she said it was great but could do with adding some depth to it. She asked us who is "He" that is mentioned in the script and neither of us knew. I always assumed that meant whoever was hypothetically attacking him meaning anyone but that means it would've been written "They" instead of "Him" so we thought it would be wise to go into more detail. Even though the audience would not know this it will hopefully develop us enough so we can add some subtle yet effective expressions or actions to the scene. Me and Chloe thought about what we could do and we ended up changing some of our motivations and set up. We originally thought that she'd do this teaching self defence thing as an excuse just to be violent and get back at me for just being annoying but really i don't think that works to well. So Chloe came up with the idea that she is genuinely teaching me self defence so i can't protect my self from our eldest brother who has violent tendencies. I think this can add a sense of urgency to it as in I must learn before my brother strikes again and I hope it may bring out some form of care in Chloe's emotions but we'll see the next time we have to practice the scene.
Teamwork: Since Sam is in now and I don't think he's been practing his lines I have been prompting him in the scene. I know my lines so glancing at the script to see if he gets his right is appropriate I think. I think it is helping him, I'm trying to do what I can and he is even correcting me on some of my lines when I get the occasional mess up so we're both benefiting each other.
"The Wardrobe" Essay
"The Wardrobe" Essay
The historical events:
Scene 5: The time period is mentioned to be anytime between 1665 and 1770 and this general period of time for France was a decent time in history. A lot of it's wars were coming to an end around this time such as the war of devolution, the war of reunions, the nine years war and even the 30 years war had finished just before this general time period. Once I found these out it contributed towards the motivation of the scene being different because the condition of the violence in France during this time was not as bad as I thought it was.
Scene 9: This scene is based during a historic event, the time of Jack the ripper. In fact this scene takes place 2 days after the murder of his last victim so it makes sense that the boys are just seeing all this in the paper and there was quite a lot of mystery surrounding who it was at the time so it's also completely plausible that they would be so enthralled yet disgusted by it so the scene does represent the time period very well and the most likely reaction to these crimes.
Scene 12: Since this scene takes place in modern day I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. Even the subject matter in the scene I have had friends who have gone through it so it's a real problem that's addressed in the play and nude photos being leaked is very common nowadays and can have some traumatic affects on people. So it is an issue that's worth bringing up and one of the most common in today's society as far as with teenagers and social media are concerned. It's actually actually very relatable for audiences nowadays to talk about invasion of privacy or social embarrassment because now people have the means to do it they will.
The pre-scene events:
Scene 5: I needed a reason to go into the wardrobe in this scene so I thought that I should bring in a piece of clothing to hang up but I never thought of why I was doing it considering my characters wealth and that they most likely had servants. So I decided that before the scene, the character simply got changed and wanted his clothes hung up but all of the servants were busy so he had to hang it up himself but hasn't done that much and didn't remember to bring a hanger and that's why he simply throws it over the pole in the scene instead of hanging it. His sister may have sent the servants away so that no one knew that she was teaching him in the wardrobe.
Scene 9: Since the scene is focused on choir boys hiding and reading a news paper I thought it would make perfect sense if they were all so fascinated by the killer they were reading about that they actually got somewhat excited to be updated about him or at least a couple of them were and the others just tagged along but were still interested. They were getting ready for choir practice or a rehearsal or something along these lines when the latest update on the killer arrived but the probably weren't allowed to read it because they're still quite young and live in a strict environment so they had to hide somewhere and they hid in the wardrobe to hide from the father and to get the latest news.
Scene 12: Quite a bit of the context for what comes before the scene is given in the script or dialogue. My character is at a museum with his class and have been tasked with identifying certain things with in the museum on a worksheet and then come back to a meeting point that is a gift shop. He realises that one of his friends most likely a task partner has disappeared and he knows the most likely reason, that he doesn't want to be seen by the other students due to an embarrassing photo being leaked so he decides to look for him and convince him to try and just get on with the task at hand other wise they will get into trouble and that's when the scene starts.
The dramatic events:
Scene 5: I can't really pin point a dramatic moment that changes the course of the scene except one possibility and that literally at the beginning of the scene when my character goes into the wardrobe in a very relaxed state simply hanging some clothes and then sorts out his own that he's wearing but the instant his sister comes in and grabs him around the neck, the whole mood changes to being somewhat relaxed to being confused and in a state of panic. It changes both the characters mood and the mood of the audience cause they're both trying to figure out what is going on. Another one I could pick is when I finally decide to give in and stop fighting back so that she let's me go. This moment could be that I realise she is talking sense or that I simply figure out to listen so that I can leave faster but it's also the moment I surprise my sister the most.
Scene 9: The dramatic event of this scene is near the very end of the scene where Father Aloysius finds the boys and knocks on the door loudly which scares them, they all stay still and are in disbelief that the Father is back and has found them. That's when 3 of the boys leave and leave Tom to be dealt with by the father in an implied sexually abusive way. The exact moment in this scene that the tone changes to more dramatic is the instant father Aloysius knocks on the doors because that happens right after them play fighting so all the innocence and fun of the scene has just been changed to dread and fear.
Scene 12: The dramatic moment in scene 12 for me is the moment that the character going through the embarrassment reveals that their friends, some relatives and most importantly there [parents know about. That's the moment that more or less all the reassurance seems pointless to my character even though he tries he knows it will be a lot harder since now he knows it's not just at school that his friend will deal with it, he now has to deal with it at home so the problem got a lot worse with in just one sentence. So he now has more of an obstruction in the way of his objective on top of a crushing revelation.
Characters:
Scene 5: The only characters you see in scene 5 are the 15 year old brother and the 17 year old sister but some of the off stage character that are not even mentioned but are with in the back story that we made up for them. They are the eldest brother who is quite abusive but has to high of a status in the family and the community to do anything about, a father who is often busy working or socialising with other upper class associates and a mother who spends all her time with the wives of other rich men. The objective of my character is to leave the wardrobe because this lesson is too much of a surprise and too sudden and the objective of my sister is simply to teach me how to defend myself against my abusive brother and give me a lesson on how to defend against surprise. The only prop in the scene is a pair of trousers for me to bring in.
Scene 9: The characters you see on stage are the choir boys who are aged between 15 and 16. The only off stage one is father Aloysius and is the person the boys want to avoid. That is there overall objective to stay away from him or anyone who may catch them but there personal objectives are to either find out what's in the article or just to annoy my character. They are all friends but my character has the lowest status. The props are a newspaper, candles and a cross or two to carry.
Scene 12: There are two characters in this scene and they both have very different objectives. My character has the objective of getting the other out of the wardrobe in time so they don't get into trouble and then tries to reassure and comfort him but he only just manages to succeed at either of them. The other character has the objective of pushing the other away or just out right not listening to what he has to say or just letting everything out. One character who is mentioned has no name but is simply called "He" and is the one who humiliated the other character. Neither of us have a good opinion of him but our knowledge of him differs. both the characters in the scene are good friends but aren't too close. The only props in this scene are clipboards for each of us.
Image of close approximations to costumes:
First choir boy and then 17th century style clothes. Colour may differ but style is extremely similar.
The historical events:
Scene 5: The time period is mentioned to be anytime between 1665 and 1770 and this general period of time for France was a decent time in history. A lot of it's wars were coming to an end around this time such as the war of devolution, the war of reunions, the nine years war and even the 30 years war had finished just before this general time period. Once I found these out it contributed towards the motivation of the scene being different because the condition of the violence in France during this time was not as bad as I thought it was.
Scene 9: This scene is based during a historic event, the time of Jack the ripper. In fact this scene takes place 2 days after the murder of his last victim so it makes sense that the boys are just seeing all this in the paper and there was quite a lot of mystery surrounding who it was at the time so it's also completely plausible that they would be so enthralled yet disgusted by it so the scene does represent the time period very well and the most likely reaction to these crimes.
Scene 12: Since this scene takes place in modern day I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. Even the subject matter in the scene I have had friends who have gone through it so it's a real problem that's addressed in the play and nude photos being leaked is very common nowadays and can have some traumatic affects on people. So it is an issue that's worth bringing up and one of the most common in today's society as far as with teenagers and social media are concerned. It's actually actually very relatable for audiences nowadays to talk about invasion of privacy or social embarrassment because now people have the means to do it they will.
The pre-scene events:
Scene 5: I needed a reason to go into the wardrobe in this scene so I thought that I should bring in a piece of clothing to hang up but I never thought of why I was doing it considering my characters wealth and that they most likely had servants. So I decided that before the scene, the character simply got changed and wanted his clothes hung up but all of the servants were busy so he had to hang it up himself but hasn't done that much and didn't remember to bring a hanger and that's why he simply throws it over the pole in the scene instead of hanging it. His sister may have sent the servants away so that no one knew that she was teaching him in the wardrobe.
Scene 9: Since the scene is focused on choir boys hiding and reading a news paper I thought it would make perfect sense if they were all so fascinated by the killer they were reading about that they actually got somewhat excited to be updated about him or at least a couple of them were and the others just tagged along but were still interested. They were getting ready for choir practice or a rehearsal or something along these lines when the latest update on the killer arrived but the probably weren't allowed to read it because they're still quite young and live in a strict environment so they had to hide somewhere and they hid in the wardrobe to hide from the father and to get the latest news.
Scene 12: Quite a bit of the context for what comes before the scene is given in the script or dialogue. My character is at a museum with his class and have been tasked with identifying certain things with in the museum on a worksheet and then come back to a meeting point that is a gift shop. He realises that one of his friends most likely a task partner has disappeared and he knows the most likely reason, that he doesn't want to be seen by the other students due to an embarrassing photo being leaked so he decides to look for him and convince him to try and just get on with the task at hand other wise they will get into trouble and that's when the scene starts.
The dramatic events:
Scene 5: I can't really pin point a dramatic moment that changes the course of the scene except one possibility and that literally at the beginning of the scene when my character goes into the wardrobe in a very relaxed state simply hanging some clothes and then sorts out his own that he's wearing but the instant his sister comes in and grabs him around the neck, the whole mood changes to being somewhat relaxed to being confused and in a state of panic. It changes both the characters mood and the mood of the audience cause they're both trying to figure out what is going on. Another one I could pick is when I finally decide to give in and stop fighting back so that she let's me go. This moment could be that I realise she is talking sense or that I simply figure out to listen so that I can leave faster but it's also the moment I surprise my sister the most.
Scene 9: The dramatic event of this scene is near the very end of the scene where Father Aloysius finds the boys and knocks on the door loudly which scares them, they all stay still and are in disbelief that the Father is back and has found them. That's when 3 of the boys leave and leave Tom to be dealt with by the father in an implied sexually abusive way. The exact moment in this scene that the tone changes to more dramatic is the instant father Aloysius knocks on the doors because that happens right after them play fighting so all the innocence and fun of the scene has just been changed to dread and fear.
Scene 12: The dramatic moment in scene 12 for me is the moment that the character going through the embarrassment reveals that their friends, some relatives and most importantly there [parents know about. That's the moment that more or less all the reassurance seems pointless to my character even though he tries he knows it will be a lot harder since now he knows it's not just at school that his friend will deal with it, he now has to deal with it at home so the problem got a lot worse with in just one sentence. So he now has more of an obstruction in the way of his objective on top of a crushing revelation.
Characters:
Scene 5: The only characters you see in scene 5 are the 15 year old brother and the 17 year old sister but some of the off stage character that are not even mentioned but are with in the back story that we made up for them. They are the eldest brother who is quite abusive but has to high of a status in the family and the community to do anything about, a father who is often busy working or socialising with other upper class associates and a mother who spends all her time with the wives of other rich men. The objective of my character is to leave the wardrobe because this lesson is too much of a surprise and too sudden and the objective of my sister is simply to teach me how to defend myself against my abusive brother and give me a lesson on how to defend against surprise. The only prop in the scene is a pair of trousers for me to bring in.
Scene 9: The characters you see on stage are the choir boys who are aged between 15 and 16. The only off stage one is father Aloysius and is the person the boys want to avoid. That is there overall objective to stay away from him or anyone who may catch them but there personal objectives are to either find out what's in the article or just to annoy my character. They are all friends but my character has the lowest status. The props are a newspaper, candles and a cross or two to carry.
Scene 12: There are two characters in this scene and they both have very different objectives. My character has the objective of getting the other out of the wardrobe in time so they don't get into trouble and then tries to reassure and comfort him but he only just manages to succeed at either of them. The other character has the objective of pushing the other away or just out right not listening to what he has to say or just letting everything out. One character who is mentioned has no name but is simply called "He" and is the one who humiliated the other character. Neither of us have a good opinion of him but our knowledge of him differs. both the characters in the scene are good friends but aren't too close. The only props in this scene are clipboards for each of us.
Image of close approximations to costumes:
First choir boy and then 17th century style clothes. Colour may differ but style is extremely similar.
"The Wardrobe" Evaluation
"The Wardrobe" performance evaluation by Jack Collins
I'm going to go over each aspect and give an opinion on how each of them went:
Remembering lines: Overall I remembered more or less all of my lines consistently throughout the performances. I never skipped any lines of my own and when people did such as Sam in scene 12 I skipped to the line right after it so there was no confusion. Speaking of Sam I even completely made up a line of dialogue because I knew he'd forgotten it and the pause was going on a bit long. While I never missed a line during the show there was one point in scene 9 where in missed a cue, it took me a second to realise and then after 3 or 4 seconds I said it which broke the pace of the scene a little.
Entering and exiting stage: This was something that I had no problems with at all. I went in at the right times and with the appropriate costumes and props. They kept the pace of the play going and I never had to correct something when going in or out of the wardrobe.
Pace and timing: I feel that my pacing throughout my scenes was pretty well done. I used my dramatic pauses only when needed such as in scene 12 when my character is struggling for words and and scene 5 when I realise there is no point in struggling and that I have to stop. The pause mixed with the emotion on my face portrayed this very well I believe and kept the play scene moving yet letting pure emotion be shown. One down side is that In scene 9 as I mentioned I missed one of my cues and delayed the scene by a few seconds when I wasn't supposed to but other than that there were no pacing issues I attribute to me.
Vocal delivery: I feel that may vocal delivery was overall pretty good but could do with some improvements. I my lines were articulated very well for more or less all the play and I do not recall any stuttering at any time during the play. I feel that I portrayed emotion quite well in my voice too so I wasn't wooden or one note throughout the play. For example when in scene 12 when I hear what my friends has been through I showed regret, sorrow and sympathy in my voice and in scene 9 I showed a mixture of intrigue and anger depending what was going on and I transitioned between emotion quite smoothly so they weren't over the top or too comical. One downside to my vocal delivery was that I don't think I projected my voice loud enough or at least not to what I know I'm capable of.
Style of the piece: I believe that my performance was quite natural. I was trying to keep my face from over expressing on stage because that's something that I'm somewhat known for doing and initially I was worried I'd do it but I showed restraint and was subtle enough to keep it realistic but just expressive enough so that my emotions could be seen by the audience since it is a play and not a film where you can focus on whatever emotion is being portrayed. One example of that that I'm quite proud of was in scene 5 when I have to show that I can't do anything and have to surrender. I showed in my face pretty well and at a realistic pace, looking her in the eye and showing realisation before giving up.
Focus and consistency: I think that I was very consistent throughout the show, keeping my voice at mostly the same volume and giving it the right amount of energy required for the line.There were occasional moments where I accidentally lowered my volume when I was supposed to like at the beginning of scene 9 when I say "Get on with it Tom" and some other lines in scene 12 like "Oh." and "I didn't know." were a bit too quite. I feel that I was very focused throughout the entire play with the exception of one part during scene 9. Max had to sing and he got his lyrics wrong. It was supposed to be "The once was farmer who took a young miss" but he said "There once was miss who took a young farmer and I'm pretty sure he still got some of his other lyrics wrong which made me lose focus and smile because it sounded ridiculous but I tried and focused as as hard as I could but still had trouble so I quickly decided to work around it by acting as if I thought it was playfully funny at first but got annoying as it went on which still worked for the character so i was quite lucky that I thought of doing that. The rest of the cast seemed to be extremely focused as well, delivering there lines well, generally not forgetting those lines and always being ready for the next scene or cue. However there were a few exceptions such as after the show I looked at my phone and realised that Sam had taken a picture and put it on snapchat while we were performing to the audience which when I found out did slightly annoy me and there was a fair bit of whispering backstage but other than those two examples the cast were very well focused and professional.
Conclusion: Overall I think that the performance went very very well. Everyone gave great performances and kept with in the boundaries of a naturalistic performance. While they certainly had a few issues with volume/projection, mixing up or forgetting lines and the occasion mess up such as when the pole from the top of the wardrobe fell on Becca's head and she reacted so well that i didn't even know it had happened until after the play had finished I can safely say that the cast showed commitment and were very professional and did well with portraying there characters in a natural way. As for myself, I still think the same for me even though I did have a few little mistakes but apart from the ones I mentioned I feel that I gave 3 well executed performances that were at a good standard of being naturalistic.
I'm going to go over each aspect and give an opinion on how each of them went:
Remembering lines: Overall I remembered more or less all of my lines consistently throughout the performances. I never skipped any lines of my own and when people did such as Sam in scene 12 I skipped to the line right after it so there was no confusion. Speaking of Sam I even completely made up a line of dialogue because I knew he'd forgotten it and the pause was going on a bit long. While I never missed a line during the show there was one point in scene 9 where in missed a cue, it took me a second to realise and then after 3 or 4 seconds I said it which broke the pace of the scene a little.
Entering and exiting stage: This was something that I had no problems with at all. I went in at the right times and with the appropriate costumes and props. They kept the pace of the play going and I never had to correct something when going in or out of the wardrobe.
Pace and timing: I feel that my pacing throughout my scenes was pretty well done. I used my dramatic pauses only when needed such as in scene 12 when my character is struggling for words and and scene 5 when I realise there is no point in struggling and that I have to stop. The pause mixed with the emotion on my face portrayed this very well I believe and kept the play scene moving yet letting pure emotion be shown. One down side is that In scene 9 as I mentioned I missed one of my cues and delayed the scene by a few seconds when I wasn't supposed to but other than that there were no pacing issues I attribute to me.
Vocal delivery: I feel that may vocal delivery was overall pretty good but could do with some improvements. I my lines were articulated very well for more or less all the play and I do not recall any stuttering at any time during the play. I feel that I portrayed emotion quite well in my voice too so I wasn't wooden or one note throughout the play. For example when in scene 12 when I hear what my friends has been through I showed regret, sorrow and sympathy in my voice and in scene 9 I showed a mixture of intrigue and anger depending what was going on and I transitioned between emotion quite smoothly so they weren't over the top or too comical. One downside to my vocal delivery was that I don't think I projected my voice loud enough or at least not to what I know I'm capable of.
Style of the piece: I believe that my performance was quite natural. I was trying to keep my face from over expressing on stage because that's something that I'm somewhat known for doing and initially I was worried I'd do it but I showed restraint and was subtle enough to keep it realistic but just expressive enough so that my emotions could be seen by the audience since it is a play and not a film where you can focus on whatever emotion is being portrayed. One example of that that I'm quite proud of was in scene 5 when I have to show that I can't do anything and have to surrender. I showed in my face pretty well and at a realistic pace, looking her in the eye and showing realisation before giving up.
Focus and consistency: I think that I was very consistent throughout the show, keeping my voice at mostly the same volume and giving it the right amount of energy required for the line.There were occasional moments where I accidentally lowered my volume when I was supposed to like at the beginning of scene 9 when I say "Get on with it Tom" and some other lines in scene 12 like "Oh." and "I didn't know." were a bit too quite. I feel that I was very focused throughout the entire play with the exception of one part during scene 9. Max had to sing and he got his lyrics wrong. It was supposed to be "The once was farmer who took a young miss" but he said "There once was miss who took a young farmer and I'm pretty sure he still got some of his other lyrics wrong which made me lose focus and smile because it sounded ridiculous but I tried and focused as as hard as I could but still had trouble so I quickly decided to work around it by acting as if I thought it was playfully funny at first but got annoying as it went on which still worked for the character so i was quite lucky that I thought of doing that. The rest of the cast seemed to be extremely focused as well, delivering there lines well, generally not forgetting those lines and always being ready for the next scene or cue. However there were a few exceptions such as after the show I looked at my phone and realised that Sam had taken a picture and put it on snapchat while we were performing to the audience which when I found out did slightly annoy me and there was a fair bit of whispering backstage but other than those two examples the cast were very well focused and professional.
Conclusion: Overall I think that the performance went very very well. Everyone gave great performances and kept with in the boundaries of a naturalistic performance. While they certainly had a few issues with volume/projection, mixing up or forgetting lines and the occasion mess up such as when the pole from the top of the wardrobe fell on Becca's head and she reacted so well that i didn't even know it had happened until after the play had finished I can safely say that the cast showed commitment and were very professional and did well with portraying there characters in a natural way. As for myself, I still think the same for me even though I did have a few little mistakes but apart from the ones I mentioned I feel that I gave 3 well executed performances that were at a good standard of being naturalistic.
Character profile
Who am I:
Scene 5: My characters name is Benedict. The script refers to him as "Two" So I decided to name him in order to give him more of an identity to me and make him a little easier to define. He is walking into the wardrobe to put some clothes in there and is in a relaxed state since he's simply doing an everyday task. He is 15. He is the youngest child in an upper class 17th century family. He has a mother and father (obviously) as well as and older brother and an older sister. The older sister is somewhat protective of him due to that they both get physically abused by their older brother and due to their age, sex and status and especially considering the time period and how much reputation matters they can't really expose him or bring it up so they either have to hide it or just try and defend themselves. He views himself as the lowest of the family mainly due to his age even though his sister would generally be considered lower than him due to her gender but he doesn't see it like that.
Scene 9: My characters name is James. He is very intrigued and tense while reading the Jack the ripper article with his friends after having snuck away from their boarding school choir. He knows that he is generally the butt of his friends jokes and that out of all of them definitely has the lowest status but will not take any of it and let them get away with, he'll retort with a comment if he is given one and he generally doesn't like the joker/friend having the last word in terms of these things. so despite having a low status he considers himself confident enough to fight back and somewhat fit in. Since he is at a boarding school and has snuck away from the choir he is either wearing a choir outfit or is still in his uniform because he could have snuck away before he put the outfit on.
Scene 12: My characters name is Tom although in the script he is refereed to as "Friend 2". I decided to name him because it adds some ore realism to him instead of just being a vague product of someones writing. The character may be vague to the audience but in order to portray him properly i need to flesh him out and define him even though the audience will not know certain details. Tom is going into the wardrobe in order to try and get his friend out of there. It's a friend that he is not overly close to but does respect and gets along with very well. They're the kind of people that only talk occasionally outside of school but will happily talk a lot in school.
What are my circumstances?
Scene 5: It is France, most likely Paris and takes place at some point in the late 17th century. My older sister has surprised me while I'm in the wardrobe hanging up some clothes to teach me about defending myself from my older brother who is quite abusive towards the pair of us and very little can be done so that the family can protect their reputation and their sons status. She has out of nowhere got me in a chokehold and I have to go along with it because I can't get out of it even though I try.
Scene 9: It is the 11th of November 1888 in London, England. Me and my friends, Tom, Archie and Hugo have snuck off from choir practice at our catholic boarding school to read the latest article about Jack the ripper and have hidden in the wardrobe so that father Aloysius doesn't catch us or try to punish us in a violent or sexually abusive way.
Scene 12: It is Britain, most likely London, England and in a museum. I am on a school trip to a museum and have been asked to identify things from it for a worksheet task and one of my friends has hidden in the wardrobe so go in there with the task of getting him out in time to get back to where we were supposed to go. He has had a photo of himself put on the Internet and is hiding and I need to convince him to come out.
What are my relationships?
Scene 5: I get along very well with my older sister who is quite protective of me, especially from my violent older brother. She is two years older than me and I am very fond of her, she's always there even if she may be somewhat blatant or somewhat excessive with her methods of teaching or protecting me but I know she is doing it simply because she cares for me and doesn't want to see any harm come to me. My older brother while I do have some respect for because he can be a generally polite, articulate and well mannered person in public or at any social gathering, I genuinely can't stand when he's in the house or anywhere private because he abuses me and he knows he can get away with it due to his status in the family and due to the family wanting to protect their reputation so they would not do anything. I don't know why he does this, it may be spite but I don't know, I just don't like him in general. My parents I am somewhat distant from mainly due to my father working or being somewhere "more important". He still looks after me or at least makes sure I'm with a carer or something but I don't see him that often. My mother just spends time with the wives of the other wealthy men and is often too shallow to leave them to come and see her children but she can pay for the care so it doesn't bother her.
Scene 9: I have three good friends, Tom, Archie and Hugo. They live with me at the boarding school and are the people I spend the most time with. Even though I obviously have the lowest status an get mocked by the relentlessly I still like them and I won't take that much mockery off of them. I do respect all of them although they can be pains at times. Father Aloysius and some of the other fathers here aren't the nicest of people to be honest. They will hit you for speaking out of turn or for saying anything allegedly blasphemous. He ha been known to abuse the boys sexually although I've never been a victim to this but I am scared it will happen to me.
Scene 12: My relationship with the other character in my scene is that we're good friends but not too close. We will happily talk and get along very well in class but outside of school we don't really talk or meet up so while we get along, we're not too close but I care enough about him to not want to see him upset. I do not personally know the person who uploaded the photo, I know of him and who he is but I've never spoken to him so I don't have an opinion of him and don't understand his reason for uploading the photo of my friend. This certainly hasn't helped form a good opinion.
What do I want?
Scene 5: My objective in this scene is to simply leave the wardrobe and stop being somewhat assaulted. While I do appreciate the help from my sister, it was a bit too sudden and surprising and I Just want to get out of the wardrobe to go and relax or just prepare for something like this instead of being ambushed. I just want to leave and not do this self defence "Lesson".
Scene 9: My Objective is at first to get Tom to read the article because I find this stuff fascinating while a little disturbing but they keep getting distracted and I want them to read it so I do what I can. Later on my objective changes to trying not to be heard by father Aloysius so he doesn't find us and punish us which does scare me so I'll be as quiet as possible.
Scene 12: My objective is to get my friend out of the wardrobe in time to finish the sheet we were given for the museum trip and then get back to our class meeting point to hand it in but also not wanting either of us getting in trouble for touching the wardrobe which is an antique. However when I find out more of how my friend is feeling my objective changes to wanting to comfort and reassure him and possibly even distract him from this news at certain points by doing the work sheet.
What is my obstacle?
Scene 5: My obstacle is my older and more protective sister. She is constantly telling me to do a certain manoeuvre or method of hurting or defending against an attacker. She even has me pinned against a wall for quite a bit of it and even during the parts where she doesn't, I'm scared that she'll still stop me from leaving so I don't attempt it but I really want to leave and not go through this. While she's just trying to protect me I want to leave the wardrobe but she is stopping me and I don't want to risk it.
Scene 9: My obstacle is the other boys in the scene because all I want is to simply get the article read or read it myself but they either keep talking, get distracted, intentionally take their time to annoy me or snatch it off me so I can't read it myself. Also they make too much noise and I do not want father Aloysius to hear us but it is likely that he'll find us at some point due to them.
Scene 12: My obstacle is my friend who won't get out of the wardrobe, he doesn't want to the other judgemental school kids to see him and won't come out when I ask him multiple times. When I realise this and then I want to comfort him he still seems to reject and retort to everything that I say so I find it difficult to achieve my objective but I still try even though he's somewhat pushing me away.
What do I do to get what I want?
Scene 5: I can't really do anything to achieve my objective other than to simply go along with it. If I try to leave I fear that she'll stop me so I wont attempt that and even if I try fighting her off without using her methods she won't let me go so I will simply go along with it and it will be over sooner. I give into what she says eventually and I realise this and keep going until she'll let me go which may be a while but it'll be longer if I resist.
Scene 9: I keep telling tom over and over to keep reading so I can find out what the article says and when that doesn't I take it off of him when I have the chance to read it myself but the it gets taken off of me by the others so they've stopped me again. When my objective changes to not being heard, I try and make as little noise as possible but the others still whisper so I say one thing that may make them be quiet. I say "You were laughing so loudly you gave us away" so this may make them realise their error and hope they stay quiet.
Scene 12: I repeatedly ask him to leave and try to convince him to come out and even mention that I could get in trouble if he doesn't. This doesn't work and I realise that so I try and comfort him by reassuring him and saying that no one is talking about it so he shouldn't worry. in the end i just distract him with the work sheet and get him to answer the questions and it seems to take his mind off of it for a while.
Scene 5: My characters name is Benedict. The script refers to him as "Two" So I decided to name him in order to give him more of an identity to me and make him a little easier to define. He is walking into the wardrobe to put some clothes in there and is in a relaxed state since he's simply doing an everyday task. He is 15. He is the youngest child in an upper class 17th century family. He has a mother and father (obviously) as well as and older brother and an older sister. The older sister is somewhat protective of him due to that they both get physically abused by their older brother and due to their age, sex and status and especially considering the time period and how much reputation matters they can't really expose him or bring it up so they either have to hide it or just try and defend themselves. He views himself as the lowest of the family mainly due to his age even though his sister would generally be considered lower than him due to her gender but he doesn't see it like that.
Scene 9: My characters name is James. He is very intrigued and tense while reading the Jack the ripper article with his friends after having snuck away from their boarding school choir. He knows that he is generally the butt of his friends jokes and that out of all of them definitely has the lowest status but will not take any of it and let them get away with, he'll retort with a comment if he is given one and he generally doesn't like the joker/friend having the last word in terms of these things. so despite having a low status he considers himself confident enough to fight back and somewhat fit in. Since he is at a boarding school and has snuck away from the choir he is either wearing a choir outfit or is still in his uniform because he could have snuck away before he put the outfit on.
Scene 12: My characters name is Tom although in the script he is refereed to as "Friend 2". I decided to name him because it adds some ore realism to him instead of just being a vague product of someones writing. The character may be vague to the audience but in order to portray him properly i need to flesh him out and define him even though the audience will not know certain details. Tom is going into the wardrobe in order to try and get his friend out of there. It's a friend that he is not overly close to but does respect and gets along with very well. They're the kind of people that only talk occasionally outside of school but will happily talk a lot in school.
What are my circumstances?
Scene 5: It is France, most likely Paris and takes place at some point in the late 17th century. My older sister has surprised me while I'm in the wardrobe hanging up some clothes to teach me about defending myself from my older brother who is quite abusive towards the pair of us and very little can be done so that the family can protect their reputation and their sons status. She has out of nowhere got me in a chokehold and I have to go along with it because I can't get out of it even though I try.
Scene 9: It is the 11th of November 1888 in London, England. Me and my friends, Tom, Archie and Hugo have snuck off from choir practice at our catholic boarding school to read the latest article about Jack the ripper and have hidden in the wardrobe so that father Aloysius doesn't catch us or try to punish us in a violent or sexually abusive way.
Scene 12: It is Britain, most likely London, England and in a museum. I am on a school trip to a museum and have been asked to identify things from it for a worksheet task and one of my friends has hidden in the wardrobe so go in there with the task of getting him out in time to get back to where we were supposed to go. He has had a photo of himself put on the Internet and is hiding and I need to convince him to come out.
What are my relationships?
Scene 5: I get along very well with my older sister who is quite protective of me, especially from my violent older brother. She is two years older than me and I am very fond of her, she's always there even if she may be somewhat blatant or somewhat excessive with her methods of teaching or protecting me but I know she is doing it simply because she cares for me and doesn't want to see any harm come to me. My older brother while I do have some respect for because he can be a generally polite, articulate and well mannered person in public or at any social gathering, I genuinely can't stand when he's in the house or anywhere private because he abuses me and he knows he can get away with it due to his status in the family and due to the family wanting to protect their reputation so they would not do anything. I don't know why he does this, it may be spite but I don't know, I just don't like him in general. My parents I am somewhat distant from mainly due to my father working or being somewhere "more important". He still looks after me or at least makes sure I'm with a carer or something but I don't see him that often. My mother just spends time with the wives of the other wealthy men and is often too shallow to leave them to come and see her children but she can pay for the care so it doesn't bother her.
Scene 9: I have three good friends, Tom, Archie and Hugo. They live with me at the boarding school and are the people I spend the most time with. Even though I obviously have the lowest status an get mocked by the relentlessly I still like them and I won't take that much mockery off of them. I do respect all of them although they can be pains at times. Father Aloysius and some of the other fathers here aren't the nicest of people to be honest. They will hit you for speaking out of turn or for saying anything allegedly blasphemous. He ha been known to abuse the boys sexually although I've never been a victim to this but I am scared it will happen to me.
Scene 12: My relationship with the other character in my scene is that we're good friends but not too close. We will happily talk and get along very well in class but outside of school we don't really talk or meet up so while we get along, we're not too close but I care enough about him to not want to see him upset. I do not personally know the person who uploaded the photo, I know of him and who he is but I've never spoken to him so I don't have an opinion of him and don't understand his reason for uploading the photo of my friend. This certainly hasn't helped form a good opinion.
What do I want?
Scene 5: My objective in this scene is to simply leave the wardrobe and stop being somewhat assaulted. While I do appreciate the help from my sister, it was a bit too sudden and surprising and I Just want to get out of the wardrobe to go and relax or just prepare for something like this instead of being ambushed. I just want to leave and not do this self defence "Lesson".
Scene 9: My Objective is at first to get Tom to read the article because I find this stuff fascinating while a little disturbing but they keep getting distracted and I want them to read it so I do what I can. Later on my objective changes to trying not to be heard by father Aloysius so he doesn't find us and punish us which does scare me so I'll be as quiet as possible.
Scene 12: My objective is to get my friend out of the wardrobe in time to finish the sheet we were given for the museum trip and then get back to our class meeting point to hand it in but also not wanting either of us getting in trouble for touching the wardrobe which is an antique. However when I find out more of how my friend is feeling my objective changes to wanting to comfort and reassure him and possibly even distract him from this news at certain points by doing the work sheet.
What is my obstacle?
Scene 5: My obstacle is my older and more protective sister. She is constantly telling me to do a certain manoeuvre or method of hurting or defending against an attacker. She even has me pinned against a wall for quite a bit of it and even during the parts where she doesn't, I'm scared that she'll still stop me from leaving so I don't attempt it but I really want to leave and not go through this. While she's just trying to protect me I want to leave the wardrobe but she is stopping me and I don't want to risk it.
Scene 9: My obstacle is the other boys in the scene because all I want is to simply get the article read or read it myself but they either keep talking, get distracted, intentionally take their time to annoy me or snatch it off me so I can't read it myself. Also they make too much noise and I do not want father Aloysius to hear us but it is likely that he'll find us at some point due to them.
Scene 12: My obstacle is my friend who won't get out of the wardrobe, he doesn't want to the other judgemental school kids to see him and won't come out when I ask him multiple times. When I realise this and then I want to comfort him he still seems to reject and retort to everything that I say so I find it difficult to achieve my objective but I still try even though he's somewhat pushing me away.
What do I do to get what I want?
Scene 5: I can't really do anything to achieve my objective other than to simply go along with it. If I try to leave I fear that she'll stop me so I wont attempt that and even if I try fighting her off without using her methods she won't let me go so I will simply go along with it and it will be over sooner. I give into what she says eventually and I realise this and keep going until she'll let me go which may be a while but it'll be longer if I resist.
Scene 9: I keep telling tom over and over to keep reading so I can find out what the article says and when that doesn't I take it off of him when I have the chance to read it myself but the it gets taken off of me by the others so they've stopped me again. When my objective changes to not being heard, I try and make as little noise as possible but the others still whisper so I say one thing that may make them be quiet. I say "You were laughing so loudly you gave us away" so this may make them realise their error and hope they stay quiet.
Scene 12: I repeatedly ask him to leave and try to convince him to come out and even mention that I could get in trouble if he doesn't. This doesn't work and I realise that so I try and comfort him by reassuring him and saying that no one is talking about it so he shouldn't worry. in the end i just distract him with the work sheet and get him to answer the questions and it seems to take his mind off of it for a while.
Monday 5 October 2015
The Wardrobe Blog 3: Rehearsal updates and The System (Updated)
Scene 5:
Further developments:
The scene is getting better each time we rehearse it but unfortunately due to finding out that we only have about 2 weeks until our show we have decided to go back to using English for the scene since it will be easier to learn. While this is useful I feel that it will lose an interesting dynamic and some intrusive about what's actually going on but we do have to compromise. I mentioned this last week but we've made up our minds and even though we don't like it that much we have to in order to do the scene. We are getting better at remembering lines but for me it's more getting better at remembering the cues for my admittedly very few lines. The choreography is improving, it's getting more fluid and less awkward looking thanks to the help from students and just general practice. One example is my character getting out of the head lock at the beginning, that is looking much better than it started off.
Teamwork:
Like when other people who had spare time during our last rehearsal, mike helped us out with the choreography of the scene to help it flow and to help Chloe make it look like she was hurting me without actually doing it although this time it was a bit more helpful. He specifically showed her how to do the choke hold in the opening of the scene and he even gave advice to me such as wriggling to simulate a realistic struggle.
Strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths: I got a lot of rehearsal time with Chloe on scene 5 so this means we can developed it further and try and improve it. Quite a bit of this has been in class so students have helped or at least watched and it's been getting a lot of focus so it has improved massively because of this. Also when we got to show the scene to Karen when she was in and she loved it. She was very impressed and had little criticism of it but to be fair I think it was due to her having little time so we'll most likely show her again with her giving more criticism.
Weaknesses: Two weaknesses have been that since this scene has been getting the attention my other scenes haven't been getting much and though it's partially due to scheduling, it's still a downside to the rehearsals of the show in general for me. However the other weakness of the rehearsals this week has been due to Karen not being in and the class being somewhat unfocused. For example Sam was in and we hadn't practiced in ages and needed to do readings but he was with other people and whether or not they were working i don't know but he never seemed to want to work. this somewhat goes for the others as well besides Chloe because me and her practiced our scene a lot like I said. Another thing is that while we have been practicing lines and choreography quite a bit, we still haven't done much in terms of actually thinking about the characters themselves yet or at least I haven't and that's due to me not having many lines and prioritizing my other scenes in terms of character but I will give this character some focus at some point before the show.
Scene 9 and 12:
Problems and solutions:
My other groups have either been busy working with their other scenes or have been unfocused with in the time Karen has been away which to me is the problem but I can still benefit my self by doing scene 5 in class and simply rehearsing my lines in my free time so I'm still getting some work on the scenes done instead of just leaving them until Karen is back.
Last week we learned about Stanislavski's system, a series of techniques that actors use to help with naturalism in their performances so it can add believability to what they are doing. A few examples of the techniques are:
Emotional memory: This is where an actor will use a real life memory to create empathy for the character, put them in the characters shoes and try to express the emotion more realistically. So if they had to play sad, they would think of a sad memory to make them feel sad and they would display it. While this can work it's usually not recommended to do because it can back fire sometimes such as with the example i gave someone can get too upset which may distract them or if they have to change their emotion again it may be a lot harder to do.
Method of physical actions: This is about trying to express an emotion through a believable action. so to show anxiety or agitation you can simply pace up and down or rub your hands together or even twitch your fingers slightly. subtle and believable movements that reflect an emotion can go along way although you must still portray the emotion in your face otherwise using the elements separately doesn't work and can seem unnatural or just bad,
Subtext: This is trying to understand the intention or meaning of the script or even just specific lines. This can help understand how something should be portrayed or how a line should be said so that it doesn't contradict the message or intention of the writer.
The magic if: This is where the actor would imagine how they would react in a certain situation and apply it to the text or stimulus and try to get a somewhat realistic reaction out of themselves. This is similar to Emotional memory but you're making it up instead of remembering it. So if you have to be sad you would act sad due to sympathy and not empathy so while it may be somewhat less effective depending on the person it';s generally a lot safer.
Objective: This is where an actor considers what the character is trying to achieve in a scene or production. For example if the character has the objective of wanting to leave a room and the actor knows this then it will come across in the performance because while they're talking to another character they could be adding some subtle movements showing that they want to leave and it'll stick easier because they've thought about this. For example my character in scene 12 has the objective of wanting to get his out of the wardrobe and so he initially wants to get out of the as quick as possible so he may lean towards the door, act with energy or just look in a rush until he starts to want to help his his friend then his objective changes to wanting to help or comfort him so he may seem more relaxed or speaking more softly to seem comforting.
Considering these things can really help develop a character into acting as naturally as possible. This will make them believable and sell any emotion portrayed in it if done correctly.
Further developments:
The scene is getting better each time we rehearse it but unfortunately due to finding out that we only have about 2 weeks until our show we have decided to go back to using English for the scene since it will be easier to learn. While this is useful I feel that it will lose an interesting dynamic and some intrusive about what's actually going on but we do have to compromise. I mentioned this last week but we've made up our minds and even though we don't like it that much we have to in order to do the scene. We are getting better at remembering lines but for me it's more getting better at remembering the cues for my admittedly very few lines. The choreography is improving, it's getting more fluid and less awkward looking thanks to the help from students and just general practice. One example is my character getting out of the head lock at the beginning, that is looking much better than it started off.
Teamwork:
Like when other people who had spare time during our last rehearsal, mike helped us out with the choreography of the scene to help it flow and to help Chloe make it look like she was hurting me without actually doing it although this time it was a bit more helpful. He specifically showed her how to do the choke hold in the opening of the scene and he even gave advice to me such as wriggling to simulate a realistic struggle.
Strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths: I got a lot of rehearsal time with Chloe on scene 5 so this means we can developed it further and try and improve it. Quite a bit of this has been in class so students have helped or at least watched and it's been getting a lot of focus so it has improved massively because of this. Also when we got to show the scene to Karen when she was in and she loved it. She was very impressed and had little criticism of it but to be fair I think it was due to her having little time so we'll most likely show her again with her giving more criticism.
Weaknesses: Two weaknesses have been that since this scene has been getting the attention my other scenes haven't been getting much and though it's partially due to scheduling, it's still a downside to the rehearsals of the show in general for me. However the other weakness of the rehearsals this week has been due to Karen not being in and the class being somewhat unfocused. For example Sam was in and we hadn't practiced in ages and needed to do readings but he was with other people and whether or not they were working i don't know but he never seemed to want to work. this somewhat goes for the others as well besides Chloe because me and her practiced our scene a lot like I said. Another thing is that while we have been practicing lines and choreography quite a bit, we still haven't done much in terms of actually thinking about the characters themselves yet or at least I haven't and that's due to me not having many lines and prioritizing my other scenes in terms of character but I will give this character some focus at some point before the show.
Scene 9 and 12:
Problems and solutions:
My other groups have either been busy working with their other scenes or have been unfocused with in the time Karen has been away which to me is the problem but I can still benefit my self by doing scene 5 in class and simply rehearsing my lines in my free time so I'm still getting some work on the scenes done instead of just leaving them until Karen is back.
Last week we learned about Stanislavski's system, a series of techniques that actors use to help with naturalism in their performances so it can add believability to what they are doing. A few examples of the techniques are:
Emotional memory: This is where an actor will use a real life memory to create empathy for the character, put them in the characters shoes and try to express the emotion more realistically. So if they had to play sad, they would think of a sad memory to make them feel sad and they would display it. While this can work it's usually not recommended to do because it can back fire sometimes such as with the example i gave someone can get too upset which may distract them or if they have to change their emotion again it may be a lot harder to do.
Method of physical actions: This is about trying to express an emotion through a believable action. so to show anxiety or agitation you can simply pace up and down or rub your hands together or even twitch your fingers slightly. subtle and believable movements that reflect an emotion can go along way although you must still portray the emotion in your face otherwise using the elements separately doesn't work and can seem unnatural or just bad,
Subtext: This is trying to understand the intention or meaning of the script or even just specific lines. This can help understand how something should be portrayed or how a line should be said so that it doesn't contradict the message or intention of the writer.
The magic if: This is where the actor would imagine how they would react in a certain situation and apply it to the text or stimulus and try to get a somewhat realistic reaction out of themselves. This is similar to Emotional memory but you're making it up instead of remembering it. So if you have to be sad you would act sad due to sympathy and not empathy so while it may be somewhat less effective depending on the person it';s generally a lot safer.
Objective: This is where an actor considers what the character is trying to achieve in a scene or production. For example if the character has the objective of wanting to leave a room and the actor knows this then it will come across in the performance because while they're talking to another character they could be adding some subtle movements showing that they want to leave and it'll stick easier because they've thought about this. For example my character in scene 12 has the objective of wanting to get his out of the wardrobe and so he initially wants to get out of the as quick as possible so he may lean towards the door, act with energy or just look in a rush until he starts to want to help his his friend then his objective changes to wanting to help or comfort him so he may seem more relaxed or speaking more softly to seem comforting.
Considering these things can really help develop a character into acting as naturally as possible. This will make them believable and sell any emotion portrayed in it if done correctly.
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