10-18-2004, 12:25 PM
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#1 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| any actors here?
got any tips for getting into character? I need ideas.
'preciate it.
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"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 12:43 PM
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#2 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ithaca, NY
Posts: 1,011
| Memorize your lines and think about your character's history and motivations for everything he/she does on and off stage.
Try to relate some experinces you've had with his to duplicate the character's emotions. Don't be afraid to suggest things to the director, but remember that he/she is the boss. 
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The solution to your problem is to fence another weapon.
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10-18-2004, 01:41 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| much obliged
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"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 02:25 PM
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#4 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,261
| Write a character history, beyond thinking about it (no offense, riptide, just adding an extra step). This was a suggestion to me by someone I look up to in the stage combat group I belong to. It helps to know where you're going when you know where you've been. I believe that Alfonso Curan (or whatever his name is) who directed the Harry Potter kids had them write an essay about who their characters are. It really does help.
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"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
-- Rudyard Kipling
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10-18-2004, 02:49 PM
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#5 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Haydenville, MA
Posts: 1,558
| Personally, my objective as an actor was not to get "into" a character but to get "out of" a character. Get as much of myself out of that character, and try to view myself as an objective observer. | |
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10-18-2004, 02:49 PM
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#6 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| what if your charater has (hypothetically) a pre-established history (not to mention horrible dialogue )?
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"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 03:38 PM
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#7 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: St. Mary's College of Maryland
Posts: 197
| Live that history.
Visualize what your character has gone through, flesh out the story as best you can. In every day life, if it is applicable, apply WW*D (What would (My Character) Do).
But really, whatever you find works best for yourself. Just a quick note: you don't want to lose yourself to completely in a character that you lose yourself completely. I had a friend go through a really hard time playing an abuse victem, just something to keep in mind.
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Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another. ~Homer
Student St. Mary's College of Maryland
Philosophy Major: Will think for food.
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10-18-2004, 03:48 PM
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#8 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| Quote: |
Just a quick note: you don't want to lose yourself to completely in a character that you lose yourself completely. I had a friend go through a really hard time playing an abuse victem, just something to keep in mind.
| Excellent advice. The guy I'm playing is rather fickle. At times he won't come in, no matter what I do. At other times, he takes over (and this is not the sort of person you'd want to become).
__________________
"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 03:59 PM
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#9 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,261
| We were told by our director to "leave it on the field." When you're at practice, be the character. Sure, know your character & his history, but once the day is over, be you. Even if you have to do a special ritual to help the transition from you to him, or vice versa.
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"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
-- Rudyard Kipling
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10-18-2004, 04:08 PM
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#10 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| you speak with wisdom.
By the by, what kind of ritual do you mean?
__________________
"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 04:09 PM
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#11 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| I'm new to this acting thing  .
__________________
"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 04:46 PM
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#12 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,091
| Quote: |
Originally Posted by riptide you speak with wisdom.
By the by, what kind of ritual do you mean? | Candles, incense, sacrifice... | |
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10-18-2004, 05:00 PM
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#13 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 279
| actually, that just might work...
__________________
"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix
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10-18-2004, 06:57 PM
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#14 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,261
| Quote: |
Originally Posted by riptide you speak with wisdom.
By the by, what kind of ritual do you mean? | Shh...don't say that too loud. I think I have people here convinced that I'm just a dumb blonde.
Okay, at the festival, after speaking in an "English" accent all day (or French, or Italian), the actors (especially those on court) get beyond the gates into the "real world" & say in a purposefully very heavy Southern drawl, "The beer is in the back of the pick up with my dog Blue." Granted, it might not help for your particular case, but knowing what others do may help you come up with your own unique way of transitioning from one to the other.
Oh, yeah. If you're going to sacrifice, remember this: A virgin is a terrible thing to waste!
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"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
-- Rudyard Kipling
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