So, we have begun work on our next show: Sense and Sensibility! It runs Feb. 12th-28th, 2016.
With the new show comes all new character work.
And sometimes it can be hard to motivate myself to do the in depth character work when I'm the only person who really knows the depth of character that's possible for me to create. That is, if I do the work to flush out the character.
I'm working hard to integrate everything that I've learned here at Portland Actors Conservatory into my process and break habits of laziness and generalized acting. I'm trying my best to find the habits that speak to me and the ways of expanding character that are useful and valuable to me.
So far this year, it's gone well but as I dive into this new character, Marianne Dashwood, I'm trying to really stay on top of myself to go the extra distance because I know that it become so much more fun. If I do the work it actually becomes more interesting to act in the scenes. I am more able to be involved in the scene or with my partners and really tell a story that's full, detailed, and engaging.
There are some techniques that work really well for me. One is journaling as my character: just sitting down and writing about whatever comes to mind. I find this helps me understand how this character thinks and i am able to really get into their headspace. It also demands that I not skimp on details. Another tool I have learned at PAC is creating a beat analysis, in which I identify the objective, obstacle, and action tactics. This forces me to really identify what I am fighting for and what I am fighting against, in each moment. I also find translating my lines into my own words is a great technique for me and particularly in this play, Sense and Sensibility, with its somewhat heightened Regency English speech. Physicality is another aspect that is huge for me so spend a lot of time thinking and experimenting with the way my characters move, the part of the body they lead from, and developing particular mannerisms that can help flesh them out.
Another other great resource for this play is the novel by Jane Austen. I am lucky enough to have a lot of detailed descriptions of what Marianne is thinking or feeling or the way that she was acting after certain events take place.
Due to this detailed undercurrent outlined in the novel, some of the work has already been done for me. However, playing a character that is already so fleshed out is also a challenge. I'm not quite as free to just create on my feet and fill her out. Although this role will absolutely be about what I bring to it, Marianne is also a character that will be known by plenty of audience members who have read and love the story (or the various movies). So it's an interesting challenge to balance what I am bringing to the story and to this play (adapted by Kate Hamill) and what was written by Jane Austen a couple hundred years ago.
I am loving this process so far. This is going to be a very fun and active show. There are lots of quick set changes and character changes as the story follows Elinor and Marianne through the world of 1790s England. It will be very engaging, very funny and highly stylized piece. It's a really unique adaptation of a classic novel and I think audiences will be delighted by the fast-paced storytelling that is not always seen or expected in classic English stories and plays.
With the new show comes all new character work.
And sometimes it can be hard to motivate myself to do the in depth character work when I'm the only person who really knows the depth of character that's possible for me to create. That is, if I do the work to flush out the character.
I'm working hard to integrate everything that I've learned here at Portland Actors Conservatory into my process and break habits of laziness and generalized acting. I'm trying my best to find the habits that speak to me and the ways of expanding character that are useful and valuable to me.
So far this year, it's gone well but as I dive into this new character, Marianne Dashwood, I'm trying to really stay on top of myself to go the extra distance because I know that it become so much more fun. If I do the work it actually becomes more interesting to act in the scenes. I am more able to be involved in the scene or with my partners and really tell a story that's full, detailed, and engaging.
There are some techniques that work really well for me. One is journaling as my character: just sitting down and writing about whatever comes to mind. I find this helps me understand how this character thinks and i am able to really get into their headspace. It also demands that I not skimp on details. Another tool I have learned at PAC is creating a beat analysis, in which I identify the objective, obstacle, and action tactics. This forces me to really identify what I am fighting for and what I am fighting against, in each moment. I also find translating my lines into my own words is a great technique for me and particularly in this play, Sense and Sensibility, with its somewhat heightened Regency English speech. Physicality is another aspect that is huge for me so spend a lot of time thinking and experimenting with the way my characters move, the part of the body they lead from, and developing particular mannerisms that can help flesh them out.
Another other great resource for this play is the novel by Jane Austen. I am lucky enough to have a lot of detailed descriptions of what Marianne is thinking or feeling or the way that she was acting after certain events take place.
Due to this detailed undercurrent outlined in the novel, some of the work has already been done for me. However, playing a character that is already so fleshed out is also a challenge. I'm not quite as free to just create on my feet and fill her out. Although this role will absolutely be about what I bring to it, Marianne is also a character that will be known by plenty of audience members who have read and love the story (or the various movies). So it's an interesting challenge to balance what I am bringing to the story and to this play (adapted by Kate Hamill) and what was written by Jane Austen a couple hundred years ago.
I am loving this process so far. This is going to be a very fun and active show. There are lots of quick set changes and character changes as the story follows Elinor and Marianne through the world of 1790s England. It will be very engaging, very funny and highly stylized piece. It's a really unique adaptation of a classic novel and I think audiences will be delighted by the fast-paced storytelling that is not always seen or expected in classic English stories and plays.
Ahna plays Marianne in the February 2016 production of Sense and Sensibility, directed by Brenda Hubbard.