Building A Character In Acting

By Author: Maxwell David
Total Articles: 26
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When we stand on stage and perform, we do so as a character. Most actors are quite boring as themselves, we much prefer to see them pretending to be someone else. If you've ever watched an award ceremony then you'll know how disappointing it can be to hear the voice of an actor you admire, only to discover that they are really dull and unfunny.

We have two main tools as an actor: Our Body and Our Voice. Although we can bring a lot of ourselves to a role, we want our character to move differently and to speak differently to us.

If you're working on a play then there will already be lots of clues in the text to your character. Make yourself a character scrapbook and write down all your ideas. The first things to look at are the ‘givens'. When is the play set? This will affect both the physicality and the voice of your character. A modern teenager is going to speak in a completely different manner to a teenager from the Victorian era. A comedian today will be nothing like the old court jesters of olden times. When you know when the play is set then have a look into what kind of costume they would be wearing ...
... (an Internet search is a good place to start). What you wear affects how you move and consequently how you speak. Wearing a suit or uniform will make you feel different to wearing pyjamas, and wearing a corset or a suit of armour can really affect the way you would walk, sit, talk... everything!

Exercises:
#1 Experimentation: Walk around the room as yourselves. Imagine there is nobody else in the room and try to have a greater awareness of the way you move. Now try and walk neutrally. Perhaps you normally swing your arms or drag your feet, imagine you have a string attached to the top of your head pulling you up: this should straighten your posture. Now see yourself in the costume of your character and see how this affects the way you move. Try walking, what kind of shoes might you be wearing? Break into a fast walk (running in a big billowing dress can be very difficult), try sitting down. How does it feel? Go back to walking as yourself and notice the difference.

#2 Exploration: What does your character look like? If you have a clear image in your head then it can really help you develop the role. Have a look through some magazines, newspapers and books and cut out (with permission) any pictures that you might feel represent you character to stick in your book. Go to a free art gallery or museum and see if there are any paintings which might resemble your idea of the role (they will usually sell postcards of the paintings). If you live in London then the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery are brilliant for this as they have loads of modern and old (period) painting and pictures.

#3 Animal Action: Some actors base their characters on animals, not doing impressions of them but using animal elements to help their characters develop. What sort of animal do you think you are most similar to? Now think about your character. What sort of animal are they like? Try moving around as a few different animals - A lizard, cat, leopard, bird, or dog. Now walk around the room as your character and imagine that on a scale of one to ten. One is your character and ten is entirely animal. Experiment with different levels. Stop, Look around and then set off in a new direction. How subtle can you make it? Can you have the slight hint of the animal in your walk without making it obvious? Try using small elements of an animal in your character: A lizard's stillness, a cat's pride, the way a leopard might creep up on prey, the way a bird is always on the lookout, a begging or excited dog. What else can you think of? Next time you watch a film see if you can spot animals in any of the actor's choices.
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