Drama is the recreation of life onstage, along with all of
the additional circumstances that life entails. Characters in musical theater
and traditional drama productions alike are shaped by given circumstances, such
as where a person is from or when a play takes place. Learn more about given
circumstances and how they can influence your acting style.
What Are Given Circumstances?
The given circumstances are the who, what, when, where, and
why of any character you intend to play. They serve as a backdrop for a
character's personal situation, informing how an actor should perform the
play's emotional and physical actions in light of the character's fictional
past.
Using these given circumstances to more fully create and
inhabit a character is a key component of the Stanislavski acting system, named
after Konstantin Stanislavski (the Russian acting teacher and author of the
book An Actor Prepares).
Who Was Konstantin Stanislavski?
Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) was a Russian theater
practitioner and acting coach. Stanislavski, as the founder of the Moscow Art
Theatre, created a cohesive system for performers to act to the best of their
abilities (featuring such concepts as given circumstances, the magic if, and
affective memory).
Stanislavski's system continues to have an impact on the
performing arts, informing the method acting approach of some of today's most
successful performers. His teaching style influenced many other notable acting
coaches, including Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg.
Given Circumstances to Consider for Your Character
When you start a new role, take some time to think about
your character. To do so, keep the following factors in mind:
1. What they want: Give your character a clear motivation
based on what you can learn about them from the script. It's just as important
to know what your character wants, what they'll do to get it, and why they want
it as it is to follow stage directions and blocking instructions. Use the
play's script as your main source of inspiration, but keep in mind that you can
also incorporate some personalized elements into your character.
2. When it is: Depending on the time period in which they
lived, humans have faced very different circumstances. Previous actions in a
person's life have a large influence on how they will behave in the future. In
fact, the time of day can cause a person to act differently than they would
have just an hour before. Consider all of this temporal data when creating an
identity for your character.
3. Where they come from: As you plan your performance, keep
the world of the play in mind. Consider your character's literal environment
(where they come from geographically) as well as their social environment
(where they come from culturally, socioeconomically, and so on). Create a map
of your character's relationships to other characters in the play as well as
the larger landscape in which they find themselves.
4. Who they are: Use all of the given circumstances of a
character's time, place, relationships, and motivations to arrive at a holistic
understanding of who they are. If you can't find anything specific about your
character in the text, try following questions about them through to their
logical conclusion. Make a list of the core characteristics that your character
possesses as a unique individual and strive to embody them.
3 Given Circumstances Exercises
There are numerous approaches that can be taken to arrive at
the given circumstances for a specific character. To supplement your theater
education, try the following three exercises:
1. Make up a scene. While an actor's primary job is to
perform scripted material, improvisation can help you better understand how to
create a character from a few given circumstances in a limited amount of time.
Request scene ideas, as well as a who, what, when, where, and why for each
character. Create a short drama with your scene partners based on these
circumstances.
2. Read a monologue several times. Try to find a monologue that is relatively neutral in the sense that the character speaking could come from a variety of different backgrounds. Assume you come across a monologue about someone leaving their hometown. Perform the monologue as if you're a graduating high school senior, then as if you've lived in the same town your entire life. This will demonstrate how drastically acting techniques may need to change due to a few circumstantial character elements.
3. Consider thinking about a well-known character. Analyze the situational circumstances of famous characters from drama, fiction, or real life. Consider how Alice's upbringing in Victorian England may have influenced her behavior in Wonderland. Inquire as to why Hamlet's background in the royal family of Denmark led him to seek revenge on Claudius in the manner that he did. Seek out a diverse range of characters and observe how different circumstances cause people to behave and act differently.
If you wish to contribute to our blog, please email us on morhadotsan@gmail.com.
