Compass Theatre Company

In a way you are always in character, after all, we present different sides of self depending on our social setting. There’s a work-Bob, a family-Bob a bar-Bob, all of which look eerily identical but based on behavior could pass for fraternal triplets at best. On stage, you are asked to perform a similar task, presenting a believable front that caters to a certain setting. This front must be fluid enough to adapt to a variety of situations a character may face, even within the same scene. In order to maintain a plausible course of conduct, an actor must know the character with as firm a grasp as he or she has on his or her own highest hopes and darkest fears.In order to get better acquainted with your on-stage self, try conducing a one-man interview let you the actor take a stab at the brain of you the character, video tape it if at all possible. Re-watching your interview on camera will help to pick out subtleties in body language when certain subjects are broached and determine whether or not they could be incorporated appropriately on stage. This exercise shouldn’t be a one-time appearance on Letterman or Leno, more like a weekly 60 Minutes segment. Regular interview sessions will allow you change answers as you grow into the role, maturing the character just as a real person would over time. You may be surprised to find that after weeks of constant rehearsals and script thumbing an unplanned change in perspective will emerge naturally, adding depth. After all, real people aren’t two dimensional, and even non-lead parts shouldn’t seems so to the audience. (more…)

All great theatre stems from great writing. Even other-worldly performance can’t turn a bland or nonsensical script into a timeless work of art. From dialogue to character development, many of the aspects of tradition writing vs. play writing remain the same, though there are important differences aspiring play-writes should note in order to produce a complete work with a logical flow.Loss of Narrative Voice An off-stage narrator be used at times in order to advance on stage movement, but hearing read-aloud thoughts isn’t what fills the seats. The theatre is a visual experience, thus must be written as one. Unlike prose in which you can explain your character’s thought patterns and explicitly offer audiences a certain level of omniscience, on-stage your character’s words and decisions must stand on their own or be clearly corroborated by another event within the visible frame of reference.Less Control (more…)

Know the script Don’t just know your lines and the words that directly precede them. Know the script in its entirety, even scenes you are not in. Yes, this will obviously help you know your character, but equally important is knowing the characters on stage around you. Wouldn’t you treat someone you know intimately different than a complete stranger on the street? The same principle applies on stage. If you know each and every character’s inner-workings long before the curtain pulls back, any interaction, even the slightest unspoken nod or gesture, will come across more naturally and with more purpose.Breathe Both on stage and off it. Not only a basic tool towards survival, inhaling and exhaling at a proper pace will help words to flow with the ease of everyday life. Many actors, even veterans, suffer from stage fright to some degree; regulated breathing helps to calm nerves. Maintaining a set breath pace will help to prevent words from being rushed, making phrases seem forced, contrived or worst of all inaudible. Consider breathing practice a normal everyday occurrence, just as you would perfect your diction prior to an important soliloquy.Lie (more…)