They search for a character’s goals and dreams, as well as conflicts and issues. To embark on the character study, middle and high school students read the ENTIRE script including songs to discover context: situation, time, place, and relationships. It is disappointing to not be able to perform the Ramayana before live audiences, yet students in this particular project continued their important work of finding empathy, while employing their vibrant imaginations and creativities.
Theatre allows us a gateway into the human experience, no matter what characters we’re playing, and when we reflect on what makes a character act or respond, we discover important aspects of ourselves in the process. At some level, it is to honor the play and tradition at our school, and maybe even just as importantly, it is honoring the process of finding humanity and depth within these broad archetypal characters. Yet, rather than suddenly calling off this endeavor, we as a performing arts team all felt the need and want to continue with the character exploration. Aside from spontaneous discoveries within rehearsal, another method of creating character is the Character Monologue Project.Īlthough there is no live stage production in 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic, the character project was assigned prior to the cancellation of the play.
Discovering a connection to character takes detective work, personal reflection and an embracing of the journey. To truly embody a character requires the actor to see and experience the world from that character’s perspective.