Mark Davio is a regular writer here at ATF. To learn more about him,
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HOW TO DEVELOP A REN CHARACTER PART 2
by Mark Davio, ATF Staff Writer
Character Attributes
Now that you have worked on the last exercise, lets start on your
characters attributes. Your attributes are the distinct qualities
that set you apart from your self. Your character must be everything you
are not. I am not referring to an altar-ego, or schizophrenia, but simply
to become someone you are not. Lets go back to our fictitious person
from the last article, John the Knight. We saw that he did not have any
distinction between himself and the person he was playing. Remember, although
you have everything to look the part, you need depth in your presentation.
You might imagine for a moment, John saying, Well at least my knight
character wears clothes that I dont wear, and speaks differently
then me, what else do I need to separate myself from him? Well,
I think the best way to explain character attributes is to help John with
his character. I will build a character for John and when I am done we
will ask two questions.
- Do we have a better understanding of his character?
- Using this information, how can John use these qualities in his
presentation?
Johns knight name is Argyrols, named after his Great, Great Grandfather
who fought with the Romans during the war with the Britons. The son of
Gondomht, an English blacksmith. He is the oldest of 5 sisters and 3 brothers.
He was educated by his mother at home in the arts of healing and tannery
as well as the reading and writing of the Kings English. His father
taught him all about blacksmithing where he took a special interest in
sword making. At the age of 12 he began helping his fathers brother
at the kings stables. His uncle, Werht, was the lead squire for
a very famous knight. This so intrigued Argyrols that he became a squire
on his 14th birthday. His mother died that spring of the fever and along
with her, two sister and all of his brothers died that fall. After his
baby sister, Krynn, age 5 was kicked and killed by a horse that Argyrols
was shoeing; his father went mad and sunk into a deep depression and died
in the bleak mid-winter. Living with this regret he vowed to care for
his only 2 sisters all the days of his life. He was 19 when he was knighted
for valor and with great admiration when he at risk of his own life he
saved the princess from a bear after she was thrown from her horse. He
was given title and
lands along with his house. He now has 5 maidservants and 7 menservants
who he cares for as his own. His two young sisters live in comfort along
with him and his dog
kuib.
With this paragraph of information, we could develop a thousand different
story lines.
- Though vague in content, do we have a better understanding of this
knight?
- I believe we do, there is depth of this fictitious person to
help us make him
real. Its the actors job to continue to live this
story.
- How can John use this material in this presentation?
- Now we need to assimilate all this into the Knight named Argyrols.
Character Assimilation
Now that we have a good base to build from
we now have to make Johns
character real and believable
when an actor assimilates a role,
they are transformed into that role to the point there is nothing of themselves
left. John has to see himself in this person, feel what he feels, behave
like he would behave, think like he would, react to all types of situations
like the Knight would. John must become this fictions knight equip to
do so with only the shell that we gave him.
One of my favorite movies is Brave Heart. When you see Mel Gibson in the
role of William Wallace, you are very soon lost in his character; you
forget that he was the insane comical sidekick in the Lethal Weapon series,
or the Australian speaking Mad Max. You are watching a great actor totally
assimilated into William Wallace. Mel put a tremendous amount of time
of research into his role and as the results of that is William Wallace
on the big screen not Mel Gibson.
Now let me say here, if I were working on a real character, I would not
have been so vague in my list of attributes. The character development
would have been more extensive
however due to time and space I needed
to shorten the procedure. But I think we can work with what I have and
do it justice.
The next step is to put the meat on the bones
so to speak.
- Argyrols is a good-natured man
he was taught love from his
loving and caring mother.
- He is broken because of the hardship and loss in his life; it causes
him to have a heart
of graciousness in dealing with others and never with contempt.
- He speaks well and treats people with respect due to his station
in life.
- He is a defender of the weak, being the oldest of nine he always
was watching out
from them.
- He is a romantic and a flirt; he is not married. But he is first
in protecting a ladys honor
and dignity.
- His heraldry is the bear which he wears upon his helm and shield
granted to him by the
King.
- His colors are red and green; red because of the blood he shed in
saving the Princess,
granted to him by the king, green because it was Alpenas favorite
color. (His Mother)
- His skill with the sword is excellent from his days of making them.
- He can weave a good tale because of the traditions and stories told
to him and his
brothers and sisters around the hearth at night.
- As Lord he is a provider and thankful to his God for all that he
has.
With this shell outline John has a good start on his costume, background,
behavior, bearing, and attitudes towards others. In short his over-all
persona. Weve justified the colors in his existing costume; we have
given him his purpose and the reasons to conduct himself a good fashion.
Can you see this knight in your mind's eye...? Can you see him in action?
If so you now have the tools, the imagination it takes to do this for
yourself. Remember you are an actor, playing a role. It is your job
to make your character come alive.
Next issue:
- Putting it all together
- The yeas and nays of performing
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