Characters are NOT Real People
No one that takes my classes will find the title a surprise to them. Yet, there still exists a school of acting, or nine, that tries to teach the actor to invent/create a character as if they were a living person. When their students fail to do this, they degrade them for not ‘committing’ to the task, being difficult, or not having invested or worked hard enough. But the task that was set was baloney, it was the kind of exercise that second class minds produce in order to keep children occupied. And as such, it is patronising, and that person doesn’t deserve to work with actors. But but but!!! They still get results. Yeah, it’s amazing what actors can pull out of the bag when they have to, isn’t it? And all the time that was wasted fannying around talking about the characters, could have been better spent rehearsing the play. But then those people wouldn’t know what to do, and would be exposed as the swindlers and peddlers of snake oil that they are.
Sadly, some actors are still labouring under the mistaken belief that a character is somehow a real human being. A character is no more a real human being than the Mona Lisa. A character is the crafted work of art of an author, they are metaphor or cypher for humanity and human nature, but they are not human beings. Of course, we relate to characters as if they are real, that’s the point for the audience, but character is a made thing, a constructed thing, a crafted thing, just like any other work of art. Characters are clearly cut, they are not as confusing and contradictory as real people are. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fun to watch them. They are reliable when our friends are constantly changing. The characters in plays, novels, films and television series always essentially remain the same. Characters are constant. It makes them enjoyable to spend time with.
Character is expressed through the words that the writer gives us to work with, and through the way that impulsive motivational drives and desires of the character are interpreted by an actor in rehearsal. The actor is a real person. Guess what happens when a real person performs the actions and words of a metaphorical work of art? The collision produces the illusion of character for the audience.
If building a character meant exploring every aspect of them, as if they were real. It would take you until after you were dead before you found out nearly all the things about them.
Character, like dialogue is made thing. A construct. And when the actor takes on this construct, they must find ways to deal with this problem. Many actors, attempt to create the life of another human soul on stage or camera. Then they wonder why they feel that they never ‘got into character’, that’s because they gave themselves a meaningless, and more importantly IMPOSSIBLE Task.
There is no character, there is only the magic trick performed in front of a collusive audience, an audience who want to believe in magic, even though they know they are being fooled.
There is no character. This is the quiet revolution.