ABSTRACT
Now begins the second phase of rehearsals. After the early reading sessions are over and prior to your blocking sessions, go home and:
Study your character analysis.
Begin working on the elements that are special to your character. For example, what do you wear? Why? How do you walk? Why? Jeff Corey talked in his classes about an old wino he was studying. This man walked very delicately, as if he were almost afraid to move. This gave the man a shuffling, tentative rhythm. Jeff realized that the man had probably wet his trousers and it hurt him to walk because he was sore, and that explained his peculiar shuffling.
Once, in Pennsylvania during a season of summer stock (where you rehearse one play during the day and perform another play every night), I found myself wearing a different hat each Monday morning as we would begin rehearsing a new play. This helped me to find my new character.
As Laurence Olivier taught:
You must constantly observe: a walk, a limp, a run; how a head inclines to one side when listening; the twitch of an eyebrow; the hand that picks the nose when it thinks no one is looking; the mustache puller; the eyes that never look at you; the nose that sniffs long after the cold is gone. 1
Review your spine.
Break down the role. This is the heart of your work and has several aspects:
Scenes: number these.
Objectives: find what you want in each scene.
Motivations: decide why you want what you want.
Actions: what you do to get what you want. List and describe these actions in pencil on the side of the script.
As ifs: the particular way you intend to execute your actions. These will come more readily as you begin rehearsals, but you should have a general idea of how you want to play your actions at this point.
Personal connections: key emotional memories and images may enter your mind. Write them down. During rehearsals, you will attempt to include them in your work.
Beats (units of action of each scene): these will indicate a change of direction, the entrance of a new character, a new subject, etc.
Answer the following questions:
What are the given circumstances of each scene?
What has happened just prior to the scene?
Where are the transitions?
What must be my preparation for each scene?
Write your notes on the side of your script where you can refer to them during rehearsals. This information will change also, but it will give you guidelines as you begin to develop your character.
