Michael Spurgeon’s Reviews > Respect for Acting > Status Update

Chapter 25: The Objective

Being specific about objectives is an important thing I already grasped early on. Didn’t know how to define them or really understand how much you need to whittle it down in order for me to find personal justification for it.

And THATS the thing. Finding “personal” justification for all of it.

1. Overall objective
2. Individual scene objective
3. Moment to moment objective

BOOM

Chapter 23: Circumstances

How detailed you answer the questions of WHO, WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE will lead you into personalized answers. Circumstances are EVERYTHING and need to be fleshed out fully.

I loved that she shared her notes with me. So bizarre to see how similarly we work. I’m also a big pancer that likes to write all over the page in hopes of finding something interesting. A lot of question marks too!

Chapter 22: The Character

Reframing the question into “Who am I?” is genius. It becomes personal and when personal, new questions arrive.
It also seems Hagen uses personal identification to understand characters she’s unable to identify with. Creating imagined scenarios. I’ve done that, it’s fun.
Don’t take the text at face value. Treat the words alien and don’t force YOUR OWN NOTIONS into the work

Chapter 21: First Contact with the Play

It’s very obvious that in order to understand the play, you have to read it. Once for pleasure, again to remember it, and again to understand it.

Notes are my savior. I actually already jot personal notes in the footer of the script. I make an absolute mess of my script. That’s why I usually ask for two. One for reading and comprehension, the other for uncovering.

Chapter 20: Character Actions

The object exercises have been endearing to look at. I can’t lie. This one particularly is interesting. “The trap is ‘to make sure they’re very different from each other.’” It is not the action that is important, but how you yourself gives into the needs of the character.

Interesting…

Now the damn play! I’ve been waiting for this chapter for WEEKS dawg.

Chapter 19: History

This one is interesting. I’ve always found it quite difficult to find myself in periods before me. Characters with vernacular alien to my own has scared me. I’d like to rid myself of that.

I might actually try this specific exercise out. Maybe even when reading that Haitian biography, I could attempt to understand that time period? Unsure.

Chapter 18: Conditioning Forces

Interesting chapter. Reminded me of this much I have to place attention to for certain characters. I haven’t done anything like that before. Understand each condition deep enough in order for it to affect me.

I do like that though. With the condition of attempting to sneak. Understanding the SPECIFIC details of why you’re sneaking and who you’re sneaking from is nice to know.

Chapter 17: Outdoors

More or less like the chapter of fourth walls. Slightly lame. Will have to re-read in the future.

Chapter 16: Talking to yourself

Monologues have always been the bane of my existence. They’re so tough.

But giving my self physical space is a good idea. Like knowing why I’m there, where I am, and what am I DOING (instead of “he ponders”) is actually really helpful for me. I might try to write the 5 w’s in all of my monologues. As well as what my inner objects are…

Chapter 15: Endowment

A lot of this chapter is from chapter 5: sense memory. I’ve never been able to fully endow something on stage because my mind’s been too cluttered to do so.

I think the homework is to get to a place of reflex with the endowment. Then I no longer have to think about it.