Character

Saw this quote in the Big Issue, from actor Eddie Marsan:

Eddie Marsan: Wiki Commons

"I learned that acting's not about doing anything - it's about thinking the thoughts of the character. And listening with the same set of prejudices your character has."

          I thought that was brilliant.
        I turned it over in my mind, as you do, trying to find fault with it - and I couldn't.

A writer acting while crowds faint

        I've often thought writing was akin to acting - without the performance part most of the time, obviously. But, as a writer, you think about what your character looks like, and what they would choose to wear (supposing their situation allows them to have a choice. But even then, what they would prefer to wear, if they had a choice, says something about them.)
        You think about what they sound like. Do they chatter, or hardly speak at all? Do they speak in a low, level tone, or quickly - or nervously?
          Do they listen to others, or try to drown out anything anyone else has to say?
         What kind of words do they choose to use?  Do they avoid slang because they think it's common - or make a point of using it,  to claim identification with a certain group. Or they may simply use the language of their time and place because they don't know any other.
           What's their predominating trait? - Suspicion? Anger? Fear? Because that trait is going to govern the way they respond to situations, even if they have it well under control. - Though not necessarily in a straight-forward way. Someone who is grounded in Fear, for instance, is not necessarily going to behave timidly. They might, like an agitated, snarling dog, respond with aggression.
          Do they think things through carefully or act impulsively? Do they tend towards dithering or decisiveness?
          Above all, perhaps: What do they want? What is it they are always striving towards? - Victory? Security? Status? Love? Power?
          How is all this affected by their physicality? - I mean, can they rely on their good looks for charm, or have they had to work on their charm of manner?
          Or are they charmless, and try to intimidate, one way or another?
          Are they confident of being able to move, run, jump - or do they have to factor in that their body is not  agile or reliable?
          But once you've worked all this out, you try to bring it all together, and then step behind it and inhabit it. You try, as Marsan says, to 'think the thoughts of your character.'
          This, I think, is why I often find it helpful to have 'a model' for a character: a very clear visual image of what they look like, how they move, how they dress. Once I've worked out a character, I find I can throw this image over all the 'characteristics', and the visual image helps to pull them all together. I can then think of the image, step inside it, so to speak, and look out through its eyes.

          I don't know how much time actors spend thinking about the other characters in a play but, as a writer, once you've 'played the part' of one character, you step over into another character and do the same again.
          And, while inhabiting one character you listen to the others - as Marsan brilliantly says - 'with the same set of prejudices your character has.' - Because those prejudices will colour the understanding - or misunderstanding - of what is said by the other characters and will dictate the listening character's reaction to them.
         So then you can work out what the listening character will say or do - before you move into another character and assume their thoughts and prejudices.
          This is why, having written a scene from one point of view, I often have to take a break and go for a walk or do the washing-up before writing another. I need time to struggle out of one set of thoughts and prejudices, and struggle into another. - Costume change!
          I'm doing this quite often as I write my present WIP. It started with three points of view - one a teenage girl, the second her father, and the third his new girl-friend. Then the ex-wife suddenly spoke up and pushed her way into things.
          Before taking up each character, I have to stop and think: what does this one want? What's their attitude to life? And then I have to try and understand, see, and hear whatever's going on in the story with their mind, filtered through their prejudices.
         I'd be really interested to hear the thoughts of other writers and actors on this - and don't hang back if you've never appeared 'on the professional stage' of either profession. It's insight into the craft I'm interested in, not whether you've been paid!


Photo of Eddie Marsan File:EddieMarsan09TIFF.jpg licensed with Cc-by-sa-2.0

       

Orchestra! Lights! Cue the Wolf Pack!'

         

The wolf pack

      Children twisting and bending like trees in the wind, their arms forming low-hanging branches, a living forest to be lost in.
          Other children, wearing wolf-masks, climb through a leafy terrac, and slink and prowl.
          A peasant's chorus sing, beautifully, about the turning of the seasons, and the hunger that comes with winter.
          A troop of pompous, self-satisfied courtiers strut and cluck.
          And all the children quite obviously having a wonderful time as they sing and dance and act out their part.
          As their headmistress, Resham Mirza said, it was wonderful to see their courage and freedom on the stage.
          I saw all this at Tiverton School last week - a wonderful primary school in Tottenham.

Kate Stilitz

          I was there because I was contacted, through my website, by Kate Stilitz, Tiverton's music teacher. She had come across my book, The Wolf's Footprint, had loved it, and had turned it into a play, writing the script, songs and music herself. She wondered if I would like to come and see it performed?
          Well, what a silly question. It is true that I detest traveling to London. I don't like London much. It always seems to be roasting hot when I'm there, and gritty and dirty, noisy and crowded - normally I'd much, much rather spend 15 hours traveling to the Outer Hebrides than two hours traveling to London.
          But how many chances do you get to see a story that you wrote interpreted and reinvented by another artist because they loved it? With all the work, and thought, and revision that entails?
          Not many... So there was never any question but that I would go.

The villagers sing a rousing chorus

             It was a roasting hot day. London was as noisy, crowded, dirty and gritty as ever. But the play, and the children's performance - was worth it and more. There wasn't a moment when my attention wandered - I sat there throughout with a big grin on my face. You might say I was biased - but the rest of the audience, made up of parents and children from other classes in the school, were equally absorbed, despite the heat.
          Called on to say a few words after, I said that, although a bit late - my birthday had been the week before - it was the best birthday present I'd ever had.
          I mentioned that I'd written a book called The Ghost Drum, which had been awarded the Carnegie Medal for best book of its year - and that this was better. And I mean it.
          I'm not decrying the Carnegie Medal in any way. It was awarded by librarians who work with children, and who are informed, and often passionate, about children's books and their importance. And they gave me their medal. I'm proud of that.
          But it doesn't quite compare with discovering that another artist has so enjoyed and 'got' something that you've written, that they've been willing to pour their own energy into creating something new from it.
          Thank you, Kate. And thank you, the wonderful cast.
          The wolf-masks were made by Ramona Barsalona,

Daw becomes a wolf.

      Thank you to Kate for the photos - which will find their way to my website eventually.

The King and his court.

     

         The book of the musical is available as an e-reader from:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble (Nook)     Kobo   iBook

       

          It's available from Amazon as a paperback

with black and white illustrations

with colour illustrations