Harold Pinter, Betrayal - Characterisation; Objectives

1. Apply the Stanislavskian ‘magic if’ to this extract. How does it help you to build either the character of Emma or Jerry?

Stanislavski’s ‘magic if’ was a method for achieving the truthful pursuit of a character's objective. The first thing actors were required to do was to ask their characters as well as themselves many questions. One of their first questions was usually "What if I were in the same situation as my character?" The ‘magic if’ was about what would the characters do ‘if’ they were under certain circumstances.

With reference to Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, I feel that the characters Jerry and Emma can be better understood by their actors by utilizing the ‘magic if’. For example, a question that Jerry can ask himself is “What would I do if Emma had kissed me“. This would open up many new questions and can thus provide a better understanding of Jerry. By asking himself this question, Jerry can know what kind of feelings he has towards Emma as Jerry might hate or like the kiss. If we assume that Jerry would like the kiss, we can derive that Jerry still has feelings for Emma. This will have an impact on the way he acts and speaks towards Emma. For example, Jerry may change his tone of voice from a more stern and straightforward one to a more subtle, calm and even a loving tone.

With the ‘magic if’, the character’s aim becomes the actor’s aim. The actor must thus use his imagination to create events that Jerry has not experienced before. This idea of obtaining experiences for the character and knowing what the character will do even at unrelated events to the play would give the actor a greater perspective and also allow the actor to feel more related to the character. Lastly, Stanislavski has stated that “Imagination creates things that can be or can happen.” Thus, with the ‘magic if’, actors can then develop their imagination and learn to portray all emotions and themes.






Bibliography

http://www.theatrgroup.com/methodD/
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/3537.php







2. Read up on the works of Vsevolod Meyerhold and his theory of ‘biomechanics’, and Stanislavski’s main concepts. Which approach to acting do you find easier to adopt?

In my opinion, I find adopting Stanislavski’s concepts easier than Meyerhold’s ‘biomechanics’. Firstly, there are many differences between the two methods. Meyerhold’s ‘biomechanics’ can be said to be development of a character from the outside, but Stanislavski’s ideas are mostly internal development of characters. In addition, Meyerhold’s method is purely physical and works on the voice and the movement techniques of actors. Also, ‘biomechanics’ requires actors to study anatomy and physiology.

Stanislavski’s main concepts consist of many different techniques to build up a character internally. For example, the ‘magic if’ requires actors to constantly do more research into their character, as this concept consists of asking questions about your character to see what he or she will do in scenarios which are unrelated to their text. This will provide a more solid understanding of a character as actors will know every detail about them.

Meyerhold’s ‘biomechanics’ can be described as a system of movement which employed conflicts between opposing forces as a means of generating dramatic tension in the body. This method allows the mastery of the body, allowing actions to be shown more effectively and convincingly. However, I feel that Meyerhold’s method is more difficult to adopt, as it requires quick and sudden changes in emotions for its training, something which is very challenging and difficult to carry out properly. Also, this method requires a lot of physical training such as gymnastics which are very demanding. But, in my opinion, adopting both methods would be best, as it will allow both internal and external development of an actor.

I consider Stanislavski’s concepts easier to adopt, as I can practice it anywhere and at any time, unlike ‘biomechanics’, where it can only be practiced in a workplace. This allows the concept to be accessed more easily.

Isa Ong