6 Questions To Ask Yourself To Get In Character

We are in the age of the stage director. They have so much power and influence. Opera companies both big and small are looking for new and inventive ways to re-stage the favourites along with newer works or premieres. When you get to that stage (both literally and figuratively), if that’s your goal, you may be directed within an inch of your life on where to stand, how to place your hands, where and when to look. This is fine, albeit quite restrictive, but what about the rest of the time? What if the direction is very minimal? What about before you get to that level? What about when you’re working on arias or Lieder in class and there’s nobody there to give you direction?

It is obvious to say that you need to know about the piece you are performing and learning. From which opera or song cycle is it? When was it written? What are the stylistic choices to be made? Are you in a story, or is it a stand-alone piece? Is there any subtext or hidden meaning? These are some of the basics you should know and research about each piece. They might help you technically, but maybe not so much in performance. So, what can help?

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Stanislavsky.

Konstantin Stanislavsky is the father of modern “method acting” which dominates Western theatre and screen today. You may have heard some stories about actors going full method and making their lives, and everyone else’s, a nightmare on set. Take, for example, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. He locked himself in a hotel room for a month writing frantically in a diary as the Joker, he terrorised cast members on set as well crew and even slashed their car tires. This is taking it to the extreme to get into character, and while his dedication can be admirable, it won’t work for singers.

Staging something musically is very different to acting. If you get so deep into your character during an emotional scene, you may start crying; great for acting, bad for singing. Also, method acting is based in realism, if you were being realistic, you wouldn’t randomly start singing mid-conversation, or while dying. However, some of the basic tenets of Stanislavsky’s method can help you whether you’re staging your piece or not.

Who was Stanislavsky?

Konstantin Stanislavsky

Born in 1863 in Russia, Stanislavsky was one of the first people to organise both natural and unconscious behaviour into a "system" for acting. Some call this a "method". He spent his whole life trying to understand the human being and the relationship between our physical lives and our psychological boundaries. After setting up the Moscow Art Theatre in 1897 with the professional writer-producer, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Stanislavsky spent the rest of his days pursuing his investigations into acting processes, until he died in 1938.

There are many facets to the Stanislavsky method, but the ones we’ll look at today are his 6 fundamental questions. The first three a usually provided by the composer, if we’re talking about an opera aria; the second three are more up to you.

Who?
When?
Where?
Why?
For what reason?
How?

WHO? This is fairly straightforward if you have an opera role. If you’re singing Lieder or art-song, there will be more to explore. In any case, you should think about ‘who is my character?’ Are you young? Old? Healthy? Tired? Lonely? Married? A good person? Lazy…?

WHEN? What century are you in? What season or month? Is it peaceful or is there war? When are you in the opera (act 1 or 2 etc), or the song cycle? Does time pass during the aria?

WHERE? Are you at home? Outside? In a café? Are there other people around you? Do you belong there? Is the place big or small? Do you feel comfortable there?

WHY? This question takes you into the structure of the play. Why is this scene present? What is the dramatic function of the scene? Why did the composer write it? What do we learn from the character during this scene? What is your character’s objective?

FOR WHAT REASON? Similar to WHY – but here you should clarify your reasons for WHY. For what reason do you have that objective? For what reason do you say those words? For what reason do you do undertake those actions?

HOW? This becomes more clear in the practise-room as you play with your character. You can try using transitive verbs and adverbs for each sentence: ‘I excite playfully’, ‘I threaten assertively’, ‘I charm seductively’… HOW is not a series of pre-planned movements. It should be fluid and free.