Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 9/7/2009

Question
Hi my name is Elizabeth, I am 16 years old and I have been in theatre productions since I was 10. This year my school is doing "The Crucible" and I play the role of Mary Warren. Now I do not know if it is because I cannot relate to the character or if I'm just having trouble conveying emotions, but everytime I read my script at home I have so much emotion and feeling, but then during rehearsals something happens and I lose all the emotion. The emotion feels and sounds very fake. Do you have any advice on how to change that?
Thank you

Answer
Hi there, Elizabeth...

This is a very good question.  

The key is to not play the emotion.  Emotion does not just come.  Emotion comes from somewhere.  It comes out of something.  And therefore, to just call up an emotion is fruitless and does not work.

What you have to ask yourself is questions regarding Mary Warren and answer them from the script (don't assume anything; find the answers in the words that the characters speak as each word is a clue).  Who is she?  Where does she come from?  And the most important thing - what does she want and who does she want it from (a verb - action word that she does to another character - e.g. push or blame or manipulate?  And if she does not get this, what will it mean?  What will it mean if she gets it?  And what are the ways that she does this?  A character usually has 1 overall objective for the show.  And then in the story of the character in the script, there is usually a number of objectives that lead to the end objective.

If you can define and understand the character by answering the question, then you will definitely find that the emotion comes because as you go for what you want from someone and you don't get it or you get it, you will emotionally respond - whether anger or fear or whatever...

Does that help you?


Wanda