“Definition of good acting: acting that is believable while telling the best possible story that serves the script” (Miller, 2010, p. 1).

Using the Theatre of the Grotesque and Commedia Dell’arte as major influences for our characterisations, a clear portrayal of storyline can easily be lost underneath the absurdity and exaggeration of these genres. To overcome this, a clear set of character objectives must be employed to give reason to the abnormal physicalisation and vocalisation of these non-naturalistic characters.

The Chorus

The chorus, displaying non-naturalistic tendency, are difficult to create realistic objectives for. As Thomas comments these “stage characters are essentially “action-figures”, that is, artificial objects designed to carry out certain actions, not real human beings. In realistic and classic plays characters perform actions based on plausible human behaviour, but in non-realistic plays they perform actions based primarily on an idea” (2009, p. 191). These actions are in aid of creating the world in which Joseph K resides, for instance, the creation of a telephone and a bed by means of prop, physicality and voice. These actions must be clear in the mind of all members of the chorus to avoid confusion in the absurdity of our chosen genres. However as Thomas also comments; “plausible human behaviour is not neglected or ignored, of course; otherwise the play would be arbitrary and incomprehensible” (2009, p. 191). Huld’s assistants, for example, hold the grotesque facial expressions and exaggerated physicality, but keep human characteristics. As this character, my objective was to follow and record Huld’s movements whilst simultaneously creating a visual spectacle through an invisible network of choreography. The purpose of the chorus is to primarily create the people and objects in the world surrounding Joseph K. Underlying this is the aim to produce a clever and innovative manifestation of theatre reflecting STAMP Theatre’s mission statement. These chorus characters may not be fully developed, however bring together elements of the Theatre of the Grotesque and Commedia dell’arte to provide entertainment;

“Characters in non-realistic plays are each unique in the way they embody the main idea. They may explain themselves or not, and even if they attempt to do so the conclusion may be elusive and ambiguous. Moreover, the characters are not “fully developed” as in realistic and classic plays. Character and idea are a single entity, a mutual embodiment of the play’s special world” (Thomas, 2009, p. 193).

The Laundress

When undertaking the process from the written word to the stage, Chubbuck asserts that it can be useful to create an inner monologue; “an “actual dialogue” (2004, p. 172) creating “a linear and comprehensive inner story” (2004, p.172). With Berkoff’s work, however, especially with the character of the Laundress, the inner dialogue is presented with the written word itself. With the non-naturalistic characters, unlike naturalistic human tendencies, the Laundress purposefully asserts her objectives and states her intentions. This provides a very simple process in discovering the character’s wants and needs. Within ‘The Trial’, characters other than Joseph K, are not supplied with detailed given circumstances, due to their non-naturalistic and absurd personalities. However, our characters must still have objectives to follow. I created a super-objective for The Laundress, providing reason for her actions on the stage; “this is an overarching ‘want’ which drives the character’s overall behaviour at this point in his [/her] life” (Elsam, 2006, p. 149).

The super-objective for my scene was as follows;

“I want to use Joseph K to free me from my current circumstances within the Law Courts by any means possible.”

This allowed me to produce a performance that primarily focused on storytelling for the Laundress’ scene, aiding in the chaos and absurdity that Joseph K finds himself enveloped in.

In addition, my vocalisation and physicalisation needed to reflect the chosen genres of our theatre company; Theatre of the Absurd, Grotesque and Commedia dell’arte to a certain extent. My director wanted my character to be rough and earthy, and we believed a cockney accent portrayed this well. As we developed my physicalisation, using large hip movements and a slumped, rugged posture, I found that my vocalisation and emotion changed and developed simultaneously. This reinforced Bruder’s idea that “every physical action will give rise to an emotional condition” (Bruder et al, 1986, p. 72). I was happy to develop my character in this way, using physicalisation to tell the story of ‘The Trial’ whilst reflecting our chosen genres. Elsam reiterates; “If you build a performance from predetermined emotions, your acting will become generalised, predictable, and unresponsive to the other actors” (Elsam, 2006, p. 120). This was an effective way of creating something unpredictable and innovative to reflect our company manifesto and hopefully a successful piece of theatre.

Works Cited

Bruder, Melissa et al (1986) A Practical Handbook for the Actor, New York: Random House.

Chubbuck, Ivana (2004) The Power of the Actor, London; Penguin Group.

Elsam, Paul (2006) Acting Characters, London: A&C Black.

Miller, Bruce (2010) The Scene Study Book, Milwaukee: Limelight Editions.

Thomas, James (2009) Script Analysis, Oxford: Elsevier.