Development of a Character :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Development of a Character This past summer, I attended Interlochen Arts Camp as a Shakespeare Theatre Production Major. Wishing to further hone the knowledge I had gained during my previous summer at IAC, I auditioned for Advanced Acting Studio, and was accepted. During the eight week session, one primary focus of the class was on the different "energies" used in acting for the creation and development of a character. Our introduction to these energies seemed simple - we went outside, and were told to walk in any direction at our normal speed and rhythm, using the shade of a large tree as a boundary. Then, as we were walking, Cindy, one of our three directors explained, "There are six different major types of energy used in acting - percussive, vibratory, suspended, swing, collapsed, and sustained. These energies not only apply to acting, but to life in general." As we walked, she described them, saying that some would feel very natural to us, while others might feel alien, even frightening. In turn, the twelve of us transformed our entire beings to mimic these descriptions: Percussive. . . . Kate was naturally percussive. Her movements came like bursts of energy, lots of short little fuses that were being burnt at intervals with no apparent rhythm. Even the way she spoke was joyfully random and unexpected. Instead of just standing up when she was called on, she would leap from her chair. The next energy we explored was vibratory. Vibratory is similar to percussive, but where as percussive is made up of seemingly random spurts of energy, vibratory is a constant flow of repetitive, rhythmic beats. Jeff was vibratory. His feet would tap the ground while his fingers drummed on the arms of his chair and his upper body swayed back and forth to this constant drum-roll. Before I met Michael, I would have associated suspended with an upper class snob. Suspended people can have an air of being taller than the rest of us, chins tilted up wards, eyes gazing down at the people below, their entire being having the sense of being pulled upward. Yet Michael was suspended without being imperious or haughty. He simply had very good posture, and an air of confidence that is so crucial in a performer. He was a dancer, and gave the impression of floating across the ground as he walked.