Characters ALWAYS Care - Even If They "Don't Care"

An actor playing the role of someone who "doesn't care" has a lot of work to do.  A playwright will not always hand over the thought process of characters behind their look of disinterest.  If a character doesn't care - there's a reason for it, and it is your job as an actor to find out why.
The important thing to remember is - you HAVE to care.

If you are playing a character who appears not to care in the script or the stage directions state that "he is indifferent to what she says to him" you HAVE to dig deeper! Why does a character appear uninterested? Why is he sitting perfectly still and staring blankly out to the audience? Why does your character state in the script "I don't care."?  Characters, like people, ALWAYS care. They may be hiding their feelings, they may be embarrassed by how the feel, they may feel forced to hide their emotions so as not to be faced with the consequences or they may be yelling "I don't care!" to get someone out of their face because they feel threatened.  If you play this type of role without some kind of feeling or thought process behind your disinterest, the audience will also lose interest in your character and your performance will fall flat!

Some playwrights DO inform the actors of the thought process and explanations of just how the gears are turning inside a character's mind and THIS - is a gift.  If we take the role of Brick, for example in A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, at the beginning of the play.  His wife Maggie is reaming him out about the fact that they are yet to bear children and she pushes him (or tries to push him) into feeling and expressing some kind of emotion.  During her rants, the script states that Brick speaks "...with a tone of politely feigned interest, masking indifference, or worse, is characteristic of his speech with Margaret." and "...he is not looking at her but into fading gold space with a troubled expression."  and goes on to use words such as "wryly", "indifferently" and "absently".  I adore Tennessee Williams for phrases such as these.  On the surface, one might watch Brick putting up with Maggie's badgering and assume that he must be bored with her or that he feels nothing for her.  This is NOT however the case. Brick has been through the trauma of losing his best friend and has zero interest in taking his wife to bed.  Williams leaves so much room for the actors portraying these roles however, it is important for anyone playing the role of Brick to have a thought process going on in his mind onstage, he MUST feel something towards Maggie (positive or negative) and he must CARE.

Don't deprive a character you are portraying onstage the opportunity to LIVE in front of an audience
because you think it's best to play them as someone who doesn't care.

The Intent to Live, by Larry Moss

This Book CHANGED MY LIFE!!!

Anyone and everyone interested in Theatre as an Actor, Director or Producer MUST OWN THIS BOOK!

I was playing the role of Irma Kronkite in William Hinge's PICNIC at the Palace Theatre in London, Ontario when the director (Don Fleckser) recommended that each of us as cast members find a copy of this book, rent it, read it buy it WHATEVER...just get your hands on this book!  So I did :)

Larry Moss delves a bit into his own life experiences and the steps he's taken to get where he is today.  If you do not know who Larry Moss is - PLEASE view his interview on Youtube in which he talks about his book, "the Intent to Live"

In this book, Moss describes building a character from "the ground up", superobjective and objective (getting what you want), Obstacles & Intention (how you get what you want), Stakes (what is it worth to you), Inner Imagery "the Life Within", Finding your Triggers (Emotions on Demand), Defining and Redefining your character, back story and biography of your character and SO MUCH MORE!

What I have enjoyed most about this book was the lessons Moss teaches between the lines.  In chapter 5, Moss discusses a monologue in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset and describes it as a "vivid and disturbing monologue".  The monologue is actually given in the book however, Moss recommends that any reference used or touched upon to express an opinion, thought or lesson which the reader is unfamiliar with, should (for their own benefit) research it!  There are so many references in this book and his lessons are powerful.  Without researching the actual pieces he quotes, the reader will only get half of the lesson to be learned.

By reading "the Intent to Live", I have become more knowledgeable about playwrights whom I did not know existed, I've learned various approaches to creating characters and working with a script, I've learned how to respect the playwright by using the given facts in a script to create exceptional characters without losing the intentions of the writer, and I now understand that acting is NOT just about being funny and making people laugh and being entertaining - it's about bringing someone else to life and making people feel and care.

"Acting represents all that human beings experience, and if you want it to be 'nice', you will never be a serious communicator of the human experience...You can't stay clean and tidy and be an actor."

Thank-you Larry Moss for the wake-up call.

Now, I'm ready to work!

There is no "Off-Stage" when you're performing in a Murder Mystery ;)

Performing in a play takes a lot of hardwork: 3-4 months of rehearsals, memorization of lines, finding your costume and creating your character.  However, with stage plays, you have the opportunity of running the same scenes over and over again until the actors are comfortable with the script and their fellow actors and the director is satisfied with their work.  Murder Mysteries are a COMPLETELY different ball game.

First, you get notice that a show has been booked approximately one month ahead of time.  The script is emailed out to you and you start learning your lines and creating your character at home and in your own time.  Depending on whether or not the actors have done the script before, there may not be a group rehearsal. There is no proper way to rehearse a Murder Mystery ahead of time because you cannot imagine, anticipate or plan for the type of audience you will have, the set up of the venue when you arrive or what topics will be discussed at your table. 

In Murder Mysteries, there is no "Off-Stage".  You arrive with the guests, you sit and eat at the table with the guests and you are not introduced as yourself until dessert.  Murder Mysteries are a great way for actors to develop and challenge their acting abilities.  An actor cannot simply take a break from being their character.  It is truly a wonderful experience to converse, argue and put guests on the spot (sometimes) as someone else.  There is only a few scenes that are scripted and the rest is completely improv'd on the spot by the actors.

There is so much opportunity for actors to play with and bring their own special touch to each character.  One actor may choose to play "the lawyer" as a sleezy character who hits on women and constantly slicks his hair back.  Another actor may take that same character and make him into a suave salesman who is always handing out his card and trying to sell his services.  Some actors may even choose to play this character as the strong silent type.  The limits are endless!

I personally do work as an actor with a local Murder Mystery company called "Murder for Hire" and we are always looking for more actors!  It is a lot of fun and all the actors are very supportive of each other.  We're like our own little family of business people, students, retirees, mothers, fathers, grandparents and children.  I would recommend that anyone involved with theatre as an actor or anyone who is serious about performing and wants to improve themselves, to consider auditioning for a Murder Mystery Troupe.  There is no better character development than having to play the same character for 1-3 hours without ever going "Off-Stage".

Check out Murder for Hire's website!!! : http://www.murderforhire.ca/