The 10 Steps to Creating a Character

The 10 Steps to Creating a Character

Actors, wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to auditions feeling supremely prepared and confident that you have the very best technique, knowledge and freedom to do a great job and create any character?

The first part of the job of an actor, analysis of the play, could well be compared to the job of a detective…You arrive at the ‘scene of the crime’ (receive the script) and the search begins to find ‘clues’ to help you piece together and establish the facts of the ‘case’.

The script itself can only ever give you a limited amount of information, or ‘clues’, about the characters life, from which it is then your job to piece the information together and design a psychological totality. The actor needs a balance of clear reasoning and active imagination to establish the missing pieces in order to design and create a truthful, living character.

The second part of the actors job is to embody the character. This means to become fully absorbed and to literally think the characters thoughts, feel the characters feelings and allow them to manifest through the actors own voice and body…all the time in front of an audience (or camera crew) without allowing the actors own subconscious thinking getting in the way… No mean feat!

But how do you do it? If only there was a clear and simple process, a practical system that allowed you to break down the character and get to the heart of who you are supposed to be playing…

Well, fortunately there is…!

Evolved and refined from the system of Stanislavski, The 10 Steps to Creating a Character represents the ‘Holy Grail’ of Acting.

1) PLOT
2) THREADS AND THESIS
3) FACTS AND BLURRED FACTS
4) BIOGRAPHIES
5) RELATIONSHIPS 
6) MAJOR EVENTS
7) MIND TRIADS
8) EPISODES  AND  E.P.O.A’S (Event, Purpose, Objective, Action)
9) AFFINITIES AND BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL ACTIONS
10) BASIC EVENTS AND VISUAL DESIGN

This workshop will give you the fundamental knowledge of how to take any script, in any genre or style and create believable, memorable characters for the stage or screen.

Now is your chance to invest in your career and truly up your game as an actor…Check out a selection of testimonials from some of our former students here

You are guaranteed to leave this workshop feeling empowered and excited and eager to put all your new knowledge into practice…

“John was my acting teacher for seven years (1993 – 2000) and I consider him to be the most important influence on my career. I would say that John’s method of training is unique because of it’s holistic approach to the actor, his life and the story that the playwright or filmmaker is trying to tell. John simplifies everything by encouraging the actor to find the essence of the story, what it is trying to say and to simply serve that. Without ever being puritanical, John encourages his actors to develop a strong ethical code to their work. Through meditation and self-awareness, I was taught to understand the many different aspects of myself and to use this knowledge in creating a character. I personally benefited greatly from the philosophical aspect of John’s work. Over the years he studied and brought into the classroom the influences of Eastern and Western philosophy. This was inspirational. The acting world can be a very competitive and cut-throat profession. John taught me to remain centred and to maintain a healthy balance between ambition and humility. To wish others well rather than to compete against them. During my training with John my career improved tenfold, including; landing leading roles at The Royal National Theatre, being named ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Independent Theatre Awards, a whole host of TV and Film roles and during the final year of training with John, being booked to work on Martin Scorsese’s ‘Gangs of New York’. John’s teaching represents the cutting edge of Actor Training in the world today.” – Eddie Marsan; – Credits include ‘Vera Drake‘, ‘Happy-Go-Lucky‘ (Winner: Best Supporting Actor BIFA), Gangs of New York, Gangster No 1, 21 Grams, Mission Impossible III, Ray Donovan.

For further information about John Osborne Hughes please hier klicken.