On the Creation of a Role

Not that it’s ever really left me, but since re-catching the acting bug performing in “First Date" last spring, I have been steaming out the wrinkles on my character creation abilities, post-COVID.  For “First Date,” most of us in the cast had to play several characters, albeit each individual character was somewhat one-dimensional at best.  My new challenge is the upcoming CTG/WYO Co-Production of “Noises Off” that will be on Sophie’s Stage at the WYO this coming May.

For those of you unfamiliar, “Noises Off” by playwright Michael Frayn is a satirical look at the creation of a play, and the many personalities that can show up in a production.  It uses the playwriting tactic of a play-within-a-play that allows us to see the actors not only be characters, but people, too, and the many different amusing, and often toxic mixtures when put together in a sterile environment.  On top of all that, the play they’re doing is a fake British bedroom farce, which has its own salacious implications, all designed for patrons to have something of a clean but naughty night out.

Much like the stock characters in Commedia dell’Arte, Frayn’s play shows us a number of recognizable stereotypes as well.  There’s the once-celebrity actress who’s trying to have one last hit before she realizes she might be washed up.  There’s the blustering leading man who is brilliant on stage, but can’t put two thoughts together offstage. And many, many more.

My character, though?  I play the director.  If you have seen the 1992 film adaptation, this is the part that Michael Caine played.  So, this then becomes something of a challenge for any actor: How do I make my performance my own, and do I need to worry about the shadow cast by such a great performance in this role?  Having directed this at SHS in 2008 with high school students, I’ve been very eager to be in a production.

The creation of a role is different for every actor, and there is no one-size-fits-all methodology for creating a character.  For me, I usually start with what I bring to the role, so there is something of an honest inventory of character that needs to be run through.  When I teach acting, I ask students: “What is the one thing that is the same about every character you play?  YOU.”  Out of all the people who auditioned, the director chose me to play this specific part because he believed that my set of characteristics was the best at playing specifically this part, as was everyone else in their specific roles.

So, what do I bring to this role?  This is where I sometimes fall into a dangerous trap, as I start to think about what I CAN bring to this role as opposed to what I SHOULD bring to this role.  Our director, Dan Cole, asked me to apply a British accent to the character, which solved a lot of problems for me.  That’s because another adage that has stuck with me throughout the years is this: “Everything you need to know about your character is in the script.”  This is also problematic for me, because sometimes there are things in the script I don’t understand, so I have to go look them up.

Here’s what I knew about Lloyd. He’s British (due to director’s choice). He has a reputation for the quality of his shows, since as soon as this play is on its feet, he already has another job lined up.  Plus, this is a British professional touring company, so Lloyd is no amateur.  But, if things were to go wrong with this one, his stance as a credible director could affect his future employment.  Now, I can’t directly relate to much of that, but that’s the whole thing about acting isn’t it?  We’re imagining.  That’s basically what the great Stanislavsky taught us with the Magic ‘if:’ “What if I was this person in these circumstances?  How would I behave?”

To me, those elements about Lloyd were all I had to know.  Going into our first rehearsals, with all that in mind, I had some great ideas to play off my stage partners and really dig into this role.  However, I have found that those fundamentals were really all I needed.  At the end of the day, a British bedroom farce is a well-constructed recipe, and if it’s not done just right, it really leaves a bad taste in the audience’s mouth.  So, my Lloyd is now someone with those fundamental characteristics, but I realized that he’s simply trying to keep the lid on the pot, while everyone else is determined to blow it off.  That’s the joke, as one of my fellow actors says several times.

And, somewhere in there, yes, we learn all those lines.

I hope to see you in the audience in May, and I’ll see you at intermission (or rather for this production, at the Stage Door.)