Circumstances

Circumstances.  They surround us and are a part of us.  They impact your every word, action, or thought.  Every foolish word or excited scream is influenced by your Circumstances.  So, why do actors so often neglect to apply this to their acting?  Is it because they don’t know what Circumstances are?  Do they not care? Or are Circumstances just too hard to apply?  I don’t pretend to know why actors don’t apply Circumstances, but I personally value Circumstances greatly.  And, I believe that STC values Circumstances too.  At STC we work so hard to attain honesty, which is why we work so hard to apply Circumstances.  After all, Circumstances provide clarity, and clarity prompts honesty.

So what are Circumstances? Circumstances are the given settings your character has to deal with.  They could be physical, or they could be mental.  “Physical” means it could be location or time of day.  “Mental” means that it could be pain or happiness from past experiences or even current experiences.  All of these influence how your character would speak, think, or react.

How do you apply this to acting?

Take the Blizzard Scene, for example.  At the start of blocking the scene, everyone was just super sad when acting.  Sad doesn’t hold the audience’s attention for very long.  Sad isn’t intriguing; it’s a simple emotion which can become dishonest.  When we took the time to look at the given Circumstances, we discovered several things.  First, we are escaping the blizzard while the Cat and Ugly are going into it, which affects how we (including the Cat and Ugly) walk.  Second, we might want to help the Cat and Ugly but are hesitant, as they aren’t usually welcomed in our farmyard.  Third, our families are in danger of this blizzard, so we must protect them by shielding them and getting them to safety.  Finally, once we see that the Cat and Ugly are goners, we realize all attempts to save them are now futile and leave to save our families.

Once we know what the given Circumstances are, we are able to apply them to the scene.  We do this in two ways.  First, we think of them before going on stage, which is called, “booting up your Circumstances,” and then we try to think of how they affect each line individually.  We ask ourselves, “What is my character trying to convey? Or, what prompted them to say this?”  These things help us discover anew each performance, which helps us be honest.

Emily Peters
(Mother Swan)