Hi folks!
I received a comment from a reader asking me to clarify personalizing scene objectives, and as I thought more about this, I realized I could better explain how to approach Scene Objectives. So, I’ve created this revised post and deleted the previous one. If you read my previous post, I ask that you forget about my comments on substitution. This is a technique that I see as problematic in hindsight. It is an idea originally developed by Uta Hagan. And as much as I admire much of what Hagan teaches, I think substitution causes more problems than it solves. So, let me start all over.
During the course of a play your character will pursue numerous smaller objectives as they work toward achieving their Main Objective. Most of the time, these smaller objectives are pursued in the various scenes your character is in. With the very few exceptions – when your character is alone onstage – these Scene Objectives will involve getting something from one or more of the other characters in the scene. (I’ll talk about Scene Objectives when you are alone onstage later on in this post and in my upcoming post on Monologues and Soliloques).
If you remember from the previous general post on Objectives, I gave the example of Hamlet’s Main Objective as to honorably avenge the murder of his father, with his underlying need being to earn the respect and approval of his father. To accomplish his Main Objective, Hamlet needs to overcome various obstacles and does so in numerous scenes. In these scenes Hamlet always has a Scene Objective which, if achieved, will help him on his way to honorably taking revenge.
One obstacle Hamlet needs to overcome to honorably take revenge, is to prove that Claudius is indeed guilty of murdering his father. Remember, Hamlet was told this by a Ghost that Claudius murdered his him, and Hamlet is not convinced this is indeed the spirit of his father. It could be a devil’s trick to get Hamlet to kill an innocent man. Hamlet’s first real opportunity to prove Claudius guilt is when the players arrive at court. Hamlet immediately gets the idea to have the players reenact the Ghost’s tale of how he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet presumes (correctly it turns out) that when Claudius watches the performance, his reaction will reveal whether he is guilty of this crime himself.
So, Hamlet’s Scene Objective with the players is to get the players to agree to reenact the murder in a compelling manner. When I’m phrasing Scene Objectives, I often use a schematic shown below:
1. My Character/Verb
Hamlet wants to get
2. Other Character/Target
The Players
3. Desired Response
To credibly reenact the murder
Note that there are three parts to a Scene Objective: 1) my character’s name and an infinitive verb (in this case, to get) , 2) the other character or characters I want something from, and 3) the response I want from them (what I want them to do, feel, say, etc.)
When you are onstage with other characters, you should always have a Scene Objective that involves one or more of them. When you are alone onstage, your character’s Scene Objective is generally tied to something your character needs to physically do, such as to find something, do something, or prepare for something your character expects to happen. If your character does not have a physical goal while alone, they will either be thinking (silently or aloud) about how to solve a problem, or involved in an Activity. (See my upcoming post on Actions to hear more about Activities. And see my upcoming post on Monologues and Soliloquies for more information on thinking aloud).
Once you have determined a strong Scene Objective tied to another character onstage, the next step is to personalize that objective. Personalization includes a series of steps designed to give you a personal connection to what your character wants and to internalize the character’s underlying needs.
The first step I recommend is find the essential nature of the relationship you have with the other character in the scene, and the essential nature of the Scene Objective. For example, in the example of Hamlet and the players, the essential nature of the relationship is one of employer to employees. In addition, Hamlet doesn’t really know these people and has to suss out their characteristics in the actual scene – what are these people like, who is the leader, how can he best get what he wants from them. When you have defined the essential nature of the relationship, you are then able to play the objective as if you personally are dealing with these peoples as their employer or boss. If the Scene Objective is: to get the players to agree to reenact the murder in a credible and compelling manner, then one way to express the essential nature of this objective is to get new employees to do what you need them to do. Again, this allows you to play the actual Scene Objective as if these people are new employees or subordinates who you need to do something. Both of these techniques allow the actor to use their memories, or imagination, to stimulate connections in their personal life – thus personalizing the Scene Objective and the relationship.
I recently played the role of Sorin in a production of The Seagull. My character had two very important relationships in the play – one with his sister, a glamorous actress named Arkadina, and his nephew, Kostya. Let me start with the characteristics my character saw in both.
Arkadina: glamorous, charming, artistic, intelligent, kind and forgiving but not without a temper, sensitive to criticism, demanding, and a bit stingy.
Kostya: also of an artistic temperament, intelligent, moody, insecure, searching, unsettled
Now let me flesh out more about the essence of my character’s relationship with both.
Arkadina: She is my much younger sister who I have always adored and indulged despite her flaws. I am very proud of her artistic success. I see the demanding, sometimes selfish, aspects of her personality as understandable because I believe artistic people have greater needs than the rest of us. I love to have her around because she is so intelligent, witty and charming and I find the stories of live and career fascinating. As her older brother I feel paternal toward her and protective, and believe I can help temper the more extreme aspects of her behavior.
Kostya: I also have a rather paternal relationship with Kostya, my sister’s son. I see him as a lost soul, but I don’t feel I can give him what he needs. I want him to find direction and meaning to his life, but living with me in the country is not the answer. As his mother is an actress who is always traveling, I suspect he feels abandoned by her, and certainly jealous of the love and attention she lavishes on her romantic interest rather than him.
My scene with Arkadina happens just after Kostya and Arkadina have had a fight. I determined that my objective was to get Arkadina to realize she has been harsh with Kostya and thus to make up with him. Because I have endowed Arkadina with the qualities of being sensitive to criticism and being of a more volatile artistic temperament, I articulated my essential objective as to get a prickly loved one to acknowledge they have been wrong and to make amends.
Now let’s look at personalizing underlying needs.
In Hamlet’s case we defined his underlying need as to get the respect and approval of his father. But does this apply to his Scene Objective with the players? On a basic level this need underlies all of Hamlet’s objectives and actions, but we can get more specific with the Hamlet/Players scene. We could phrase his essential need in this scene as to get subordinates to do what he needs in order to prove something.
Let’s now look at the essential need underlying the scene with Arkadina. I defined Sorin’s fundamental underlying need as to live a full and stimulating life with as little stress as possible. In the scene with Arkadina, I defined Sorin’s essential need as to eliminate the stress caused by the conflict between two loved ones.
To sum up: all these steps work to personalize a scene objective by finding the essential nature of the relationship, the essential nature of the objective, and the essential underlying need. Once an actor has done these things, they should find a growing personal connection to what they want, who they want it from, and why. After doing this work, I eventually find that I can to easily identify with my character and begin to use the pronoun “I” instead of my character’s name when phrasing my objectives and needs. When this happens, I can usually be assured that I have succeeded in personalizing the scene.
That’s all for now!
David