Mary Lou L. Narowski
Lesson Plan One -Days One and Two: Introduction to Observation
I am going to preface my students' character study with the introduction of Konstantin Stanislavski, the father of the first acting system, referred to by some as method acting. Not only will this didactic understanding provide my students with new background knowledge but it will also give them a chance to read for information and develop observation skills. With this understanding, they might view the film with eyes more wide open because they will understand character in greater detail. This instructional step will be a one class period introduction. A brief biography of Stanislavski, appropriate in length for my students, can be found at http://www.kryingski.com/Stan/Biography/bot.html. As my students read through this piece, they will discover that Stanislavski "developed his own unique system of training wherein actors would research the situation created by the script, break down the text according to their characters' motivations and recall their own experiences, thereby causing actions and reactions according to these motivations."
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At the core of the Stanislavski method lies character observation and analysis: character observation in which the actor studies human behaviors and inward, personal analysis in which the actor identifies who he really is. Stanislavski demanded that his actors explore their own inner feelings and emotions but also become acutely aware of the character's total person through intense observation. How would they accomplish this? His students would sit in train and bus stations and note every idiosyncrasy displayed by the people they observed: what each was wearing, how tall he or she was, how much each weighed, did he or she wear glasses, what was the posture of each like, what was the sound of his or her voice, did he or she walk with a particular gait, what was his or her mood like, did each have any interesting facial expressions, ticks, or unusual habits? They would then memorize and build the character in their mind from "the outside in" making note of every outward physicality, action, and sound. This understanding was derived strictly from observation without personal contact or interaction. Students then, having committed to memory each action and nuance they observed, had to constantly recall and replay the observed behaviors until they owned them. Stanislavski asked this and much more. When they read a script, they were asked to define every action and motivation of the players in the text. Who were they really? What did they feel? What was the motivation behind every action? Because the actor studied the character so intensely, understood his every movement and reason for it, and felt his every emotion, the performance attained an emotional truthfulness and psychological authenticity. This was "getting in the head" of the character. The actors were, in essence, the character from "the inside out." Stanislavski would argue that both understandings were essential to a great performance. The total character was present on stage.
In Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel, Lisa Zunshine refers to this ability to read and explain people's behavior from observing body language and thus to understand their thoughts and emotions as, "Theory of Mind."
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She explains that people have an innate ability to interpret observed behavior using any information they bring to bear: background information, past experiences, verbal cues, and relationships insights. These interpretations seemingly happen instantaneously and perhaps unconsciously on some level, but involve a series of decisions and eliminations as to the proper "read." Stanislavski understood this long before it received an official name and used it as the basis of his acting method. It is my hope that having my students bring this "Theory of Mind" ability, or mind reading, to a more continuously conscious and articulated level will help them consider the emotional undertones and other literary cues and construct meaning that is consistent with the story. Perhaps this understanding will even transfer into their real life relationships.
Using this insight and awareness, my students will then be presented with several copies of the following graphic organizing sheet, Observing People. Their assignment will be to practice the Stanislavski method by identifying and observing three teenagers in their own lives, noting appearances, specific behaviors and moods, and attitudes that they observe. My students will respond well to this assignment, as it is a dramatic one. The following is the character study chart that the students will complete:
Students will be given two days in which to complete this assignment with the last section, number six, being finished in class.
Upon completion of these worksheets, students will be presented with the list of characters including brief description of each, from the novel The Outsiders, which they will subsequently read. Using the Observing People worksheets, students will be asked to consider the following question. Do any of their observed teens resemble any of characters in the novel? In other words, is there a person who, in some important respects, resembles Jonny Cade or Ponyboy, or Cherry in their lives? Do they know a Jonny, Ponyboy, or Cherry? Because many of my students socialize outside the school setting, it will be exciting if they can actually say, "_________ acts just like Dallas or Darrell." These discussions will uncover the major resemblances of "being like Dallas," but, in the process, will also unearth the differences as well. We might reflect on how the "Ponyboy" or "Cherry" they know differs from some part of the description of that character in the novel: he or she shares these attributes, but not others. The result of this discussion would lead us to the next important question. What makes us feel a resemblance is strong enough to call someone "Ponyboy?"
The following is a basic character list that students will receive after their observation sheets, Observing People, are completed: