Abstract
This study examines how three character building techniques — the Graham Technique, Psychological Gesture, and Via Negativa — help an actor construct and perform authentic characters. Throughout this study I catalog my personal journey with these technique both in theory and practice. Using Murder in the Asylum, First to See the Lights Go On, and Jumping the League, three one-act plays written by James Bentley Campbell, I took my concept and turned it into a finished project for an audience to see. Using textual analysis, I discuss how these theorists -- Graham, Chekhov, and Grotowski -- came to their ideas. Then, I discuss how I developed the characters, worked in the rehearsal process, and moved the characters from the page into the real world, making them come alive.
Advisor
Noriega, Jimmy A.
Department
Theatre and Dance
Recommended Citation
Dryden, Gerald, "Acting Authentically — A Case Study of Character Building Techniques With Three Plays by James Bentley Campbell" (2021). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 9583.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/9583
Disciplines
Acting
Publication Date
2021
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2021 Gerald Dryden