In discussing Hagen's ideas in a systematic way, the work on "Destination" forms the backbone of her technique. Once I really understood destination, it forever changed my experience of being onstage.
The idea - in a nutshell - is that as human beings we always know where we are at any given moment in time. We know where we've come from, and where we are going. AND we know what specific objects are around us in addition to our RELATIONSHIP with them.
When I could break down my behavior in two minutes under normal circumstances (say, a homecoming) suddenly the reasons for my behavior become abundantly clear.
For example, in coming home from work there are a million different realities and needs as I walk through the front door - the need to make myself comfortable by removing my work clothes, the effect that the unwashed dishes in the sink have on me, glasses left out from drinking the night before, what's occurred at work, what I expect to happen later that evening.
All these simple little things would determine how I would behave in the circumstances. When I found that, I knew the realities that needed to be created for any role or scene that I would perform.
Uta's breakdown of an ENTRANCE into 3 steps is so simple - yet how many of us actually do the homework. Uta would say that you prepare for the FIRST MOMENT, and then you takeoff into the realities of the play (or opera).
Her steps are:
1) Where did I just come from and what was I doing there?
2) Where am I now and what am I doing here?
3) Where am I going and what do I want to do there?
When these three steps are active, we can really bring our life onto the stage. And when does our character's selected life begin? IT BEGINS IN THE WINGS.
To use an operatic example, let's take the entrance of Tosca in Act I of the opera. We can create the realities of the opera for ourselves by beginning to identify with the daily life of a prima donna in the early 1800s. Before she comes in, her answers may be:
1) Where did I just come from and what was I doing there?
I just came from the flower market where I bought flowers to bring to the Madonna. The weather is very hot for June, and I'm trying to keep cool in my linen dress. Mario has never seen me in it before. At the flower market they know me very well, and I always get the best bouquet from the vendor because I am a celebrated diva. The people congratulate me and I thank them for their kind words.
2) Where am I now and what am I doing here?
Right now I'm outside the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle. The morning has become warm, and the perspiration on my brow and neck are beginning to cause me some annoyance. Additionally, I have this overburden of flowers which are heavy. And now the chapel door is locked which is never the case. This suddenly makes me wonder if my boyfriend, Mario Cavaradossi is seeing someone. I can hear the sound of a dress, and the whispers from within.
3) Where am I headed next and what do I want to do there?
MY IMMEDIATE NEED IS THAT I want to get inside the church and see who's in there with Mario.
This VERY brief overview of ideas should begin the process of discovery in the life of the character and create an entrance that is TOTALLY in alignment with the character's wishes and realities. It gives you the proper springboard from which to launch Tosca into her life onstage. This work goes on for every role you take on.
I hope these ideas are interesting, and
Until next time....
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Respect for Opera
I'm going to start blogging about my artistic growth and what I'm learning.
I thought I'd start with what has influenced me in SUCH a major way as to what as I think about singing and bringing a character to full life.
One of the ideals that I want to pursue is that in opera, we must present REAL human beings in action, not mimics or indications of characters onstage. Opera is the musical theater equivalent of Shakespeare - in my opinion. Many of the challenges of actors in Shakespeare are similar to those faced by opera singers.
I think this idea of real humans really breaks open the notions that we have of "traditional" interpretation, and gives us a blank canvas with which each of us can begin the work. Art is something that we work TOWARD, it is not the end goal. There is no end.
Like Shakespeare's roles, we singers live with our own ghosts of past versions and interpretations of the roles of Tosca, Rodolfo, Carmen, Boris Godonov. But there CANNOT be any IDEAL interpretation of these operas, otherwise we would have to stop performing Norma because of Callas, for example. Why should we not re-examine these works with real human behavior? I think the secret to great opera lies in the fact that opera is GREAT THEATER. (Or it should be.)
I often think about the fleshing out of operas like La Boheme. In the opening act, Mimi comes to the apartment of Rodolfo because her candle has gone out. But is this REALLY the reason? Maybe she's cold and lonely on Christmas eve? How many times has she seen Rodolfo in the building or in the street where she lives? All these random questions should feed the scene where she passes out in front of Rodolfo. If I fainted in the apartment of someone I found attractive, my first instinct would be to be HORRIFIED and EMBARRASSED! (How are you going to have a chance of getting this guy to like you NOW?) Yet how many Mimis wake up with the attitude of "what's my next line?" I could see justification of her making it for the door to LEAVE - so great is her embarrassment, but Rodolfo pulls her back into the room.
That's why I think any singer wanting to perform as a singing-actor needs ACTING lessons. One of the teachers that has affected me is Uta Hagen. Her work has touched me for many reasons. One is that her parents and family were musicians and artists themselves. Her mother was an opera singer, and the fact that Uta later developed the Object Exercises is a testament to the musical self-discipline of her mother. As singers we all sings scales to balance the registers, train the breath, and secure our voices. Hagen's exercises do the same for the acting technique. Each exercise builds on the previous one, and by the time singers/actors finish the last one, they should have a good idea of how to create a role effectively.
In this blog, I'll be discussing the Hagen exercises and techniques in a step by step fashion, and I open the dialogue for discussion and considerations of specific application to opera.
I thought I'd start with what has influenced me in SUCH a major way as to what as I think about singing and bringing a character to full life.
One of the ideals that I want to pursue is that in opera, we must present REAL human beings in action, not mimics or indications of characters onstage. Opera is the musical theater equivalent of Shakespeare - in my opinion. Many of the challenges of actors in Shakespeare are similar to those faced by opera singers.
I think this idea of real humans really breaks open the notions that we have of "traditional" interpretation, and gives us a blank canvas with which each of us can begin the work. Art is something that we work TOWARD, it is not the end goal. There is no end.
Like Shakespeare's roles, we singers live with our own ghosts of past versions and interpretations of the roles of Tosca, Rodolfo, Carmen, Boris Godonov. But there CANNOT be any IDEAL interpretation of these operas, otherwise we would have to stop performing Norma because of Callas, for example. Why should we not re-examine these works with real human behavior? I think the secret to great opera lies in the fact that opera is GREAT THEATER. (Or it should be.)
I often think about the fleshing out of operas like La Boheme. In the opening act, Mimi comes to the apartment of Rodolfo because her candle has gone out. But is this REALLY the reason? Maybe she's cold and lonely on Christmas eve? How many times has she seen Rodolfo in the building or in the street where she lives? All these random questions should feed the scene where she passes out in front of Rodolfo. If I fainted in the apartment of someone I found attractive, my first instinct would be to be HORRIFIED and EMBARRASSED! (How are you going to have a chance of getting this guy to like you NOW?) Yet how many Mimis wake up with the attitude of "what's my next line?" I could see justification of her making it for the door to LEAVE - so great is her embarrassment, but Rodolfo pulls her back into the room.
That's why I think any singer wanting to perform as a singing-actor needs ACTING lessons. One of the teachers that has affected me is Uta Hagen. Her work has touched me for many reasons. One is that her parents and family were musicians and artists themselves. Her mother was an opera singer, and the fact that Uta later developed the Object Exercises is a testament to the musical self-discipline of her mother. As singers we all sings scales to balance the registers, train the breath, and secure our voices. Hagen's exercises do the same for the acting technique. Each exercise builds on the previous one, and by the time singers/actors finish the last one, they should have a good idea of how to create a role effectively.
In this blog, I'll be discussing the Hagen exercises and techniques in a step by step fashion, and I open the dialogue for discussion and considerations of specific application to opera.
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