Context, Text, and Subtext
I
Warm Up
II
CONCEPTS
Context, Text, and Subtext
Context
Often when we think of context, we think of things like the date a work was published, who it was written by, or the climate of the time. But context is very important within your fictive universe as well.
Context in this sense is all the grounding and guiding information that the audience needs, such as who the characters are, where they are, what time of day it is, etc. Context can also be any other additional information the audience needs to interpret and accurately understand what is happening in the story.
Question 1
How can the artist create context at a personal level when working on a character?
Text
Text is the easiest one of the three to understand, because it is what we often focus on the most. The text is the written part of the story, what happens and what is stated on the page. It is everything you see that is not implied.
The story-context is within the text, just as subtext is, after all, we need to have text in order to have context or subtext.
Question 2
In which way can the text be a deterrent when doing character work?
Subtext
Subtext is any content of a creative work which is not announced explicitly by the characters or author, but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without drawing the attention, or wrath, of censors.
Subtext is what we mean when we talk about “reading between the lines.” The “sub” refers to underlying. It is underneath the text. It is different than context, in that context helps us interpret and understand the story, and subtext happens when the story is bigger than what is on the page.
Once the viewer has some stability, some grounding with context, you can make them a participator in the story through subtext.
Thus, subtext happens through implications. It also uses contradictions of one sort or another ( I verbally say "I love you," when what I am really implying is that "I hate you"). Subtext happens when the audience comes to a conclusion that explains those contradictions.
Question 3
How can the actor imply the opposite of what he/she says textually?
Activity
Students will work with their instrument, their score or song by creating a critical response. This means, they will speak for the instrument, score or song.
They create a text they can memorize using the aesthetic response.
They will create a context for the text.
As they work on the text and the context, they will begin to generate the nuances of the subtext.
They will choreograph their text and dance it.
1. An artist can create context in a performance by tapping into the everyday/archetypal things in life. For example, if the artist is performing a character such as a father figure. What sort of things/characteristics are common amongst dads that the artist could tap into to create a more compelling performance through context.
ReplyDelete2. Text can be a deterrent for more experienced performers, especially if a director is a stickler for sticking to the script. In my opinion, the best actors use the text as a guideline and take small liberties here and there to make a more compelling experience. Each person will have a unique way of wanting to say things that will allow them to be more compelling. If they are required to stick 100% to the script, the actor may not be performing to the absolute best of their ability.
3. The actor can imply the opposite of what they say by inflection of their voice and body language. I am sure there are more ways of creating this effect, but voice inflection and body language are the two that stand out the most to me.