Declan Donnelan

- Donnelan was partnered with Nick Ormerod and they created the theatre company Cheek By Jowl

- The company did lots of work at the Barbican

- He was associate director at the National Theatre on projects including Angels in America and Sweeney Todd.

- He has directed for the English National Opera (ENO), Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Bolshoi Ballet.

THEREFORE one can see he is associated with musicals, opera, ballet, Shakespeare, contemporary performance and many other genres of theatre.

- Works in Russian and English

- Good book for extra knowledge: The Actor and the Target

Actors' Blocks

In partners we explored some of the blocks actors face during rehearsal regarding creation of character, preparation and natural skill.  Then, we had to think about how we would convey these blocks to a director. Initially, Amaya and I came up with these...

1.Natural physicality - "At this moment in time I am struggling to convey my character's movement"

2.Confidence - "I am not completely  comfortable "

3.Struggle to learn lines - "I don't know what I'm saying"

4.Disagreement with direction - "As a result of your direction I am struggling to commit to my character"

Then, as a class we shared Donnelan's version of these blocks, stated in the simplest way possible. These are the following:

1. "I don't know what I'm doing"

2. "I don't know what I want"

3. "I don't know who I am"

4. "I don't know where I am"

5. "I don't know how I should move"

6. "I don't know how I should feel"

7. "I don't know what I'm saying"

8. "I don't know what I'm playing"

The formula for these questions includes two "I"s and a single "know" which makes them feel very internal, the response being from inside the actor.

Next, we analysed our partners whilst they told us about what they had done the previous day. Amaya was very calm and clear in the way she narrated. Some things she dictated in a lot of detail, such as items she bought from the shop, and others she skimmed over, like class events. When sharing these observations we established some of the things all humans do that we often forget about such as blinking and eye contact (or lack of it).

In a split second of conversation it can often be seen that someone looks to the right when they're thinking. This is an indication of their target, the person is seeing what they are talking about, or they are searching for a supporting image, real or imagined, for their thought process and speech. An example might be that when discussing their birthday, someone might imagine the present they are expecting to get or the people at the party they are planning to have. 

Targets

Establishing targets and eye contact allows actors to play honest and truthful scenes/moments. Targets are only possible to do to someone or something else.

In Romeo and Juliet some of the targets might be "I tease the nurse" or "I open the window".

An example of a bad target might be "I die". This is impossible to play truthfully, whereas "I accept death" or "I fight death" are playable and also convey character and given circumstances.

Our partner is the audience and they have to believe. This can only be achieved through having strong targets, according to Donnelan.

Double Takes

The formula of the double take:

Look à Look away à Look again

See à See again in head à Confirm

This flow chart demonstrates the action on top of the mental journey. We think about seeing and initial target and then seeing something else unintentionally once looking away. Afterwards there is a desire to confirm it, so we look again with a different target in mind.

This process is like a little microcosm of the general targeting method because it demonstrates the transition from image to image (or target to target).

For me, targeting seems reasonably useful however it does feel like yet another version of Stanislavsky’s objectives or method of physical actions. It is almost a given that an actor should picture their character’s target and goal as a form of super objective, or smaller objectives from moment to moment, and although Declan Donnelan’s method solidifies this fact, I don’t think it makes it that much easier to put in to practice. However, I did find it interesting to think closely about targets from a psychological-analysis point of view for a character. It helped break down the barriers between mind and speech, making performance more natural and truthful, with clear thought (and target) changes.