Shadows with Substance: Performing the Characters of Harold Pinter Page: 73
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73
reason, physicalization is an important aspect of acting.
The actor can use his body for various degrees of
stage movement; his actions can openly demonstrate his
feelings or reflect the intricacies of his subconscious
motivations. 17 For example, the character can change
the rhythm of a scene by entering or exiting, by initiating
a struggle with another character, or by moving from one
side of the stage to the other with.some intent or purpose.
This kind of overt action is "blocked" into a production
in the early stages of rehearsal, and its balance and flow
must appear natural and well motivated. The character's
subconscious movement does not directly affect the action
of the play. Rather, it is a subtle way for the actor
to clarify the character's feelings; it allows him to demon-
strate certain aspects of the character which may only be
considered the character's quirks or personal habits, such
as the way he smokes a cigarette or how often he clears his
throat or scratches his head.
It is also clearly the task of every actor to speak
dialogue that has the same quality and effect as actual
conversation. He must first recreate acceptable patterns
of phrasing and a sense of intonation and pronunciation
that will not sound odd or foreign to the spectator. Second,
the actor must speak at the rate or with the dialect that
is representative of his particular character. Like secondary
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Beckers, Teresa E. Shadows with Substance: Performing the Characters of Harold Pinter, thesis, May 1980; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504313/m1/77/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .