EVE Fiction

This is a thread about acting to those new or who know little about it, who also may dismiss thespian activities as a form of insanity.

Introduction

There are many types of role play but let's break down some good ways to draw out a role. Role play is in effect just like taking on a role from a TV show such as The Office, where there is a general script with given guidelines, but no line for line script.

Thinking Out The Background

We (the actors) are given our guidelines as a nano-fragment of the population. We play the role of college graduates or (or military personnel) who have been one of the lucky few to get into a specialized program that allows ourselves to be bonded to machinery via cybernetics, which as a result, also allows one's consciousness to be transferred via very sophisticated computer algorithms and wireless networks into a new body.

Some people have chosen different paths and come from varied cultural backgrounds but are faced with the opportunity to take their own path (thus defining themselves), or follow the path opportunity or motivation presents.

Playing the Role

As such, with individuals of varied background, the characters some chose to play execute their own agendas and make choices based on that character's motivations. This does not always mean that the actor portraying a character has the same thoughts and motivations and it is important to distinguish the two. A person playing the role of a holy-art-than-thou Gallante convert to Amarr doctrine does not necessarily make the actor a fascist in the real world and the two should never be confused. I will not go into other player's narcissism here.

On Ham

Drama for drama's sake is never an effective method. Drama comes from a situation, often complex, where people are forced to take extreme action due to given circumstances. A character requires motivation. Actors should ask themselves, why would someone be motivated to do X? Why does my character adhere to personal values A, B, C? Rich and complex characters are always better, as they tend to be more believable.

Whereas emotions, both shallow and deep, can be a driving factor for a charactor they do not always come into play. As you in your real life must make decisions that are are purely logical or based on personal beliefs. Some charactors believe in helping others while others believe in helping themselves to everything. Is your character cold and methodical, highly emotional, or thoughtful? A good character (not necessarily an exemplar of ethical behavior), is going to have balance.

Character Development

While causality will allow for consistent characters, too much will lend to stiffness, a victim of one's past. This tends to lead to stereotypical characters, such as the big burley Negro man who eats fried chicken every day, or the effeminate Caucasian with a strong affinity for cardigans, ballroom dancing, and gossip, or yet still, the Asian kid who studies hard and nearly kills himself over a bad grade. All are shallow stereotypes and have been done to death with no significant results.

On the other extreme, there's the Mexican who joins the N a z i Party (historical context), after extreme body modification, because she believes that others of his kind are inherantly inferior human beings, or the Ukrainian boy who constantly uses Ebonics and grows dreads in a lame attempt to fit in, or the Hindi kid who hangs out and smokes pot all day. All of the aforementioned examples are examples of terrible characters. The characters are shallow and lack any real depth.

This is to say that developing character cannot have elements of the previously mentioned aspects. A character is the sum of both their individual history, as well as how they are dealing with the now, and what that character's endgame might be. A good character takes a little thinking to develop and is not benefited by being a stereotype or even an off the wall no-fit. It takes a bit of everything, and more importantly, it takes time to develop a character to know what that character's motivations may be.

Good and Evil

A good character generally may or may not think of themselves as good. A good charactor tries to be good. A character who simply goes through the motions and simply does good things because they know it would improved individual relationships is not necessarily an ethical character. An evil character may believe themselves to be above morality or finds the concept self detrimental. The evil character may attempt to be moral but constantly acts unethically Other still are completely unaware that their actions are unethical, violating Hobbes concept of universal law over and over, untill universal law overrides that character's behavior. The University of Stanford has some excellent reading on the subject.

When in Rome

While it is the individual's prerogative to go into the center of traffic and act out A Midsummer Night's Dream in full dress as Oberon, it comes off as bat-poop crazy. This is the same as going into an OOC channel, or a forum where acting out a role is generally not practiced. This follows the mistake of helping to confuse a role with the actor and leaves others with a bad impression of the performance. Much like a painting needs good lighting; an actor needs a good theater in which to act.

Conclusion

In effect, it is good to remember that as someone who plays a role, you are also an actor in an ongoing production. By production, I mean movie, or if you will, several kids playing in the backyard. It is up to you to choose what you are going to be.

Informative.

ISD please don't move/lock - I would suggest this be stickied.

Moved to EVE Fiction.