The Buzz

When you are describing a character or working in other ways to establish/create a character, you must be attentive to your body and register the moment of The Buzz in your body.

I am sure that you know what I am talking about when I say buzz; it is like any other moment in our life when hormones are released, set in, and affect your mood.

But when does these moments happen and what triggers them?

To me it can be the way I put on a hat, how I pour the coffee, the way I hold my hands behind my back, the glance I cast at her smile. These are physical and bodily triggers.

There are also triggers to observe in the way we are thinking.

I might think:” What a jerk!”, in some moment as a reaction to something said or done, simultaneously I sense a Buzz in my body.

With the proper training in the studio, I can learn how to transform the kernel of this Buzz intothe credo of the person I am portraying, the way he is looking at the world and what is going on in it.

Or I can use that kernel to get information on how the character I am playing is endowing another character with the characteristic of being a jerk in any situation.

It is more than likely that the person I am playing has different Buzzes to other characters he meets on stage. And I am certain that when you listen you will be surprised by the multitude and variations of Buzzes you will experience in the studio and on stage.  

When a buzz happens work on sustaining it and find ways to nurture it.

The next level is to remember the buzz and finding your own ways to recall and reactivate it, so that you have a stable foundation to establish a character on,

You must be aware that there is a humongous multitude of all kinds of buzz you can experience, and hence there are all kinds of creatures, angels, power-freaks, insects, mountains, all sorts of beings that can be based on a Buzz.

I think working with this approach to working with characters calls for a lot of exploration and finding in the studio.

This approach to working with character, I have worked with when I hosted workshops on theatre improvisation (drama / humour) and clown workshops.

And I would enjoy hosting a workshop on this in your studio.