Creating a character
Portraying real historical characters throws up some interesting challenges for both writers and performers. How much ‘reality’ should be included or ignored? Sometimes the facts about someone’s life will help a writer or actor, sometimes get in the way, but it’s essential to know about them in the first place in order to make a decision.
Actors
When an actor is faced with portraying a ‘real’ historical character, it’s essential that they have all the information they need to create a convincing persona which can range from personal details about a character’s life to the political situation at the time, to what a character wore, or even how to stand. This kind of information is invaluable to a performer, rooting a character in historical accuracy but at the same time giving the actor the creative tools to build the character. By working with an actor from an early stage of character development, my input thus frees up their creativity, integrating historical accuracy with their creative energy; social history, manners and customs all forms part of this input.
Writing/Scripting
All of this equally applies to the development of character at the writing stage.
Writing a period piece clearly requires a huge degree of knowledge and no writer would attempt it without a huge amount of research. But it’s all too easy to let slip-ups creep in! I can offer a knowledgeable ‘outside eye’ to check accuracy and guard against any anachronisms in speech or historical content. I can also work with a writer from an early stage on character development and assist in research, both primary and secondary.
Actors
When an actor is faced with portraying a ‘real’ historical character, it’s essential that they have all the information they need to create a convincing persona which can range from personal details about a character’s life to the political situation at the time, to what a character wore, or even how to stand. This kind of information is invaluable to a performer, rooting a character in historical accuracy but at the same time giving the actor the creative tools to build the character. By working with an actor from an early stage of character development, my input thus frees up their creativity, integrating historical accuracy with their creative energy; social history, manners and customs all forms part of this input.
Writing/Scripting
All of this equally applies to the development of character at the writing stage.
Writing a period piece clearly requires a huge degree of knowledge and no writer would attempt it without a huge amount of research. But it’s all too easy to let slip-ups creep in! I can offer a knowledgeable ‘outside eye’ to check accuracy and guard against any anachronisms in speech or historical content. I can also work with a writer from an early stage on character development and assist in research, both primary and secondary.
For example:
How much port did Pitt the Younger drink when Prime Minister?
From the age of 14, he drank a bottle of port before breakfast, a second bottle before tea and a third before supper. His father was a manic depressive and it’s recently been suggested that this high level of consumption was partly to offset a strong case of clinically significant social anxiety beyond mere shyness. On one occasion, a drunken Pitt, overcome from a day’s drinking, was alleged to have vomited behind the Speaker’s Chair; in 1800 he suffered a nervous breakdown and died six years later, aged only 46.
This is only a small part of this historical character’s personality but it’s immediately apparent that this information would be invaluable to a scriptwriter or actor. After all, he could rarely have been sober which would have had both physical and psychological implications.
© Nicholas Fry 2017 Designed by No14 Graphic Design
