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Hi everybody!

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Welcome back.

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In this session,
we will focus on character.

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Today, we'll explore how actors
use given circumstances in a play,

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and their tools of body, voice
and imagination to create and develop

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the characters that they play.

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When an actor

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first begins a play,
he or she will read the script

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and look for given circumstances
about his or her character.

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Given circumstances?

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Given circumstances are facts
about character or setting that

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the Playwright provides in the script.

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Oh, right.

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Like how the script
of The Lion King Kids

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tells us that Mufasa is the
strong King of the Pride Lands,

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and that Scar is his jealous brother.

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Right!

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But not everything an actor needs
to create a character is in the script.

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It's like a blueprint for a building
or a recipe for a meal.

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You still need to add
materials and ingredients.

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An actor

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needs to use his or her imagination
to make decisions

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about how to play a character
based on the given circumstances.

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When I first played Simba,
I worked so hard to get into character.

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I read the script, carefully, underlined
all the given circumstances I could find,

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then imagined what it would be like
to be a young lion Prince,

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how I would walk, talk or pounce.

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There are three main tools
actors use to create

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believable characters:
body, voice and imagination.

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Syndee, can you share
some ways you created

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the different aspects of Nala
in The Lion King?

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Sure.

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The first thing I did was go online
and watch a lot of videos on Lionesses.

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Then, I practiced how to move my body
with their gracefulness and ferocity.

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Can you now show us how to use your body
and voice to play different emotions?

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Of course.

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Sad.

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Jelani.

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Now, angry.

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Jelani!

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That was scary.

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Now, happy.

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Jelani!

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I prefer that one.

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Now, let's look at a scene
between Mufasa and Scar

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in The Lion King on Broadway.

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Watch how they use their bodies to make
you believe their characters are fighting,

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each in his own way.

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Did you see how Scar walked in the video?

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How Scar walks is not a part of the script's
given circumstances.

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That's slinking idea came from
the actor's imagination.

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He then put slinking into his body
and voice

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with advice and feedback
from the Director.

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Today, we learned how to study a script
to look for a character's

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given circumstances.

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We also learned how an actor uses her
body, voice, and imagination

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to develop her character.

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Now, you'll use given circumstances
and your own imagination

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to make your own acting choices
for the characters of

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Pumbaa, Scar and Nala.