System of Wants / Hero's Journey

 


I
 
Unit: System of Wants
Theme: Building Conflict 
 
Introduction
 
Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the XX century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing" (with which he contrasts the "art of representation."  When the actor asks him/herself "What do I want?" when saying a line, he/she gives his line a sense of truth. 
 
 
 II
 
 Learning Objectives
 
  •  Understand the main conflict in your story/piece
  • Explain why the system of wants is important for the actor 
  • Gain an awareness of the importance of giving the spoken words a sense of truth
  • Experience the system of wants.
 
 III
 
Main Lesson
 
1 
 
Warm Up
 
 
2
 
Rehearsal of Movement, Voice and text
 
 
 3
 
Conflict
 
 
 Aristotle wondered about many things, including drama. He came to the conclusion that there were 6 elements of drama. They are: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.
 
Elements of the Plot
 
  • Exposition.
  • Rising Action.
  • Climax.
  • Falling Action.
  • Conclusion.
 
 Question 1
 
What is the main conflict in your piece? Is it external or internal? Explain
 
 
 4
 
 
System of Wants 
 
 
What is it that I want when I say ..... 


Actors never say anything on stage unless they want something.  That is a general rule that allows for what they say to be organic and believable. This is why play-wright-ing is such an important part of drama. A writer who does not know how to write for theater may write too much without a clear sense of how the system of wants works. This will cause extra amount of text that will be impossible for actors to find justification what they say on stage.
 
 This is the reason why plays written by writers of other genres of both fiction and non-fiction are not very engaging plays. They tend to write plays that are wordy, long and therefore alienating.  

An even more interesting aspect of playing/acting is physical theater. After the emergence of film and TV, naturalistic theater became obsolete in the sense that it could not compete with the other two genres. Thus, abstract theater began to be the alternative option  away from naturalistic/realistic stories. Opera, in its "over the top" approach to telling a story, remains also an abstract alternative only when well acted, well danced, which means when the work of justifying why things are said on stage has been done successfully.
 
 
Question 2

Why is the system of wants important for the actor/singer/performer?
 
 
5
 
 

  


 

 

 Question 3

 

Out of the 12 elements of drama listed above, we focused on conflict. What did George Bernard Shaw mean when he said "No conflict, no drama"?

 

 

 Joseph Campbell

The Hero's Journey is a classic story structure that's shared by stories worldwide. Coined by American  professor of literature Joseph Campbell (1904 - 1987).  Campbell, who taught at Sarah Lawrence College, a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. 



(4:49 min)
 

Question 4

 What do you think Campbell means when he says, "if you are following your bliss"?

 -----------------------------------------

 6
 
 
 Hero's Journey

In 1949, Campbell published The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book in which he discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths. The Hero's Journey refers to a wide-ranging category of tales in which a character ventures out to get what he/she needs, faces conflict, and ultimately triumphs over adversity. The Hero's Journey is divided into two big halve: the ordinary world and the special world. The journey has 12 stages (See the diagram below). 
 
 



   
 7
 
 
 
Watch Video


(3:10 min)

Hero's Journey Stages
  1. The Ordinary World: The audience meets the Hero in the ordinary world.
  2. The Call to Adventure: The Hero receives the call to adventure: a challenge, a quest or a problem that must be faced.
  3. Refusal of the Call: The Hero expresses fear and is reluctant or refuses the call.
  4. Meeting the Mentor: A meeting with the mentor provides encouragement, wisdom, or magical gifts to  push the Hero past fear and doubt.
  5. Crossing the Threshold: The Hero finally accepts the challenge and crosses the threshold into the special world.
  6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: The Hero learns about the special world through tests, encountering allies and enemies.
  7. Approach to the Inmost Cave: The Hero makes the final preparations and approaches the innermost cave.
  8. The Ordeal: The hero endures the ordeal, the central crisis in which the Hero confronts his greatest fear and tastes death.
  9. Reward: The Hero enjoys the reward of having confronted fear and death.
  10. The Road Back: The Hero takes the road back and recommits to completing the journey.
  11. The Resurrection: The Hero faces the climactic ordeal that purifies redeems and transforms the Hero on the Threshold home.
  12. Return with the Elixir: The Hero returns with the elixir to benefit the ordinary world.

Question 8

(10:00 min)
Re-arrange the steps of the hero's journey by doing one of three things: naming them in your own words, diagramming them your own way or drawing them in a way they make sense to you. 


 
============================
 
 
IV
 
A Note to Remember 
 
The plot ensures that every important element of the story is in place to make sense to the reader and keep the story moving. It also contains the conflict or problem that the main characters must tackle in order to reach their happy ending. Every compelling story, even a short story, will have a plot.


V
Case Study
 
Sep 19, 2011
 
 


Actors Discuss Part 1: Stanislavski's Method of Physical Actions

(4:20)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEGXrDSXo8
https://youtu.be/vpEGXrDSXo8
 
 

VI

Activity

Rehearsal of solo applying new awareness of the conflict and the "wants" applicable to the text. Those who are making up, please do this exercise on you own and reflect on it by writing your reflection on Discussion Board.

 

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