Nora Helmer - Character Objectives

Below you will find a list of what I believe are Nora's 3 main objectives at different moments throughout the play. To justify these objectives, I have also included evidence  from the play (Nora's dialogue) in order to show why I believe they are her personal objectives at each moment in time. 

When performing Nora's character I plan to use these objectives, along with the stage directions, as subtext during my given scenes in order to show how Nora would be feeling, what she would be thinking and what she would be trying to achieve at each specific moment in time. This is important because when studying a naturalistic text such as this, especially in the style of a practitioner as passionate about naturalism as Stanislavski, it is imperative that every single second of performance has meaning and purpose behind it.

I believe by keeping these character objectives in mind during every single line of dialogue and physical action, this will prove effective in helping to bring more depth to my character and make my performance seem much more naturalistic. This is because, rather than just be reeling off line upon meaningless line, by considering Nora's thoughts and feelings and referring back to additional contextual and character research when performing, I will be able to 'become' Nora, as opposed to simply 'playing' her. This is a major part of Stanislavski's style of theatre in terms of characterisation and performance, for he believes that in order to convince others of your character, you first have to convince yourself.  

Super objective: To repay her debt to Krogstad without Torvald's knowledge so that she and Torvald can live a comfortable, happy life. 

Act 1 objective: To pay off her debt to Krogstad. 

Evidence: 

"If you really want to give me something, you might... you might give me money?"

"But it cost a tremendous lot of money Christine!"

"That's a lot isn't it?"

"Papa didn't give us a shilling, it was I who procured the money."

"In the lottery? There would've been no credit in that."

 "If it is a wife who has a head for business - a wife who has the wit to be a little clever -"

"Is it important to save your husband's life?" 

"But it was absolutely necessary that he should not know, my goodness you can understand that?" 

Act 2 objective: To stop Torvald from reading the letter.

Evidence:

"Yes help me Torvald, promise that you will. I am so nervous about it -  all the people. You must give yourself up to me entirely this evening, not the tiniest bit of business, you mustn't even take a pen in your hand!" 

"Will you promise?!"

"No, no, don't do that Torvald, please don't, there is nothing there!"

"I can't dance tomorrow if I don't practice with you!" 

"Yes, you see how much I need it!"

"You must catch me up until the last minute, promise me that Torvald!"

"You mustn't think of anything but the but me either today or tomorrow, you mustn't open a single letter, not even open the letter box."

Act 3 objective: To tell torvald why she is unhappy. 

Evidence: 

"Sit down here, we have much to say to one another."

"I have a lot to talk over with you, you mustn't interrupt me you must simply listen to what I say"

Rereading the text and studying these lines also helped me to relate certain parts back to similar events, or moments of similar emotion, from my own personal experiences. By drawing the emotions from these experiences and revisiting those 'places' during the rehearsal and performance processes, I will then be able to recreate the same emotion within my performance, therefore improving my characterisation and believ-ability considerably. This is called 'method acting' and is one of the many naturalistic techniques that Stanislavski's actors would be required to do during the character- isation process. 

Emotion Graph - Nora

How is the voice made?

How to maintain a healthy voice

From all the tips and advice I researched, these are the 10 ways that I believe are the most important in helping to maintain a healthy voice:

1. Warm up your voice.

Make sure you always warm up your voice before use. This can be as simple as gently gliding from low to high notes on different vowel sounds or doing lip or tongue trills every morning and night. It is also very important to warm up your jaw when using your voice. You can do this by pretending to yawn, over exaggerating the movement of the mouth when pronouncing vowel sounds and/or massaging the back and underneath of the jaw and surrounding muscles gently using the tips of your fingers.

2. Keep yourself hydrated.

You should aim to drink around eight 8 - ounce glasses of water or other non alcoholic, non caffeinated drinks per day. The vocal cords vibrate very fast, and having a proper water balance helps to keep them lubricated. Therefore, foods containing large amounts of water make excellent snacks as they help to keep you hydrated. For example; apples, pears, watermelon, peaches, melons, grapes, plums, cucumber and peppers.

3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and dairy.

Alcohol is extremely dehydrating, especially hard liquor. Ideally you should stay away from alcohol of any kind for 2 - 3 days prior to performing. Likewise, caffeine also has a negative effect on the vocal chords as it dehydrates you throat and stimulates the production of phlegm. This is often made worse by the fact that the caffeine being consumed is through tea and coffee which both also contain milk; a dairy product. Dairy products such as milk and cheese coat your vocal chords with mucus which closes up the vocal passage making it much harder to speak and project to your full potential. Therefore all of the above should be avoided for at least a few hours minimum before a performance, however the recommended length of time is three days.  

4. Be kind to your voice.

Avoid yelling or screaming these are abusive practises for your voice and put great strain on the lining of your vocals cords.Likewise, you should avoid clearing your throat too often or unnecessarily. This is because when you clear your throat, it's like slamming your vocal cords together. Doing it too much can injure them and make you hoarse. If you feel like you have to clear your throat, try taking a sip of water or swallowing to quench the urge instead.

5. Relax your muscles.

In regards to taking good care of your voice, it is also very important to keep your throat and neck muscles relaxed throughout both the rehearsal and performance processes. For example, it is not good practise to tilt your head up on high notes and down on low notes as this causes stress and tension to the muscles, rather than relaxation. Likewise, if the rest of the muscles in your body are relaxed, it's easier for you throat to too, therefore it might be a good idea to participate in warm up exercises for your whole body which will help it get into that ideal relaxed state, ready to perform.

6. Don't smoke.

Not only does smoking raise the risk of laryngeal (voice box) and throat cancer tremendously, inhaling smoke, even secondhand smoke can also cause irritation and inflammation of the vocal chords that can lead to your voice becoming unhealthily husky, hoarse and weak.

7. Support your breathing.

Breath flow is the power for you voice. Take time to fill your lungs before starting to talk and don't wait until you are almost out of air before taking another breath to power your voice.

8. Rest your voice.

Make sure that you allow yourself regular "vocal naps" every day, especially during periods of extended use.

9. Consider amplification where possible.

When you have to perform speak publicly, to large groups, particularly outdoors, think about using amplification such as a microphone to lessen the strain on your voice.

10. Listen to your voice.

When your voice is complaining to you, listen to it. If your throat feels dry or tired, or your voice is getting hoarse this is a warning sign that your vocal cords are irritated. Know that this means you need to modify and decrease your voice use in order to allow them to recover. When you're sick, spare your voice. Pushing your voice when it is already hoarse can lead to severe problems. Listen to what your voice is telling you.

Angelique Rodrigues

Lesson Evaluation 08/10/15

Subtle:

Don't always have to be over the top. You're intentions can still be portrayed successfully by using facial expressions, body language, movement and vocal skills subtly. Not overacting. Making the audience feel the message of the performance through subtle actions.

Sophisticated:

It takes a certain level of sophistication to act naturalistically without laughing or messing around.

Going the next steps further into naturalism, especially for our age.

Synthesised:

Pulls things together from your knowledge to create something thoughtful, innovative and interesting.

Theatre Company

Company Objective/Ethos:

To teach young people from local schools a moral relatable to their age, through performance or workshop activities.

Type of theatre:

Theatre in education

Performance Demands

• Looked at text
• Looked at character
• What that character demands from you 
• Make choices about how to meet the demands
• Examples of specific exercises you've participated in in order to meet the demands