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mikejmurray
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Quote mikejmurray Replybullet Topic: Spine of a play
    Posted: 12/13/06 at 7:25pm

I am a young director who openly admits his inexperience. I am reading the book On Directing by Harold Clurman. He says that the first step is defining the "spine" of the play, which is the main action expressed in a verb (ex. "To posses the Farm" could be the spine of Desire Under The Elm. "To seek the Truth" could be for Hamlet). Every character must tie into the spine somehow.

I was wondering if anyone could give some tips on how they choose the spine. It seems difficult to choose one statement which affects every character. I am directing the play Harvey and I was thinking my Spine could be "To find Acceptance", or "To build relationships"  because in my view every character seems to want to be accepted by society or by a person. I would welcome any advice or opinions. Thanks.
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Quote falstaff29 Replybullet Posted: 12/13/06 at 9:39pm
Like most of those acting gurus, this is just a time-wasting exercise.  Making up character backstories, spines, motivations.... nobody in the audience thinks in those terms, so you shouldn't either.  Whatever you and the cast agree the spine is, you're not communicating that better than any other potential spine (unless, I suppose, you make it a tagline, and have the set for Elsinore castle graffitoed with "Seek the Truth!").

Instead, approach considerations of the point of the play more functionally, as in, "Do I want the audience to laugh?  To cry?  To be disgusted?  To hate the main character?  To be sympathetic towards him?  To be ambivalent?  etc"
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Quote Joan54 Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 8:44am
Have any of you read "The Salterton Trilogy" by Robertson Davies?  There is a wonderful scene in there where an actor decides that he will consume 9 grapes as he says his closing monolog because the number nine has some mystical significance to his character and the grapes symbolize something else.. ( as though the audience would understand this).....and no one can understand what he is saying because he has his mouth full of grapes.
Don't make this harder than it already is.....
"behind a thin wall of logic panic is waiting to stampede"
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Quote B-M-D Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 9:28am

It's Harvey for cryin' out loud.   The premise alone should be enough to get by on.   I agree with Joan54, don't make it harder than it already is.   Like Freud (or was it Goucho Marx) said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

 
BD

"Dying is easy, comedy is hard."
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mikejmurray
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Quote mikejmurray Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 10:10am
I thought it was a bit strange but since the book seems to be so respected in the industry, I figured I should at least give it a try.... Thanks for the comments... It does seem a little abstract where I think I should be focusing more on the funcionality, as falstaff said.
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Quote Juror #3 Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 12:52pm
Originally posted by falstaff29

Like most of those acting gurus, this is just a time-wasting exercise.  Making up character backstories, spines, motivations.... nobody in the audience thinks in those terms, so you shouldn't either.  Whatever you and the cast agree the spine is, you're not communicating that better than any other potential spine (unless, I suppose, you make it a tagline, and have the set for Elsinore castle graffitoed with "Seek the Truth!").

Instead, approach considerations of the point of the play more functionally, as in, "Do I want the audience to laugh?  To cry?  To be disgusted?  To hate the main character?  To be sympathetic towards him?  To be ambivalent?  etc"
 
I disagree with Falstaff29.  It doesn't matter if the audience thinks in those terms or not, you and your actors should.  You all need to know more than the audience about the characters, what preceded the action of the play, what happens after the action and so on, so that you will know how to answer the questions Falstaff asks.  If the audience, say, is to be disgusted by a character's actions, what will precipitate that disgust?  Why is the character disgusting?  Does the character know he/she is disgusting? Do the other characters feel he/she is disgusting?  If you create a backstory, examine the "spine" of the play, you will understand better what you want your actors to do.  If you are the actor, you will have a better understanding of this person whose shoes you are standing in.
I will grant that there are many plays where such an examination serves no real purpose.  Maybe Harvey is one.  I played Elwood and, truth to tell, I gave a lot of thought to what had made him the way he is.  Perhaps another actor wouldn't need to do that or feel any motivation to do it.  I think it helps to decide some things for yourself, whether acting or directing.
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Quote castMe Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 5:36pm
Although I agree that backstory is generally a waste of time, I believe each story and character do have spines.  It's not usually something I go looking for, but it's hard to deny the reality of the spine or "red thread" or "golden thread".  I can usually find it for specific characters,  but have a difficult time identifying the story's spine. 

My comments about backstory notwithstanding, I have no objection to actors working them out on their own, but have never asked anyone to generate one for me.  I'd rather have them learning their lines. 
Investigate. Imagine. Choose.
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Quote EddyZ Replybullet Posted: 12/14/06 at 6:31pm
I don't know that I like the concept of a "spine" with regard to plays or characters.  It reminds me too much of a Mission Statement.  Every company thinks they need one, spends so much time toiling to write one,  but then never follows it or goes all-out obsessive-compulsive nazish trying to adhere to it.

I think I'd prefer the concept of leitmotivs (recurring themes or movements).  There may be more than one, but they should always be recognizable.  They may be characterizations, they may be symbolism, they may be rhythm in the timing of certain exchanges between characters. They don't even need to have been intended by the author, you can create them on your own.  (Mind you, you can also overdo it.)
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Quote mikejmurray Replybullet Posted: 12/15/06 at 10:08am
I do think it's important that every character have a through-line, or super-objective (which I guess can be called a spine). I just don't know if an entire play needs one... I believe you should choose a theme to base the play on.  As to whether a theme is the same thing as a spine, I don't know. It doesn't seem to be, at least not based on what Clurman says...
 
I think it's important for the actors to create character bios and backstories. Not necessarily written out, but it should be thought out. I agree with Juror #3 - the actor playing Elwood needs to examine his past and why he is the way he is.
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Quote tristanrobin Replybullet Posted: 12/15/06 at 11:25am
I believe that discovering the spine of the play - and vocalizing it with the cast - and each actor finding where his/her place fits into that spine is very important. I feel NOT willing to do the work to find out the most basic aspect of the script is why so many CT productions are lacklustre and not emotionally involving. It's not because of a lack of talent or lack of commitment...it's simply just not doing the work that is required to have a fully fleshed-out interpretation. How can anybody hope to do a good interpretation of the author's intent without knowing what his intent was?!
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