The System

To start off the work on "look back in anger" we looked at creating a realistic character and looked at "the System" which was created by Stanislavski to help actors to create a realistic and believable character. "The System" is made up of three things: relaxation, concentration and imagination. Relaxation is needed in character development because it is impossible to become comfortable in a character if you are not relaxed, when you are relaxed you can let a character flow without any physical restrictions. Concentration is extremely important when thinking about your character this is due to the need to be focused on a character and their back story, this will help an actor to immerse themselves in the character world and feel what the character feels. Concentration on what is supposed to be happening around a character aids actors to picture it and for it to become real on their mind. Imagination ties all of this characterization together because without imagination you wouldn't be able to put yourself in your characters shoes; imagination supports your emotional connection with the character and helps you to sustain the character through a production.         The difference between Brecht and Stanislavski when it comes to character development is quite big whereas Brecht was more about the big picture of a show including things such as: set, music, audience etc... Stanislavski was more focused on actor training, character development and creating realistic and naturalistic scenes. Today we learnt about the threshold of which when crossed actors immerse themselves in their work and this helps tremendously with character development as it gets actors in the correct mood and forces them to get into their fictional world of which they will inhabit for the rest of their working hours.