Character obligation refers to the aspects of the character that are specific and integral to the actor creating a believable character in the scene. A character obligation is an aspect or quality of a character that an actor may explore through various techniques or approaches. Some obligations are subtle and some are more obvious. They can be broken down into categories of physical, intelectual, emotional and psychological. Most scenes in scenestation do not require actors to make vast changes to their physicality; for example - working with a physical disability. But all the characters in the scenes will have elements that need to be emphasised or explored as character obligations. In Morally Bankrupt for example: the character of Penny has a character trait that leads her into trouble on countless occasions. Because this quality is integral to the part of Penny the actor will need to look at this aspect as a psychological character obligation. In Dr Charles is Late the character of Melissa is in a state of high anxiety, which is necessary to propel the comedy of the scene. The actor playing Melissa will need to explore this area either as a character or an emotional obligation or both if she is fulfill the obligations of the material.
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