Character Development for Actors - Uncovering the Moment Before

As you set out to develop a character within a script, there are numerous processes you must go through. Perhaps one of the most important of these is discovering the "moment before" a scene starts. This is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself, and it helps to set the emotional tone for your character at the beginning of a scene.

What is "The Moment Before?"

Well, the "moment before" is exactly as it seems. This is what your character was doing or thinking immediately before he enters a scene. This questions does not only answer what your character was doing physically, but also how he will be reacting and carrying himself emotionally.

How to Discover

Uncovering the "moment before" can be accomplished through several means. The first, is to rely on the script to help give you guidelines for what your character was doing. For example, in the dialogue one character says, "Thank you for meeting me on your lunch break." This line indicates that your character was previously at work, school or was doing some sort of obligated activity.

However, if the script does not indicate what your character was physically doing before the scene, you must become creative. Think about the day of the week within the script. Does your character go to school or work? Does he have his own home or is he renting? Does he have a hobby? What does your character do on free time?

Answering these questions will help you cultivate the "moment before" when it is not written out in the scene.

Emotions

There is nothing more off-putting than an actor coming into a scene with the wrong emotional outlook. The starting emotion of your scene is important as it is what you use to build off of. For example, in a scene where the character enters in a happy mood, but escalates into a serious or angry one due to the interactions within the scene is best portrayed when the actor has true happy feeling based off of his previous moments.

We live our lives moment-to-moment, and the emotions of one moment can dramatically alter based on the next moment. In order to cultivate a character that delivers realistic and sincere emotions, you must understand what the "moment before" was, and how it is being used in the story to build on the plot and emotional intensity.