Acting Authentically — A Case Study of Character Building Techniques With Three Plays by James Bentley Campbell

This study examines how three character building techniques — the Graham Technique, Psychological Gesture, and Via Negativa — help an actor construct and perform authentic characters. Throughout this study I catalog my personal journey with these technique both in theory and practice. Using Murder in the Asylum, First to See the Lights Go On, and Jumping the League, three one-act plays written by James Bentley Campbell, I took my concept and turned it into a finished project for an audience to see. Using textual analysis, I discuss how these theorists -- Graham, Chekhov, and Grotowski -- came to their ideas. Then, I discuss how I developed the characters, worked in the rehearsal process, and moved the characters from the page into the real world, making them come alive