Give me a status!

On stage, as in life, everyone has a status. Status is our position relative to other people.A place in the pecking order or hierarchy if you will. If an actor knows his status on stage at any given moment, it can go a long way to help with character development.

Now some status' are easily seen. The King is of high status talking to a peasant. Ahh, but what if the King is in hiding and desperately needs food? Now there is a shift of power, and the peasant suddenly has more status than the King. The Football star has high status, but if he is failing Geometry suddenly his geeky tutor may take on great status.

Status is fluid, and in many plays, the status of a character shifts during the show. Someone of low status at the start of the show may take power or get power and suddenly the status rises, causing the status of those around them to fall. Having that knowledge of where you rank to the other characters around you, makes a huge impact on delivery and attitude when delivering lines.

When working in a script, jot down where you are in relation to others on stage with you in a scene, and mark where you see and change in status.

J.T. Turner
The Actors Sensei
Private and group lessons for all ages in Acting and Speech


jtturneractor@gmail.com