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lifeinacartoonart · 7 months

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CREATING AUTHENTIC DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHARACTERS: A WRITER'S JOURNAL

Introduction

Creating authentic characters in your writing is essential for engaging storytelling, and this includes characters who are deaf or hard of hearing. To craft a character that accurately represents this community, it's crucial to do your research, gain a deep understanding of their experiences, and portray them with sensitivity and respect. In this journal, we'll explore how to write a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, including key information and preparation steps.

Understanding Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Characters

Research: Start by researching deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals' experiences, challenges, and culture. Read books, articles, and personal stories, and watch documentaries or interviews featuring members of the Deaf community.

Consult with Experts: Reach out to members of the Deaf community or experts in Deaf studies to gain insights into their experiences. They can provide invaluable guidance and help you avoid common misconceptions.

Diversity Within the Community: Understand that the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities are diverse. Some individuals communicate using sign language, while others rely on lip-reading, cochlear implants, or hearing aids. Be aware of these differences when creating your character.

Character Development

Backstory and Identity: Consider your character's background. Were they born deaf, or did they become deaf later in life? How do they identify within the Deaf community? Understanding their identity and experiences will shape their character.

Language and Communication: Decide how your character communicates. Are they fluent in sign language, or do they primarily rely on lip-reading and spoken language? Their communication style will influence their interactions with other characters.

Cultural Awareness: Explore the cultural aspects of the Deaf community. Understand the importance of Deaf culture, including its history, art, and values. Incorporate these elements into your character's life when relevant.

Writing Tips

Dialogue and Communication: When writing dialogue for a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, be mindful of their unique communication style. Use visual cues, body language, and facial expressions to convey emotions and context.

Access to Information: Consider the challenges your character may face in accessing information. This could involve issues with closed captioning, subtitles, or accommodations in educational or work settings.

Social Interactions: Depict social interactions realistically. Show how your character navigates conversations, group dynamics, and social events within their community and with hearing individuals.

Preparation

Sensitivity Readers: Consider hiring sensitivity readers who are part of the Deaf or hard-of-hearing community to review your work and provide feedback. Their insights can help you avoid stereotypes and inaccuracies.

Learn Sign Language: If your character uses sign language, take the time to learn at least basic signs. This will not only enrich your writing but also demonstrate your commitment to accuracy.

Beta Readers: Seek feedback from a diverse group of beta readers who can assess the authenticity of your character and offer constructive criticism.

Engage with the Community: Attend Deaf community events, workshops, or online forums to immerse yourself in the culture and better understand the perspectives and experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.

Creating a deaf or hard-of-hearing character that resonates with readers requires dedication, empathy, and thorough research. By following these steps and embracing the rich culture and diversity of the Deaf community, you can create a character that is not only authentic but also promotes understanding and inclusivity in your writing. In addition, when writing dialogue for your deaf or hard-of-hearing character, remember:

It's important to clarify why, when writing dialogue for a deaf character, you should continue to use structured English grammar and not sign language structured grammar.

Maintaining Structured English Grammar:

Readability: Writing in structured English grammar ensures that the text remains accessible and comprehensible to all readers, including those who may not be familiar with sign language or Deaf culture. It avoids potential confusion that could arise from using sign language grammar in written text.

Universal Understanding: English is a global language, and adhering to its grammar rules allows for a wider audience to understand and engage with your story. Sign language grammar varies between different sign languages, making it less universally applicable in written form.

Respect for the Medium: While sign language is a rich and expressive mode of communication, it is primarily a visual and gestural language. Attempting to replicate sign language grammar in written text can be cumbersome and may not fully capture the nuances of sign language communication.

Balance of Realism and Readability: Striking a balance between authenticity and readability is crucial in storytelling. Maintaining structured English grammar while depicting a deaf character's interactions helps convey the character's experience without compromising the reader's ability to follow the narrative.

As an illustration, consider the following text: Dialogues with Descriptive Sign Language:

Sarah greeted John with a warm smile, her hands moving gracefully as she signed, "Hi, how are you?"

John returned the greeting in sign language, his expressions mirroring his words. "I'm good, thanks. Did you see the new movie?"

Sarah's eyes lit up as she signed back enthusiastically, "Yes, I loved it!"

In summary, using structured English grammar when writing dialogue for a deaf character is a practical and respectful choice that ensures your writing remains inclusive and accessible to a broad audience while still authentically representing the character's identity and experiences.

Furthermore, it's essential to avoid creating a character who is overly perfect or one-dimensional. In real life, we understand that everyone has imperfections and complexities, regardless of whether they are deaf or hard of hearing. Therefore, it's entirely acceptable to depict your character as a villain with a hearing issue if that aligns with your storytelling goals.

#writing deaf characters #hard of hearing #writing tips #writing resources #sign language #bsl #asl #auslan #fiction writing #building a character #writing guilde #writing characters with disibilities

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elenjaxx · 1 year

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“Building a Character” Stanislavski.

(como siempre, la traducción al español después del gif separador):

To many theatre fans, Stanislavski is the maximum authority. I don’t think so because I feel that his students and his students’ students are way better than him. However, we cannot forget his ideas are the origin of many theater rules. Besides, he says we don’t need to follow his truth, but be our truth, so he gets an A on propper thinking. Stanislavski had a therapist complex or maybe theater has always been therapy?

As in many of his books, the techniques he shows are presented through the eyes of his (invented) students when they start rehearsing for Tortsov (his alter ego) while listening to his madness. Therefore, we follow Kostya’s point of view throughout the chapters:

Towards a Physical Characterization

My favourite thing of this chapter was when I was reading it, since I found strength to fight many fears of that time. I had just started my training in textual interpretation and voice over, but sadly we were on the middle of the pandemic, when we could go outside but… not that much, you know. Back then, the masking thing made me sad, because I thought many beautiful emotions were lost in the process. However, I am so thankful for my acting training and this book, since “the eyes hold all of your personality” (33) as Stanislavski says, as my teacher said and now as I say.

The general content of this chapter is quite interesting as well. By observing the world, you can build the external characterization. Your experiences, or your friends’, or even observing a painting. The only rule is that when you are observing you must never loose your inner self (37). To sum up, observe the world and use it to your own profit, but never became a copy of somebody else. Sounds cool.

Dressing a Character

Kostya panics when his group has to prepare a masquerade. He doesn’t know how to dress, what makeup he shall use, nothing. He doesn’t know who he wants to be. The beauty of this chapter appears when he gets out of that loop and lets go. He becomes an external observer of himself and most importantly he enjoys playing with dresses, makeup, etc until he finally builds up his character. Dressing the character up becomes such a natural activity because he becomes his character, but he doesn’t lose himself in the process. In other words, you can find the character in one of your truths. That is why it is so important to get to know yourself. That is why theater is so addictive. It's a wonderful search

Characters and Types

The best of this chapter is Torstov sassiness. Think about it for a second: how would you play an old character? Cracked back and glasses on their big noses, right? And an aristocrat? Egocentric and haughty. Right?

Okay but, is that deep enough? Those ideas are only cliches, they don’t hold the essence of the character and are not individualized (60). You need to dig deep down to find the real meaning of each character. So, forget about archetypes, since they feel like insults.

Besides, he mocks some actors that think they don’t need to prepare because their characterizations are just their own charm (54), although he also reminds us that it is beautiful to show our features, good or bad, not hide them behind a handsome image (65). Why I understood from this is that the mask we use on stage (whether tangible or mental) is nothing else but a tool to explore our long forgotten emotions. Kostya, for instance, was able to play “The Critic”. He is not grumpy nor arrogant, but we all feel those emotions sometimes, and throughout that character he had the opportunity to explore them from outside.

Making the Body Expressive

No gesture in acting is accidental (84) and that is the key of this chapter. Torstov gives the example of ballet dancers. They adopt unnatural postures trying to find beauty. However, that is not acting. It has to be natural and it has to make sense.

On the other hand, he encourages us to explore other disciplines to take care of our body. From ballet itself, learning how to use the fifth position or learning the bar splits can actually relocate your hips and improve your equilibrium, etc. Same for everything else really: strength exercises for your control and equilibrium, cardio for your resistance and breathing and finally a healthy diet and somehow abundant to give you enough energy for the day. In other words, your body is your instrument, not only in acting but also in life. To the extent of your possibilities, take care of it!

Plasticity of Motion

The author decides to mock us directly: we don’t know how to walk! (93). Well, he is right though. I have uneven hips and flat feet, of course I don’t know how to walk! But nobody really knows, as funny as it might sound, because nobody really cares. However, while acting, every movement has its reaction towards another movement, forever. Torstov makes his students imagine a mercury ball running through their bodies, thus they have to keep it away from the ground. It reminds me of tai chi, it would be nice to practice it a little!

Restraint and control

Emotions do not always need to be fully expressed. In fact, restrained emotions are quite normal. For example, if someone is immersed in a terrifying drama, something out of their control, tears are going to drown them, their voice is going to crack or they might even get paralized. After time, they find a way to express themselves.

Diction and Singing

This chapter analyses the qualities of vowels and consonants, and demonstrates the use of singing to explore and expand the vocal range. I will definitely explore this in other posts.

Tone and pauses

Key to this chapter is the importance of subtext in the delivery of lines. For instance, the word “love” might mean nothing to a non english speaker, but fuelled with emotion, used in a precise context, its meaning is endless, and they do not even need to know the language to understand it.

Funnily enough, this is very much related to the dramatic pause, and that reminds me of the best example…

Accentuation: the expressive word

Torstov emphasizes that reproducing a text or transmitting an emotion are not the main goals of an actor. Those words and emotions must provoke something, or nothing you’ll do would ever make sense. He advices to talk to the eyes, not to the ears of our scene partner. And that, outside fancy explanations, is a great tip if you are working on stage. You need to know how to react to your partner, whatever happens.

Perspective in character building

When a character is in development, there are two points of view: one of the character an one of the actor. This is crucial to understand. The actor knows what is going to happen with the character, but the character cannot know its future. Even though their actions move them towards the final goal and thus the actor must remember that future accordingly, the actor cannot allow the character to move knowing what is going to happen next. It wouldn’t be realistic.

Tempo and rhythm in movement

No comments on this section since I am going to develop these ideas further in other posts.

Speech tempo and rhythm

No comments on this section since I am going to develop these ideas further in other posts. (To be honest, I actually got bored, but shhh)

Stage Charm

My favourite part of this chapter was the difference between two types of people on this dramatic world: The pretty ones and the hidden ones. I think we can sum up the first with that typical “never meet your idols” thing. An actor of this short can do whatever they like, even being a bad actor. Their charm is in what they are selling to their fans, not the character they are playing. And when their physical beauty fades or their true intentions are shown, fans get truly disappointed. The second one is not the goal of a good actor either. They can be charming with masks and makeups and amazing dresses and more, but what remains underneath of it all?

Towards an Ethic for Theater

I created a list before with the general advice from this chapter and some more I want to add, but here is a summary: respect, respect and respect. Respect your peers, the text, the final goal, the techs, the audience, the punctuality, the half broken chair. EVERYTHING.

From the conscious to the unconscious. + Advice.

Those two kinda sum up the whole book. The last one seems to be gathering all the main ideas but the one before is quite interesting: Torstov asks his students to organize his teachings in a hierarchical order. Careful, it is a tricky question!

What do you think it is the most important teaching?

If anything I’m sharing is of your interest or helps you out, do you perhaps want to buy me a coffee? You can do it in the kofi banner on my blog or directly in paypal.me/elenjaxxms. Only if you can and want to do it.

Thank you so much and see you next time!

_______________________________________________________

“Construcción del Personaje” Stanislavski.

Para muchos fanáticos del teatro, Stanislavski es la autoridad. Yo no lo creo así, ya que tengo la sensación de que sus estudiantes, y los estudiantes de sus estudiantes, le dan mil vueltas. Pero no podemos dudar que es el orígen de muchas reglas en el mundo del teatro. Además, él mismo dice que no hay que decir su verdad, sino nuestra verdad, y se lleva un diez por mi parte. ¿Stainislavski tenía complejo de psicólogo o es que en realidad el teatro siempre ha sido terapia?.

Como en la mayoría de sus libros, las técnicas e ideas que nos propone las descubrimos siguiendo la historia de sus estudiantes (inventados) cuando van a los ensayos de Tortsov (su alterego) y escuchan sus locuras. Seguimos por tanto los pensamientos de Kostya por cada uno de estos capítulos:

Hacia una caracterización física

Lo que más me gustó de este capítulo fueron las circunstancias en las que lo leí, porque el libro me hizo aprender a enfrentarme a ellas. Había comenzado mis estudios de interpretación textual poco después de que abrieran las puertas con la pandemia, cuando todavía existía gente preocupada de verdad que usaba mascarillas de verdad. Por aquel entonces, me ponía un poco triste, porque se escondían gestos y emociones preciosas tras las mascarillas, así que agradezco cada día el haber empezado a estudiar interpretación en esta época. “Los ojos pueden expresar toda la personalidad” (33), dice Stanislavski, y dice mi profe, y ahora también lo digo yo.

El contenido general del capítulo es también bastante interesante. La caracterización externa de los personajes se hace observando el mundo. Se extrae de tu experiencia vital, o la de tus amigos, o incluso la extraes observando un cuadro. La única condición es que cuando se esté llevando esa investigación externa, no perdamos nuestro yo interior (37). En resumen, observa el mundo y utilízalo en tu beneficio pero no seas una copia. Suena bien.

Vistiendo un personaje

Aquí Kostya se desespera cuando el grupo tiene que preparar una mascarada. No sabe qué llevar, con qué maquillarse, ni nada. No sabe quién quiere ser. Lo bonito de este capítulo es cuando sale del bucle de la desesperación y se deja llevar. Se convierte en un observador externo de sí mismo y lo más importante, disfruta jugando con los disfraces, maquillajes, etc, hasta que construye su personaje. Vestirlo se convierte en un ejercicio muy natural ya que es una simbiosis con él, pero sin perderse. En otras palabras, sacas al personaje de una de tus verdades. Por eso es tan importante conocerse a uno mismo. Y por eso mucha gente se engancha al teatro. Es una búsqueda preciosa.

Personajes y tipos

Lo mejor sin duda de este capítulo es esa pequeña bofetada que Torstov da a los lectores. Pensad por un momento: ¿cómo interpretaríais a un anciano? Con la espalda corvada o las gafas en la nariz. ¿Y a un aristócrata? Altanero y egocéntrico, ¿a que sí?

Bien, ¿y qué profundidad tiene eso? Son sólo clichés, no contienen la esencia del personaje ni están individualizados (60). Hay que escarbar mucho más para encontrar la verdadera definición de cada personaje. Olvidémonos de arquetipos, eso resulta insultante.

Además, también tiene para los personajes que somos nosotros mismos. Regaña a algunos actores, que no sienten la necesidad de preparar caracterizaciones porque adaptan sus papeles a su atractivo personal (54), pero nos recuerda que lo verdaderamente bonito es mostrar nuestros rasgos, buenos y malos, sin ocultarnos detrás de una imagen (65). Lo que yo entiendo de esto es que la máscara que nos pongamos en escena (sea real o una caracterización más mental), no es más que una herramienta para ayudarnos a explorar algunas de nuestras emociones más olvidadas. Kostya, por ejemplo, pudo sacar al “crítico”. Él no es arrogante ni gruñón, pero todos tenemos esas emociones en algún momento, y la caracterización del personaje le permitió explorarlas desde dentro y observarlas desde fuera.

Haciendo el cuerpo expresivo

Al actuar no debe hacerse ningún gesto porque sí (84), esa es la clave del capítulo. Pone por ejemplo a los bailarines de ballet. Adoptan posturas poco naturales intentando buscar una gran belleza. Sin embargo, eso no es actuar. Tiene que ser natural, sí, pero tiene que tener sentido.

Por otro lado, nos anima a explorar varias disciplinas para cuidar nuestro cuerpo. Del ballet mismo, por ejemplo, aprender a andar en quintas o hacer los splits en barra ayudan a colocar la cadera, proporcionan equilibrio, etc. Lo mismo para todo lo demás, hacer entrenamientos de fuerza ayudan al control y al equilibrio; los de cardio mejoran tu resistencia y educan tu respiración; y finalmente una dieta sana y medianamente abundante nos proporciona la energía que necesitamos. En otras palabras, el cuerpo es el instrumento del actor. Y, por mi parte, creo que deberíamos añadir aquí que el cuerpo es el instrumento de todo el mundo. Hasta donde podamos llegar, debemos cuidarlo.

Plasticidad de movimiento

Aquí el autor decide burlarse de todos nosotros. ¡¡No sabemos andar!! (93). No lo niego. Tengo la cadera desigual y los pies planos, claro que no sé andar!!! La gracia es que nadie sabe, porque nadie se fija. Pero, al actuar, cada movimiento tiene una reacción hacia otro movimiento, de forma infinita. Torstov hace que sus estudiantes imaginen jugar con una bola de mercurio, imaginando que la pasan por todo su cuerpo. Esto me recordó a alguna técnica del Tai Chi, y creo que sería interesante que todos pudiéramos practicarlo.

Restricción y control

Las emociones no siempre tienen que expresarse en su totalidad. De hecho, el contenerlas es lo más humano del mundo. Uno de los ejemplos que pone es cuando alguien está inmerso en un drama aterrorizador, algo que escapa a su control. Las lágrimas ahogan, su voz se quiebra, incluso puede quedarse paralizada. Con el paso del tiempo, va encontrando un espacio para soltar esas emociones fuertes hasta encontrar la calma para hablar de ellas.

Dicción y canto

Este capítulo analiza los rasgos de las vocales y las consonantes, y demuestra que aprender a cantar nos ayuda a mejorar nuestras aptitudes vocales. Sin duda, será algo que explorar en próximas entradas.

Entonaciones y pausas

La clave de este capítulo es la importancia del subtexto al reproducir el guión. Por ejemplo, la palabra "amor" puede no significar nada para una persona que no entienda español, pero si se llena de emoción, si se usa en el momento justo, su significado es infinito, y no necesitan saber esa lengua para entenderlo.

Curiosamente, puede ser lo más divertido de actuar, ya que está intrínsecamente relacionado con la pausa dramática, y no se me ocurre un mejor ejemplo que...

Acentuación: la palabra expresiva

En este capítulo, Torstov insiste en que reproducir el texto o transmitir una emoción no son los objetivos de un actor. Esas palabras y esas emociones deben provocar un efecto, o nada de lo que haga tendrá sentido. Aconseja hablar no al oído, sino al ojo de nuestro compañero en escena. Y esto, fuera de las explicaciones sobre efectos o no efectos, me parece un consejo CLAVE si estás en el teatro. Hay que saber reaccionar a lo que haga tu compañero, pase lo que pase.

Perspectiva en la construcción del personaje

Al irse desarrollando un personaje tenemos dos perspectivas: la del propio personaje y la del actor. Esto es crucial. El actor sabe lo que va a pasar con el personaje, pero el personaje no debe saber su futuro. Si bien es verdad que cada acción lo va a llevar a su objetivo y por tanto el actor debe recordar su futuro, no puede dejar que el personaje se mueva sabiendo exactamente lo que va a pasar. No sería realista.

Tempo – Ritmo en movimiento

Me temo que no voy a decir mucho de esta sección, ya que pretendo hacer contenidos con mayor profundidad sobre este tema.

Tempo del habla – Ritmo

Me temo que no voy a decir mucho de esta sección, ya que pretendo hacer contenidos con mayor profundidad sobre este tema. (Para seros sincera, en realidad me aburrí un poquito, pero shhh).

El Atractivo Escénico

Lo que más me ha gustado de este capítulo es la diferencia que hace entre dos tipos de personas embarcadas en el mundo escénico: Los guapis y los fachaditas. Creo que el primero se puede resumir con un “nunca conozcas a tus ídolos”. Un actor de este tipo puede permitirse de todo, incluso ser un mal actor. Su carisma está en el personaje que ellos venden a sus admiradores, no el personaje de la obra. Y cuando se acaba su belleza física, o cuando salen a la luz sus verdaderas intenciones, sus fans se dan de bruces con la decepción. Por otro lado, el segundo tampoco es el objetivo de un buen actor. Los que utilizan las fachadas pueden ejercer un gran magnetismo escénico entre kilos de maquillaje y pelucas, pero es importante ver lo que hay debajo también.

Hacia una Ética Teatral

Aunque dedicaré una entrada exclusiva con una lista de consejos sacados de aquí y otros que añadiré, os resumo: respeto, respeto, respeto. Respeto a tus compañeros, al texto, al superobjetivo, a los técnicos, a tu público, a la puntualidad, a la butaca medio rota. A TODO.

A través del consciente y hacia el inconsciente. + Pautas.

Junto los dos porque siento que van de la mano. El último parece un resumen de lo aprendido, pero el ante penúltimo es interesantísimo: Torstov propone a sus estudiantes jerarquizar todas las pautas que les ha dado. Atención, ¡tiene trampa!

¿Qué crees tú que es lo más importante?

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¡Muchas gracias y hasta pronto!

#stanislavski #actress #acting #theatre #theater #thespians #teatreros #teatro #actuación #consciente #arte #personajes #construyendo al personaje #building a character

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