Mike Alfred Applied

Mike Alfred's was a strong believer in actors and not the set. He believed that an actor should be able to be completely engulfed in their character without the need for set or costume and that the actors preparation on the character should be projected clearly enough onto the audience without the need for visual help. Due to this. Alfred devised many exercises to help the actor get into their role and become their character. One of his exercises which we did was noticing withing the play what your character says about themselves and what others say about them. This is a good start to building your character and seeing the plain facts which the playwright has presented for you. Below are a few quotes concerning how my character exists within the play:

What my character says about herself:

• 'I don't want to be fourteen'
• 'Perhaps I won't be here at all'
• 'I'm going to dress like a fairy queen underneath' 
• 'I would have run away long ago'
• 'I would have asked her'
• 'Melchi Gabor told me'
• 'I seem to be lost'
• 'I lay on the grass for ages dreaming'
• 'I dreamed I was a poor beggar child'
• 'I go hot and cold all over whenever she talks about it'
• 'I've never been beaten in my life'
• 'I've sometimes tried beating myself to find out'
• 'So now I've become an Aunite for the third time, with one niece and two nephews' 
• 'I really don't have much sense'
• 'I still have no idea how it all happens'
• 'I won't get better, I've got dropsy and I'm going to die. Mother I'm going to die.'

What the other characters say about my character:

• 'Other girls are so gangly and awkward at your age. You're the opposite.' Mrs Bergmann
• 'You're talking nonsense Wendla, utter nonsense!' Thea
• 'I'd be proud if I were you' Martha 
• 'Just look at the way she walks, her level gaze, the way she holds herself, if that isn't pride!' Thea
• 'I would say you were a wood nymph that's fallen out of the branches' Melchior
• 'I've heard that you often visit the poor' Melchior 
• 'So you visit the poor because it gives you pleasure' Melchior 
• 'You, Wendla Bergmann, toss your hair and laugh' Melchior 
• 'I know where you get this from, Wendla, from stupid children stories!' Melchior
• 'Stop it Wendla, I'm not going to beat you' Melchior 
• 'When will you ever grow up' Mrs Bergmann
• 'I love you as little as you love me' Melchior
• 'His transgression may yet bring about her happiness' Mrs Gabor
• 'I told her to stop her daughter from climbing into haylofts' Mr Gabor
• 'I'm sure she hates me because I took away her freedom' Melchior
• 'You're going to have a baby Wendla. You're expecting a baby' Mrs Bergmann
• 'I killed her. I murdered her' Melchior 

I've highlighted the key quotes which I think sum up Wendla and her characteristics. This exercise helped me see plainly what Wedekind had written about my character and was a good foundation to start building my own interpretation of Wendla. I found it interesting that Melchior is the one who says the most about Wendla, and I believe this is because when they are around each other they seem to be on the same level and therefore feel a strong trust between each other. During the woodland scene Wendla opens up to Melchior, revealing her hidden desire to get beaten and then asking him to fulfill that. Wendla is different to the others girls in that she wants to explore the unknown and will seek it until she finds it. I think the way she acts around her friends is interesting because she seems to be the ''leader'' but wants what Martha has. These points back up Wendla's innocence due to the suppressed society she lives in and through doing this exercise I have gained a wider understanding of Wendla and the world in which Wedekind created her in.