CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: ENRICHING A SCENE OR MONOLOGUE THROUGH THE USE OF ARCHETYPES

credit:  www.acupoll.com

Have you ever rehearsed a monologue or scene only to feel or receive feedback that it is somewhat "flat"?   Consider infusing/experimenting with a few different archetypes as you say your lines.  
Recently in my actors working group, we have been exploring archetypes.   Honestly in the beginning, it was initially a little "out there" for me (chanting mantras, doing sexy dances, holding/rubbing a talisman, performing character transitions to a new age bell...).  But last week, I saw the practicality of it when we infused about three archetypes into our monologues to give them color.  

You may be asking, "What is an archetype?"  An archetype represents fundamental human motifs and emotions.  The term archetype has ancient Greek origins.  Archein means original/old and typos means pattern, model, or type and combined archein/typo aka archetype means, ''original pattern."  When studying archetypes, you may also hear the psychologist, Carl Jung's, name thrown about.  He is known for using archetypes to describe the human psyche.  He believed archetypes - universal, mythic characters - reside in the unconsciousness of people.    In layman's terms, you can almost think of archetypes as a stereotyping a "type" of person/animal/character.  In your mind or on a piece of paper, reflect on your stereotypes of the  hero, devil, lover, spiritual leader, trickster archetypes?  

Trickster

In more detail, think of how the archetype might walk, their mantra, characteristics, center of gravity. The chart below reviews some but not all archetypes.   You can link to explanations of some additional archetypes in the paragraph above (in blue).  As you may notice from the picture at the top of the page, links, and charts,  differing authors/scholars have their own way of labeling archetypes. 

Hero

Archetype	Centre of Gravity	Mantra	Specificity
HERO	High – lower chest	“Of course I can”	Walk tall, willingly shoulder immense responsibilities without regard to personal cost; have a keen sense of the correct way of doing things; only draw your weapon if you intend to use it (and always strike true); act from the purest of possible motives; polite and well-mannered; simplest action is construed as conflict – it takes immense strength to be frivolous.
FOOL	Very low - groin area	“I don’t understand”	Soften the knees, lower the centre of gravity, make a low crude gesture in front of the groin and laugh; focus on objects in the room without recognition; give body away to gravity; be lost inside your head, in a world of your own, with a very short attention span; emotionally open, uninhibited; high pain threshold.
CHILD	Quite high – upper chest	“Ok”	Live in the present; be direct, factual attitude; accept everything at face value – no sub-text; truthful; no opinion; no self-doubt; spontaneous and free.
HUNTRESS	Centre – belly area	“I am very strong”	Walk tall, lightly, run and leap (as if over brooks, or fallen logs in a forest); take pleasure in leaping and listening; feel strong, powerful, with feline stealth and agility; confident of physical powers, confront everything on your own terms, no compromise, no ties, prefers independence; enjoy emotional and physical strength; beholden to no-one and fearing no-one.
MAIDEN	High – centre of chest	“I’m ready”	Slightly incline head to one side, with eye-line towards floor; take small light steps across floor, then rest and smile slightly; change direction with unconscious, natural grace; transformative tendency; living with a secret, on the cusp between innocence and knowing, neither child nor adult; innocence and physical assurance, unaware of sexual potency (hence possible confusion of messages)
MOTHER	Centre	“I understand”	Imagine carrying a large, not too heavy bundle. Find a way of carrying it, which would be endurable over a very, very long distance.  Carry it with great concern, care. Strong and direct; capable of enormous hard work and inner sacrifice, with knowledge of inner strength, she can face the world with dignity. Enduring acceptance of the inevitability of change. Difficult to shock, harder to frighten. Greatest weakness is inability to take risks; prefers careful security. Disarmingly honest, realistic about people.; honesty, propensity for forgiveness; deep overwhelming love to humankind; part of eternal cycle of life; Keen sense of grim inevitability of life.
TRICKSTER	Low – lower belly	“Maybe”	Smile, move across to a wall and lean; languid; smile through life – ambiguous quality (are you laughing at, or with others? – don’t let on); outwardly charming, amusing, jolly, full of fun; never shows true feelings; highly manipulative.
HERMIT	Centre – belly area	“I know”	Think of space beneath pelvis; move around room with strong sense of pain in the body, change direction on the sound of the secret message which only you can hear – and which you must act upon immediately; vary responses (urgent, delicate); be skilled at being blind; preoccupied with world of shadows, spirits, messages; erratic and unpredictable; detached from physical quest; challenge is to stay on the path; aware of ALL, beyond dogma.     (Chart/table adapted by Floyd Kennedy/being-in-voice.com from “The Voices of the Archetypes of Myth” - J. Wright, and Frankie Armstrong)

Now,  go get your monologue or scene.  What archetypes would be best for your scene or monologue?  In the beginning, divide your scene or monologue into thirds, choose three archetypes and play each third with three different archetypes.   As you rehearse find more appropriate beats and infuse appropriate archetypes into the beats.  Experiment with intensity of your archetypes.  Play the archetype as a 1 (least intense) to a 5 (most intense).  You can also have a friend call out one of your chosen archetypes and/or varying intensity levels  as you are rehearsing/performing.   Play with the intensity and archetypes.  Are there any other appropriate archetypes you could use? If so, examine those. Now, is your scene or monologue more interesting?  Does it have more texture?