User's Blogs

<p> Last semester I decided to take a piece from Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" for a monolouge.  Ibsen has always blown my mind as a writer, and was so ahead of his time.  During the time this play was written it was almost unheard of for a woman like Nora's character to take a stand as a woman, be her own person, and admit she was an independant thinker.  My professor gave us a format to follow in disector our character.  It was pretty much a Stanislavski or Method Acting type of approach.  I have found more and more that this technique works best for me.  Understanding a character inside and out is essential in playing a part as well as putting yourself in their shoes, and finding your own way of substituting it with a situation(s) similar in your life.  Below is what I submitted to my professor.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; font-size: 12pt">Bryn Berg                                                                                                                   May 18, 2011</span></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; font-size: 12pt">Theatre Arts 110</span></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> Character Analysis for Monologue #2</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Play:</b>  Ibsen’s <i>A Doll’s House</i></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Character:</b>  Nora Helmer</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b><u>Givens</u></b></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Age:  </b>Late twenties</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Birth Place:  </b>Norway</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Education Level</b>:  Finishing school</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Economic/Social Status</b>:  Nora’s family is upper middle class.  Her husband is a well respected business man on the verge of a promotion for the bank he works for.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Greatest Dream</b>:  Nora wishes to be independent, and no longer have to cow tow to what the men in her life want her to be.  Nora no longer wants to be seen as just a pretty doll.  She wants to have her own thoughts and opinions, and most importantly to be taken seriously as a human being.  She realizes this at the very end of the play.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Greatest Fear</b>:  For most of the play Nora was terrified of her husband finding out about a shady loan she had taken out to actually save his life.  At the end of the play it was being imprisoned in her husbands doll house for the rest of her life, and never having her own identity.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Historical Facts About Nora Helmer</b>:  Nora was a housewife living in the late 19^{<font size="2">th</font>} century Norway.  During this time women were not allowed to be independent thinkers.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Where and When is My Character (Location, Weather, Time, and Season)?</b>  This play takes place is in the late 19^{<font size="2">th</font>} century in Norway during the Christmas season which would make the weather very cold.  The story appears to take place over the course of a few days in Nora and her husbands home. </p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>What happened just before the scene/monologue started?  </b>Nora’s secret of her the money she borrowed illegally was revealed to her husband, and he says horrible and degrading things to her for what she has done. Her husband has also learned blackmail will take place from one of his enemies.  In a sudden plot twist the threat of blackmail is suddenly lifted, and Nora’s significant other changes his tune about his feelings for Nora.  He gives her a long speech about how everything in their lives will go back to how it was.  Nora’s husband has no regard for all of the humiliating insults he has just thrown at Nora, and expects her to just sweep everything he said under the rug.  Nora has a sudden epiphany, and realizes she can no longer pretend to live as her husbands doll, and finally speaks her mind.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b><u>Other</u></b></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>General Relationship:  </b>Torvald is Nora’s husband of eight years.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Specific Relationship</b>:  Nora is smothered by Torvald, and by the end of the play feels that he is holding her back from being her own person with her own thoughts and opinions.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Help/Hurt Nora</b>:  Torvald can help Nora because he can give her a very comfortable and secure life financially.  Torvald can also provide her with a decent place in society.  Torvald can hurt Nora by being selfish, and expecting her to exist to fulfill just his needs.  He is totally oblivious to the fact that Nora wants to be heard, and seen as her own person.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b><u>Destination:  Where/When/What</u></b></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>Objective (What does Nora want from Torvald right now?):  </b>Nora wants her husband Torvald to see her as more than an ornament.  She wants to have finally have a serious conversation after eight years of marriage.  She has already made up her mind to leave their marriage, but wants Torvald to understand that she is departing because he won’t let her be her own person. </p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>What happens to Nora Helmer’s world if she does not achieve her objective</b>?  In my eyes it would be very devastating to Nora if she was not able to get through to Torvald about her feelings.  She spent eight years in a smothering marriage pretending to be happy.  Nora chooses to leave the security of her marriage, and asks for no financial support from Torvald.  In my opinion Nora was doing a beyond risky thing for a woman in her time in order to try and prove her points.  Nora was most likely not going to be living a financially friendly existence.  If she did not get through to Torvald, struggling for the rest of her life could all been for nothing.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal">                 <b><u>Obstacle</u></b></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>What is standing in the way of Nora Helmer achieving her objective:  </b>Torvald being extremely stubborn, and not understanding that Nora is so much more than just a doll.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in"> <b><u>To Do</u></b></p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>What actions/tactics would I use when playing Nora Helmer to achieve my objective?</b>  I would want Torvald to apologize to me, and stand up and fight for my right to be my own person.  The tactics I would use are mock, press, shake, silence, terminate (as in terminate the marriage), shield, and hush.</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> <b>“IF” Life experiences I will use to try and identify with Nora Helmer’s character</b>:</p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in; margin-left: 0.25in">  I felt very trapped in corporate America for many years, and like Nora I played the part of acting like I loved my job, and experienced having many of my ideas to better the companies I worked for shut down by managers.  I also feel that many of my managers just wanted me to be a robot or, like Nora “a doll” that just did my job, and never kicked up any fuss.  Back in 2009 I knew I was going to lose my job as the company was downsizing.  I toughed it out so I could get unemployment.  The day finally came for me, and others in my department to get the ax.  Like Nora I wasn’t sure how I would support myself as unemployment is not a lot of money.  However, being free from fake people, and incompetent managers was more important to me.  I was actually trying not to smirk when I was given the huge speech by human resources about what a company must do to survive, and even tuned most of it out.  I finally just said “I want to help the company save time so you can just cut this short, give me my last check, and tell me what I need to sign”.  I then proceeded to drive down Winchester road in Temecula, rolled down my window and shouted “I’m free!”  That was my way of slamming the door as Nora did at the end of the play.  I was so excited to start a new life of not being chained to a desk all day, and going after the things I really wanted. </p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in; margin-left: 0.25in"> I can also use a past relationship with a guy that pretty much abandoned me, and said demeaning words towards me and my family that still after five years haunt me to this day.  A few months after this all took place he called me up out of the blue thinking I was still in love with him, that we could just pick up again, and that I was over the traumatic things he had said and done.  I will also use this to put myself in Nora’s shoes as Torvald pretty much did the same thing, and though his hurtful words would just roll off her back once he found he would no longer be blackmailed. </p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p>