Preparing for Seline
- alarakoroglu
- Aug 21, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 7, 2023
The meticulous process of crafting and rehearsing the character of Seline enriched both the rehearsal phase and its subsequent portrayal in the show.
Over six months, embodying the character Seline has been a profound exploration in acting, beginning with a simple introduction and evolving into a deep dive into her depth and intricacies.During rehearsals, I deeply explored her thoughts, motivations, fears, and quirks. This intense self-reflection helped me merge her fictional world with my own understanding, embodying not just her surface traits but also her feelings.
In the rehearsal process, Seline became a constant presence in my thoughts.. Rehearsals were like uncovering layers, revealing more about her past, present, and story. This ongoing process allowed me to feel her emotions, vulnerability, and strong beliefs. I often had to ask more questions about her, considering how she'd react to challenges and imagining scenarios beyond the script.
"The more comfortable the actor becomes in embodying the behavioral states, the more they are able to access their impulses by uncovering and exercising them through the various explorations." (Hess, 2016, pg. 16)
The deep connection I formed translated into a genuine and complex performance. Her traits felt natural, her challenges mirrored my own, and her victories resonated within me especially with the help of the costume and makeup.
I dedicated myself to Seline's role with athlete-like focus. Each day involved morning yoga, violin practice, teaching, singing rehearsal, ensemble work, and journaling, all while ensuring financial stability.
For four weeks, my schedule stretched from 8:00 AM to 11:30 PM, representing an unprecedented artistic test. This process was simultaneously smooth yet immensely demanding, marking a truly exceptional journey in my career. The primary difficulty lay in shaping Seline's voice. During rehearsals, I often received feedback to steer clear of echoing "the Alara performing voice", as it felt away from the character and it wasn't authentic at all.
During rehearsals, I discovered Seline's distinct performative and intimate voices. In intimate moments, she's gentle, using her upper range, soft speech, and a smile. For performances, she switches to her Alto range, adding power and a broader range. There's a touch of twang. Her singing voice posed the greatest challenge. Being a trained performer, returning after two years was tough. Seline, a cabaret jazz singer, demanded polished singing. Over six months, I worked with Cyrus Atkinson to strengthen my head voice and range, notably improving the opening number, "Fear Alone."
Fear Alone
05/05/2023
Fear Alone
20/07/2023
Seeing the audience's feedback after the show makes me believe I've somehow reached that mentioned level.
My daily routine included vocal warm-ups and cool-downs, along with using a cork to improve articulation for my talkative characters. I practiced breath control to hit the long note in "Silent Screams" during the first rehearsal.
I aimed for a balance between vibrato, singing, and speaking. To practice blending speaking with singing, I read the songs like poems at open mic events. The audience's response to the spoken version was much better than the sung one.
Cigarettes After
21/07/2023
Cigarettes After
19/05/2023
As you can see from the first video I do have the emotions but my voice is not as powerful as I want for Seline. In the extended version I tried to make this song as Seline’s power ballad, more power in the voice of singing, more control and more emotional arc.
"Ballad allows for more stretch and rubato in the right amount of emotional indulgence" (Vera, 2008, pg. 326).
This sentiment is particularly meaningful when it comes to showing Seline's emotional ups and downs and her love for Deniz.
The games that our director Sofia Zaragoza has introduced to us on Theatre of the Oppressed made me connect with the ensemble as we had many people joining us a little later in the process. Adapting a new face every week was a challenging thing for me as an actor. Especially when that character was one of the principles. But as the fellow actor was very professional and open, we made it work in the rehearsal room. We had a game called push and pull and you just say your lines while doing that action and trying to push the other person down. In this way you can see the heat of the moment. The research and beat you made on the paper becomes alive in your body. The scene between Seline and Sky was emotionally hard to play as it had topics like emotional and physical abuse. With this exercise, I made a difference between my beats and my motives towards Sky.
Another game was pushing the chair down.
"In order that the character may be truly free, no limitations are to be placed on his action, except those that are imposed by the will of another character, equally free." (Boal, 2008, pg.74)
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