Live Like Pigs: Performers' physical interpretation of character (build, age, height, facial features, movement, posture, gesture, facial expression)

Live Like Pigs: Performers’ physical interpretation of character (build, age, height, facial features, movement, posture, gesture, facial expression)

Section: Understanding Physical Interpretation of Character

  • In Live Like Pigs, a performer’s physical interpretation of a character plays a crucial role in conveying their personality, socio-economic status, and motivations.
  • Performers need to bear in mind the characters’ build, age, height, facial features, movement, posture, gesture, and facial expression when developing their portrayal.

Section: Common Physical Traits of Characters

  • The Carter family, for instance, is often portrayed as physically rough around the edges to reflect their lives outside societal norms and regulations.
  • Details such as slouched posture, suggesting a lack of formal upbringing, or wild and exaggerated movement, symbolising their untamed freedom, are often found in their performances.
  • Mrs Sanderson, in contrast, can be portrayed as rigid and stern, reflecting the rigid societal norms and values she champions.
  • Straight-backed posture and controlled movements might be utilised for this character to further the image of restriction and exactness she represents.

Section: Physical Traits and Character Relations

  • Performers’ physical traits can also serve to highlight the socio-economic and ideological divide between the characters in Live Like Pigs.
  • For instance, the contrasts in appearances and expressions between the Carters and the representatives of authority visually represent the struggle between freedom and societal norms.

Section: Significance of Physical Character Interpretation

  • Performers’ interpretation of their characters’ physical traits impacts how the audience understands these characters, their motivations, and their relationships.
  • The physical embodiment needs to convincingly communicate the character’s social status, individuality, state of mind and impact on the narrative unfolding in Live Like Pigs.