Character Mind Maps

As a cast, we discussed each character in quite a lot of detail, to expand our knowledge of the production, its characters and their relationships with one another. I found that this helped my own characterisation, as well as understanding my relationships with the others. This was a good activity particularly as I was playing multiple roles, who each have a different relationship with the key characters in the production, and I therefore wanted to understand each character to a great extent.

Gym Sequence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdHZGBkQIy8

This is the link to the gym sequence, which was a scene that had been changed since a cast member was no longer a part of the production. I took on the role of Mr Avila as well as my other characters after Jake Kavanagh could no longer be a part of the performance. I found it to be an enjoyable challenge, adding obstacles such as quick changes and changing characters even more to differentiate them for an easier understanding for the audience. I became the teacher seen in this sequence, instead of one of the students. The sequence itself is of a circuit training sequence that you would normally see in primary school and early years of secondary school. I made Mr Avila seem like a drill sergeant here to show that strictness of his character in comparison to the Dad. It was also to illustrate the passion he has for his subject. These little characteristics, in my opinion, are key to characterisation, and help in differentiating each character that I had to play, as well as the costume alterations between each character.

The song was an instrumental of the suggestion by Ali, Fort Minor's song 'Remember The Name'. We chose this for it's gym-like beat, which allowed us to create movement sequences that flowed with the music itself. We also chose the dialogue to be silent at first, but I changed this when I took the role on, as I felt that with the interjections of Mr Avila's shouting allowed the sequence to be more grueling for Oskar, which is the narrative point we were trying to make.

Oskar's Dream

This is the sequence we choreographed for Oskar's dream. It takes place after Oskar and his Mum finish their scene, discussing the next door neighbours. His mum, in her drunken state, enters Oskar's bed, and tells him he is a "good boy". The sequence that follows is a dream from Oskar's point of view. Characters such as Halmberg feature as we discussed that in a dream, we picture people who we have seen but may not have necessarily ever had contact with. So, Oskar at this point knows of Hlamberg, but has never spoken to him, and so through his subconscious, he has imagined Halmberg into his nightmare, of being bullied and even murdered. The sequence also shows how a mysterious figure (Hakan) takes Eli away from him, another subconscious fear that we feel Oskar has planted in his own mind.

Personally, I choreographed some of the movements, as we only got a certain amount of it done in our first lesson staging it. I went home and listened to the song and created simple yet effective movements to illustrate the idea of murder and bullying that circles Oskar's mind.

General Research

To create my character profile, I required certain information, such as first names and the ranks within the police service. I found a website that lists male Scottish names, to which I found a suitable first name for Halmberg. http://www.namenerds.com/scottish/scotsguy.html

I chose Alan as it flows well with the name (Alan Halmberg), also as I felt it sounded quite officious in the sense of his characterisation as an officer of the law. The idea of it meaning "rock" in a Breton context also works, as he is the 'rock' for his family, the bread-winner and overall role model for his children. 


I also researched into the ranks within the United Kingdom Police Service, as I wanted to understand Halmberg's current ranking in his career. He is a Police Commissioner, the highest officer rank available. This gives him the opportunity to seek promotion to the city, where he can go for ranks such as Chief Superintendent and more. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_ranks_of_the_United_Kingdom


I then wanted to know where we would base our production. We had already decided that we would use Scottish accents, and therefore I wanted a real Scottish village to base our piece in. This website (http://www.visitscotland.com/about/towns-villages/) helped me find 'Doune', which is quoted as being "a quiet historic village situated eight miles north west of Stirling on the River of Teith." I feel that this is a perfect place to base our production, as the idea of a quiet village suddenly featuring a disturbing case of murders is more horrifying to envisage than in the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_the_Right_One_In_%28novel%29

"Let the Right One In is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. The book focuses on the darker side of humanity, dealing with issues such as existential anxiety, fatherlessness, alcoholism, school bullying, paedophilia, child transgenderism, and murder."

"The book was a bestseller in the author's home country of Sweden and was translated into several languages, including English. A Swedish-language film, Let the Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson, was released in 2008. An English-language film adaptation titled Let Me In, directed by Matt Reeves, was released in 2010. An English-language stage adaptation premiered in 2013.^"

The issues mentioned above are featured quite heavily on our production, and I feel that they should be taken into account as well as the overall narrative, for a deeper meaning for the audience, to create a greater effect, gripping them not only to the narrative and to Oskar, but to his future.

 The lack of a paternal figure seems to lead to a confusion in Oskar's desires and sexuality, with the question being raised of what attraction he has to Eli, and what sexuality she even is at this point. This is a heavy narrative plot point, even if it is rarely brought up, as it helps to decide what Oskar wants from his friendship with Eli. Even at the young age of 12, he understands love more than any of the other characters in the novel. He understands it more than his own father, who he walks out on, as he chooses a 'friend' over his own son. That is a clear illustration of his lack of understanding in the true meaning of love, and therefore makes Oskar an even more sympathetic character at this point.

http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/
"BASED ON THE BEST SELLER BY JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST
Lonely, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates. A new friendship develops when Eli, a pale, serious young girl who only comes out at night moves in next door. Coinciding with her arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. As Oskar becomes more aware of Eli’s tragic plight, he cannot forsake her. However, Eli knows that to continue living, she must keep relocating. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can..."

Cast & Crew

Director:
Tomas Alfredson

Cast:
Kåre Hedebrant
Lina Leandersson
Per Ragnar

Writer:
John Ajvide Lindqvist

"Family Tree" Of The Town

Character Profile: Halmberg

Basic Statistics 

Name: Alan Halmberg
Age: 43
Nationality: Scottish
Hometown: Doune
Occupation: Police Commissioner
Siblings (describe relationship): One sister, strong relationship, weekly contact via phone
Spouse (describe relationship): Strong
Children (describe relationship): Strong
Relationship status: Married


Physical Characteristics: 

Height: 1.86 metres
Weight: 81.3kg
Race: White
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Ginger
Glasses or contact lenses? None
Distinguishing features: Faint scar on forehead.
How does he/she dress? Dark overcoat, smart shoes, white shirt, black trousers.
Mannerisms: Paces often, doesn't make a lot of eye contact when conversing with large audiences.
Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.) T-total for 10 years. (no alcohol or other substances for ten years)
Health: Healthy Lifestyle
Hobbies: Football with his children, fishing
Favorite Sayings: A trip to a dangerous murder site might seem exciting...
Speech patterns: Officious, confident, evenly-spaced
Disabilities: none 
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Confident, not necessarily any class division within him
Greatest flaw: Has to finish things. This is often seen as a perk, but in terms of the narrative, becomes his flaw. He is addicted to his work.
Best quality: Devotion to work and family.


Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes 

Educational Background: Degree in Law
Intelligence Level: Fairly high
Any Mental Illnesses? none
Character's short-term goals in life: To work towards a major bonus within his line of work.
Character's long-term goals in life: To earn money for retirement, to focus on his family.
How does Character see himself/herself? Right for the job above him.
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? As a confident and capable individual.
How self-confident is the character? Quite strongly self-confident.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? Emotional attachment to his line of work.
What would most embarass this character? Being taken off the case he is working on.


Emotional Characteristics


Strengths/Weaknesses: Confident, but emotional attachment to his job leads to anger issues when pursuing it further.
Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert
How does the character deal with anger? He is seen to take it out on suspects within the case, and relatives of suspects and victims, as they merely are in his way in the path of solving the case fully.
What does the character want out of life? A high role within the police service (which would mean moving to the city), and a healthy family lifestyle.
What motivates this character? His family.
What frightens this character? Losing his career through dangerous judgments in cases
What makes this character happy? His family, and achieving great successes at work.


Spiritual Characteristics

Does the character believe in God? Beliefs change as he explores the case he has further.
What are the character's spiritual beliefs? These develop upon searching further into the murders, with the ultimate shift being when he is attacked and killed by a creature that he can't describe. The actions made in the final moments of his scene are indescribable to him.
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Not greatly.
If so, what role does it play? Not highly pursued, left in his subconscious.


Relationships with other characters:

1. Oskar: -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the narrative). Oskar only knows Halmberg as the  police officer from the TV. But as we have set this in a small village/town, they soon come into contact with one another. The relationship changes from merely an officer to an enemy of Oskar, as he tries to look after Eli whilst Halmberg pursues the case further. The final moments with one another are when Oskar threatens Halmberg with a knife, as he knows too much and will soon discover the murderer, who he once thought was the body without a heartbeat in the chest in Eli's apartment. This is where Halmberg's life comes to an end, as the 'body' awakens and kills him.

2. Hakan: -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel). Halmberg chases down Hakan as the murderer. However through Hakan's lack of communication, and some more research, Halmberg realises that Hakan has not been working alone, and searches further into the case, which becomes his downfall.


How character is different at the end of the narrative from when the story began:
At the start, he is merely an officer trying to do his job. A police commissioner looking to further his police career by getting promoted to work within the city. But from pursuing the cases of murder within the village/town, he soon becomes emotionally attached, and addicted, to the point where he is taken off the case by using his own personal views to take the case in a certain direction. He continues to search for answers however, to finish what he started, which leads to his downfall. It is hard to determine whether Halmberg is a good or bad character. In terms of morality, he is 'good', as he just wants to support his family, he is a family oriented man. He is also merely doing his job, however the audience are somewhat aligned to the murderer in Eli, as she has a connection within the harmless, innocent child that is Oskar. The alignment with Oskar has been established, and it is soon made clear that Eli is Oskar's saviour from the bullies, his parents and everyone else around him.

Writing in role - Halmburg

"I spoke to the suspect  today. He did not cooperate at all. The suspect has disfigured his own face, clearly to protect his identity. How could someone do that to themselves? The extent that this man has gone to in order to prevent further investigation is unimaginable. To pour sulphuric acid on yourself is insane.
He had some paper with Morse code on it. He clearly has someone to communicate with. I am certain we have the right man, no one uses Morse code unless they need to keep things secret. I need to investigate further."

I have written an extract from a diary entry from Police Commissioner Halmburg. This is to further explain the scene that occurs between Hakan and Halmburg at the beginning of Act 2. Halmburg knows that Hakan is involved in the murders, he's been discovered, disfigured facially, by an unconscious school student. However he cant be working alone, Halmburg knows this from the Morse code on the paper. He wishes to investigate things further, and Hakan's mocking nature in the scene, or at least from Halmburg's perspective, only provokes him to get aggressive towards Hakan, before leaving the room.