‘How I like to break down a script’ Shanika Ocean opens up about her process

Your Cinema

Yourcinemafilms.com | Shanika Ocean (The Critic) shares her process and how to navigate difficult times in the industry.  ’Welcome to Your Cinema'  Follow us on socials: Tiktok: @yourcinemafilms Instagram: @yourcinemafilms Twitter: @yourcinemafilms

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00:00So typically, how I prepare for a role, my first priority is always just to learn the

00:09lines, I keep going over them again and again and again. And then once you know them, for

00:14me, that's when I like to sort of break down the character, get into the nitty gritty bits

00:18of it all. Particularly for this monologue, I created a scenario in my mind about what

00:24would have brought on this conversation, because it's only like such a short extract, but the

00:29beauty in that was that I was able to play around with it and sort of create my own drama

00:33around it as to what led up to that conversation. I actually thought we'd be in this together,

00:39that you'd see me drowning and reach out and help, but you're just, you're not there. So

00:44what was the biggest challenge in bringing this character to life? I would say, because

00:48there's a moment where she gets really heated, but it's kind of knowing when to bring it

00:52back because as much as the character's angry, there's still so much emotion there. And clearly

00:59she loves this person and it's kind of like she's just, she's fed up. So even though there's

01:06moments where she's hurt and she's disappointed, she's having this conversation because she cares.

01:12And it's like, although she wants to give up, she hasn't yet given up. She's still holding on.

01:18So sometimes that's a little bit challenging because you just don't want to go in

01:22all guns blazing, even though it can be quite intense, but then it's still like, you have to

01:28still show that the character cares. It's still coming from a place of love, even if there's

01:33anger in the moment. So how I like to break down a script is, as I mentioned, I like to focus on

01:39the lines first, but I find that even when I'm learning the lines within that process,

01:43I feel like because you're reading it again and again and you're taking it in,

01:46every time you can find something different. And I also like to make notes about the character.

01:52Sometimes I like to make notes on how I want to say a word or if I want to emphasise on

01:57something in particular and kind of pick out the actions and just find the emotional state

02:06of the character. And yeah, sometimes I think I like to challenge myself. I think sometimes

02:12if you read something on paper on the offset, you can just think, oh, it's just going to be

02:16like this. So for me as an actor, I always like to play around like, and kind of do things that

02:22people don't necessarily expect. I know things are tough right now, but if you can't work,

02:28then just help. That's all I want from you. I think using your imagination is so important

02:36because, you know, especially when you're doing like self tapes and things like that,

02:39you're just at home in your bedroom or, you know, you're in your front room. So you have to be able

02:44to use your imagination to create the character's world around you in order for you to be able to

02:51deliver. Because I think sometimes when you're doing all these self tapes and things at home

02:55as well, you can very much be in your comfort zone because you're at home, you're in your nest. So

03:00you have to take yourself out of that and really become the character in order to, yeah, give a

03:07great performance. So for me, what I find helps bring out a good performance is just getting out

03:12of my head and being able to let go. I think previously, prior to all of the experience I've

03:18had now, I think I used to spend a lot of time in my head and worrying about what I look like and

03:23if my costume was okay. But now I find the best thing for me to do is just let go and immerse

03:28myself in the character and in the character's world. And sometimes, especially when you're on

03:32like a big set, that can be difficult because there's all these cameras and all these people

03:35standing behind the camera. So you have to be professional enough to be able to still deliver

03:41to your camera, but also act like that it's not there and just kind of be in the moment, live in

03:47the moment. And every time that you are performing, especially if you're doing take after take after

03:53take, it has to be as if you're saying those words for the first time. So I feel like because the

03:59industry has been in a bit of a tough place, obviously we had COVID, then we had the strikes.

04:05This was the first time I ever really questioned, is this really what I want to do with my life

04:09anymore? Because it's been really tough. But I'm still here, I'm still fighting, and I feel like

04:15in those moments of wanting to give up, when that doubt creeps in, I always tell myself that

04:22what's meant for me won't pass me by. I try and keep myself immersed within the industry, so

04:28even if I'm not working, then I'm still going to take myself to the theatre. I also think it's very

04:33important to keep training, even just to go to dropping classes or improv classes. I think you've

04:38just got to keep yourself active, because even if you're not on a set, or you're not on the stage,

04:43you're still an actor. And I think at every level, it's constantly going to be up and down. It's never

04:48really smooth sailing, even for the top, top Hollywood actors. They have moments of doubt,

04:54and when they're not working, and what's my next project going to be? You have to believe in

04:58yourself, and if you know it's what you're supposed to do, you'll keep going. And just create,

05:03there's nothing stopping you from creating your own work. You can write for yourself, you can just

05:09write and perform, just to keep yourself practicing and training. It doesn't necessarily have to be

05:15for an audience, or need to go on a platform. I think you just need to take the pressure off

05:20yourself, and just have fun, and remember the reason why you started.

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