Entering a classroom with a given circumstance

Aim of task: To have a first experience of what Stanislavsky thought a "given circumstance" in class and to be introduced to the topic. To observe how a given circumstance can affect realistic acting.

Description of task: Today, before entering the classroom, our teacher Steve told us to get into a group and told us to "pay attention to whatever we do in the next few minutes." We went into the classroom and Steve asked us a couple of questions and did little games like pretending to be a military general, he also gave us a handout in a few minutes. After that, he shouted "freeze" and he asked us all to leave the classroom.

He told us that now, we would have to repeat everything we did again, since we entered, but we now gave us a "given circumstance": that two of our classmates, Undine and Arshia, had an very intense argument about god yesterday, so intense that they did did not talk to each other anymore. So we had to repeat everything we did before since entering the classroom but pretending like the argument actually happened yesterday. We all came into the classroom but nothing changed really, because Undine and Arshia weren't sitting nearby anyway the first time. The given circumstance was not that relevant when repeating the actions. After a few minutes he told us to stop and go out of the classroom again.

We went out of the classroom and now our teacher gave us a different given circumstance: that our classmate Vincent had released a "silent gas from behind" at some point while we were all inside. We came into the classroom again. Coincidentally I was sitting next to Vincent. I didn't change my actions that much because I am sick and my nose is obstructed, so I cannot really perceive a lot of smell! However, I asked Vincent, "do you feel a bad smell?" after watching everybody around me cover their noses with their hands. After a few minutes our teacher stopped us and brought us out. We realized that actually, those who where farther away from Vincent started covering their nose before those of us who where near Vincent.

Our teacher gave us one last given circumstance. The given circumstance was that, today was Maddie's birthday and Jose, who had a crush on Maddie, had sent an e-mail to the whole class so that we would pretend it was not her birthday, because she was a slut. This given circumstance was the one that changed the action the most. We all came in, and sang Maddie happy birthday. There were groups around the class gossiping about the e-mail and you could clearly see Jose being rather uncomfortable (and some other people were around Jose, kind of reclaiming him why did he do that). After a while Jose passed around a paper that said "Maddie is a slut" which eventually reached Maddie who read it at loud. At this point, Jose stood up and revealed he had a crush on her. It was very funny. The way the "coming into the room" was a little bit similar to the original one only in the start, but in the end, this given circumstance really changed it a lot.

For the second activity, Steve asked for a volunteer. I raised my hand. Steve asked me to give him something valuable, so I gave him my phone and then he asked me to go outside of the classroom. When I came in, Steve told me that he had hid the phone somewhere inside the classroom and that I had to look for it. And started searching around the room and asking my classmates if I could have a clue or if there was any hint I could get to get my phone. Then they started talking about me "looking in the heights" and "projecting my imagination." The words "height" and "projecting" gave me the hint that my phone should be on top of the projector hanging to the ceiling. There it was. Now, Steve gave me the phone and told me to go outside the room for a while. After I was outside the room for a few minutes, Steve called me and told me to come in and be the actor in the play "Alan looks for his phone." When I came in, I tried my best to pretend I was looking for my phone. I could exactly remember the same locations but I tried my best to resemble the order of the locations I had looked through before. However, as I looked for my phone I noticed something.

I was not the only actor in the play "Alan looks for his phone."
This was a problem because, before, I would respond to the laughter and smiles of the audience. I would also respond to whatever comment they made to me. But now, they were all a lot more serious, it did not feel the same. It was like an actor not replying to your lines on stage, the play could not be done without all the actors participating.

Reflection:
A given circumstance on stage is supposed to change our attitude on stage. To really internalize a given circumstance you need to change your whole mental state and imaging all the possibilities that could happen if the given circumstance actually happened.

Conclusion:
When I think of this given circumstance exercise a lot of TOK-ish questions arise to my mind relating to determinism: when we act out what we just did with a different given circumstance, it's like we are creating a separate choice in life. It's something strange; but interesting, I guess.