CHARACTER RESEARCH- Interrogating My Relationships

BEATRICE

Family:

Leonato- my uncle and father figure. My parents are unknown and so Leonato has bought me up with as much care as his own daughter and for that I greatly love and respect him. 

Hero- my cousin, my sister, my friend. In the same way Leonato is my father figure, Hero is practically my sister and I care, love and protect her accordingly. 

Antonio- my uncle. I love him because family is important to me. 

Friends: 

Hero- as stated, Hero is my closest friend, in the same way that she is the closest thing I have to a sister. 

Ursula and Margaret- as my maids, they are a large part of my life and know many aspects of it, both private and personal and therefore I would consider them friends, even if by circumstance only.

Acquaintances: 

Don Pedro- I do not know him well enough for him to be called a friend (although his marriage proposal may tell a different story) yet I have respect for him as a gentlemen and a good man. 

Claudio- I know him first and foremost as my cousins lover and also as Benedick's dear friend. Like my maids, we are acquainted by circumstance, so I would not go so far as to call him a friend- especially when he hurts my cousin, in which case he falls into the below category. 

Enemies: 

Benedick- my conflict with Benedick makes him first and foremost my enemy. I profess to hate him publicly (whether or not that is true in private is another matter.)

Claudio- I declare Claudio my enemy very publicly, to the extent that I ask his best friend to kill him; there is no quicker way to become my enemy than to become the enemy of someone I love.

Who do I openly like?

Hero- my closest friend and cousin, I will openly love and defend my cousin and do the opposite to anyone who does not.

Who do I openly dislike?

Benedick- I spend most of time openly disliking Benedick- whether that is because of the betrayal from our improvisation or another reason, there is no one else I take that much enjoyment out of disliking.

Who do I secretly like?

Benedick- my open dislike for Benedick is a mask for a feeling that I've buried, but not killed. I never let go of the feelings I had for him although sometimes I wish I did. 

Who do I secretly dislike? 

Margaret- basing this relationship off our improvisation, my relationship with Margaret represents the phrase 'forgive but never forget.' After she betrayed me, to get by, I forgave her so I could move on, but I will never forget what she did to me. 

It is always important to know your character's relationships, but 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a play based on complicated relationships and how they change and interlink so I couldn't play my character if I didn't know the subtleties of some relationships and the blatant presence of others. Beatrice is a character who bases her actions and opinions on her relationships with others. Some of her relationships can be interpreted by individual actors and they have helped me cement the kind of Beatrice I want to be. 'Much Ado About Nothing' relies on my understanding of the above relationships. 

This photo represents the hierarchy within my relationships of the play. At the bottom are the maids Margaret and Ursula because socially their position in the household is the lowest. Next comes Hero; her position is debatable because she is Leonato's daughter and his only heir, meaning she technically has a higher position than Beatrice. However her weaker characteristics mean she came just below Beatrice. Next is Beatrice; although she is the same position as Hero, her parents are not around meaning her guardian, although her uncle, would not guarantee any inheritance. However her strong spirit put her above Hero on our hierarchy. On the same level is Friar or Imam. Although there is a power in nobility, there is a power in spirituality which wouldn't top Leonato, but definitely second Beatrice. At the top is Leonato, household leader and everyone else's host. If he said get out, they would.