Acting

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Acting
- is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play.

Acting Styles
Method Acting
Actors who have worked or prefer to work by becoming the character are influenced by the tradition of method acting, originated by Stanislavski(18631938) and currently taught by schools such as the Actors Studio in New York and Los Angeles. This approach asks actors to fully immerse themselves in the general world of the play and the specific world of their characters. Method work is also called internal or subjective work because actors build the character from within, tapping into the parts of themselves that relate to the character.

Acting Styles
Technical Acting Actors who work technically tend to approach a role from a much more objective viewpoint. The technical actor uses powerful vocal and physical work to bring the character to life. The interpretation of the character is often more intellectual or stylized than emotional. Technical work is sometimes called external or objective work, because the actor builds the character through pacing, projection, vocalization, movement, and emotion. These are intellectualized from the script, but not necessarily felt by the actor. Technical acting is an important part of contemporary theatre because it emphasizes the disciplined training of the voice and body.

Acting Terms
"larger than life" - Actors must not only project
their voices (so they can be heard at the back of the theater), they must also project their motions and emotions. Motions and emotions need to be exaggerated (though it is possible to overdo it; see chewing the scenery in emote). What looks overblown in person looks wonderful from the audience.

upstage (as a verb; as a noun, see stage terms) - to

steal the audiences attention from someone who is supposed to be getting it; you may do this physically by placing yourself down-stage of them [thus making them up-stage from you], or by performing better than they, or in other ways.

motivation - Actors need to consider not only what a

character is supposed to do, but WHY a character behaves in a certain way; this is the character's motivation. Understanding motivation helps an actor understand the emotional state of their character, which influences how the character moves, speaks, and behaves.

Acting Terms
in character
to be someone else. when an actor is pretending

breaking character

abruptly stops acting, or falls out of character; this can ruin the audiences suspension of disbelief. an important part of acting; the physical actions of an actor can be even more important than what the actor says. Body language reflects characters' thoughts and feelings just as much as words.

when an actor

body language -

business - silent actions that actors do when they

are on stage but don't have lines and are not part of the main action or dialogue; "business" might include pretending to talk to someone, pretending to shop, pretending to play a game, etc.

Craft, Style and Technique

1) Acting is not serious. Acting is a game of make believe. It isn't serious by nature or in essence. The actor needs to empower the fun aspect of his or her work through the training, practice and rehearsal of tools and exercises which aim at freeing the playfulness, joy, artistry and genius of the actor to its full & unique self-expression. The actor is his/her own instrument. She/he has to be convinced that whatever the situation and whatever the demands or characteristics of the role, the doing of acting isn't serious. That is the most significant understanding fundamental principle an actor can assimilate, and this principle represents the gateway to how much joy in acting and depth of feeling an actor can achieve.

2) Acting happens inside the arena of scenes. The scene is the common denominator of the craft for the actor. Without a scene nothing gets revealed (an improvisation is a scene if it possesses the required elements). A scene for the actor is one or more characters in a place, at a time (season, day,...etc...), wanting something from something or someone for a reason. There needs to be a conflict of interests expressed in opposing wants in order for a scene to be an actable scene. Opposing wants are also referred to as the clash of wills. Another word for want is desire, objective, intention, goal, pursuit. The tension and the relationship between the opposing wants is what makes a scene interesting.

The way the characters pursue their want is what also keeps us interested. In life we are always involved or witnessing scenes, but they are not always 1) Dramatic, 2) Interesting or revealing, 3) they do not belong to a whole or structure. The conflict comes from 1) the character him/herself, 2) the other character/s, 3) an external force or source. Every scene is a negotiation of some sort because when we desire something we have to negotiate it step by step. We do not walk into an office to be interviewed for a position and speak our real intention. Instead we negotiate with 1) our desire to get the job, and 2) whatever obstacles are in our way. What we call at-stakeness is simply the degree to which we desire something coupled with how bad it would be for us if we do not get what we desire.

3) The actor's only mode of expression is the action. An action always aims at serving our wishes in a given scene. Actions can be gestures, uses of objects, facial expressions, touching, smelling, speaking, any physical, psychological or emotional doing that can be performed physically and it includes thinking. Emotions and attitudes are always the result of an action/s, not a means of expression. The actor/s does something, and then and only then does she/he feel. Emotions are the logical consequence of our actions or of what is being done to us.

4) Character is revealed through actions. Characters, like people, act in the pursuit of goals they are intending to reach. Who they really are gets revealed through the kind of actions they perform in the pursuit of their intended objectives. The more interesting the choice of actions the more involved the audience becomes. Talent has a lot to do with the choice of those actions. Choice is conditioned by 1) Character (social class, background, profession, fears, aspirations, etc), 2) the objective or goal the character has, 3) the nature of the relationship (who he or she is negotiating with, 4) the place within which the character is dealing, and 5) the conditioning forces which together make up the circumstances of the given scene: any detail and fact relevant to the scene which leads, influences or colors behavior. The way to access circumstances is by reading the script and asking a multitude of questions relevant to those categories.

5) Relationship. Relationship is the quality and condition which determines 1) the quality of the behavior (antagonistic, friendly, etc.) 2) the kind of actions you perform within that relationship, 3) the tone of voice you use 4) the degree of self-expression allowed within that relationship 5) the qualities you choose or do not choose to reveal about yourself within that relationship.

Actors Responsibilities

The actor in the view of The Rehearsal Room has two main tasks. The first one is to 'tell the story' - this is the reason the production is happening in the first place. The second task for the actor is 'to be believable'.

Telling the Story

If the story is clearly identified or labeled then generally the performance will unfold in a way that allows the story to be clearly told. The main elements to identify are 1) the beginning, 2) a middle 3) and the end.

On some occasions a fourth element is present - the turning point. The story structure will then unfold as - beginning, middle, turning point and end. Remember when it comes to identifying the story of a scene that the real story is always: 'what transpires between the characters in the scene'. Sometimes, perhaps often, this has little to do with what is being said. The dialogue itself may not be what the story is about rather the story of the scene is often what is happening to the characters while they are saying the dialogue.

It is also true that the story of the scene has little to do with what has happened to characters in the past, or what might happen to them in the future. It is mostly about what is happening to them now.

The story is the 'text'. An important part of The Rehearsal Room process is to identify the story.

Being Believable
The Rehearsal Room's view of process, in simplistic terms is: if the actor is actively listening and responding in a complex way to the impulses generated by the events of the moment, then the performance will be believable. The instrument which drives active listening and generates a significant proportion of intuitive impulses is the character's "need". This need replicates the unconscious elements of a real life character it helps create the image that the character has both a conscious and unconscious motivation. It is the foundation element of 'realism' in performance.

Acting Advice and Quotes

Acting in general, is something most people think they're incapable of but they do it from morning to night. The subtlest acting I've ever seen is by ordinary people trying to show they feel something they don't or trying to hide something. It's something everyone learns at an early age. [Newsweek, 13 March 1972] -Marlon Brando

One mustn't allow acting to be like stockbroker -- you must not take it just as a means of earning a living, to go down every day to do a job of work. The big thing is to combine punctuality, efficiency, good nature, obedience, intelligence, and concentration with an unawareness of what is going to happen next, thus keeping yourself available for excitement.

- John Gielgud

Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there. -Meryl Streep

When you make a movie, everyone should leave their own personal problems at home. When they start bringing those to set, filming can be very difficult. You don't need any extra drama. Put the drama into the story, in the characters.

-Robert De Niro

Advice to an aspiring actress, from Emma Thompson Dont strive for the award. Just do your best and enjoy what you do. The theater is the best place to learn your craft. Sing. Take voice lessons. Work on your voice. Acting is all about the voice. Observe people. You never know when you might have to play a character who could be inspired by someone youve met. Dont give up. Any actor has to experience rejection. Just keep going to auditions.