Chapter 8: Acting
Auditions
The play script has been chosen. The production is ready to get started. The point at which the individual actor comes into contact with the individual role is the audition. It is the job interview for the actor.
There are different methods of conducting auditions, and these types will be discussed later. First, let us take a look at what the actor should do to prepare for the audition.
Getting Ready
There are four general areas in which an actor will be evaluated during the audition. First, the actor must possess the vocal capacity to deliver the playwright’s words to the audience in a meaningful way. Second, the actor must possess the physical capacity to carry out the characterization in a meaningful way for the audience. Third, the actor must have the intelligence and mental capacity to understand the whole of the performance as well as his or her function within that whole. And fourth, the actor must be able to function, socially and professionally, within the company of actors, designers, managers, and the director.
The voice is the most important factor in actor success. It is with the voice that the actor delivers the text of the play to the audience. The audience members sitting in the back of the auditorium need to be able to hear and understand clearly. The audience members sitting in the front rows need to hear without being overwhelmed. The actor must speak clearly. The actor must also speak appropriately to the interpretation of the character.
(In many professional, and even university, theatres today, actors wear microphones. They are given small microphones which pick up their voices as they act. This procedure has several advantages. The sound technician is able to increase or decrease the volume on individual actors who may be working on stage together, thus providing an even volume for the audience. The voices are run through the house speaker system, which provides even distribution of sound throughout the auditorium. The actors benefit as well, because filling a four thousand seat auditorium with one’s voice is a physically grueling experience. However, this procedure has at least one disadvantage. Once an actor becomes accustomed to wearing a microphone, the actor will have a very difficult time adjusting to an auditorium or production where the actor is not. The actor may become lazy, vocally, relying on the sound technician to do all the work. In the final analysis, the actor should speak on stage to be heard throughout the auditorium. The actor should ignore the fact that she is wearing a microphone. This way, the sound technician can do her work and the actor can maintain appropriate vocal power and resonance for any situation.)
Actors rarely use microphones during auditions. Rather, the actor should arrive at the audition location sufficiently early to warm up vocally. The voice is produced through the coordination of numerous muscles in the body. Just as the athlete warms up before competing, the actor must warm up these vocal muscles before attempting to deliver his or her voice to the audience. Some actors sing scales to warm their voices. Other actors run through short monologues of memorized text as a means of warming up their voices. Some voices warm up quickly, because the actor has kept his voice in good condition. Some voices take a long time to warm up. As an actor, you need to find the right balance of warm-up material for your voice.
Actors should speak clearly. Actors should develop and maintain a clear tone of voice. Actors should be able to control their volume and their pitch. And most actors have developed skill in several different dialects (variations within a language) and accents (interference of the primary language in a second language).
The body of the actor is her or his second most important asset. The actor’s body completes the performance. It is the source of the actor’s voice and characterization. The actor must have a well-developed ability to meet the physical requirements of the character. Not all characters fight with swords, dance, or carry dead bodies off stage. However, good actors keep themselves in good shape physically so they are prepared for whatever behavior the character (the script and/or the director) calls for them to perform.
Professional actors arrive at the audition location sufficiently early to warm up their bodies. Experienced actors typically develop their own unique relaxation technique/routine which they go through once they have arrived in the theatre. The body must be relaxed because tension of any kind can interfere with the actor’s ability to move effectively.
The actor should be able to move gracefully onstage. The actor should be able to modify his or her movement to fit the qualities of the character. Most actors know different styles of dance. Many actors train in combat and/or martial arts. Some actors study tumbling and gymnastics. Not every role will require dancing or tumbling, but good actors keep themselves in shape at all times.
While the actor is preparing her voice and body, she will also do well to develop her intellect and mind. The actor needs to be able to speak the language of theatre, to be able to read critically and analyze an assigned script and the character’s function within the script, and the actor needs to be able to work with the director in finding the appropriate characterization for the performance.
Most actors read plays – lots and lots of plays. Experienced actors read everything they can get their hands on. Experienced actors strive to develop a general education, a liberal education, which provides them with the power to discuss any topic at any given time. Theatre mirrors the society that produces it; therefore, the actor must be familiar with his or her society (past, present, and future).
And finally, the actor must be able to work well and play well with others. Much has been written about teamwork in our corporate American society. Teamwork is the beginning point for the synergy which is the goal of every production. The goal of the production effort is to deliver a unified performance to the audience. This goal can only be achieved when there is a high level of professionalism and cooperation taking place throughout the production company. The actor must be able to function professionally within the organization.
Types of Auditions
There are two general categories of auditions: private and public. The private audition is conducted by appointment only, and the actor meets with the director and production staff alone (or with a small group of other actors). The public audition is often referred to as an open call. It is an opportunity for anyone and everyone to come into the theatre and try out for one of the parts available.
At auditions, whether private or public, there are two general skills being reviewed by the director and production staff: the actor’s ability to handle new material and the actor’s ability to perform rehearsed material.
The actor enters the audition space and is handed a script. She is told to read one of the parts in the scene. The stage manager sits off to the side of the stage and reads the other parts. The actor must quickly make decisions and provide a strong interpretive reading for the director. This is called a cold reading.
Or, the actor enters the audition space. She walks to the center of the stage. She gives her name to the director, and she notes which plays she has drawn her prepared monologues from. She pauses, takes a deep breathe, and begins her first monologue. It may be a classical piece, perhaps in verse, which demonstrates her ability to handle difficult language well. When she finishes, she pauses, takes a deep breathe, and begins her second monologue. It may be a contemporary piece, perhaps a comedy, which demonstrates her ability to handle comic timing and modern language well. When she has finished the second piece, she thanks the director, succinctly, and leaves.
In an open call, the actors may be asked to stay for a period of time and read with other actors who are also auditioning for the production. The same scene may be read numerous times by different actors. Sometimes the director will sit back and watch while the stage manager coordinates who is reading what with whom. Sometimes the director will take the stage and provide input and direction to the actors. “Try it this way.” “Try it with more anger, less anger, be silly, be deadly serious.” When a director does this, he or she is also checking to see how well a given actor will accept direction. Is the actor willing to take a risk? Is the actor willing to try something a little uncomfortable? Is the actor able to reach the emotional height or depth required for this production?
In some cases, particularly in educational theatre, auditions may also include improvisation and/or theatre games. These are opportunities for the director to see how quickly the actor can think on his feet. These are also opportunities to see how well one actor can get along with other actors.
Auditions are the actors’ job interview. Just like any other job interview, the applicant comes in with a set of skills which may or may not be appropriate to the job sought. The interviewer attempts to match the best skills to the job. In corporate America, the skills needed for successful interviewing may be only tangentially related to the skills needed for the job sought. But the skills you need for this interview (the audition) are very much the same skills you need to perform the job, if hired. The actor needs a strong voice, able body, quick mind, and sociable attitude for the auditions because these are the very same skills the actor will need throughout the rehearsals and performances.
The Acting Process
You’ve been cast! The role of a lifetime has been offered, and you have accepted it. Now the work begins in earnest. Each actor, like any other artist, has his or her own process of discovery, invention, and performance. And even though many professional acting teachers/coaches are available to the aspiring actor, each actor (like any other artist) must develop her or his own working process. In general, though, the process of developing a role for performance goes through several phases.
The first phase is gaining a familiarity with the script and the director’s interpretation of the script. This involves reading through the play, carefully and critically, several times. The novice actor will be tempted to make final choices for voice and physicalization at this early stage. Experienced actors give themselves time to develop a familiarity with the script both consciously and unconsciously. The experienced actors do this because they understand the powerful influence of the unconscious in the artistic process.
The second phase is memorization. In this phase, the actor is incorporating the lines of the play into her or his mind for easy recall. The process of memorization will be discussed in more depth later.
The third phase is exploration. Exploration involves play, and the early rehearsals should be a place where free play is encouraged and respected.
The fourth phase is selection. In this phase, decisions begin to be made about how the final look and sound of a scene or act will be performed.
The fifth phase is polish. The decisions have been made with regard to how a line will be said or a bit of stage movement worked out. In this phase, the actors repeat the lines and actions over and over again – they habituate the words and behaviors of the play – until the action plays naturally, gracefully, and spontaneously across the stage.
All five phases will be seen in a rehearsal process. There may be some overlap. Some actors may be working ahead or behind other actors. That is, you may be making selections already for performance in a scene where the other actors are still exploring, or vice versa. The best judge of where the cast should be at any given point in the rehearsal process is the director. (Many is the time I have needed a cast to finish selecting and start polishing while some of the cast members are still exploring.)
In addition, there are different approaches, and therefore expectations, of directors. Some directors expect the actor to come to rehearsal with a general familiarity with the script and ready to begin exploration immediately. Some directors expect the actor to arrive at rehearsal with lines already memorized and some initial selections already made. Some directors want actors to come to rehearsal without familiarity with the script because they want to guide the actors through the process of discovery themselves. And some directors, and some production schedules, require the actor to arrive at rehearsal already close to performance level.
Sometimes the disparity among a cast (some exploring while others are trying to polish) is a result of circumstances out of your control. If an actor leaves a show halfway through the rehearsal process, for whatever reason, the replacement actor will obviously still be working on familiarity and exploration while the rest of the cast is finishing selection and moving on to polishing. In cases like this, the actors who have been with the production from the beginning can assist the incoming actor with familiarity and exploration. The incoming actor can move through exploration and into selection rather quickly because the input (that is, what the other actors are doing on stage) is set and consistent.
The sixth phase of the process is performance. On the one hand, all the decisions should have been made by now and everything should occur in the performance the same way from performance to performance. On the other hand, no two performances are ever exactly alike because different audiences bring in different energies and responses to the performance (and because actors are still human being who have other concerns and events going on in their lives off stage).
Memorization
The first priority of the actor is to know the lines. Thus, memorization is one of the foremost skills to be learned and mastered by the actor. Professional actors working on daytime drama shows (soap operas) are given the next day’s script as they go home each evening. They are expected to have the next day’s lines completely memorized when they arrive at work the next morning. And, quite often, revised scripts will be waiting for them when they arrive the next morning. These new lines, or changed lines, must be re-learned before shooting begins.
The actor is one of the many artists working within the company of artists. As such, the actor must respect all the other artists working on the production as well. The playwright (or screen writer), even if present only in the form of the written script, is one of those artists whose work must be respected. Therefore, it is a form a respect for the playwright’s work that the actor learns the lines verbatim, word for word. In professional theatre, an actor can be fired from a production for paraphrasing the lines in the play.
But how does an actor memorize all those lines? How does anyone memorize anything? How do you remember all those names and dates for your history exams? If you can remember your phone number, you already have the basic skill of memorization. Memorization is the process of taking the written words (or numbers) on the page and putting them into your working memory so you have them as needed, when needed.
The first step is understanding. The actor reads through the lines over and over again. Many actors will divide the script into the scenes they are in and the scenes they are not in, and they will number (or otherwise designate) the scenes they are in. Then they will familiarize themselves with what is happening in each of those scenes. The lines can be memorized more quickly and more efficiently if the actor understands why the lines are being spoken.
The second step is exposure. The actor goes over the lines, sentence by sentence and word by word, repeating the words aloud. (Memorization is not so much a mental exercise as it is a vocal exercise. The actor needs to speak the words in performance; memorization comes through speaking the lines many, many times.)
We take a piece of information and put it in our memories so we can have quick and efficient access to that piece of information. We make a piece of information accessible through repeated access. Eventually, the material being practiced will become memorized. The actor has reached his goal.
Not exactly. Memorization for the actor is much more than being able to recite the words of the script from memory. Memorization, for the actor, means taking the words of the script and making them his own. The actor playing Hamlet does not stand on the stage and recite Hamlet’s lines; the actor playing Hamlet needs to become Hamlet. The words coming out of the actor’s mouth must be associated with Hamlet, the character, not the actor.
The lines of text come from the actor’s memory, but they must be delivered in a natural manner which appears to be spontaneous. The audience knows that Shakespeare wrote his plays more than 400 years ago, but they come to the theatre to listen to Hamlet speak to Ophelia now. This Hamlet needs to speak to this Ophelia, and their conversation must be natural and spontaneous.
In other words, the actor takes the playwright’s words and incorporates them into the actor’s own vocabulary and way of speaking. This is memorization for the actor.
To accomplish this goal, the experienced actor understands that she must not merely memorize her lines in a given scene. She must memorize all the lines in the scene. The actor playing Ophelia, in the scene with Hamlet, must know all the lines (his as well as hers) in order to work with the other actor in delivering the entire scene, as a unified conversation, to the audience.
And the actors must be able to play. The actors must make effective use of the rehearsal process to explore the range of possibilities within the language of the play. If the scene is an angry scene, how much anger is appropriate? Can we suppress our anger and get more powerful subtext? What is the best way to deliver this phrase, or this word? The actors need to find all the wrong ways to say a line in their search for the right way.
The novice actor should begin by developing an understanding of the scene. What is my character doing in this scene? What does he/she want? Does he or she accomplish the goal? (The novice actor should avoid, at all costs, the temptation to do things in early rehearsal as if in performance. The early rehearsal process must contain freedom to explore the possibilities. The latter rehearsal process is where the possibilities become sifted into the choices, and the actors begin solidifying and polishing their choices for performance.)
Then the novice actor should ask this question: How would I say that in my own words? The answer to this question results in a paraphrase of the scene.
The question should follow quickly: What does the character say? These are the actual lines of the scene, written by the playwright.
And then, the next question is very important: What’s the difference? The difference in the way the actor would say the lines in his own words and the words of the character (provided by the playwright) point out the difference between the actor and the character. In order to faithfully and successfully become the character, the actor must bridge that difference.
Characterization
Characterization is the process of putting on the attributes of a character. For the playwright, characterization is the process of developing the agent of the action with the appropriate personality traits to fulfill its function within the plot. For the actor, characterization is the process of discovery aimed at identifying and incorporating those personality traits. And, where not prescribed or necessary for the furtherance of the action, characterization is the development of other personality traits, habits, or behaviors which add flavor without detracting from the action.
Since the play is made up of everything the audience sees and everything the audience hears, the actor’s job of characterization falls into these two categories (sight and sound). In terms of what the audience hears, the actor’s job is to deliver the lines of the script through her or his voice. In terms of what the audience sees, the actor’s job is to adopt and demonstrate those physical behaviors and mannerisms which are appropriate to the character.
There are two general approaches to characterization. Some actors start on the outside and work inward; others work from the inside outward.
Those who work from the outside are often referred to as external actors. The use observation and study of human nature and actions and, through the selection of the appropriate behaviors, they put on the character just as we would put on a costume for a party. These types of actors will search long and hard to find the right hat, the right stance, the right wave of the hand. These types of actors will work their bodies and the voices, shaping them into the character’s body and voice. A famous actor who specializes in this external method of acting is Peter Ustinov.
Years ago, when I was a graduate student at Arizona State University, I was cast in the role of Montgomery Hawkes in Peg O’ My Heart by J. Hartley Manners. Montgomery Hawkes is a relatively small role – the lawyer who shows up at the beginning of the play to provide exposition to the audience and introduce the character of Peg. The director had the idea that I should play the character as a 106-year-old man.
I was not 106 years old (I’m still not 106 years old), but I was and am an actor. The director wanted 106 years old; I was going to give him 106 years old. I chose to use an external approach.
I began with the voice. I utilized every opportunity to listen to the elderly talk with one another. I listened to their vocal patterns and the sounds of their voices. I studied how age affects one’s voice. I played with different ranges and pitches.
Note: Peg O’ My Heart is a British play. I decided that an elderly lawyer in London would speak with a high British dialect. As I sought the right voice of a 106-year-old man, I also worked on delivering the lines with an appropriate British dialect. (Remember, a dialect is regional deviation within a given language; an accent is the intrusion of a primary language on the target language.)
Next, I began working on the physicalization of the 106-year-old man. I took every opportunity to observe how the elderly walked and moved about. I studied how aging affects movement. I noticed that many elderly men develop a stooped posture. I noticed that elderly persons tend to use a shorter step than the young. I noticed, particularly in the quite aged, that movement is very tentative. The elderly man or woman, frail with age, no longer trusts the body to function well. Every behavior is given more time, more attention, and more care. I began to practice these movements before, during, and after rehearsal.
I studied my script and developed a firm understanding of my role and its function within the action of the script. I understood that I delivered most of the initial exposition for the audience. And the information I gave was almost entirely textual. Therefore, I understood that my lines must be delivered with great care and enunciation. The audience would need to be able to hear and understand me without any difficulty.
I took care to develop good working relationships with the other actors, stage managers, designers, and technicians. We were a team.
The final result, in performance, was obviously a college-aged student wearing a lot of old-age makeup (I had to arrive at the theatre an hour before the rest of the cast so the makeup artist had plenty of time to make me look 106). But I provided the audience with the illusion of an elderly London lawyer, who paced incessantly, who was reading the last will and testament of the family patriarch and introducing the character of Peg.
Those who work from the inside outward are often referred to as method actors. This may be an incorrect use of the term. Actors who internalize their characters begin with mental exercises aimed at adopting the psychological characterization first. They believe that having the right psychological understanding of the character will express itself through the correct movement and speaking of the lines. These actors immerse themselves in their characters, psychically. They use what Stanislavsky called the Magic If. A famous actor who specializes in this internal method of acting is Marlon Brando.
Recently, I had an opportunity to direct The Good Doctor by Neil Simon. In one of the short pieces, a young woman comes out on stage. She is desirous of becoming an actress, and she has come to Moscow to audition for the great director. The great director is represented in the script as a voice. Since I was the director for the play, I cast myself as the voice.
Each evening during rehearsal, I would read through this short scene with the young woman I had cast as the young woman. I would read the lines of the Voice, the director, from my seat in the auditorium, and I would spend most of my time and energy giving direction to the young woman, giving her feedback on her work on stage.
I never sat down to study the lines of the scene. I never wondered what the Voice would wear for a costume. I never tried different dialects or variations in the pitch or tone of the Voice’s voice. I simply allowed myself to be the director because I was the director.
With time and repetition, I memorized the lines. I understood that it was important for me to deliver the lines verbatim because the actress on stage was relying upon my consistency of delivery.
In the very beginning of the scene, the young woman comes out on stage and looks into the darkness of the theatre. She is there to audition for the great director, but she cannot see him over the footlights. Since I would read/deliver my lines from wherever I was in the theatre at that time (sitting in the back, or off to the side talking with the costumer), she never knew where I would be when she came out on stage. We simply immersed ourselves in the moment, immersed ourselves in our respective roles, with respect for each other’s work as actor/director.
As mentioned above, the actor must utilize the rehearsal process for play, to explore the various movements and speech sounds, to find the personality traits and mannerisms and speech patterns appropriate to the character within its function in the plot. The ultimate goal is a unified performance.
Whether an actor begins on the inside or the outside, the goal is the same – to move and speak onstage as the character would move and speak within the world of the play. If the actor has done his or her job fully and successfully, the audience cannot tell the difference between the two approaches to acting. If the audience could tell the difference, or identify which approach the actor has used, the actor would be considered to have failed.
Concentration
To concentrate means to focus one’s attention. For the actor, this means being able to focus on the work at hand and to block out any distractions. The great actor/director, Konstantin Stanislavky, spoke about three circles of concentration.
First Circle Concentration – imagine that you are on stage in a huge auditorium. All the lights are turned out; the theatre is completely dark, except for a single light bulb hanging over the center stage area. In the small pool of light is a table and a chair. You are seated in the chair at the table. You are working on a picture puzzle. First Circle Concentration means that you are focused only on the elements within the small pool of light. You are only aware of the puzzle, the table and chair, and the small pool of light. You completely block out anything not in the small pool of light.
Second Circle Concentration – now imagine that the stage lights come up, and the stage area is filled with light. You see that the table and chair are set within a living room setting. There is a couch, a bar, an opening to the off-stage area. On the couch sits your sister. She asks you a question, and you respond to her. You continue working on the picture puzzle while you talk with your sister. Second Circle Concentration means that you are focused, again, only on the elements within the lighted stage area. You are continuing to be focused on the puzzle, the table and chair, but you are also aware of and reacting with your sister within the living room setting.
Third Circle Concentration – now realize that you are an actor, sitting at the table working on the puzzle, and the woman on the couch is another actor playing your sister. Your character loves the sister, but you the actor don’t like the actor playing your sister. And the director and stage manager are sitting in the darkened theatre watching you work on the puzzle while talking with your sister. While you are having a simple conversation between your character and your character’s sister, you the actor are also speaking more forcefully in order to project your voice into the theatre so the director and stage manager can hear you. Third Circle Concentration means focusing on the puzzle, the table and chair, the conversation with your sister, and playing the scene to the audience in the darkened theatre. The capable actor works in all three circles of concentration simultaneously.
Even in Third Circle Concentration, however, the actor still blocks out any distraction from outside the rehearsal or performance environment. The trained actor must forget that there’s no money in the bank account to cover the rent check given to the apartment manager earlier in the day. The trained actor must forget about the Chemistry mid-term examination scheduled for tomorrow morning. You won’t be thinking about the play while you’re taking the Chemistry exam tomorrow, so don’t be thinking about the Chemistry exam while you’re working on the play.
While the brain is not a muscle, concentration is a skill that requires practice and development. We increase our ability to concentrate by practicing concentration. And, of course, there must be a decision, a determination to develop concentration skill. You’ve got to want it.
Interplay
A comment was made earlier about teamwork. We call a play, “a play,” because there are many similarities to the play of children on the playground. The teamwork in which actors engage with each other on stage is an interesting and exciting type of play. I call it interplay. The idea is that we actors come into the theatre and agree to play the play; I will play my character and you will play your character and we will play together.
Interplay requires a level of comfort and trust. If you are worried about whether I know my lines, your worry will interfere with your concentration and ultimately with your ability to play. The actors need to be comfortable in the rehearsal environment as well as in the performance environment. They have to be able to trust each other and the technical and management teams supporting them.
Interplay requires a level of confidence. The children on the playground are generally self-confident that they can do what they want to do; they are willing to try new things just to find out if they can do them. They are confident that, if they can’t do something, that’s okay too. As children grow older and the activities on the playground become more competitive, it stops being play.
Interplay requires a level of commitment and dedication. A person who comes to an audition and who is ultimately cast in the play will always generate a degree of concern in the director and fellow actors. A person who just wants to try it out to see if they like it, that person might walk away at any time. Comfort and confidence require a recognition that everyone in the process is committed to the performance. Children don’t want to play with other children who get up and walk away in the middle of the game.
Interplay also requires the ability to share. Interplay means playing together, and that means sharing the scene with the other actors on stage. But more than this, it means giving focus where the focus needs to be given. The playwright and director have decided where they want the audience’s attention at any given moment. Interplay requires that the actors understand where the focus should be, and they use their acting skill to help focus the attention where it needs to be. Then, when the focus needs to be on you, you will be comfortable and confident that the other actors on stage will give you what you need as well.
in Performance
There is no energy quite like the energy you experience when you stand backstage ready to make your first entrance in a performance. No matter how many times you’ve rehearsed this, and no matter how many times you’ve performed already, this is a special energy.
The actors in performance with a live audience in the auditorium creates a unique artistic event called theatre. Performing requires some of the same skills necessary for rehearsals, but there are some special skills that performance requires which are not necessary for the rehearsal process.
Whether giving four performances in one weekend or giving eight performances each week for several years, the actor is expected to give the same performance each time. The audiences are different, but they are expecting the same performance. The director is the same director, and he or she is expecting the actors to perform the play as directed. Part of the production stage manager’s job is to maintain the director’s vision.
In order to achieve this sameness of performance over time, the actor utilizes a skill known as the illusion of the first time. That is, no matter how many times the actor has entered scene three to find a letter from the spouse’s lover, the actor must enter the scene not knowing of the affair and discover for the first time all over again.
If this sounds like actors play mind-games with themselves, it’s because actors play mind-games with themselves. Consider, however, that you are on your way home after a long day at school (today is your birthday) and you know your family is preparing a surprise birthday party for you (your younger sister let it slip at the breakfast table). You know there is a surprise party waiting for you when you enter the house, but you will pretend to be surprised for the sake of the rest of the family who do not know that you know. You see, the mind-games that actors play with themselves are simply more practiced and formalized games that we play with ourselves every day (because we play roles in our day-to-day lives).
Punctuality is a key element of professionalism in performance. The actor may only need five minutes to get into costume and another ten minutes to get into makeup. The actor may know that he can warm up his voice while he is putting on his costume and makeup, so he may not think it’s necessary to arrive at the theatre ninety minutes before curtain. But the ninety-minute call isn’t for the actor – it’s for the production stage manager. The stage manager needs to be working on other things fifteen minutes before curtain, and he should not have to be worried about whether the actor is going to show up or not. At fifteen minutes before curtain, the production stage manager needs to know that all actors are in the theatre, in costume and makeup, and ready to move into places for Act One. The professional actor, therefore, shows up for the ninety-minute call at ninety minutes before curtain (usually with a large cup of coffee and today’s newspaper).
Consistency of energy is another skill necessary for performance. The argument in Act Two has been rehearsed a hundred times and you’ve already performed it many times, so tonight it just feels like a hassle to have that whole argument again. But tonight’s audience has never seen the argument; they may not even know it’s coming. So, the illusion of the first time means that you enter the scene with all the energy the director has asked for, and you enter into the argument with the same level of energy you’ve always entered into the argument. You argue with your co-star just as vehemently as you’ve argued with him some hundred-plus times before. You pour your energy into the scene, and your co-star pours his energy into the scene, and you create the power and magic of the scene again. And tomorrow night, you’ll do it again. And the night after that . . . And the night after that . . .
There is one final point to be made about performing. Many actors have the insipid idea that playing small practical jokes on each other during performances is a wonderful way to keep the energy flowing. Many actors do this, so a wise young actor will keep it in mind. But playing practical jokes during performance is unethical and often dangerous.
I was directing a production of The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold at a small college in the upper Midwest. In Act Two, there is a dinner scene where the characters carry on a rather lengthy conversation while eating dinner. Much time and energy went into blocking the scene and finding the right combination of foods that would fit the timing of the scene, look believable to the audience, and still be edible after sitting backstage all through Act One. One of the decisions made by cast and director was that the glasses would contain water for the actors to drink.
During the last performance, one senior actor decided to play a “little prank” on his friends in the play. He decided to slip into the theatre early and substitute 7-UP for the water in the glasses.
Sound harmless?
What he didn’t know was that one of the actors in the dinner scene with him was diabetic.
Still sound harmless? Given the energy and excitement of performance, nervousness and whatnot, the sugar in the soda could have easily been overwhelming to the diabetic actor’s system. Fortunately, the senior actor wanted to share his entertainment with another, more professional actor who quickly reported the prank to the production stage manager.
Pranks can be very simple and have little effect on a performance, but they are unethical and sometimes dangerous. Remember that trust is a key element in the art of acting. Actors who pull pranks during performance lose their credibility, and fellow actors stop trusting them. Eventually, directors stop casting them. Be professional; don’t pull any pranks.
Acting: Exercise for the Student
Let’s start with a short monologue. Study the text. Determine things such as the character’s name, age, background. Study the text for clues as to where the character is and to whom the character is speaking. Memorize the text. Don’t just memorize to the extent that you can recite it verbatim; learn the text until it becomes a part of you and flows naturally from you when you speak the lines.
“Yes, Your Honor, I do. The court is already aware of the sexual abuse I endured at the hand of my uncle. The court is already aware of the reasons why I did not come forward and accuse my uncle during the years of abuse. And I have confessed that I killed him after I learned that he was also abusing my sister. I confess my crime, and I ask the court for mercy in sentencing. I am not a threat to the general public. I am not a threat to my family or neighbors. I killed the man who abused me and my sister. That man is dead. And the part of me that was capable of murder died with him, because he was the source of thing that made me capable of murder.”
Practice, practice, and practice some more. This short monologue is actually written in three parts. Can you identify them? The first part establishes what the judge already knows. The second part asks for mercy. The third part explains why the character won’t do it again. It will help with memorization and delivery if you understand the three parts.
Then find some friends or family and perform the monologue for them. Ask for their feedback and criticism. Do they see you reciting a monologue? Or do they see the character; do they imagine you standing in a courtroom addressing the judge?
If you are interested in additional acting opportunities, contact your local school or community theatre and see what productions are coming up in their schedules. Go to an audition and try to earn a role in the play. However, if you are offered a role and you accept, remember that you are making a commitment to the whole production, a commitment that doesn’t end until the curtain falls on the final performance.
Or, if you wrote a short play at the end of the unit on playwrighting, try getting a couple friends together to act out your play. Give it a shot; remember, it’s just playing.