Chapter 4
The Actor
Potential Rewards of Acting:
Thrill of a great performance,
appreciation from audience,
profits, glory of getting into a
character, high incomes
possible, celebrity and fame
Potential Demands and
Sacrifices of Acting:
Psychological, financial, moral, etc,
Stage Fright , bullied by directors,
bossed by stage managers, many paid
less than janitors, hired/fired capriciously,
deceived (and swindled) by agents,
poked, prodded, etc uncertainty, etc fear
of failure, competition, forgetting lines,
losing emotional control, losing one’s
looks, losing one’s fans, etc
What is Acting?
1.oldest of the theatrical arts
2.most public of the arts—most
visible and recognized by an
audience
3.public thinks they know “how to act”
because it seems simple—it’s not!
Two Notions of Acting
1.Presentational/External/Technical
(outside in)—imitations, skills,
academic training,
2.Representational/Internal/ (inside
out)—“feel” the emotions, live the life of
the character, in the US it is “Method”
acting, and is derived from
Stanislavsky’s and made popular by
Lee Strasberg
Are these two styles mutually exclusive?
Both are vital to great acting—technique and
inspiration or head and heart; the “third eye”—actors
are simultaneously absorbed in their character and
aware of the audience and their reaction. The best
actor is a trained actor who believes in his character
and the world of the play and who pursues his
objective with commitment.
Examples: Aesop stabbed a stagehand because he
was so in character, Polus placed the ashes of his own
dead son onstage to inspire him during a lamentation
speech in Electra
Why does the text call this conflict a paradox?
And how does it relate to Diderot’s “paradox
of the actor”? Horace “In order to move the
audience you must first be moved yourself”
Diderot claimed that “a great actor must be an
unmoved and disinterested onlooker. . . he is best
when he imitates anger. Actors impress the
public not when they are furious but when they
play fury well” Danger of being too emotional-Diderot characteristic of the Enlightenment—
demystify/classify/categorize
Analogy: candle flame and hurricane glass
What was Stanislavsky’s response
to Diderot’s assertions?
Rebelled/attacked (age of
Romanticism—passion is
everything and
Realism/Naturalism—sense of truth
and reality) but Stanislavski’s views
changed throughout his career.
“Zadacha”—
character’s problem
(incorrectly translated as
objective—but we still
use objective today)
Stanislavsky was the one of the first to
investigate what notions of acting?.
Motivation, character is striving to achieve
something, “public solitude”—focus
attention on the events/world of the play,
subtext (unspoken meanings and
undescribed character goals) Stanislavsky
hated empty theatricality or “gimmicks” or
“tricks” and believed actors must invest
emotionally; he was almost obsessive about
emotion early on in his career
What was Stanislavsky obsessed
with and what acting technique did
he create because of this
obsession? Emotion; he developed
the technique of emotional memory or
emotional recall or affective memory by
mentally substituting remembered
situations from his own life into the
action of the play
Was Stanislavsky strictly an “internal” actor?
No. He was also very skilled and well-trained in
theatre technique; he had performed in plays
since the age of 6, was a trained singer, and
recognized the necessity for rational control in
performance “Feeling does not replace an
immense amount of work on the part of our
intellects.” By the middle of his career he had
discarded emotional memory in favor of physical
actions as the key to stimulating truthful acting
and coached actors to stop “playing feelings” and
see everything in terms of “action”
How did Stanislavsky influence the American
system of acting and actor training?
2 disciples Richard Boleslavski and Maria Ouspenskaya
moved to NY to found American Laboratory Theatre;
among students was Lee Strasberg who formed the
Group Theatre in 1931 and the Actor’s Studio shortly
thereafter. Strasberg developed “The Method” using
“Stanislavsky’s System” and incorporated emotional
recall as a principal technique and it became the
standard in actor training in the US. Others, such as
Stella Adler and Sonia Moore studied with Stanislavsky
later in his life and emphasized physical actions but
almost all American acting teachers pay homage to
Stanislavsky.
What is virtuosity?
Virtuosity of dramatic technique;
requires that the actor possess a
wide range of skills such as juggling,
dancing, singing, vocal training,
miming, clowning, stage combat,
acrobatics, etc.
What are the two
main features an
actor needs to
develop and why?
A magnificently
expressive voice
and a splendidly
supple body;
Greek actors were awarded prizes for their
vocal abilities alone and many modern
actors are recognized for their signature
voices; one type of acting in which some
actors specialize is called “voice-over”
usually for radio and television (like
Simpsons). Actors who can draw on many
“voices” have a wide range of roles they
can play and they command the attention
of an audience.
Actors must also be strong and
supple, capable of physical selfmastery and artists of body
language. Actors can
communicate a huge amount
with an arched eyebrow, a toss of
the head or a flick of the wrist.
Therefore an actor is never
“done” training or learning to
better use these tools
Traditional notions of
virtuosity lost popularity in
the mid-twentieth centuryb
ecause rise of realism and
cinema verite of post WWII
fostered an “artless” acting
style
In this era, it was thought that
actors should be “natural” not
trained (thought virtuosity was
“affectation”). Certainly modern
times require modern skills but
training in theatre technique and
specific skills can never hurt and
are usually very helpful.
Example: popularity of
“mumbling” actors;
although they were
speaking very “naturally”
the audience couldn’t
understand them!
The virtuosity of
one age can seem
mere affectation
in the next.
What does the text mean by
“magic”? presence,
magnetism, charisma, a quality
we cannot explain except to say
we know it when we are under
its spell, “it” factor; star quality.
Much of it is confidence
combined with skill.
How is the idea of “magic”
related to theatre historically?
Earliest actors were not technicians
but priests and they embodied not
ordinary men but gods; modern
actors retain a hint of this
transcendent divinity. Elevated on a
stage, bathed in light—a “star” or a
monster sacre (sacred monster).
Can “magic” be directly
acquired or produced?
Why or why not?
For gifted actors, it comes
quickly or they are “born”
with it, for some even years
of training it will never come.
What is the actor’s instrument?
The actor’s self; voice and body
primarily, but also emotions,
intellect, imagination, past
experiences and education, etc.
Historically, how did actors learn
their craft?
Master actors took on young
apprentices; Japanese and French
acting styles still learn their craft by
relentless imitation of “the masters.”
Today many educational specialists are
incorporated into actor training. Acting
cannot be learned by simply “reading
books.”
Describe the goals and
techniques involved in
developing the
physiological
instrument—
Voice—
training to develop
breathing, phonation,
resonance, etc
Speech—
articulation,
pronunciation,
phrasing
Movement—physical relaxation,
muscular control, economy of action
(selectivity—beginning actors often
fidget, shuffle,pace and use
nervous hand gestures; surprise is
an actor’s “greatest weapon” and
can be achieved only the economy
of movement and mastery of the
body), expressive rhythms and
movement patterns
Specialized
Movement skills—
dance, mime, fencing,
acrobatics
Describe the 4 levels or
aspects of the actor’s
development and use of
the psychological
instrument.
1. Imagination and the
willingness to use it in the
service of art; belief in the
imaginary world of the play
so that you can convey that
“reality to an audience”
2. Imagine themselves in
the interpersonal
situations in the play; in
love with Juliet, in despair
for their life, etc
3. Go “beyond” and become a creative
force that makes their portrayal unique
and original
**Theatre games and early actor
training are aimed at freeing the
imagination because human
imagination tends to rigidify in the
course of maturation—the child’s
imagination is usually much richer than
that of the adult
4. Discipline—to some extent it rules all the
others; imagination must be restricted by
the requirements of the play, the director’s
staging and interpretation and by certain
established working conditions; discipline
keeps the actor within certain established
bounds. The actor works in an ensemble
and theatre is only successful in
collaboration. (Even a 1 person show has
designers, crew members, stage managers
and a director!)
Actors are sometimes
stereotypically believed to be
temperamental and professionally
difficult (divas) but the truth is the
opposite; rigorous calls, rehearsal
and performance schedules, needs
for physical health, psychological
composure, concentration, a good
team player, etc.
Describe the 3
elements of the
actor’s approach to
performance of a
role:
1.Stanislavsky’s primary principle: the actor
creates his or her performance through the
pursuit of the character’s zadacha or
problem to be solved (objective, task,
intention, want, or goal). This focuses the
actor’s energy, displaces stage fright, aligns
the actor with the character. Objectives are
usually identified in relation to other
character’s in the play so that acting
becomes “interacting with other people”
2. Identification of the tactics necessary to
achieve the goal or objective. Actors who
play tactics boldy and who allow themselves
to believe that they will win their goals (even
if the play dictates that they will not) convey
the theatre’s greatest intangible: hope.
Hope achieved and hope dashed can
create the moments of overwhelming thrill
and unbearable poignancy of great
theatrical climaxes. (Miracle Worker and
Glass Menagerie examples)
3. Research into the style of play
and mode of performance that will
govern the production:
representational, presentational,
historical, comedy of manners and
wit, etc. Shakespeare coaching or
dialect training or tap dancing or
playing guitar or riding horses or
studying with people with a
particular handicap for example
Describe the 3 stages of
the actor’s routine:
1.Audition
2.Rehearsal
3.Performance
Audition—Young, unknown actors
audition hundreds of times a year.
Well-known actors may only have to
audition for sought after roles or if
their careers are perceived to be in
decline. In an audition the actor
presents a prepared reading or a
“cold” reading from script to
demonstrate that they can portray
the role.
Actors prepare several
monologues for their
repertoire (can also use
poems, prose etc) to show
a wide range and these
should be well-rehearsed.
Qualities a director looks for in
an audition: ease at handling the
role, naturalness of delivery,
physical, vocal, and emotional
suitability for the part; spontaneity,
power, charm, etc. They also look
for experience, skills and training,
someone who can work within and
complement the ensemble, and that
special “it” factor
Rehearsal—Most productions rehearse
between 6 and 10 weeks although Brecht
and Stanislavsky sometimes rehearsed
for more than a year and summer stock
or professional touring companies
sometimes rehearse for a week or less.
(Understudies have been known to “go
on” on Broadway with 1 or no rehearsals!
And sometimes that 1 rehearsal is with
the stage manager only!)
During rehearsal the actor studies the
character’s biography, subtext,
objectives, and the world created by the
playwright, memorizes lines, learns
blocking and business. Rehearsal is
both a time for experimentation and
discovery and for getting secure in the
role by repetition. French word for
rehearsal is repetition.
Performance—the ultimate test of the
actor and the production. And the
production always changes somewhat
with the introduction of the audience.
Even when the audience is silent and
invisible, the performer feels their
presence; art of reading an audience.
Professional stage actors risk going
“stale”.