So I started reading "The Actor's Checklist" by Rosary O'Neill yesterday, got most of the way through the first chapter which is about Action. Most of those questions I asked yesterday, I got my answers.
I'm feeling somewhat ashamed and humbled right now. Until I asked my teacher what my skill level was, I was egotistical enough to believe that I was immensely naturally talented, and that I didn't need to read any of the acting technique books. Reading that chapter yesterday, I've realized how much I really don't know, that I was working on instinct before and not technique.
I thought acting was about learning the lines, understanding the character and her motivations, connecting emotionally to them, and then just emotionally living the scene as realistically as possible. And while those are important, there's so much more to it than that!
"Acting means doing...Remember a pivotal moment in your life: a wedding, a funeral, a graduation. Don't you see yourself in action doing something: marching down the aisle, throwing a rose on the casket, accepting the diploma? Yes, you may say, but what you were feeling was more important than the action. But the observer understands that feeling through action: the way you ran down the aisle, threw the rose, grabbed the diploma...We capture thought and feeling through physical action. Thought and emotion are volatile, butterfly-like, hard to grasp and re-create. Physical action can be specified and repeated. What we do stirs up and is stirred up by thoughts and feelings." --O'Neill, Rosary, "The Actor's Checklist", pp1-2
So, one of the questions I had yesterday was about creating objectives vitally important to the character, and how to keep the performance from becoming melodramatic, and how to tie everyday activities into these objectives. All of that can be dealt with through action: First, you never want to show everything you're feeling. Second, you pick active verbs that help you pursue your objective, and engage in those actions no matter what activity you are doing.
She also touches on dynamic character choices: if a character is written as a good person, don't worry so much about playing the good side, it's been taken care of in the writing. Look for ways to play the characters flaws. If a person is mean, look for her soft side. And always choose positive descriptions of all character traits, because we as humans do not label ourselves negatively:
"You see yourself as determined, not bullheaded; as carefree, not sloppy; as fun-loving, not foolish; as harried, not negligent...Interpret the character so positively that even repulsive actions seem natural." --O'Neill, Rosary, "The Actor's Checklist", pg 10
So that's what I learned yesterday. I'm thinking I may go back to a few monologues I've worked on previously and apply what I'm learning to them, and then move on to new material.
I'm feeling somewhat ashamed and humbled right now. Until I asked my teacher what my skill level was, I was egotistical enough to believe that I was immensely naturally talented, and that I didn't need to read any of the acting technique books. Reading that chapter yesterday, I've realized how much I really don't know, that I was working on instinct before and not technique.
I thought acting was about learning the lines, understanding the character and her motivations, connecting emotionally to them, and then just emotionally living the scene as realistically as possible. And while those are important, there's so much more to it than that!
"Acting means doing...Remember a pivotal moment in your life: a wedding, a funeral, a graduation. Don't you see yourself in action doing something: marching down the aisle, throwing a rose on the casket, accepting the diploma? Yes, you may say, but what you were feeling was more important than the action. But the observer understands that feeling through action: the way you ran down the aisle, threw the rose, grabbed the diploma...We capture thought and feeling through physical action. Thought and emotion are volatile, butterfly-like, hard to grasp and re-create. Physical action can be specified and repeated. What we do stirs up and is stirred up by thoughts and feelings." --O'Neill, Rosary, "The Actor's Checklist", pp1-2
So, one of the questions I had yesterday was about creating objectives vitally important to the character, and how to keep the performance from becoming melodramatic, and how to tie everyday activities into these objectives. All of that can be dealt with through action: First, you never want to show everything you're feeling. Second, you pick active verbs that help you pursue your objective, and engage in those actions no matter what activity you are doing.
She also touches on dynamic character choices: if a character is written as a good person, don't worry so much about playing the good side, it's been taken care of in the writing. Look for ways to play the characters flaws. If a person is mean, look for her soft side. And always choose positive descriptions of all character traits, because we as humans do not label ourselves negatively:
"You see yourself as determined, not bullheaded; as carefree, not sloppy; as fun-loving, not foolish; as harried, not negligent...Interpret the character so positively that even repulsive actions seem natural." --O'Neill, Rosary, "The Actor's Checklist", pg 10
So that's what I learned yesterday. I'm thinking I may go back to a few monologues I've worked on previously and apply what I'm learning to them, and then move on to new material.
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