The Actor and the Craft of Acting Flashcards
Define the Actor
- Without them there is no theater
- They are also good performers (Not all performers have to be good actors)
> Musicals require both
> Actors portray characters for the audience that do more than just perform
The Paradox of An Actor
- The actor both is and pretends to be the character
- Successful acting is making the audience believe that the falseness on stage is true
- THE PARADOX IS … to be convincing, the actor must lie
Without them, there is no theater: …
- An empty stage
- Director cannot direct
- Designers cannot design
What are the two approaches to Acting?
- Inspiration
- Technique
(most actors use combination of both)
An “Inspirational” Actor …
- Use mental and emotional techniques to reach their “center”
- Often use past personal experiences to inform characters
- Which then turns into onstage movement & vocalization
A “Technical” Actor…
- Builds a character out of careful and conscious use of body and voice
- Rehearses inflections or carefully chooses specific poses and hand gestures
- Can sometimes be thought of as “full of tricks” with no life or imagination in their work
The Character in a play
- The character is an imitation of a human being created by the playwright
- Characters don’t always affect the plot
- The ACTOR is a PERSON, the CHARACTER is a CONSTRUCT
What are the 3 characteristics involved in actor training?
- Analyzing the script
- Training the actors “instrument” - Body and Voice
- Training the actor’s imagination
What are the 2 main goals of Script Analysis?
Understanding the entire play and the details and the place of the character in the whole play
What is a script?
The foundation of the actor’s work
Understanding the entire play…
- The first reading - judgements and impressions are made
> The style of the play (ie. Abstraction, language, historical era)
> The overall shape of the play - Actors will also find out what demands will be put upon them in the production
Understanding the details and the place of the Character in the whole play
- More details can be found from repeated readings of the play
- Character traits can be found in: Stage directions, Characters own speeches, Speeches of other characters
Training the “Instrument”…
- The Body
- The Voice
What are the goals of an actor’s body?
- Resistance of fatigue
- Quick responsiveness
- Adaptive reality
What is the purpose of Neutral Mask Work?
- “Neutral” masks are used so that the character or image is expressed through the body
- The actor is not able to use facial expressions to convey emotions
- It must be expressed through the body
Examples of body language/nonverbal cues in plays:
- Simple gestures (hand waving)
- Complex statements (postures that convey something different than the words said)
- Practical applications (Rhythmic movements - dancing, Period movement, and the use of props)
What must actors train their voices to do?
- Learn to control the muscles involved in speaking, including the resonance chamber or chest
- Learn how to project their voice
- Unlearning and relearning is often necessary for most beginning actors
- Train to maximize control over every word and sound their voice makes
Actors train their voice through:
- Breath control exercises
- Vocal relaxation
- Articulation exercises
- Dialect work
Training the Actor’s Imagination…
- Actors are encouraged to re-discover their imaginations
- Actors are encouraged to play games, often children’s games
Why do teachers use creative exercises?
To free actors from embarrassment and inhibition
What are image(creative) exercises for?
- Teach the actor to grasp the mental pictures the brain offers (Using memory to create a character)
- Creating simple characters around objects:
- Improvisation exercises (Create theater without a playwright, Enlighten an actor about a character)
Who were the founders of The Group Theater?
Lee Strasburg, Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford
Explain The Group Theater (1931)
- Was a collection of theater artists formed in 1931 to create a natural and disciplined form of theater
- What they began became an “American Acting Technique” based on the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski
Who was Konstantin
Stanislavski?
A Russian actor and director known for his system of actor training, preparation, and rehearsal technique
