Acting Process and Techniques
Lesson Overview and Objectives
Core Philosophy: "Actors are not made, they are born." - Angela Lansbury
Primary Objectives:
Develop a comprehensive understanding of the acting process.
Accurately classify various acting techniques.
Perform specific activities designed to enhance individual acting skills.
Produce a short video presentation demonstrating mastery of these techniques.
The Acting Process: A Creative Journey
1. Evaluate the Part:
Actors must read and thoroughly understand the character within the context of the story.
This includes systematic script analysis and identifying character traits.
2. Determine the Object (Objectives):
Identify the character's core desires and goals.
The Super-Objective: The overarching, guiding desire for the character throughout the entire play (e.g., to gain power, find love, or achieve freedom).
3. Interconnectivity of Characters:
Focus on relationships with others in the scene.
Analyzing dynamics, reactions, and the specific impact characters have on one another.
4. Purpose that the Role Satisfies in the Play:
Define the role's function within the narrative.
Understanding the character as a story driver and a source of conflict.
5. Understanding Subtext:
Probing the hidden meaning and unspoken thoughts behind the written dialogue.
"Reading between the lines" to find internal motivation.
6. Production Role:
Collaboration as part of a team, including directors, designers, and crew.
Integration into the overall show design and emotional arc of the production.
Introduction to Acting Techniques
Definition: Acting techniques are systems or methods used by actors to approach a role and bring characters to life effectively on stage or screen.
Purpose of Acting Techniques:
Improve performance skills.
Develop confidence.
Enhance communication.
Create believable characters.
Engage the audience.
Konstantin Stanislavsky’s System
Background: Konstantin Stanislavsky is known as the father of modern acting. He focused on the "human soul" and the emotional life of characters.
Core Principle: The actor should "live" a role rather than simply "perform" it. The actor does not play a character but plays themselves under fictional circumstances.
Key Publications: "Building a Character" and "Creating a Role."
Key Concepts:
The "Magic If": A catalyst for imagination using the phrase "What if I were in this character's situation?"
Given Circumstances: Every known detail about the character's world (time, place, history, social context, physical environment) provided in the script.
Objectives: Moment-to-moment goals.
Affectionate Memory: Recalling an emotional past to use in the current performance.
Sensory Recall: Re-experiencing the five senses to ground the performance in belief.
Subtext: The underlying thoughts and feelings not explicitly stated.
Famous Practitioners: Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud.
Lee Strasberg and "The Method"
Background: Lee Strasberg was a disciple of Stanislavsky. His approach is famously known as "The Method."
Core Philosophy: Psychological realism and finding emotional truth from the self. Strasberg encouraged actors to use their own psyches.
The Method Questions:
Who am I?
Where am I?
When is it?
What do I want?
Why do I want it?
How am I going to motivate the other character?
Key Techniques:
Affective Memory: Channels personal experience.
Sense Memory: Sensory recall of objects and conditions.
The Relaxation: Liberates the body and voice from rigidity to allow impulsiveness and spontaneity.
Legacy: Training through The Actors Studio.
Famous Practitioners: Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Al Pacino, Ellen Burstyn, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman.
The Stella Adler Technique
Background: Stella Adler was a strong-willed teacher who pushed students toward imaginative truth.
The Actor's Imagination: Encourages creating a detailed internal world and visualizing specific images from the text. Unlike Strasberg, Adler famously noted: NO EMOTIONAL RECALL. Raw emotion should come from imagination, not personal memory.
Key Elements:
Use of Action: Identifying and executing clear physical and vocal actions to achieve objectives.
Given Circumstances: Understanding the factual and social context provided by the play.
Developing Character: Deep investigation of social standing, physicality, and background.
Famous Practitioners: Robert De Niro, Benicio Del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Griffith.
The Sanford Meisner Technique
Background: Meisner believed acting is "living truthfully under imaginary circumstances."
Core Principle: Focus on the partner, not the self. He argued that being too intellectually or imaginatively obsessed makes an actor too internal.
Key Techniques:
The Repetition Exercise: Designed to build spontaneity and focus on the external. (e.g., "I see you smile", "I see you smile", "I'm smiling").
Listening and Responding: Acting from instinct and trust in emotional impulses rather than thinking.
In the Moment: Reactions must be immediate and genuine; the moment tells the actor how to act.
Famous Practitioners: Robert Duvall, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, Diane Keaton.
Uta Hagen’s Technique
Core Concept: Encourages the use of "Substitution" to relate personal truths and memories to a character’s life.
Practical Tools: Uses Stanislavsky’s principles to develop behavioral tasks for the stage.
Key Components:
The Actor’s Objective: Defining goals and pursuing them actively.
The Obstacle: Identifying impediments that create tension and conflict.
The Given Circumstances: Analyzing facts (Time, Place, History, Social Context).
Physicality: Focusing on genuine physical actions and behavioral tasks.
Famous Practitioners: Sigourney Weaver, Jack Lemmon, Judy Garland (vocal/accent coach).
Additional Modern Techniques
Viola Spolin (Spolin Technique):
Believed in the "Power of Play" and improvisation games.
Key concept: "Yes and…" (Agree and Add mindset).
Focus on the external over internal thoughts; acting is play, not labor.
Practitioners: Alan Arkin, Fred Willard, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner.
Practical Aesthetics (Macy & Mamet):
Developed by William H. Macy and David Mamet.
Rejects complex internal approaches; focuses on the literal action.
The Four Key Questions:
What is the character literally doing?
What does the character want the other to do?
What is the character's action (tactical verb)?
What is that act (internal meaning/survival)?
Strictly avoids emotional recall.
Viewpoints (Anne Bogart & Tina Landau):
Focuses on physical collaboration using body instincts and mind awareness.
Theatre of the Oppressed (Augusto Boal):
Actor as 「Spect-actor」 (Spectator + Artist).
Roles as educator and activist to tackle social issues and empower the community.
The Chekhov Technique (Michael Chekhov):
Advocated for Archetypes (e.g., Warrior, Wise Man).
The Psychological Gesture: A clear, archetypal physical movement (e.g., To Push, To Pull) that bridges inner psychology with outward action.
Linklater Method (Kristin Linklater):
Voice-centered; rooted in meaningful breath and the release of the "True Voice."
Grotowski Technique (Jerzy Grotowski):
The Poor Theatre: Stripping away superfluous elements like sets or costumes.
Via Negativa: The elimination of blocks (physical and psychic) to uncover truth through the actor's organism.
Classical Acting:
An umbrella term for European approaches (5th–16th centuries).
Focus on voice control, body control, and meticulous textual analysis.
Activity: Cinematic Confrontation
Task: Choose a high-stakes scene and apply a specific technique for a live performance.
Time Requirement: At least .
Total Points: .
Assessment Criteria:
Technical Application (): Evidence of a specific technique mastery.
Character & Conflict (): Emotional stakes and clear objectives.
Preparation & Flow (): Rehearsal quality and engagement levels.
Scoring Tiers:
Exemplary: .
Proficient: .
Developing: .