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Chapter 7
The Art of Acting
What Shakespeare says about Acting
“All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women
merely players.”
--As You Like It
Training to be an Actor
The Body
 Dance
 Martial
arts
 Fencing
 Stage combat
 Circus techniques
 Yoga
 Tai Chi
Training the Actor
The Voice
 Breathing
techniques
 Vocal technique in pitch, volume and
resonance
 Dialects
 International Phonetic Alphabet
 Singing
Training the Actor
The Mind
 Memorization
skills
 Engaging with the imagination
 Levels of empathy
 Keen awareness of surroundings and others
 Ability to analyze and synthesize information
quickly
Gurus and Mentors
Konstantin Stanislavsky
and the Moscow Art Theatre
Michael Chekhov
Lee Strasberg and
Stella Adler
Sanford Meisner
Konstantin Stanislavsky
1863 - 1938
“An actor lives, weeps,
laughs on the stage, but as
he weeps and laughs he
observes his own tears
and mirth. It is this double
existence, this balance
between life and acting that
makes for art.”
--Konstantin Stanislavsky
Tadashi Suzuki
Suzuki’s training embodies
the stamina and
concentration of traditional
Japanese theatre.
This rigorous training is
designed to temper and
shape the body so the actor
can bring to the stage a
“brilliant liveliness” that
takes into account the
“tiniest details of
movement.”
www.rubenaranadowns.com
Acting Techniques for Everyone
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For expressing emotions
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Outside/in
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Inside/out
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Technical approach
Emotional memory
For creating character
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Use of costumes or props
Ability to visualize imaginatively the world of the play
Acting Techniques for Everyone
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Empathy
Substitution
Use of imagery
Recall
Given circumstances
Magic if
Through-line actions
Characterization
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Given circumstances
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Their
Their
Their
Their
particular situation
specific problems
limitations
hopes
Superobjective
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What is this character’s main driving force?
What does he or she want?
What is the most important thing to this character?
Characterization
 Public
Image
 Personal
Image
Characterization
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Inner conflict
 Character flaw
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Motivation stated
in the positive
The Actor’s Working Life
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Actor’s Equity Association
Screen Actors Guild
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Auditions
•Open call – “cattle
call”
•Cold Readings
•Improvisations
•Callback list
Rehearsal to Performance
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Table work
Blocking rehearsals
General working
rehearsals
Special rehearsals
Off-book rehearsals
Run-throughs
Tech rehearsals
Dress rehearsals
Preview
Performance
Curtain Call
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Actors are responsible to the people we play. I don’t
label or judge. I just play them as honestly and
expressively and creatively as I can, in the hope that
people who ordinarily turn their heads in disgust instead
think, “What I thought I’d feel about that guy, I don’t
totally feel right now.”
--Philip Seymour Hoffman, actor
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“Acting is simply my way of investigating human
nature and having fun at the same time.
--Meryl Streep, actor