The Three Basic Challenges

Pretending on Purpose part2. The craft of acting is so varied, with each style and period demanding its own set of rules, customs and techniques. When I teach about acting I try, at least with my beginners and intermediates, to keep to techniques that cross the boundaries and apply to most, if not all, styles of acting.

About three years ago I was invited to be a part of an arts camp for a local church that I attended. In preparing for this camp,which only gave us about three one hour sessions with these kids, I struggled for a simple way to break acting down into manageable steps and here is what I came up with.

Actors in almost all disciplines are presented with three basic challenges: BE SEEN, BE HEARD, BE UNDERSTOOD. Now on the surface these seem to be very basic indeed, but if you think about them they entail most of the things that any actor needs to know to communicate well with an audience.

First BE SEEN. This of course is essential in most acting on stage or film. Not only does the actor need to be comfortable with being looked at, he must also learn how to present an image that will allow his audience to more fully "see" who his character is, what the setting may be, and what the relationships between him and others are. In addition to what is seen, an actor must always be aware of those things that should not be seen. In fact, much like a master illusionist, the skilled actor learns to direct his audience's attention very precisely, aiding in the storytelling by becoming much like the eye of the camera for a film director.

Second BE HEARD. Immediately we think of a drama teacher standing at the back of the theatre yelling, "I can't hear you!" Well, louder is not always better. An actor must not only learn to be heard physically, but must learn to shape what is heard by the audience to more clearly communicate the intentions and emotions of his character. Just as in BE SEEN, it also includes learning how to control what should not be heard.

Third BE UNDERSTOOD. Many actors spend years ridding themselves of regional accents, speech defects and the like, and it is no small thing to learn to speak clearly and intelligibly. This is where it stops for most amateurs. On a deeper level being understood means making an emotional connection with your audience, allowing them to peak inside the objectives of your character. The best actors can make us sympathetic to even the least lovable characters, this is being understood.

If you keep these three in mind and implement whatever level of skill you have to make them a reality you cannot help but make yourself a better actor. I'll be back next time to begin discussing how we go about making the three B's a reality in our performances.

What is Acting?

Over the past 28 years I have performed in more than 400 live plays, musicals, pageants and concerts. I have directed over fifty full length productions and written half a dozen plays and countless sketches. Here is what I have boiled it down to: ACTING IS...Pretending on Purpose. That's right pretending. Now I know you just finished a book by the latest Hollywood Guru that said that acting is TRUTH. Ironic for a guy who teaches people to lie for a living to spend more time on the subject of truth than the average televangelist, don't you think.

Well, I'm not telling you he's wrong, but if I were I would be in famous company. In his book "On the technique of acting" Michael Chekhov, nephew of the famous Russian playwright Anton, argues that the imagination is the only tool strong enough to provide an actor with original and interesting character ideas. Now this was a guy who stood toe to toe with Stanislavsky, good ole Stan even called him his most famous student.

So, what do I mean when I say, acting is pretending is purpose? Well, you remember cops and robbers, or house, or cowboys and Indians? We all used some variation of role playing in our childhood. These game usually were selected by the bossiest kid on the playground and they would continue until no one could take anymore random rule changes and then we'd all go hang upside down on the monkey bars to relieve the stress. That was pure pretend! What we do in the theatre is a little more complicated.

We agree with a group of people that we will practice pretending to be someone we're not at scheduled times for a number of weeks. We build elaborate dress up clothes and buy special lamps to get just the right light. We find or create sounds and music, playhouses and special toys called props, to make sure it is all just right. Then we invite another, hopefully larger, group of people to watch us present our rehearsed pretending. Sounds kind of silly when I say it like that, doesn't it? Makes you wonder why all these Hollywood types take themselves so seriously, when in reality that is there job and they get millions for it. Why do they care if we "respect" them as artists as long as we pay our ten bucks a pop and keep sucking down movies?

Why do I do it, you may ask, I ask myself all the time. Here is the answer. I believe that the human imagination has a way of exploring the world around us that helps us better understand ourselves and others. I believe that people who are skilled in weaving these imaginations into stories and presenting them in a way that I find disarming and entertaining have a unique opportunity to make me see and admit things about myself and others that I might not if faced with "reality".

We as actors are basically story tellers. Hopefully we are selecting the kinds of stories that have the power to uplift and improve the human condition, show us who we are and remind us of who we want to be. That is why I do it. Over the coming weeks I am coming back to this dramorama project to plant some seeds and I will discuss in more detail the ideas behind my particular brand of pretend, I hope you will join me. Feel free to explore the sight and borrow anything you find here, it's all free. Drop a comment now and then to let us know how we're doing, and if you have an article idea send it to markrmorris2@sbcglobal.net.