What Is Acting?

What is Acting?

Acting is storytelling. Acting is believing. As an actor you are telling a story to your audience and to tell your story well you must believe it! You must polish your ability to believe in everything that takes place onstage, and believe in your every action within the existence of your invented circumstances. You can only fully believe in the truth; therefore, you must know how to find it at all times in your character.

To create a truth, you have to start by creating and developing your character. The first thing you want to do is to think about what you already know about this person. Think about stories, movies or people you may know that can help you put some dimension to your character. If you search your inner resources and you have nothing you can use, do some research. This research can include; watching movies, magazine and newspaper articles, plays or books. All of these tools will be useful in helping you create a character. Once you have some background on your character you may begin reading the script. While reading the script think about how this character is would react: what are his mannerisms, what is his posture like, how will he walk and talk? You should also use the magic "if" to help with the development of your character. Ask yourself, "if" I were this person what would I be doing, how would I react, what would I say or do. After you have a solid idea for your character you may go on to the given circumstances. The given circumstances are the questions: who, when, where, what and why, you must answer these questions with your character in mind. You should not go into a scene without considering a background for your character, the given circumstances are another way to help you develop and bring this character to like. You should ask yourself, where was I born, how did I (the character) get here, what happened in my childhood or life that has made me this way. These questions add another layer to your character so you feel more in tune with it.

The next step to developing your character includes two parts: one is to break your scene into beats and the second is to create a physical score of action for your scenes. In the exploring phase of your character it helps if you write out your beats, your intentions and your physical score of action. When you read your scene you will see places of transition, this is when you will end one beat and begin another. The transition in the scene indicates a different intention, tactic and obstacle. Intentions are what your character wants in that particular beat, you may want to leave the house without starting a fight. You must name your tactic which is what your character is willing to do achieve his intention, you may make your spouse feel like everything is fine so you can leave. Then you must name the obstacle, which is what is standing in the way of what your character wants. This may be that you and your spouse have been fighting all day and you know it will be hard to pacify them. It is extremely important to break each beat down so you will know how you should act and react.

A physical score of action is a written list of actions in which you will be