THE ACTORS TOOL BOX

It is helpful to begin with the difference obvious between reading a script to ourselves, 

and creating a character in an environment from a script for an audience to interpret.

READING FROM A SCRIPT is a cognitive process in which we interpret a narrative by unconsciously imagining characters and relationships in our mind. We do this by responding to the words in terms of our own personal experiences. These signals travel throughout our nervous system producing chemicals associated with emotions that provide substance to the narrative being read. 

ACTING FROM A SCRIPT is completely different as it is necessary for us to create characters and emotions using speech cadence, body language, blocking, motion, reaction and tears. An audience understands the character in the script solely from our personal interpretation of that character's words. An actor's non-verbal skills therefore provide the intangible frame of reference for the words actually heard and processed by an audience and are essential to a memorable and satisfying production.

1 ACTING  That acting exists only in the presence of an audience establishes the cardinal rule of acting which needs to be instinctive. Being aware at all times of what the audience can perceive requires absolute subordination of one's own persona and self esteem including self respect, self regard, self pride, self dignity, self confidence and self assurance. Creating and appearing to be a character we would never inhabit in real life is the fundamental talent.

2 AUDIENCE When on stage an animated audience provides the actor with emotional motivation feedback that can guide and amplify the performance. On camera the audience is replaced with extreme distractions over which the actor must  contrive an imaginary audience.

3 CHARACTER The actor communicates with an audience by imagining a character who needs to say the words, why those words are being said, the emotional circumstances of the story being told, the character risks being taken and, most importantly the characters thoughts.

4 DIRECTION If your script or director says “look up and say I love you”, do not do so until you have asked your character “Why on earth would I be looking up for at this moment?” Your audience doesn't care if you look up, down or sideways so dig around in your mind until you have an epiphany... "aha, that's why"... then keep digging until you have choices from which you can determine how much risk you want your character to take. The successful delivery of a high risk choice always beats a perfectly executed low risk delivery.

5 PACING Your sides present words serially as written by the writer. Do not impose a serial timeline until you have asked your character “what is going on here”? Your audience doesn't care when words are said or if co actors are talking or listening, so continue digging until you have choices from which to decide the risk you want your character to take. Pacing is the degree to which your character adds pauses between, or steps on, your own or your co actors lines. It presents an instinctive artifact of your character which communicates directly to your audience.

6 GOING DRY When the words in your sides desert you on stage, as they will, your character must never ask "WTF's happening?" Your audience has not read the script and does not know that you are dry so stay in character by rewriting the script with gibberish if necessary until you are able to lead him back to where you hung him out to dry. Under no circumstances come out of character. Coming out of character is a fatal mistake from which there is no recovery.

7 PREPARATION Learn, understand, and ascribe emotions to your character's lines so you are able to deliver them in or out of order. Memorize your co actors lines and be ready to ad lib to ensure you can take control if the scene goes off track.

8 RISK Trust your gut instincts when inhabiting your character and avoid what other actors have done. In particular, avoid what you believe is expected or what you have seen on TV. Imagine what your character would do and embrace the most plausible risk you can confidently execute.

9 COSTUME What you wear and how you are made up is of no importance to your character. They are however enormously useful in helping you to inhabit your character. Tight fitting clothes can read as 'up tight', undersized shoes as 'infirmity' and pale rouge as 'health and age'.

10 BODY LANGUAGE How you present and move your body should never be neutral as it amplifies your character particularly when you play opposites. Physically presenting seriously sober can read as intoxication. Physical laughter while experiencing trauma reads as extreme distress. Opposites can capture an audience's attention.

11 PROXIMITY When delivering words to a co actor avoid standing still or apart without a reason. Circling around, going nose to nose or becoming silent can create tension and anxiety. Your audience will have the visceral response of what is about to happen?

12 CONTINUITY Decide where your character is going and lead your audience with a smooth “look, move and speak” transition. Unexplained changes or abrupt transitions are unsatisfying at best and will interrupt the train of thought of your audience.

13 INTERRUPTIONS Whether induced by your co actors or your audience any interruption must be made invisible. Never anticipate or wait for a reaction such as laughter for example. Avoid inserting your own reactions into the scene. You are not part of the scene.

14 CHEATING Sometimes it is useful to act in a way that is contrary to what happens in real life. Look off-axis to ensure your eyes can be seen by your audience for example or talk to another character over their shoulder to expose both actors’ emotions. All cheats need to be executed as magic tricks. Losing yourself in your co actor's eyes may help you feel the emotion you want for your character but it is disturbing to your audience if you impose it.

15 EMOTIONS Understanding the relationship between your emotions and your character helps you shine as an actor. It's a little nerdy but it is important to understand how your character appears emotionally. When you observe chemistry between two characters you are witnessing the contrived emotional relationship between the actors. Occasionally there exists a real attraction which needs to be curbed when making character choices. Your genuine relationships of attraction in the past are associated with neurotransmitter activity in the brain. Those neurotransmitter patterns produce similar emotions when recalled. They can be re-experienced but cannot be contrived. When playing a pilot for example, you will instinctively look outside the cockpit rather than at the instruments because it is associated with driving a car where you look outside most of the time. This is the exact opposite of flying an airplane.

16 MEMORY Memories of any kind reproduce a residual of the original neurotransmitter patterns and associated emotions. When we recall those memories our brain replicates what remains of the original experience and facilitates a physical manifestation of the original emotion. This instinctive response is perceived by an audience as belonging to your character. Crying is a good example where a lowered head and a hand covering eyes is a poor substitute for eyes open with tears. It is therefore useful to remember how neurotransmitters like Noradrenaline, Dopamine and Serotonin relate to a characters emotion. I think therefore I am becomes “I remember therefore I feel again”. My personal crying ‘keys’ are marching bands and doodlebugs from WW2