Chapter 1 AL What Is Acting? RI Acting is defined as the art or practice of representing a character on a stage or GH TE D MA TE before cameras and derives from the Latin word agere, meaning “to do.” When someone is acting, they are performing an action: thus, something is being done as a character. Generally an actor is someone who takes on another character by altering parts of their body, voice, or personality in order to share a story with an audience.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? A Brief History of Acting Similar to many noted animated tales, the history of acting begins with a legend. During the sixth century in ancient Greece, a man named Thespis stepped out of a chorus of performers to utter several solo lines, and thus acting was born. Prior to this time, if you went to a dramatic festival in Greece you would see a group of 50 performers singing or chanting in unison the tales of Greek gods or heroes.
A Brief History of Acting ■ 3 Figure 1.1 Amy Roeder plays Hecuba in a scene from Trojan Women at the University of Georgia Department of Theatre and Film Studies, directed by George Contini The Middle Ages It is ironic that after all the opposition by the church to theater, the church is the very place where theater was revived during the Middle Ages.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Commedia dell’Arte Figure 1.2 The University of Georgia Commedia troupe During the Renaissance, most theatrical productions moved to the court and were performed by courtiers. This theater was more for showing off than any real acting. The development of a professional, public theater happened in Italy with the rise of Commedia dell’Arte, an improvised form of theater based on stock characters and scenarios.
A Brief History of Acting Commedia laid the groundwork for characters that we still use today in theater, film, and animation. The “dirty old man,” the “braggart solider,” the “sneaky servant,” the “empty-headed young lover,” and the “licentious servant” are all character types that we recognize in our comedies. These and almost all stock types can be traced back to Commedia. (For more on Commedia, see Chapter 4, “Commedia dell’Arte.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? There are many different opinions concerning the acting style of the Elizabethan performer. Some descriptions of performances have called them realistic. Hamlet’s advice to the players would suggest that the Elizabethan actors understood the ground rules for producing a psychologically realistic character on the stage.
A Brief History of Acting The majority of acting for the next two hundred years was what is called presentational acting (see Figure 1.4), which is the mere presenting of the character from an external perspective. The goal for the actor is to look or appear as if the character is genuinely feeling or experiencing emotions by the proper adaptations of the body and voice. The actor would never experience any emotions or connect psychologically with the character.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Theatre Figure 1.5 The major turning point from presentational to representational or realistic acting came with the founding of the Moscow Art Theatre in 1897. The theater, under the direction of Constantin Stanislavski (shown in Figure 1.5), revolutionized acting. It threw out the old star system and opted for an ensemble style of acting. Stanislavski, an actor himself, set out to perfect an approach to acting.
A Brief History of Acting Stanislavski established a training program for young actors. He stressed that actors needed to start by training their bodies and voices but then needed to focus their attentions to learning to analyze and study a text in order to determine the through line of actions for the character. He also urged actors to observe themselves and others to learn what truthful behavior was.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Figure 1.6 theorists have rebelled against his work, but without Stanislavski there would be nothing to rebel against. Modern audiences have come to expect the truthful depictions of life on the stage that Stanislavski established as the height of the art. Film and television have furthered the need for subtle, psychological honesty. With a camera only inches from an actor’s face, there is no room for broad playing.
How an Actor Works script, learns her lines, does research, memorizes her blocking, all while working to create this new life. Ultimately every actor comes to her own process for doing this. Some of these processes are instinctual, some come from training, and some come from experience with the craft. You may have heard that a great actor never needs to train or study acting because real talent is something that cannot be taught. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? possibly, but never an actor. Additionally, talent takes a certain amount of exhibitionism. An actor must be free and fearless in sharing in front of a group of total strangers. A responsive body and voice To share all of the sensations to which an actor has made herself vulnerable, her body and voice must respond freely. Her body must be free from tension and be able to mold and morph into new and unique characters.
How an Actor Works ■ 13 Figure 1.7 George Contini, in Put It in the Scrapbook, develops inner resources. Costumes by Jennie Alvernaz. Lights by Rich Dunham. Direction by Kristin Kundert-Gibbs. For more reading on Constantin Stanislavski, look to three books written by him: An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, and Creating a Role (all from Theatre Arts Books, 1989).
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Check out Viola Spolin’s Theater Game File for handy index cards of theater games for the actor (Northwestern University Press, 1989). Two of the greatest acting teachers of the 20th century, Uta Hagen and Sanford Meisner, focused their techniques on the training of these inner resources. Hagan emphasized training the imagination and sensitivity, while Meisner focused on developing impulse and vulnerability. All of their work was highly personal and intimate.
How Acting Relates to the Animator the external presentation of character awakens the inner life, desires, and emotions of the character. Change the body, and you change the way thought and emotions are expressed. Generally these types of techniques are learned in more advanced acting classes. Business Skills Any successful actor became that way by developing sound business skills. Since actors are salespeople selling themselves, they need to train in marketing and networking.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Beginning Acting Exercises As an animator hoping to grow in your ability to understand and communicate character, you will gain invaluable information and experience from training as an actor does. Although you are not attempting to become an actor, you will be best served by following the same training routine as the actor. The beginning exercises will help you develop a language and prepare you for the advanced work of character creation.
Beginning Acting Exercises ■ 17 Figure 1.8 Proper position for lying on the floor Think about letting your back lengthen out long from the tip of your tailbone to the top of your head. Don’t try to flatten the curve in your lower back or in your neck; they belong there. Just let the spine lengthen out. Then try to let your back spread out wide, letting the shoulder blades slip apart. (It sometimes helps to give yourself a bear hug to get your shoulder blades to spread.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Then send your attention back to your breathing center. Make sure that your lower belly rises and lowers as the breath drops in and out of you. It might help to flop a relaxed hand onto your lower belly (below the belly button) to feel it rise and fall. Make sure that your jaw is relaxed so that there is a small opening between your lips for the breath to fall out. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Go back to counting your breath.
Beginning Acting Exercises v. Relax your right second toe. w. Relax your right third toe. x. Relax your right fourth toe. y. Relax your right fifth toe. z. Relax the bottom of your right foot. aa. Relax your whole right side, from the tips of your fingers to the tips of your toes. 2. Repeat all of these steps for your left side. 3. Relax your belly. 4. Relax your chest. 5. Relax your throat and neck. 6. Relax your scalp and skull. 7. Relax your forehead. 8. Relax the space between your eyebrows. 9.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? 7. Isolate and tense only the muscles in your neck, face, and scalp. Hold. Release. 8. Tense all of the muscles in your entire body, allowing yourself to curl into a ball. Hold. Release, uncurling. 9. Relax. Rest. Breathe. Group Exercise for Relaxation Start by pairing up. Allow one partner (let’s call this person A) to lie on the floor and go through the first general relaxation process.
Beginning Acting Exercises ■ 21 Figure 1.10 An actor stretching the shoulder 3. Partner B will then place Partner A’s upper-right arm on the floor and work on the elbow joint. Partner B should hold Partner A’s upper-right arm in place on the floor with one hand and then gently pull and rotate the elbow, as Figure 1.11 shows. Do this for about a minute (RotatingElbow.mov). Figure 1.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? 4. Partner B will then place Partner A’s lower-right arm on the ground and work on the right wrist. Partner B should hold Partner A’s lower-right arm in place with one hand and gently pull on and rotate the wrist, as shown in Figure 1.12. Do this for about a minute (RotatingWristandFingers.mov). Figure 1.12 An actor rotating the wrist Figure 1.13 An actor stretching the fingers 5. Partner B will then work on all the fingers on the right hand of Partner A.
Beginning Acting Exercises 6. Now move on to the right leg. Partner B will need to stand up and take Partner A’s right leg in her hands. Partner B will gently pull, twist, and stretch the leg from the hip joint, as shown in Figure 1.14. Be careful not to twist the knee. Do this for about a minute and then gently place the leg back on the ground (RotatingHip.mov). ■ 23 Figure 1.14 An actor rotating the hip 7.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Figure 1.16 8. Partner B will then work through rotating and stretching all of the joints on all of the toes of Partner A’s right foot, as Figure 1.16 shows. Take several minutes to do this. If Partner A is extremely ticklish, you might need to skip this step (RotatingToes.mov). An actor stretching the toes 9. Repeat for the left side of the body. 10. End by returning to the head and gently rocking and stretching it one last time.
Beginning Acting Exercises ■ 25 Figure 1.17 Floating to the ceiling 3. When your wrists float your arms as high up as they can go, allow your fingers to start to float up to the ceiling, as you can see in Figure 1.18. Imagine there are strings on the ends of all of your fingers that are pulling your arms up to the ceiling. 4. Stretch through your sides. Gently raise your right hand higher, stretching your right side, and then raise your left hand higher, stretching your left side, as shown in Figure 1.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Figure 1.19 Stretching the sides Figure 1.20 Dropping down the spine 5. Let your wrists collapse so that your hands are hanging from the wrists, free from tension. Then let your elbows collapse so that your lower arms and hands are hanging free from tension. Then let your shoulders collapse so that your arms are hanging heavy and relaxed from your shoulder girdle.
Beginning Acting Exercises 6. Let the weight of your head gently start to pull your spine forward so that you are releasing one vertebra at a time down the front of your body. At some point as you drop down your spine to the front of your body, the weight of your head will become so heavy that you collapse all the way down. You will now be dropped, over hanging upside down, as shown in Figure 1.21. You should release all the way from your tailbone. Make sure that your knees are not locked and are soft.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Figure 1.22 Stacking the vertebrae 8. Imagine that you are a rag doll and everything in your body is loose and floppy. Then imagine that you have springs under your feet. Allow yourself to start to spring around the room, with your loose rag doll body flopping all over the place. Stop and shake all over like a dog shaking off water. 9. Stand on one foot and rotate the ankle of the other foot around in a circle. Change the direction of the rotation.
Beginning Acting Exercises 7. Repeat with your right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, counting out loud for five beats. 8. Repeat with your right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, counting out loud for four beats. 9. Repeat with your right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, counting out loud for three beats. 10. Repeat with your right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, counting out loud for two beats. 11.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? furniture? How many different levels can you create with your body? How close can you get to the ground? How high in the air? What about moving in every plane in between? How quickly can you change levels? Does moving at any certain level suggest a certain type of person or mood or feeling? If so, continue to move and explore within this type of person or emotion. Figure 1.23 Exploring levels 4.
Beginning Acting Exercises M ediums and Atmospheres After you have begun to explore your space and your body in space with the previous exercise, work on your imagination for this exercise. 1. Go back to randomly walking through the room. Now imagine that the floor of the room is coated with thick tar. Try to walk across the room while your feet are sticking to the floor. You must work to pull your feet free from the tar with each step. 2.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Training can affect the center. Athletes who train in wrestling, football, or the martial arts often have low centers as they are taught to drop their energy down to anchor themselves. Dancers, on the other hand, often have higher centers so they can jump, lift, and float with ease. For most people the center is somewhere between several inches below the belly button and the upper chest. Every once in a while you will find someone with their center in their forehead.
Beginning Acting Exercises 4. Shift your center up very high in your body to your clavicle. (If this is your natural center, skip to the next step.) You will feel light and lifted, perhaps as if your feet are barely touching the floor. Explore your space with this high center of energy leading the movement. Notice whether this movement brings up certain feelings or suggests a certain character. If so, explore the space within these emotions or character. Figure 1.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? 6. Drop your center down one more time to around your belly button. (If this is your natural center, skip to the next step.) Explore the space, allowing the energy of this center to lead your movement. Does it suggest a certain character to you? Does this center bring up any feelings or sensations? If so, continue to explore within these emotions or character. Figure 1.26 Forehead center 7. Finally, try exploring with some unique and rarely seen centers.
Beginning Acting Exercises 8. Try moving your center to a place that could be interesting for an animated character. Try leading with a knee, a toe, your right side, your rear end, or your left shoulder. While you wouldn’t usually find these centers in daily human life, they have been seen in animated figures. Explore what it feels like to move within one or all of these centers. Observe what happens to the rest of your body when you change your center. Notice what type of character this might suggest.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Alien Spirit Assume a relaxed position on the floor, as described in the first exercise. Now imagine that you are an alien being that has never had a physical body. You have only existed in spirit form. But now, due to some strange space phenomenon, your spirit form has suddenly been placed in a human body. (Of course it must be yours.) As this alien spirit, and from a place of total innocence, begin to explore what this human body can do.
Beginning Acting Exercises Pass I t A round This is a good sound and movement exercise to begin with for your group exercises. You will need to let go of your inhibitions and respond to your group. 1. Start by forming a circle. One member of the circle will then do a sound and movement. They should move their whole body into some position at the same time that they are making a vocal sound. The sound and movement should not be human. Don’t try to assume a character or tell a story.
■ Chapter 1: What Is Acting? Rhythm Jam This exercise requires you to listen to other members of your group while you explore your own body and voice. It helps to grow an ensemble spirit within your group of actors. 1. Start by forming a circle. 2. Pick one member of the circle to lay down a beat. They should vocally establish a rhythm. It could be a sound like a beat box or a drum line. 3. Go around the circle and each member will add a vocal sound to this rhythm.
