Every actor or acting student experiences “that moment.” The moment when you think “Wow, that was…amazing.” Last week I had my “moment” when I realized that not just acting, but the process of acting, has the power to produce an insane level of emotional intensity.
I should start off by saying I do not have any kind of methodology. Both the schools I go to are method-ish, but incorporate some Meisner and every other big name in acting. But, I generally draw upon experiences or a substitution of an experience when doing scenes, so I definitely use a lot of Method tools.
I began taking two classes for the spring session- Accents and Film & TV. Last week was my first film and TV class and every time I take a class, I fall in love even more with the craft. The point of the class, as taught by a veteran character actor named Sam, is that acting is reacting. Now, I have heard this term from the many acting books I have read (I am a geek, I read about it, too), but I never really got it, not until last week’s exercise. I am pretty good on stage, I connect with my partner, I listen, but I am very line-driven, like I am sure most actors are. But last night’s exercise got me to fully understand what “acting is reacting” really means.
We had an exercise which was as follows: We are given a generic script with about 10 lines. The context is given and then we begin the scene. Each scene is done twice. In scene 1, I was a wife who just found out her husband was being sent to jail for white collar crimes. The second, I was a wife whose husband, a tennis pro, found out he needed to have his leg amputated. I know fun stuff to feel, right? Anyway, when the scene began and my scene partner said his line, I was to repeat it in my head while observing his body, his tone, everything about how the line was said. After I repeated it and processed it, I was to respond. If we forgot the lines or felt compelled to say something else, we were to ignore the lines and paraphrase.
The point of the exercise was to show us how much we concentrate on words instead of emotions. The first scene we did fine, but we both were forgetting the listen and processing part. The second scene, I remembered to do it and the result was…awkward and incredible. When I listened to my partner’s lines and really processed everything about it before I responded, the emotion was so much more real and raw. By the time we ended the scene, the teacher said he had goosebumps…and we weren’t even great compared to what a couple other pairs did.
I was blown away by the results of this exercise. One pair went and did their scene and both chose to ignore the lines and paraphrase. The emotions were SO high that it brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to run away, I wanted to yell “cut” myself just to make it stop. But the director stood by, wanting to yell it himself, and let the scene continue until the room felt it was going to cave in on itself, then he mercifully said “cut” and the room let out a collective sigh.
After my scene, I commented that the expression of such intense emotion is so awkward and painful and at the same time, truly amazing. This exercise was an incredible example of how often we as actors go up there and just say what we are supposed to say. We emote, at least I think I do, but when you truly take the times to RESPOND, you realize the emotion is usually secondary to the lines. Acting is reacting…I get it.
Finding the "Method" in My Madness 