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THE ACTOR
Wicked
Big Fish
Catch Me If You Can
Dead Accounts
Norbert Leo ButzBroadway: Big Fish, Dead Accounts, Catch Me If You Can (2011 Tony Award, Drama Desk winner: Best Actor in a Musical; Astaire Award winner, Outer Critics nomination), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony Award, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Astaire Awards, Drama League Award winner: Best Actor in a Musical), Enron, Speed-the-Plow, Is He Dead?, Wicked (original cast, Fiyero), Thou Shalt Not (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics nominations), Rent (original cast, Broadway debut). Off-Broadway: How I Learned To Drive, Fifty Words, Buicks (Drama Desk nomination), The Last Five Years (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations, Drama League Award), Juno and the Paycock (Roundabout), Saved (TFANA). National Tour: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Cabaret. Alabama Shakespeare Festival (four seasons), Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Film: Better Living Through Chemistry (2013), The English Teacher (2013), Greetings from Tim Buckley (2013), Disconnect (2013), Higher Ground, Fair Game, Dan in Real Life. Television: Series: “The Deep End” (ABC); Pilots: “County” (NBC), “The Miraculous Year” (HBO) BFA, Webster University; MFA, Alabama Shakespeare Theatre.
What is acting?
It is the oldest of the theatrical arts. THESPIS, the first actor, was the author of the plays in which he appeared.
From his name comes the word THESPIAN, another word for actor.
Acting is a public art
The average theatregoer can name many actors...
There are two notions of acting according to Robert Cohen…The actor “presents” to the audience in a form that we call “presentational.” It is also called “external” or “technical” acting.
The second notion comes from somewhere “inside” the actor. It is often referred to as “internal.”
Presentational actorsSuch classically-trained British actors as Olivier, Guinness, Stewart and Gielgud.
INTERNAL ACTING
The actor works honestly and effectively to “live the life of the character.” To feel the emotions.
It can be called “representational.”
Actors of this school are often “method actors” named for a “system” devised by Konstantin Stanislavski
Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938)
1918
UNCLE VANYA at Moscow Art Theatre
STANISLAVSKI disavowed a “System” of acting…
"For... Stanislavsky said: "There is no system. There is only nature. My lifelong concern has been how to get ever closer to the so-called system, that is, to get ever closer to the nature of creativity."
According to an article in theNY Times December 2, 2001
Lee Strasberg (1901-1982)In the United States, the “method” was made popular by the actor Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.
Internal vs. externalIn the 18th century, Denis Diderot
discussed the differences in his essay “The Paradox of Acting”
At the Moscow Art Theatre, Stanislavski taught that motivation gives meaning to action. And, as such, plays have subtexts the actor needs to understand.
Stanislavski’s legacy
Almost all American teachers of acting pay homage to Stanislavski and his “theories” of acting...
Famous American actors trained in the method includeMarlonBrando andMarilynMonroe.
Virtuosity
Greatness in acting, like greatness in almost any endeavor, demands a superb set of skills
In order to play HAMLET, for example, the actor himself needs to embody the genius of the character.
To achieve this virtuosity, the actor must possess two features
An expressive voice A supple body
Expressive voices
James Earl Jones Glenn Close
Celebrated actors today
Magic
Beyond conviction and virtuosity, great actors possess “presence” or “magnetism” or “charisma”
BECOMING AN ACTOR
Actor training takes place in colleges, universities, conservatories and private & commercial schools
The actor’s instrument
Training is both physical and psychological
All training requires practice, not simple book learning
VOICE AND SPEECHVOICE:
breathing, phonation, resonance
SPEECH: articulation, pronunciation, phrasing
PROJECTION
MOVEMENTDance, mime, fencing, acrobaticsRelaxation, control, economyStrength and endurance
IMAGINATION
Imagination, and willingness and ability to use it in the service of art, are major components of the actor’s psychological instrument
Make the unreal real (flats and platforms become streets or mountains)
Play the imagined world of the play (Really fall in love with your acting mate)
Characterize the role with uniqueness and life (liberate the actor’s imagination)
Actors need discipline1. Follow the working conditions2. Collaborate with fellow artists3. Be on time to calls4. Stay well and healthy5. Train your instrument in exercise or
class6. Memorize parts before they are due7. Work vigorously to develop craft
Discipline?
THE ACTOR’S APPROACHDescribe the objective, task, goal,
victory or intention. Each character has a primary goal and several minor goals in the play.
Secondly, the actor develops TACTICS necessary to achieve the GOALS
Finally, the actor must understand the style of given circumstances of the play and apply it to the role
Given circumstances
The goal of acting is to express your character’s intentions clearly and honestly within the given circumstances of the scene. These include…
Relationship of characters Age of characters Educational level of characters Time. When? Place. Where are you? Socio-economic-political background, etc.
How do given circumstances affect acting?A: HiB: HelloA: What did you do last night?B: Huh?A: What did you do last night?B: Oh, nothing.A: Nothing?B: That’s what I said, nothing.A: Well…B: Well what?A: Never mind.B: Fine, see ya later…
EMPTY SCENES
EXPLORE…
Relationship
Time Place
Situation
Given circumstances
THE ACTOR’S ROUTINE
AUDITION
Ian Mckellan and Ricky Gervais from EXTRAS
Shift from rehearsal to performanceNow, the actor is aware of his audience...
The audience affects the actor’s timing, delivery and energy
Performance
Patrick Steward, Simon Callow and Ian McKellan
Patrick Stewart in Hamlet
Stage vs. filmStage actors must re-create their
performance over and over. Each actor develops ways to adapt to the different demands of various media
Dame Judi Dench in film and onstage.
Acting is an art...Actors are privileged people, they get to live the lives of
saints, sinners, lovers, rulers, the great and the meek
Actors must know more than acting, they must represent the human and therefore must understand humankind
The proper study of acting is life: common sense, observation, perception, tolerance and understanding
Actors need to possess training, business acumen and a realistic vision
Very few are capable of a professional career in acting. Those that do possess great talent, skill, persistence, fortitude and luck!
