Introduction to the Theatre

THE 101 / University of Idaho

Chapter 9 / The Actor

“An actor is a sculptor who carves in snow.”

                                            - Edwin Booth.

The Actor’s Role and History

     “To act” according to Roget’s Thesaurus is to: “imitate, copy, mirror, reflect, reproduce, repeat, borrow, echo, match and parallel.”   It is to “mock, mimic, simulate, impersonate, and forge.”   It is to “portray.”   This seemingly simple list of words aptly describes one of the most complex and mysterious crafts of the theater - that of acting.

     Historically, the role of the actor was developed during the age of Greek theatre.   Greek theatre began as festival celebrations to the Greek god Dionysus.   Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility.   These celebrations were composed of singing, chanting, and dancing.   Members of the celebration impersonated Dionysus, his satyrs, servants, and other characters in the story of Dionysus.   Because of this, actors in Greek theatre were called hypokrites, the Greek word for impersonator.   As these celebrations grew their voices and movements were unified into a choric dithyramb, a choral like chant/ song used to deliver the information needed to tell the story.   Thespis, a mid-6^th century poet and playwright, was the first writer to conceive the idea of an individual actor who stepped out of these choral odes and gave speeches independent of the chorus.  In addition, this actor would also talked to and interacted with the chorus.   Appropriately, this is where the word “thespian”, means actor, and comes from his name.

     Although the role of the actor has not changed significantly since Greek theatre, the theories, style, and focus of acting have.   Theatre has gone from a religious celebration to being a formalized entertainment.   Along the way, actors have experimented with different styles of presentation and how they develop their characters.

     During the Romantic era and age of melodramas, actors experimented with a presentational style of acting recorded by Denis Diderot.   This style was based on the actor's ability to use outward physical postures and hand signs to communicate feelings and emotion.   This system was expanded on by Delsarte’s work on the coding of gestures.   Although this style of acting was appreciated at the time, today we would regard it as rather wooden, if not unintentionally funny.

     Around the beginning of this century, actors and theorist had begun to experiment with a new form of acting that would better suit the rising theatre of realism.   Konstantin Stanislavsky developed a style of acting that was based on internalizing the character.   The actor would develop their character using their own personal experiences, feelings, and emotions.   They would do this through the recollection of their memories and it was termed memory recall.   This system of acting is called method acting and has its root in America with Lee Strasberg and The Actor’s Studio.  Graduates of The Actor’s Studio and method acting included Dustin Hoffman, Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft, just to name a very few.   Interestingly, the English school of acting draws upon emotions from outside the actor and brings those emotions into the character.   Sir Lawrence Olivier, Sir John Geilgud, and Derek Jacoby represent the English school.

     After World War I, theorists and actors had begun to revolt against the romantic tradition and realistic theatre.   This of course necessitated additional experimentation in acting styles.   Notably, Jerzy Grotowski of the Polish Poor Theater developed a style of acting that was driven by physical action.   Termed physicalization, the system is based human primal emotion and recall.   It attempts to bring the raw edge back to acting by tapping the actor's primal core.

     In reality, well-trained actors understand how to use the systems of Diderot’s presentational style acting, Stanislavsky’s method, and Grotowski’s physicalization separately or in combination.   A good actor has a full arsenal of styles and methods at their command to aid in the development and portrayal of their character.   Modern day actors live in a vastly complex world.   Their audiences are diverse and articulate.   Their craft extends beyond the stage to film and television.   Modern day actors use integrated systems and methods to accomplish their goals.   Current acting theory stresses truth, truth in the portrayal of the character, and truth in the characters' intentions.   It is called intentional style acting.

     Intentional acting is a combination of the English and American methods.   Attributed to the work of Uta Hagen and Sanford Meisner, it stresses that as an actor you just cannot ‘be’ you have to ‘do.'   Meaning, acting is a series of actions based on a character's intention, not just postures and poses.   Intentional acting has three main parts: intent, action/ obstacle, and the given circumstances.   For an actor to live truthfully through the character they must ask two sets of questions.   The first set of questions answers the given circumstances of the script and helps develop and define the character.   The second set of questions answers the questions of action and defines the intentions, goals, obstacles, and actions that the character must overcome or take.

Given Circumstances:

Who am I?

Where am I?

What time is it?

Questions of Action:

What do I want?

What is in my way?

What do I do to overcome my obstacle?

The Actor

     Acting theory and methods are one way to understand what an actor does.   However, the fact remains that an actor is a human being.   Actors are not really any more different from you or me.   So, what makes someone an actor?   How do they accomplish their tasks in the production of theatre?   What does it take to become an actor?   An actor needs four necessary aspects or skills to do their job.   In addition, an actor continually strengthens and develops their instrument.   Finally, like a dancer or musician, an actor continually trains in their discipline.

The four necessary aspects or skills of the actor are:

The ability to simulate character

The ability to embody the character

Virtuosity

Magic

   Character simulation means that the actor can develop an objective resemblance of the character that they are going to portray.   It is the skill that allows the actor to define the characters ‘characteristics’ through their developed skills of impersonation.   Character embodiment is the subjective counterpart to character simulation.   It is the skill that allows the actor to develop their characters ‘emotions and feelings’ through their developed skills of impersonation.   Virtuosity is the ability or skill of the actor that allows them to transcend from the common approach to a character to the creation of a totally new type of character.   Finally, magic is not really a skill.  It cannot be developed.   However, it is a necessary aspect to the actor's art.   Magic is the actor's stage presence, their personal magnetism, and charisma.

     Much like a musician, an actor plays an instrument.   However that instrument is their physical self.   An actor builds a repertory of skills and techniques.   Also like a musician, an actor practices these skills through repeated drills and exercise.   They develop their bodies into the instrument they will use exclusively in their craft.

The five parts of the actor's instrument are:

·        Voice

·        Speech

·        Movement

·        Imagination

·        Discipline

     The voice of an actor's instrument covers the development of techniques that control breathing, phonation, resonance, historical meter, song, and singing.   Breathing is key because actors must be able to control their breath over extended speeches to maintain vocal control.   Phonation is the ability to make words clear and unmistakable, because the vowels and consonants are articulated.   Resonance allows the actor to develop volume without strain to their vocal cords, while historical meter is useful in duplicating historical rhyming verse (Moliere) or iambic pentameter (Shakespeare).   Finally, the actor must be able to master both songs and singing - which are different.   Song entails normal melodic tunes, while singing consists of wide-open ‘belting it out’ vocalization.

     The speech of an actor's instrument covers the development of techniques that control articulation, pronunciation, phrasing, projection, accents, and dialects.   Articulation and pronunciation are necessary so the audience can clearly hear the crisp defined words that the actor speaks.   Phrasing and projection are vital for the audience to be able to understand word sets and breaks in any size theatre.   Accents are used so that we can determine the character’s regional or cultural affiliations, while dialects are employed so the actor can portray characters of foreign nationality.

     Movement in the actor's instrument incorporates the study of dance, combat, period style, tumbling, and clown technique.   Actors are called upon in scripts to dance waltzes, fight with swords, falls down stairs, and master the art of the pie fight.   An actor must train his voice, speech, and movement to accomplish the goals of any given circumstance.   Voice, speech, and movement are the most accessible class oriented training that an actor can receive.   Imagination and discipline come from within the actor.

     Imagination is a necessary aspect of the actor's instrument.   The actor's mind must be able to envision the world of their character and plays a vital role in the development of the “whole” character.   These skills can be practiced through improvisation, role-playing, and other acting exercises.   The imagination of the actor gives the skills of voice, speech, and movement purpose and direction.   The actor's imagination is the hand that throws the dart of skills aimed at the target of the developing character.

     Discipline is the last part of the actor's instrument.   Without discipline, the preceding skills and their development are useless.   Discipline incorporates practice, refinement, learning, memorization, perception, concentration and adaptation.   Practice is required to polish any fine motor skill or technique in order to gain fluency.   Refinement is also necessary, so that the artist improves upon their skills and puts their own stamp upon their work.   An actor should always be learning new techniques and methods and should continually be looking for better ways to develop their craft and their character.   An actor must memorize the lines that their character speaks and the movements they make.   In addition, an actor must have a keen perception of the audience and the actors around them.   This perception must be coupled with extreme concentration to maintain focus and character.   Finally, adaptation allows the actor to change character during rehearsal or in production if necessary.

     The well-trained and disciplined actor is a finely tuned artistic instrument.  They can impersonate as many characters as can be imagined by a playwright or interpreted by a director.   They are the lightning rod of drama.

The Actors Process

     Just by the nature of what an actor does and where he does it - on stage, the actor is the most singularly identifiable person in theatre.   However, the actor is also an integral part of theatre as a member of the creative process.   The actor's primary role is to develop and portray the characters.

     The actor works in conjunction with the director towards the development of the character and the action of the play.   To get to this point, the actor must audition for any role in a production through the audition process.   As actors develop their instrument skills and techniques, they also work on developing a repertory of audition pieces.    These pieces usually showcase the actors' talents and balance a humorous piece with a dramatic piece to show the actor's breadth.

     In the audition process, theatre companies post calls that notify the acting community of the parts being auditioned for.  This call will also specify the dates and times of the audition.   In professional theater, a union actor - one who belongs to the Actor’s Equity Association, is often referred to an audition by their agent and is “up for a particular part.”  During the audition, actors will be asked to do their audition pieces.   These pieces are usually short 2 - 3 minute monologues that the actor has prepared well in advance, and which they feel show off their acting ability and versatility in the best light.  In addition to or perhaps instead of, actors may be asked to read parts out of the script being produced.   If the scripts have not been made available beforehand, these are called cold readings - because they are unrehearsed.   However, some theaters may make the scripts available to the actors before hand so that they may rehearse the parts they are interested in doing.   These are called rehearsed readings.   Some theatre companies use all three audition methods plus improvisation and role playing exercises.   This is why it is also important for actors to be adaptable.   Regardless, all actors fill out an audition form which list contact information, basic body dimensions, identifying characteristics (hair/eye color), previous experience, references, and parts for which they wish to be considered.   In addition, during an audition the actors will also usually present a photo with a resume on the back called a headshot that is used to document their experience and training.

     After the audition is over, the director may wish to have callbacks.   Callbacks are the second set in the audition process.   These are used so that the director may take closer look at actors and also start experimenting with potential pairings of characters needed in the script.   Callbacks will usually determine the final cast list.   The final cast list is posted and the actors accept by initialing their name or by notifying the stage manager.   If an actor refuses the role, the role will be re-cast using the audition process.   If the theater is a union house (Actors Equity), the cast actors' agents and the union are notified, so that the rights of the worker are protected.

     Rehearsals begin following the audition process.   During the rehearsal process the actors work towards memorizing their lines, developing their characters, and exploring their intentions.   The director guides and channels these energies with the commanding image in mind.   The director also defines the blocking and stage business.   The stage manger records all the proceedings and notifies the designers and other craftspeople of rehearsal and/or production needs.   Depending on the production and its size, the rehearsal period can cover anywhere from four weeks to six months.   This is the time where the bulk of theatre work occurs.   It is a long and challenging process.

    Prior to opening night technical rehearsals begin.   These rehearsals include dress rehearsals.   Dress rehearsals are as close to opening night as possible without an audience.   This is the time when the actors can become acquainted to the scenery, the props, their costumes, wigs, make up, and lighting cues.   Dress rehearsals are the time where mistakes are eradicated, rough spots smoothed, and final finishing by all the artists done.   Opening night and the following run of performances is why these artists have chosen to do theatre.   It signals an end to hard work and the birth of a living piece of art and performance.   It is hard to explain the effort and love that goes into the theatrical enterprise.   However, the joy of ensemble work and brilliance of craft can be measured by the level of the audience applause.