Lesson 2 - The Actor's Toolbox
Developing Your Unique Voice
“Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved
without discipline and consistency.”
Denzel Washington
Alright! Down to the nitty gritty! To be an actor requires a unique set of skills and techniques. Actors must possess a full toolbox filled with various tools they can rely on to deliver compelling performances. This section explores the essential skills and techniques that make up the actor’s toolbox. As we cover an idea, be sure to do the exercises provided to bring these concepts into practice.
Imagination and Creativity
Imagination is the actor’s greatest asset. It allows you to tap into your creativity and bring characters to life. Through imagination, actors can create believable worlds and immerse themselves in the circumstances of the scene. Remember, the goal is to BE the character. The exercises we are going to start with, such as visualization and sensory exploration, can enhance an actor’s imaginative abilities. For instance, imagining a specific object in vivid detail or recreating a memorable event can help actors develop their imaginative capacities.
Exercise
For this exercise you and sit on the edge of your chair or lay down on the floor if you like. Now, close your eyes and focus on your current space. Listen to the sounds, feel the environment, identify how you are feeling for a couple of minutes. Now, imagine yourself in a lush, green forest. Feel the cool breeze on your face, hear the rustling leaves, and smell the earthy scent. Allow yourself to become fully immersed in this imaginary environment. Ok, you can relax now. This may sound like a bunch of actor “Mumbo Gumbo” but the more we open our senses up to our current environment, the more we can connect with our imaginary environment.
Emotional Intelligence
Actors need a keen sense of emotional intelligence to understand and portray the depth of human emotions realistically. By developing emotional awareness and empathy, actors can connect with their characters on a deep and profound level. Exercises like emotional memory, where actors recall personal experiences and transfer the associated emotions to their characters, can help cultivate emotional intelligence. Each of us experiences emotions in our own unique way. So, it is important to observe how others experience and express their emotions. Some actors my be very expressive with how they feel and express their feelings and emotions. But what if that actor is playing a character that is reserved and reclusive. We need to go outside of ourselves to find inspiration for the character that we have committed to play. Research and observation helps us connect more authentically with characters that are not like us personally.
Exercise
Recall a moment of extreme happiness from your life. Remember the sights, sounds, and feelings associated with that experience. Now, channel those emotions into a character’s moment of triumph. Conversely, now recall a moment, from your life, of extreme sadness, disappointment, or fear. Apply that to your character while focusing on experiencing the truthfulness of the moment. Now, look for inspiration from others that you know or other film and television characters to find out how to play that sad emotion in a way that is completely opposite from the way you would normally experience and express it. Get used to exploring multiple options of emotional expression until you find the one that you feel is truthful for your character.
Voice and Speech
A strong and versatile voice is essential for effective communication on screen. Actors must develop vocal techniques such as projection and articulation, to convey their characters’ thoughts and emotions clearly. I like to share with my actors that we are “Linguistic Professionals”. That means we get paid to speak! So we better be good at it. Most people don’t pay attention to their speech, thus many have sloppy language skills. Among many other bad habits, many people get sloppy by dropping the ends off of their words, thus slurring their words together. We will address this in our exercises.
Preparing your voice for the scene is your first step. Exercises like vocal warm-ups, tongue twisters, and reading aloud can help actors improve their voice and speech skills. We will cover those in our upcoming exercise. So here is the question that I get often. “How loud am I supposed to speak?” The answer is…it depends. Some actors who start out on stage know that we need to project our voices not only to the front row but also to the back row. When I first started acting on stage, my director would always sit on the back row of the theater and holler, “I CAN’T HEARRRRR YOUUUUUU!” I learned quickly to project my voice when on stage.
However, many beginning actors fall into the trap of “over projecting” their lines when acting in front of the camera. The rule to consider when acting on camera is to only project loud enough for the character whom you are sharing a scene with to hear you. Think of how you normally speak to people in your day to day life.
Your projection and volume will be different depending on the setting. If your scene partner is with you outside, it will be different, if they are in bed with you it will be different, if they are across the room, it will be different. Adjust your volume and projection to the specifics of the scene.
One other important variable is that you will be Mic-ed. Usually 2 microphones will be catching your dialogue. One will be a Boom Mic (refer to picture) that is held by a sound technician on a long pole over your head, just outside of the framing of the lens. The second will be a lavaliere microphone (refer to picture) that will be under your wardrobe. Either way, it is the job of the Sound Operator to capture your voice.
All you need to do is speak in a conversational tone that is appropriate for the scene and you will be golden!
Don’t over project! Most mistakes are made when over projecting, than when actors under project. A conversational tone and volume is the goal.
Exercise
1. Big Face-Little Face: Smile with exaggeration, letting your teeth show and drawing the lips as tightly as possible, making your cheek muscles hurt, eyes open BIG, eyebrows up. Say “eeeeeeee.” Then with exaggeration, pucker or protrude your lips, saying “00000000000.” Squish all your face in and around your nose. Repeat ten times each in quick succession (eeeeeeee-00000000). Repeat with “me-moo,” “tee-too,” “bee-boo,” “gee-goo,” “lee-loo.”
2. Open wide: Open your mouth as wide as possible. Say “ahhhh.” Now close your mouth, saying
“0000000.” Repeat “ahhhhh-ooooo” several times, being sure to open your mouth extremely wide.
3. Tongue twisters: Say quickly with exaggerated tongue, lip, and jaw movements several of the following tongue twisters. Focus on saying the complete word to the end of the word before you say the next one. Repeat these until they can come out of your mouth quickly, smoothly, and clearly.
• The big black bug bit the big black bear, and the big black bear bled blood.
• Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, successfully sifted some thistles.
• Unique New York (5 times)
• Red leather, Yellow leather (5 times)
• Two teamsters tried to steal twenty-two keys.
Physicality and Body Language
The body is an actor’s instrument, and physicality plays a crucial role in character portrayal. Actors must be aware of their body language, posture, gestures, and movement to effectively communicate their characters’ intentions and emotions. Physical exercises like yoga, dance, and mime can help actors develop body awareness and control. Warming your body up before a performance is also important. We don’t want a sluggish, low energy performance, therefore, we need to warm up our acting instrument. Some simple exercises and warm-ups will bring the energy to your performance that it needs. Here are some examples:
Exercise
1. Stand in front of a mirror and observe your posture. Experiment with different body positions, exploring how each posture affects your overall presence and the way you feel.
2. Rag doll: With feet apart in a comfortable balance, stretch up tall. Then bend over by collapsing quickly and loosely from the waist with your relaxed arms and hands dangling to the floor. Keep your arms, hands, and head completely relaxed like a rag doll. Slowly rise up, keeping relaxed. Repeat.
3. Head roll: Immediately after the rag doll exercise while your neck is still relaxed with chin close to the chest, slowly rotate your head to the left, back, right, and down in front again. Reverse the rotation. Be sure to keep your neck relaxed, letting your head roll like a dead weight in a socket.
Improvisation
Improvisation is a style of acting in which the actors take a suggestion and create the scene without a script or rehearsal, making it up as they go along. Improvisation skills are vital for actors to think on their feet, adapt to unexpected situations, and enhance their spontaneity. Improvisation is the actor’s creativity “gene”. It is something inside of us that desires to create something from nothing. If this gene is ignored for long periods of time, then it can begin to wither. We must regularly exercise our creativity for it to grow and mature.
Improvisation is a multifaceted tool used in many circumstances. For stage actors, it is essential for when things go wrong. Forgotten lines, missed entrances, broken props, and anything else that could go wrong and ultimately will. When on stage, there is no “Cut, lets do it again!” There is no next take. An actor must be disciplined to stay in character during those moments and immediately find a solution for the problem without the audience knowing.
Improvisation is also essential for the film and TV actor. Even though there are memorized lines, and screen direction to be followed, it is the actor that has to decide the specifics of that performance in the moment.
-How fast or slow should they say the lines.
-How and when should their blocking or movements take place.
-How is the emotional state of your character inspiring your performance.
-How is your wardrobe coloring your character.
-How is your set / environment inspiring your character.
All of these variables are being mixed together “in the moment” by the actor.
It is the job of the actor to be creative and bring their interpretation to the scene based off of the best information available to them.
A director can’t steer a sitting ship! Meaning, they can’t give you direction if you aren’t making creative decisions. Take that responsibility and create your character as colorfully as your character requires. Work with your fellow actors to tell the story in the moment and enjoy the ride.
Improv exercises encourage actors to trust their instincts, collaborate with others, and embrace uncertainty. Improvisational games, such as “Yes, and…” or “Freeze,” promote quick thinking and creative problem-solving.
Exercise
Play a game of “Yes, and…” with a fellow actor or friends. Write down a bunch of simple scenarios on pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Pull one out, read it, and immediately begin the scene based on the suggestion building upon each other’s ideas, accepting and expanding upon the contributions made.
Script Analysis
Understanding the nuances of a script is fundamental for actors. By analyzing the script, actors can uncover their characters’ objectives, obstacles, and underlying motivations. Techniques like breaking down scenes into beats, exploring subtext, and conducting character research aid in script analysis.
Script Analysis
Setting: The setting establishes where and when the action takes place. Interesting settings can make a story more engaging and believable. The setting is conveyed to the audience by not only set pieces and props, but also by what the characters say and how the characters behave. Setting can determine how the characters will behave. For instance, the characters will behave much differently in a story set in an amusement park than in a story set in a quiet hospital. When creating a setting, they should think about what the scene looks like as well as what it feels like, smells like and sounds like. Another important aspect to consider is time. This includes time of day, the year, and the season. A play set in 1700 would be done differently if it was set in 2200.
Characters: The characters are those who are in the story and who exist in the setting. The characters give meaning to the story and act out the conflict. Not all characters are human; characters can be animals, aliens, etc. The characters are the protagonists, or “good guys,” and antagonists, or “bad guys.” There can be several protagonists and antagonists.
The Plot (conflict/the problem): Plot and conflict are what make a story interesting. The plot is the series of events that moves the action along. The plot occurs in three acts, the beginning, middle, and end. The plot involves the protagonist, or “good guy,” attempting to resolve a conflict and the antagonist, or “bad guy” working to prevent the resolution. The conflict is the struggle that the characters must solve or overcome in a story and it may be with another person, him or herself or nature.
The Resolution: The resolution is how the characters resolve the conflict or problem. Without an ending or resolution to the conflict the story seems incomplete. The ending ties up all the loose ends and leaves the audience feeling satisfied with the outcome. Endings don’t have to be happy; they can be sad or unclear, but audiences usually prefer a happy ending in which the good guy prevails. Endings don’t have to be long and drawn out. The story can be wrapped up very simply and quickly.
