Here is the script of our lecture today. The powerpoiont slides did not upload properly. I will have a copy for you tomorrow.
SLIDE 1 and 2:
2,500 years ago the first actor of the Western world stepped out from the Greek chorus and into history. When Thespis separated himself from his acting troupe and enacted a role of the tragic hero, he started a revolution. No longer were events being recounted from a third person perspective, but now the actual character was represented in the first person. This created a great sensation in smaller Grecian provinces where Thespis first appeared. It became even more of a shock once he arrived to perform in Athens. Solon, a Greek wise man and legislator, had heard Thespis’ “innovations” and decided to see for himself what this new phenomenon was all about. It was in 534 B.C.E. that he witnessed Thespis in a performance and was so disturbed that he confronted Thespis directly afterwards. He demanded to know why Thespis was not ashamed to tell so many lies in front of so many people. Thespis’ reply? “Such lying is harmless so long as it is done in a play.” Solon, so angered with that answer, replied, “Yes, but it we allow ourselves to praise and honor make-believe, we will soon find it creeping into our serious business.
It is true that those words invoke the likes of modern politicians, successful CEO’s and powerful lawyers who take acting classes to appear more convincing to their audiences. However, lying in public is nothing new. Is Thespis at fault for that? In this lecture, as I highlight great acting teachers, I will argue that the art of acting has not taught the world to lie. People have been lying since the beginning of time. If acting in a play is lying, then we do not see that lie as destructive but in fact, as Pablo Picasso said, the “lie that reveals a deeper truth.”
For centuries the great argument in acting has centered on slight differences in how to approach the style of acting. In honor of these differences in how to approach acting, we will look at some of the great teachers of our time and see how they taught acting and approached the actor’s responsibility in preparing to reveal the deeper TRUTH in characters and the DEEPER TRUTH in life.
SLIDE 3: Constantine Stanislavski. Without him, we would have no foundation for all of the techniques we use today in actor training. He was a Russian actor and director who spent his entire life searching, deciding and (FINALLY) changing his mind about what it meant to become a character onstage. As he grew older, he continued to evolve as an acting teacher. He struggled with the question “How does one combine the need to pretend with the need to express something true? He studied posture, facial expression, gestures in a mirror. In his early years, he believed he could “live the part” and transform himself to live and breathe, dress, and speak like the character. But he fell short of what he wanted to achieve. One reason for this is due to his focus on the development of artistic truth onstage by teaching actors to “experience the part” during performance. Actors were required to explore memories (often painful) to find emotion in the character. Stanislavski soon observed that some actors abused this technique and were given to hysteria. Later in life he began to search for a more reliable means to access emotion, eventually emphasizing the actor’s use of imagination and belief in the given circumstances of the text rather than the private and painful memories of the actor. Soon after, Stanislavski’s method for achieving the truthful pursuit of a character’s objective was his “MAGIC IF”. Actors were required to ask many questions of their characters and themselves. One of the first questions they had to ask was, “What if I was in the same situation as my character?” “The Magic If” allowed actors to transcend the confines of realism by asking them what would occur “if” circumstances were different, or “if” the circumstances were to happen to them.
SLIDE 4:
Lee Strasberg, a disciple of Stanislavski’s acting technique, was known as the father of the Method. Despite the argument of its form, the Method is the most well-known form of becoming the character. It is safe to say that Strasberg’s teachings have created controversy over the years throughout the United States. Some scholars believe that he has ruined some of the finest actors of our time while others think he has ruined a generation of performers. So what is the Method? It is a version of Stanislavski’s system that puts greater emphasis on the creation of an inner technique that enables an actor to express deep feeling whenever he needs it. Strasberg believed that emotion memory was the key for an actor to tap into the psyche of the character and therefore help portray the character best by demonstrating their inner thoughts which then affected their outer self. Strasberg’s METHOD continues to be controversial as actors go into psychotherapy during their training. You may recall Heath Ledger and his infamous dedication to becoming The Joker in the resent Batman trilogy. While he was performing/filming that movie, he would spend most of his time alone (not spending time with friends and family). There are reports that he NEVER was out of character and began coming to the film set and “freaking people out.” Strasberg required that an actor, when preparing for a role, delve not only into the character’s life in the play, but also “more importantly, into the characters life before the curtain rises”. In rehearsal, the characters’ prehistory, perhaps going back into childhood, is discussed and even acted out.
T&T SLIDE: 2 minutes In the next two minutes, turn and talk with the person nearest to you and determine the following: 3 things you are doing well with your notes 2 things you are struggling with 1 question you have so far. *Write these down in your summary section at the bottom of your notes.
SLIDE 4:
Stella Adler was member of the Group Theatre (as was Lee Strasberg) and student of Stanislavski’s’ methods. In fact, she is the only American actor to have studied with Stanislavski (briefly in Paris for 5 weeks). While working with Strasberg in the Group Theatre, her teachings often contradicted Strasberg’s Method. Adler’s biggest issue with Strasberg concerned whether an actor should use “emotion memory” (recalling a personal event or sensory experience for more expressive and truthful behavior), rather than relating to one’s fellow actors. She allegedly claimed that it would take a hundred years to repair the damage Strasberg imposed on American acting. Adler was more concerned with imagination, circumstances and action.
SLIDE 5:
Now on to Sanford Meisner. Meisner’s techniques have had a wide influence on many of the most powerful and acclaimed actors of our time. The goal of the Meisner Technique has often been described as getting actors “to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” The technique emphasizes that to carry out an action truthfully on stage, it is necessary to let emotion subtext build based on truth of the action and on the other characters around them, rather than simply playing the action or playing the emotion. One of the best known exercises of the Meisner Technique, as it was called, was REPEITION, where one spontaneously makes a comment based on his or her partner, and the comment would be repeated back and forth between two actors in the same manner, until it changed on its own. The object was always to react truthfully, allowing the repetition to change naturally rather than manipulate what was being said on purpose.
SLIDE 6: Now looking at what all of the methods of these great acting teachers have established, what does that mean for you as an actor? Which method works best for you? Consider a beginning actor like yourself who has never really taken any acting course previous to this one. Where do you find truth in the work of becoming a character?
SLIDE 7: Two things you should know for sure after considering the work of these greats: TW read slide of two questions.
SLIDE 8: SW review notes in groups of 4 for 3 minutes.
Characters in a play are complex creatures! They have goals and dreams. They have specific beliefs. In this blog journal I want you to reflect on your character and their personal beliefs!! Answer the following prompts in sentence/journal form. If you are the director: blog about your scene in terms of 1) dramatic metaphor/VIZ 2) the G.O.T.E. of the characters 3) your experience as the director so far. Thank you!
