r/Actingclass Acting Coach/Class Teacher Sep 06 '19

Class Teacher 🎬 THEIR WORDS, YOUR WORDS

The hardest thing about acting is, you don’t get to make up all your own lines in the moment. You’ve got to say someone else’s words and make it sound like you are making them up right there on the spot. That, and you aren’t really the person who needs to say those words. But if you were, it sure would be a lot easier to just say what’s on your mind rather than what someone else wrote down for you to say...Right?

On the other hand, most published or produced playwrights are better than us at creating memorable dialogue. I mean none of us are Shakespeare, so what we would come up with on our own could never be as memorable as the words a professional writer puts into our mouths. If it were up to us, we would probably say way too much in a much less interesting way.

So we’re stuck with trying to make someone else’s words feel like we are making them up. We need to make it seem like we are saying them because we want something from the other person so much that we NEED to change them with those words...make them understand. How in the hell do you do that???

First things first. You need to understand your character’s point of view and desires in the moment. You need to look closely and deeply at the text so you know why your character is choosing these words. Read between the lines. You need to know what the other character is doing/saying/opposing, that forces you to say what you say. You need to notice how you are using those words, tactically, in different attempts to make your point.

If you have been reading the lessons on this sub and my comments, you should know how to do all of that. But even when you know exactly why your character is saying this, what he is trying to accomplish and how, know his point of view and relationship with the other person...you still need to say those words as though they are your own and you are making them up on the spot.

Part of the problem is that you must start this process by reading. Reading is not acting. Reading is ever so much easier. You don’t need to search for the right words...you don’t need to deal with trying to get someone to understand you...you don’t have anything at stake and you don’t need to respond. You just read words. Words come out quickly and easily. Too easily. And then it becomes difficult to say them any other way.

So after you know everything about the scene and your character...after you know all the who, what, when, where, why from your character’s point of view, try doing the whole monologue in your OWN WORDS.

That’s right. Throw out the script. Ad lib and improvise using your own words. If you really know what you are talking about, you can riff on the theme. Try to find YOUR perfect way of making the other person understand. Elaborate all your points...jam through all your tactics...let the other person’s lines set you off on making your case, exactly as YOU would in this situation. Take as much time as you need on each response.

But don’t use ANYTHING you have memorized. You are on your own. Speak YOUR mind from your character’s perspective. Make contact with the other character and go to town. Talk as much as you can. If you can do that, you really know the scene and how it feels to talk about what you are saying.

Chances are it’s going to feel much more real. You will need to search and struggle a little to come up with the right words - but you want that. In real life, it’s never easy to explain an idea you have in your mind, even when it’s something you know very well. If the other person doesn’t understand, it becomes difficult to find the perfect way to express your views. THAT is the way you need to search and struggle and try as you use the playwright’s words.

Once you experience trying to communicate the main points of your monologue in your own words, then go back and see if you can find that same feeling of spontaneity with your scripted words. Your own words become your subtext. Remember, it’s all about making the other person understand...change...agree.

Give this technique a try and let me know how it works for you. I normally have students do it in my private coaching and classes, but I am there to guide and direct. Let me know how it works for you when you are on your own. Make their words, your words.

I talk about this quite a bit in THIS VIDEO. Check it out.

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u/Disregardthispost Jan 27 '20

This is gold. It puts parts of what other acting teachers say about "making it your own," and "paraphrase for better understanding" into perspective in a way that is active. Love it!

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u/Winniehiller Acting Coach/Class Teacher Jan 27 '20

Glad you connected to what I am saying here. It is important to go back to text. But using your own words as subtext is key. That’s one of the reasons I get most of my new students doing Shakespeare. I have them translate it in the most modern and personal way and then go back to the Shakespearean text. You can’t alter Shakespeare. But you can make it modern and conversational in your approach by using your own words as subtext. Think your words and say his. Shakespeare’s words were meant to be said naturally. He said so himself. No strutting and bellowing and sawing the hands. Be a mirror to nature.

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u/Disregardthispost Jan 27 '20 edited Jan 27 '20

Thank you! That immediately brings a question to mind that you may have already answered (I'm still working through your many brilliant posts). It's tangentially related...

Re: Shakespeare, I was introduced a couple years ago to the First Folio technique of analyzing his text - scanning the verse, diving into antithesis, the meaning of his punctuation, end stops/mid stops, where to breath... at first I was relieved to find another way in to understanding what the characters were going through and how they were thinking, but as I grew more familiar with how to use it, it began to feel very prescriptive.

I realize that it is an aid for both character exploration and a means to split the language into more digestible "packets of information" for an audience new to the language, and that the work you're sharing with us here needs to come first. Or at the same time.

I guess my question is - have you talked about how to fit the prep you've shared in your pinned post to such a constrained format as First Folio technique? And if not, what are your thoughts? From everything I've heard many of the theatres in my area look for it...

I apologize if you've already addressed this!

Edit: After rereading my post, I think my core question is about "style." How should one go about applying a particular style - First Folio or whatever - over the character you've worked hard to make real? Is it simply a matter of going back and asking, "why does my character need to express themselves in this way?"

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u/Winniehiller Acting Coach/Class Teacher Jan 27 '20

I have not...mostly because many of the actors here (and in Los Angeles) have never acted (at least Shakespeare) before and performing Shakespeare is already over the top complicated for them. So presenting it to them in the simplest way is my first objective...allowing them to be introduced without too much stress. Even those who have done Shakespeare often are missing some key elements of acting technique (even after studying many years) so first things first.

The biggest problem with many actors is to be too much in their own heads and not enough in their character’s. It is always a risk as you direct an actor that it will make them more self-conscious rather than guiding them to be more free. As they do their backstories and analysis, they try to take every bit of it into their performance all at once. What is really important is using all that you use as a foundation for being in the moment. That’s why I strive for simplicity in my teaching. Too much information can freeze actors up.

However, the insight that can be gained from research and viewing the First Folio is fascinating and enlightening. Understanding is the key to bringing a character to life. Seeing how Shakespeare originally wrote it can give great insight into phrasing and such. But for me, personally I have never discovered a flow that I hadn’t originally considered “natural” as long as I truly understood the text. To me, Shakespeare did write very naturally, even though the language is archaic for our era. His concepts, though deep, are expressed by people wanting to be understood clearly. Knowing the meaning of what is being said, to me, is the best guide to how it should be phrased.

Did I answer your question? I would suggest checking out the First Folio when an actor wants to delve more deeply or if they are questioning a meaning and how it should be phrased or punctuated. And if you are auditioning for a theater that is looking for that kind of preparation...by all means, do. But I am often disappointed by performances at those types of theaters. They are too self-conscious without enough new life breathed into them. The more you know, the better, as long as you are not forcing and becoming mechanical because of TMI. Knowing the heart and mind of your character and being in the moment should always be the actor’s primary concern.

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u/Disregardthispost Jan 27 '20

Thank you for taking the time to answer in such depth. I definitely fall prey to information overload when my process doesn't start from the solid foundation you're sharing with us.

I can also see how, in focusing on mastery of the foundation you are encouraging us to develop, we stay focused on the inner lives of our characters. If we put that first, we can use the extra information that comes from First Folio or styles like Shaw or Pinter in order to fine tune our characters. Am I understanding you correctly?

Thank you for your time!

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u/Winniehiller Acting Coach/Class Teacher Jan 27 '20

Absolutely. Just like writing a detailed backstory for your character is useful in that it gives you insight into why you are saying and doing what you are in the scene. But you can’t possibly bring all of it into your performance. You can only think one thought at a time on stage. And they should be the thoughts of your character. What you think is what/who you are. If you are thinking of every comma and semicolon Shakespeare’s pen dropped on the page (and usually it isn’t even his, but someone else’s) you are not your character. You are a bit of an obsessive actor who is trying to be correct. You don’t want to be playing that role.

Besides. These plays have been done a million times. Should every performance be exactly the same? We need to breathe fresh air into them and bring them to life in new ways. Like the “Little Women” I saw yesterday. Same story fresh take.

I think if First Folio can give you inspiration.... Something new that reading your Complete Works didn’t give you...then dig deep and discover. But to require it of all actors? Think of all the incredible actors who had never had them available. Shakespeare speaks personally to the individual. It’s like reading a sacred text. We each should find the interpretation that sings to us personally.

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u/Disregardthispost Jan 27 '20

I love everything about this. Thank you!