Directing Journal Entry Two: A Practical Handbook for the Actor

“A Practical Handbook for the Actor” was a useful guide, and I will be able to use many tips from it when directing, especially when directing less experienced actors. The first seven chapters of the guide were on technique: Physical Action, Analyzing a Scene, The Truth of the Moment, Externals, Preparing for a Scene, Trouble Shooting, and The Tools of the Craft. The first chapter, on the physical action, specifies the nine things an action must be—physically capable of being done, fun to do, specific, not an errand, not presuppose any physical or emotional state, not be manipulative, be in line with the intentions of the playwright, have its test in the other person, and must have a cap. The action is an extremely important part of analyzing a scene. Throughout a scene, an actor must have an essential action to carry him through the scene. He must be able to identify what the character is doing by reading the lines and the play, and figuring out the main goal of the actor in a specific scene. If an actor knows, for instance, that in the scene, his action is to “get a friend’s forgiveness,” he can then inference how his lines might be said. The tools he might use to carry out his action could be begging, explaining, or yelling. They don’t necessarily have to be effective, for not all people are effective at doing what they mean to, and therefore not all characters are either. While an actor’s action might be trying to gain forgiveness, the character might flub up and insult the person they are trying to get to forgive them. The intent, however, should be to get forgiveness.

One important rule of an action is that it must not be manipulative, but it must have its test in the other person. Your action cannot be “making someone angry,” but might be “explaining why a friend is wrong.” The actor cannot aim solely for a certain response from his scene partner, but must instead try to do something he can do alone, and can accomplish without the scene partner. A scene partner may read his own lines in a way that yields tears instead of anger, and the actor’s action will never be finished, but if the actor uses a non-manipulative action, he can respond to however the scene partner responds. However, the actor must be able to look at his scene partner and know if the action has been completed yet. The action does not need, necessarily, to be completed, but the scene partner must be able to show whether the action is effective of not.

The action is an important tool one can use in directing. If an actor aimlessly paces or stands completely still, the director can ask the actor what he or she is doing in the scene. Is the actor trying to convince their scene partner of something, or trying to prevent them from doing something? Both actions will can lead to specific movements that have purpose so that an actor does not look as if he or she is just following the blocking their director assigned. If the actor understands what he or she is trying to do with a movement, they can better perform blocking so that it looks to be purposeful, instead of aimless.