The Art Of Directing Actors 25 Pages 6zp67

The Art of Directing Actors

The Art of Directing Actors Ernest Goodman

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Ernest Goodman Published by Goodman Directing & Acting Studio 1253 N Vine St Unit 14 Los Angeles, CA 90038 [email protected]

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The Art of Directing Actors

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 7



What is this book about? Should we study directing or is talent enough? The Art of Directing Actors

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1. TYPES OF ACTING 12 Three Types of Acting 13 2. THE GREAT TEACHERS 15 3. WHERE DO THE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS COME FROM? 18 4. RESULT-ORIENTED DIRECTING 20 5. TWENTY EXAMPLES OF RESULT-ORIENTED AND GENERAL DIRECTIONS 22 6.FIXING RESULT-ORIENTED DIRECTING PROBLEMS Inside Out 35 Directing the scene by result approach 36 Directing the scene by proper tools 36

7. MAIN SKILLS REQUIRED TO BE A DIRECTOR Intuition, Empathy and Body Language

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8. ADAPTATION OF A SCRIPT AND DIRECTING

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9. DIRECTING ACTORS FOR FILM AND THEATER

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10. TOOLS OF A DIRECTOR

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Two goals of a director 49 Three requirements for the best directions 50 The list of the Seventeen Tools 51

11. Tool # 1 SUPER OBJECTIVE, SCENE OBJECTIVE

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Examples of the SUPER OBJECTIVES 57 Examples of the SCENE OBJECTIVES 60 COMMON MISTAKES 60 EXAMPLE OF WRONG OBJECTIVE 61

12. Tool # 2 CHARACTERIZATION, BUILDING A CHARACTER 63 3

Ernest Goodman Examples 65 COMMON MISTAKES 67 A Character Checklist 68 Another opinion about creating a character 69

13. Tool # 3 ACTION VERBS or ACTIONS

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How action verbs work fixing Result 73 Simple list of ACTION VERBS 75 About Adjectives and Adverbs 76 About chemistry 77

14. Tool # 4 FACTS or GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES

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Three types of Given Circumstances 80 Actor’s choices 81

15. Tool # 5 IMAGES 83

The Practical Application of the IMAGES—The Importance of Being Earnest

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16. Tool # 6 CONCENTRATION OF ATTENTION 93 17. Tool #7 ADJUSTMENTS 96 18. Tool # 8 EVENTS 100 Woody Allen and Andrew Tarkovsky in creating events 102 Making events by classic directing techniques 103

19. Tool # 9 PHYSICAL TASKS, THE METHOD

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OF PHYSICAL ACTIONS 20. Tool # 10 ATMOSPHERE

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Example of how atmosphere works in connection with other tools 112

21. Tool # 11 PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE

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How to use the PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE?

22. Tool # 12 FEELING FOR TRUTH

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23. Tool # 13 FEELING FOR STYLE 118 24. Tool # 14 SENSORY MEMORY 121 25. Tool # 15 OBSTACLES 123 examples 124 4

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26. Tool # 16 SUBSTITUTION

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Example of how Substitution works in connection with other tools 127

27. Tool # 17 INNER MONOLOGUE

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The Practical Application of the Inner Monologue—The Importance of Being Earnest

28. CASTING 138 TRAINING OF THE ACTORS 142 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER AND CATEGORIES 143 AUDITION CHECKLIST 144 RESOURCES FOR CASTING 146 REJECTION 147 IN THE AUDITION ROOM 148 CALLBACK 148

29. REHEARSAL 149 INTRODUCTIONS AND TABLE READINGS 153 Discuss OBJECTIVES with your actors 153 IMPROVIZATION 154

30. MISE-EN-SCENE AND BLOCKING

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Mise-en-scène 155 Blocking 156 Tiny pause before the dialogue 158 Blocking first method 158

31. MAKE ‘EM LAUGH 159 32. MAIN FUNCTION OF A DIRECTOR

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The Kuleshov Effect 161 Eisenstein’s theory of editing (montage) 162 The two types of directors 163

33. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF DIRECTOR’S TOOLS FOR THE BEAR 166 Elimination of any emotional content 167 Relationship between director and screenwriter 168 Three-tier structure of film or play 169 An Overview of The Bear 170 Tool # 1 SUPER OBJECTIVE,SCENE OBJECTIVE 172 Tool # 2 CHARACTERIZATION, BUILDING A CHARACTER 176 Tool # 3 ACTION VERBS or ACTIONS 184

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Ernest Goodman THE BEAR, script with OBJECTIVES and ACTIONS 185 Tool # 4 FACTS or GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 218 Tool # 5 IMAGES 220 Tool # 15 OBSTACLES 225 Tool # 16 SUBSTITUTION 233

34. SOME OTHER PROBLEMS DIRECTOR CAN ENCOUNTER 236 Miscast 237 Over directing 238 Agreements between actors about emotional responses 239

Appendix I Action Verbs Thesaurus

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Appendix II Classification of Action Verbs

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Appendix III Recommended Reading

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Acknowledgments 312 Epilogue 313 About the author 314

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INTRODUCTION Welcome to The Art of Directing Actors. This book may be one of the best your investments in your directing career. Why? Because it will teach directing actors so much. I know how much I’ve learned while gathering the information for it. The Art of Directing Actors may look like other books you’ve seen but there are some very important differences, ones that are helpful and will make it easier for you while directing. This is a handbook that has all the tools you’ll need to effectively direct actors and to create memorable performances. By detailing out modern and classical methods for directing actors, you’ll have a complete and versatile toolbox to draw on for use in any film or theater production (17 tools). The Art of Directing Actors points out the most common mistakes made by film and theater directors and actors, and offers ways to do better. In addition, a full list and classification of action verbs with a thesaurus, plus examples of a full script breakdown (The Bear by Anton Chekhov) with objectives, actions, and other tools are included. Finally, there are exercises in a useful format so you may apply your understanding of the several methods of directing actors.

What is this book about?

Film directing is a relatively young art form, emerging almost 100 years ago. Theater art, on the other hand, has existed for thousands of years. This book is about the art of directing actors, whether it is for film or for theater. The inner life of the actor, acting techniques, certain rules of human behavior, common mistakes of the director, and various methods of directing are discussed. As working director, I believe, as well as many other teachers, directing actors can be taught as a craft. The art of directing actors does not need to be mystified. All 17 methods of directing actors are relatively easy to understand and they can be learned over a reasonable amount of time. 7

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Film school courses will often focus more on the technical aspects of directing, offering study in cinematography, editing, producing, etc. Of course a good director must be familiar with these arts, but they are not his or her main function. Only a few U.S. film schools offer students a course dedicated to the specific methods of directing actors. Given that this topic is multilayered, clearly one class would be insufficient to successfully realize this rich subject. With a hundred years of history, the art of directing actors is based on a clear and logical structure, as well as on the science of psychophysiology. Many theatrical and film scholars have dedicated their lives to developing specific techniques for directing of actors. Both acting and directing are complex, cumulative art forms; they must be taught and studied layer by layer. This subject is best studied in conjunction with the techniques of acting and this book is a synthesis of the concepts of many teachers and professionals. In order to be a director you must have special training and intuition. Sometimes when teaching these methods, students will comment that certain techniques are illogical or against intuition. This is normal reaction. Intuition is very important and necessary for a director, but blindly following it usually leads to faulty results. To understand and know this multifaceted art form, it must be studied layer by layer; eventually leading to creating an exacting framework in which intuition can work best. People often confuse intuition with inner emotions and some teachers believe that intuition can’t be taught as skill. But according to Allan Pease, an Australian body language expert and co-author of fifteen bestsellers, intuition is the ability to read people’s body language, a skill that can be taught. Body language is a reflection of our inner life, thoughts, emotions and feelings. Like intuition, Pease believes that reading body language enables you to determine whether the actor’s performance was truthful or not. But more importantly, the director should remain open and receptive to human emotions and feelings. It can be called intuition when we are watching a performance and as a gut reaction say, “I don’t believe it!” On the basis of your intuition, not your thinking, you determine whether or not the performance was truthful. 8

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Most people can acquire the ability to read other people’s thoughts based on reading their body language, and this is a particularly crucial skill for a director. The Art of Directing Actors presents directing as a practical psychology: the art of managing human behavior. Should we study directing or is talent enough? “The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” ~ Emile Zola I’m often asked ”Isn’t talent enough, do we have to study directing and acting?” Or some will pronounce “Talent is the most important element, many actors and directors have no training at all!” So, let’s talk about talent. Is having just talent enough to be a good director or actor? Imagine someone who has the gift of being a musician and was also born with a good ear. He didn’t study any music theory and he doesn’t practice playing any musical instruments. In spite of being gifted, he most likely won’t succeed as a musician because in order to be truly good, even a well-gifted person needs to spend years practicing and refining their talent. Let’s use another illustration: picture two people who are equally strong and fast swimmers with well-developed muscles. One has spent years training and developing a swimming technique and the other hasn’t. Now ask any Olympian swimmer who they think will be better and they’ll unabashedly tell you that the one with the best technique will swim faster and longer, have more elegance and grace, and expend the least amount of energy. Alternatively, the person who doesn’t know how to swim with technique perhaps will swim, but his natural talent and other characteristics will not automatically give him an advantage. This concept is applicable to all professions; training, practice and experience lead to the best result. Like the musician, the actor practicing his “instrument” (his body, his mind, his soul) benefits from practice. Like the swimmer, without training, even a natural born artist can’t achieve true excellence. Peter Yershov (1910-1994)—a prominent Russian theater director, wrote in his book “Directing as a Practical Psychology”:

“The principle of least action” is well known from the theoreti9

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cal physics of the mid 18th century. It states that nature always finds the way where the amount of energy required for any physical action is the smallest possible”. This physical principle applies to the human behavior: if the same result can be achieved in various ways, an individual will use the that he believes will require the least expenditure of energy, and subsequently spends no more efforts than, he thinks, necessary to achieve the result. But unskilled person wastes a lot of energy to do a basic job. A drowning man who cannot swim will make too many movements in order to save his life. Such loss of energy is reflected by the extreme importance of saving his life...Experience, training, and practice lead to the best outcome. The higher the level of professional qualifications a person has, the less wasteful his work will be. Thus, the costs of efforts are determined by not only the significance of human goals, but also by the life experience and training.” This very principle of least action applies to the world of acting and directing where proficient and knowledgeable professionals do their work easy and quickly, and expend the least amount of energy to get a tremendous performance. It is not simple for the actors who do not have adequate foundation and practice to do even the basics: hitting marks, ing lines, repeating gestures and movements for coverage, and finding their key light. The work of actors and directors is extremely difficult, if you lose focus for one minute and the career consequences can be fatal. The workload is overwhelming. You may find yourself working seven days a week at 12-14 hours a day, often for weeks. Too slow and you are left in the dust. Mortality rates are very high in a film industry. You can easily die working hard. I am joking about mortality...no worries. Any way, under such conditions unprepared person will not even have a good chance to use his gift if he has one. So, is talent enough? Constantin Stanislavski’s famous quote is “a good actor is 10 percent talent, and 90 percent hard work.” I don’t believe that the gift alone is enough. I’ve seen many students who started out with only a little natural talent, but after years of hard work, study and training, achieved a great deal. 10

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The Art of Directing Actors Meaningful and successful directing is not an arbitrary manipulation of the actor’s behavior. A director can’t effectively extract a specific result from an actor in the form of an emotion such as cry, be sad, etc. by simply commanding it. The art of directing is expressed in the distillation of ideas, and making the proper choices to best express those ideas. The art of acting and the art of directing are related to each other as in the two sides of one coin. Average directing is a craft; good directing is a skill; but great directing is the Art. In the world of artistry, it is the director’s vision and creativity that transforms the ordinary into a master piece. Directing actors as well as directing by itself requires a possession of inventive and imaginative skills. Shot selection, camera movements, blocking and mise-en-scène as well as instructing actors are not just mechanical skills, they are creative choices. Learning methods for directing actors is not difficult by itself. The main difficulty lies in the application of the methods. By continuous practice and experience over time, good directing will follow in an easy, elegant and graceful way. Being graceful is a supreme goal of an artist, and a director is an artist and the reason this book is called The Art of Directing Actors. And while it’s absolutely okay to read book in random order, I suggest you start from the beginning so you have a better knowledge of the sublime art of directing actors.

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CHAPTER 1

TYPES OF ACTING “Only a performance warmed by the real living of the actor on the stage can affect the audience emotionally.” ~ C. Stanislavski Acting is not faking or pretending. As a director, it is important to understand how actors work. There are different schools and methods of acting as well as directing around the world. Almost all of them are based on the ideas and the method developed by Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938), a great Russian actor, director, and teacher. The Stanislavski Method is unique and versatile, and it is fully based on the science of human psychophysiology. His method emerged in the beginning of the 20th century and spread throughout the world in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Some historians and scholars believed that he adopted the main principle of his method from French philosophers. Now, Stanislavski centers are found worldwide. In the USA, they are located in New York and Los Angeles. Other methods such as Stella Adler, Michael Chekhov and Sanford Meisner were originally developed from the Stanislavski system. Many teachers tell that directing actors, as well as acting itself, cannot be taught in nutshell but is learned over a long time, layer by layer. I believe that the elementary learning of directing begins by studying acting; starting with the principles of creating the character. By understanding and studying how actors work from an inner perspective, a director can give the best directions to elicit the best performance. But what is a direction? Directions are the instructions to the actor which includes basic explanations, descriptions, and specific orders. Sometimes it is quite lengthy and sometimes only a few very important words. Learning how to give instructions is important in developing the art of directing and the basis of this book. 12

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Three Types of Acting

Current acting is taught in a variety of ways as each teacher interprets the Stanislavski method slightly different. But it is of importance to note that the core of each method always originates with the Stanislavski method. ing:

The Stanislavski method is recognized with three types of act(1) The Art of Living (2) The Art of Performance (3) The Art as a Craft

Although these are well known in Europe, it’s not commonly labeled as such in the U.S. It’s my belief that approaching acting with these expressions is a very important starting point for actors and directors. In the beginning of the twentieth century there was crisis in the theater of Russia, people had stopped going. During this time, Stanislavski was a prominent actor and director of the Moscow Art Theater. In facing this crisis, he began to work on developing specific techniques of acting. In over 40 years of research and practice, he developed a method that was used by his students and Russian theater became world renown. Stanislavski believed that in the theater that there are two main streams: the art of living and the art of performance. Acting mastered by professional actors that mixed the streams of the art of living and the art of performance are called the art as a craft. Beginning with the physical actions that are generated by the given circumstances or events, a primary foundation for the development of the character is begun. However, Stanislavski taught that in order to master the of the art of living “is not just to depict life as in its external manifestation, but mainly to create the scene depicting the inner life of the character in the play, adapting the character’s alien life to the actor’s own human feelings, giving all the organic elements of the actor’s own soul.” Therefore to develop the character further, the actor must 13

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be fully alive in the role, experiencing similar and natural feelings on the stage, every time and at every repeat. By making the connection between actions and feelings, the actor in his role is then united and becomes a logical, consistently perceived character, and emotionally thought as the real person by the audience. In contrast, when actors use the art of performance, it is a more formal, mechanical action where the actor just imitates emotions. It does not require living in the space between the actions and the feelings of the character. When the art of performance is mastered properly, it can be impressive and expressive in form. But more notably, there can be no spontaneity and improvisation, and it often leaves the audience indifferent and unaffected. Of course, a clear division of theatrical art for these types is possible only in theory. In actual practice, the actor can mix the elements of these two acting types. The Stanislavski Method exerted a strong influence on the development of modern schools of acting and directing throughout the world by defining these two acting types. The changes in the film and theater worlds were enormous. In the silent film era, there was mostly Result-Oriented directing, that continued even into the early period of the Hollywood 1930’s and 1940’s movies. It’s easy to notice the differences in acting if you compare American movies shot during the 1930’s and 1940’s (before the Stanislavski Method came to US), and movies shot in the 1950’s and 1960’s when actors were trained according Stanislavski, and his method became the grammar for acting and directing throughout the world. Presently, one notices that actors in most TV shows and standup comedies are mainly using the art of performance. The theater before Stanislavski consisted of numb clichés that represented certain emotions, and directors asked for each scene-specific emotion during a play. Today, we can identify badly mastered stage plays and low-level acting movies; they are boring, mostly because there is no art of living. As an exercise, watch old movies, bad movies, be attentive and try to distinguish the art of living and the art of performance. One of the most important skills for a director is the ability to recognize whether the behavior is natural and believable or not. 14

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CHAPTER 2

THE GREAT TEACHERS It serves a director to know history and the techniques of acting. In the U.S., most methods are based on the art of living. Within this are two types of concepts, “inside” and “outside” approaches. The inside approach generates from the idea that the source of acting draws from the actor’s past emotional or sensory experiences. The outside approach is based on the notion that the source of acting comes from within the human imagination. But there is no hard line defining these two concepts, rather it is a generalization of approaches to acting. Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) was a Russian actor and theater director. He pioneered acting based on the art of living and encouraged that actors use their imagination in their craft which defines this method as an “outside” approach. In the early decades of the 20th century in the U.S., most of the actors were prepared through the British school of acting. This included sets of specific exercises that involved mimicking in front of a mirror. Most films of this period reflect visibly poor acting and unnatural emotions. Stanislavski changed this, revolutionizing the acting and directing worlds. Stanislavsky’s method of acting ed actors in breaking from the exact lines and actions of the script but it also demanded that they pay closer attention to the important unsaid messages within the writing. Eventually, Stanislavski’s method substituted the British school everywhere, most notably by WWII. There were no more fake reactions, no more clichés in the theater and film. Only real ions and feelings were the norm after his method has been disseminated throughout the world. To further illustrate the “outside approach” let’s take an actor who has a role as a policeman. Although he’s never been a policeman, he finds ways to play it; from the imagination, by making observations, doing research, and using clues (unsaid messages) from within the script. 15

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Michael Chekhov (1891–1955) was a Russian-American actor, director, author, and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew of the great Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov and Stanislavski referred to him as his most brilliant student. He starred in films directed by A. Hitchcock and was nominated for an Academy award for his role in the film Spellbound (1945). His acting technique has been used by actors such as Clint Eastwood, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, and Robert Stack. Although born in Russia, he moved to England, and then to USA. In New York, he founded an acting studio and became the director of his own theater. Michael Chekhov invented his own method of acting based on the imagination (an outside approach) and was strongly influenced by the German philosopher, Rudolph Steiner. Steiner, authored many books on child education/development (and was a founder of The Waldorf school/education system.) Chekhov’s method: “Psychological gesture” and “Atmosphere” will be discussed later. Lee Strasberg (1901–1982) was an American actor, director and acting teacher. In 1969, Strasberg founded the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City and in Hollywood, teaching the work he pioneered. This popular school (or method) of Lee Strasberg, is based primarily on emotional memory, an “inside” approach. Actors exercise recalling from their personal memory emotional events that happened to them in their lives. Stella Adler (1901–1992) was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City (1949) and the Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles (1985) with long-time protégé Joanne Linville. Her grandson Tom Oppenheim now runs the school in New York, which produced alumni including Marlon Brando, and Robert De Niro. Adler met with Stanislavski when he was touring the U.S. with his famous theater. She took classes and began to learn from him, eventually writing and publishing the first book in the USA about the Stanislavsky method. Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg began their journey together as directors of The Group Theaters. But Adler’s viewpoint prompted her to start her own school of acting based broadly on the imagination and sensory memory. Strasberg opened his own acting school based only on the 16

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sensory memory. As a result, they split and never communicated till the end of their days. Sanford Meisner (1905–1997), also known as “Sandy”, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of acting based on the Stanislavski method which was termed the “Meisner technique”. The goal of an actor “to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances” he borrowed from Stanislavski. He founded a school of acting which is still active and wrote many books about acting. In the field of the directing actors, the studio of Judith Weston is located in the Los Angeles. She is known worldwide and has trained more than many directors. Her two books, ”Directing Actors” and “The Film Director’s Intuition” are required reading for classes in directing actors at many film schools in the USA.

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CHAPTER 3

WHERE DO THE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS COME FROM?

“You cannot hold the feeling”. ~ Constantin Stanislavski

The main assumption in directing is the idea that human emotions and feelings only appear spontaneously, and therefore cannot be called up by the director from the actor. Stanislavski would tell this story when teaching to emphasis on this point: “The wife is waiting for her husband to come home after work at the factory. She has cooked a nice dinner for him. Abruptly, she gets a phone call telling her that her husband was killed in an accident at the factory. And what do you think was the first thought of the poor woman? She thinks… “what will I do with dinner now?” Stanislavski used this to demonstrate how thoughts and emotions can be spontaneously illogical. Did we always cry when we should? Really, sometimes in life we laugh or behave very differently when crying would be more logical. So what is a natural and real behavior is what also works in the theater or film. And because it is natural, it affects the audience as such. Mistakenly, many new directors will ask for a particular expression from the actor or actress. Unnatural and imitated emotions often leave the audience indifferent and cold. In ordinary life, we don’t think about our reactions and feelings, they usually appear after our thoughts. There are certain people who train (like religious monks,) who can control their stream of thoughts for short periods of time. Or they can be in “mental silence” which means a mental state without any thoughts, but the average person cannot do it. Please understand that I’m not saying that people can’t control their thoughts at all. Indeed we control them to some degree, but usually we are just reducing the external expressions which are our feelings. But our feelings still are visible, even when we reduce them the 18

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emotions are evident in some way, through some clue in the body. So, by controlling and creating new internal thoughts and following objectives under imaginary circumstances, actors can subsequently create very realistic performances. This is the art of acting. We typically don’t hold or stop the stream of thoughts in our head. We are always thinking, and thoughts are what shape the inner world of humans. This inner world is in unity with the physical body. It is through this unity that the behavior of an actor is as natural as it is in real life. This is where the truthful expressions, feelings and emotions are born. However, if an actor over-thinks about his emotions, or ruminates about how he looks, he loses the necessary connection (chemistry) with other actor. Ultimately we will have fake emotions on the screen or stage. Therefore, true emotions and feelings are spontaneous, and sometimes illogical. To make a point about how this process works, let’s do this little scenario as an example. your last wonderful vacation. Think about it and you can begin to feel it again in your head. And as you think more deeply about it, eventually, you can also feel it in your body. So it is through intentionally recreating situations, thoughts and images for limited period of time that a method for constructing a successful performance comes forth. Actors will draw on these methods over and over again to create truthful performances.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULT-ORIENTED DIRECTING

RESULT-ORIENTED DIRECTING is an old method of directing in which directors demanded that actors play a particular result such as a specific emotion, feeling, or expression. This is a common mistake of a director. More than 100 years ago in the theater before Stanislavski, acting existed as a dead cliché for each emotion and feelings, and was based only on external expressions. This type of acting is still in use in some old ethnic forms of theater like Italian “Del Arte” and Japanese “Kabuki”. Today, the quality of acting and directing has moved to a much higher level. The principle of showing emotions is substituted now by the standard of living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. It’s very visible in the old theater and film worlds that which was the product of the Result-Oriented Directing era, before the Stanislavsky method had been embraced and disseminated throughout the world. Nowadays, it’s a fault of the director to ask for a specific result for an actor to play out. However, it can be different in the modern form to have the actor play out a similar old style. There are no rules 20

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that cannot be broken as creativity itself allows the breaking and mixing of almost anything. Let’s take a look at the example of the Result Direction. Assume, the director tells to the actor: “I want you to be mad in beginning of the scene, and as you open the door to the kitchen you will see your girlfriend, you become look happy...On the line ‘I like you...’ you should smile and go to her to give a warm hug”. For ordinary people and aspiring directors it is intuitively obvious and may sound logical to direct actor based on such expressions. But professional actors would not even understand what the director wants at all. It is very difficult to reproduce a stream of emotions truthfully thinking about every gesture and reaction requested from the director. Instructions like: “be mad”, “look happy”, “smile”, and “give a warm hug” are not playable from the actor’s viewpoint. After receiving direction like this many actors would say that, the director should play the part himself. Actors do not like it when a director requests a specific Result. Robert De Niro, and many other famous actors have spoken about this problem in their interviews. Eric Morris, in his book Being and Doing: a Workbook for Actors referred to this issue many times. Morris writes about dealing with Result direction as hard even for a master craftsman (professional actor), and for less experienced actors it is almost impossible not to fall into the trap of playing out of acting concepts. Can you imagine how serious this problem is? Many of my friends who are actors complain about result-oriented directors. I have been asked many times, “What can you do when you encounter a result-oriented director?” My advice to actors is to interpret the result into the craft . Craft are acting tools. The concept of result and general directions are difficult to understand without experience of acting or directing. However, you can get it if you read the next chapter “Twenty Examples of Result-Oriented and General Directions”. 21

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CHAPTER 5



TWENTY EXAMPLES OF RESULT-ORIENTED AND GENERAL DIRECTIONS

Here, I give you twenty examples of Result-Oriented and General Directions, examples from real life and what not to do when you direct. These mistakes do happen on professional film sets and theater stages, and even well-experienced directors can sometimes make these errors. Actors as well as directors would be best served to know these examples too. Before you turn to the next chapters, take a moment to read through the following twenty scenarios. The information provided here is important in order to understand basic principles of directing actors. Even though presented explanations are relatively short, you will understand why they do not work after reading the whole book. The concept of Result-Oriented and General Directing is difficult to get without careful studying these examples. From an educational point of view, learning of techniques of directing actors starting from these common errors is more advantageous and beneficial. 1. Can you say it louder, quieter? It is okay if the director asks this, but it should be asked of all actors on the film set or theater stage rather than focusing on just one. Why?...because requesting only one specific actor to “act louder” (or quieter) is not a direction at all, because you are demanding a Result from the actor. Instead of giving this direction to the actors use the objectives, action verbs, images and adjustments or other director’s techniques. For instance, if you want from the actor a more intense performance, try different objectives or another action verb rather than asking him to say it louder (See chapter 13 “Tool # 3. Action Verbs or Actions”, on page 71). Usually it takes a significant amount of time for an actor to cre22

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ate a character. Sometimes it can take three months, sometimes even more. When the character has been created and the actor is performing, he/she is concentrating on him/herself and at that time, loses with the partner. Listening is a most important skill of an actor. Stanislavski called it “communion” between actors. It is also known as chemistry. It is very important to have that chemistry connecting actors in order to make the scene truthful, and to stir feelings and emotions. Keeping actors connected is crucial for the director and any direction that risks destroying this communion risks ruining the movie as well. One of the characteristics that distinguish a good movie from a bad one is the strong connections and engagement of actors with each other. Again, it is absolutely okay when the director asks all actors to make it louder/quieter. But this is not considered to be proper as a direction. 2. Cry, yell, shout! Telling an actor to cry, yell, etc. are too general to be playable. Calling for a specific emotion is the utterly perfect example of asking for a Result by directors. In most situations, it is very difficult, even impossible, to get believable acting this way. Although common among amateur directors, this is not a playable direction. Stanislavski, Chekhov, Meisner, Strasberg, etc. as well as other prominent and successful modern day directors agree on this. There can be thousands of reasons to cry, such as be you lost your wallet, or your child, or your job. The back-story of the character can vary significantly; and each time it will be a different feeling, and with different emotions. There is an important rule to know: an audience should cry after watching a performance, your actors shouldn’t. Did you get it? The viewer may be impressed and attached to the performance even without exposing over-the-top emotions from the actors (they should not overact). 3. A director reads the lines out loud and then wants the actor to say the lines with the inflection and intonation the director gave it, asking the actor to repeat it… 23

Ernest Goodman

In this scenario the director is expressing total disrespect for the actor, his preparation, skill, and training. Aside from asking for a Result from the actor, the director is ignoring the creative contribution and components of the actor’s profession. This is so called “line reading”, avoid it and use an action verb or other methods instead. The look and sound of the actor’s expression must be unpredictable and sovereign. Reactions, subtle impulses and responses are spontaneous and they don’t come from the head, they come from the heart. Leave all emotions and feelings to the actor. Harold Clurman, in his book On Directing, describes this type of scenario. He had a private conversation with Stanislavski on the same subject and subsequently concludes that demonstration can be used, but not for this purpose. Proper use of demonstration or line reading is not for copying by the actor, but rather that the director wants to communicate to the actor in order to find the intention of the speech. For instance, the demonstration can be used as the way of finding out the proper objectives for the actor. Instead of giving an intonation to the actors use the objectives, action verbs and adjustments as your tool. 4. A director asks an actor to repeat or copy the performance of another actor. Truthful reactions are only what we want from actors. This type of direction will never give you that. Real emotions are spontaneous and cannot be copied and generated on demand. You can ask this from an actor if you are working, or have worked with him/her previously, and then ask for a repeat of something that was done in another scene or in another film by him. But again, don’t ask the actor to play a specific expression. The only exception is when an imitation of other actor’s performance is the part of your plot. It allows you to give this type of direction to your actor. For instance, in Due Date Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) successfully copied opening monologue from The Godfather, parodying Don Corleone (Marlon Brando), because it was a part of the story. In the film Ethan shows his acting skills to his new friends by 24

The Art of Directing Actors

reading lines of Don Corleone’s monologue. Often, aspiring directors, after reading a script, watch a mini movie virtually projected inside their heads. They see the faces of their heroes, usually played by an A-list of Hollywood actors, they call it “creative vision”. These directors hear, in their heads, the lines usually read with the right intonation and specific facial expressions. This is not a good thing. Why is this approach so bad? This type of vision is limited and flat. It denies and eliminates all creative efforts of actors. Such “creative vision” does not work because it is made by artistic choices based on what directors know about another movie rather than on what actors can deliver to you as independent artists. We need to understand that actors are real people, and they cannot truly duplicate other actor’s performance. If they try to repeat and copy emotions and reactions, it takes the truth out of your movie. The actors will appear to have phony emotions, thereby leaving the audience cold. Emotions, impulses, feelings, reactions and responses are spontaneous and they don’t come from the head, they come from the heart. Leave all emotions and feelings to the actor. Let him be in the moment and create all necessary conditions. It’s better to help him to be a real person that gets you a truth in the scene. If you want your actor to be natural, or aggressive, etc., give him different objectives, images, action verbs or use other methods (tools), and you will ultimately get what you want. All techniques will be explored in this book. 5. Can you do it funny, unusual or quirky? Asking for a certain effect, such as “I want to make this scene funny,” “I want you to be more frightening, dangerous, horrible, and/or ridiculous, etc…” are all asking for one thing: a Result from the actor. Why is this wrong, you may ask? First, because when an actor considers your directions, he first begins by thinking about your request. He then begins to realize himself in the scene, that is, he begins to think about how he looks. This thinking about how he looks induces a self-consciousness which causes problems not only for beginning actors, but for experienced ones as well. Self-consciousness can lead to acting that is not truthful or believable and thereby destroys what the director is 25