Stephen Mitchell's Blog - Posts Tagged "acting-technique"
The essence of acting
Beyond the need to be able to memorize lines, the job of an actor is to attract the attention of the audience and hold onto it. In my book Action/ReAction, I looked at the 'component parts' of acting and distilled them into two major aspects--action and reaction with reaction being the more magical of the two.
The reaction is supremely important because it is during the reaction that the audience bonds with the actor and the character. They see that you are reacting and want to know what you are thinking. They will project their own thoughts into your performance and believe you are thinking the same thing they are thinking. This bonding mechanism is very important to understand if one wants to build a fan base.
Getting the audience to project their thoughts into your mind is subtle yet important. Let us not forget that one of the definitions of fine art is that it engages the thought processes of the audience.
The audience may not know why, but a performance that relies solely on the dialogue will appear artificial. A performance that includes these reactions will be seen as more intriguing and engaging.
The reaction is supremely important because it is during the reaction that the audience bonds with the actor and the character. They see that you are reacting and want to know what you are thinking. They will project their own thoughts into your performance and believe you are thinking the same thing they are thinking. This bonding mechanism is very important to understand if one wants to build a fan base.
Getting the audience to project their thoughts into your mind is subtle yet important. Let us not forget that one of the definitions of fine art is that it engages the thought processes of the audience.
The audience may not know why, but a performance that relies solely on the dialogue will appear artificial. A performance that includes these reactions will be seen as more intriguing and engaging.
