Because all human beings are unique, every actor has a uniquely personal process. Few actors can or are willing to actually explain what they do. Some study various methods, develop a language of their own, understood by actors and unintelligible to someone who lacks the experiences that the language is designed to describe and explain. The same is true of any science or craft such as carpentry, or art, or mathematics.
But acting isn't rocket science or carpentry. It is a human endeavor to make sense of human life and, since we are all human, surely it is possible to understand and explain what it is a human does when he or she "acts"?
Most people are aware that actors prepare for a role by doing something, but that something may not be immediately obvious. To someone who experiences theatre or film as an audience member, often it is invisible and internal and is only recognized when the "actor" is suddenly "different": behaves in an unexpected manner, or speaks in a different voice, or becomes someone or does something other than "normal".
It may be easier to understand an actor's preparation if we analyze the nature of acting in its simplest elements. When an actor is performing, we see his or her physical expression of a character or role. The body and voice of the actor are part of the physical "instrument" and constitute one element of performance. So an actor's preparation must have a "physical" component. The character is "embodied" by the actor. How the body and voice are adapted to the demands of a role is physical preparation.
Some actors find this transformation internally. Because they understand the nature of the character's life, his age, history, social arena, and environment, they make choices physically to express those things and make the character believable in the given circumstances of the scenes. They search their database of experience and choose those elements of the role that are expressed physically and, to the extent that they are able to adapt their physical instrument, adopt the physical mannerisms and vocal qualities of the character.
Other actors find this transformation externally: they wear the clothes, shoes, hats that the character wears and these externals affect the movement and carriage of the character. We can understand both of these approaches because we all do this in our daily lives. We intuitively understand that we must wear certain "costumes" to operate socially. We also know that the nature of the wardrobe will affect the way we carry ourselves and our range of motion, even our voice is affected by the change. Try doing carpentry in a three-piece suit, or swimming in armor. Try dancing in the wrong shoes. Or hiking in high heels.
So we all have an experience of an actor's physical preparation if we understand how we prepare physically for our own "roles" in life. Actors just know how to extend this into areas they normally do not experience.
Actors also take into account the physical nature of the area in which the scene occurs and adapt their physical expression to the demands of the theatrical environment. It requires a different physical expression for film than for stage. Different levels of expression are required in order to be seen and heard according to the "theatre of operations". We can understand this when we think about how we speak and behave in a library as opposed to a machine shop or a church. For an actor on stage or film, the lighting and sound are physical considerations that must be met in order for the audience to see and hear what is happening to the best advantage. Stage actors must find the light, film actors must hit their marks.
The other elements of the actor's process can be classified as mental preparation, emotional preparation, and intuitive or experiential preparation. I will expand on all of these in later essays.
If you have an interest in these matters, I should let you know that at present I am, in concert with Imaginative Productions and Shari Carlson Studio, preparing a seminar and a book to assist actors and laymen in the elemental approach to individual creativity. I will not discuss the nature of the seminars or the book here, but would prefer to discuss the actor's process in more general terms. Also, I prefer to make this more subjectively about my personal approach to preparation, while the seminars and book will be oriented more towards a general approach for a wider audience. I can tell you that the seminars and book will give a detailed process for accessing the subjective and unique creativity of every one who investigates it. There will be more information regarding these matters in upcoming essays. Please send any questions you may have to this site and I will try to answer them here or privately.
I will post again soon. Hopefully once a week, maybe more. Check back soon.
