Questions from Chapter 4:
1. "If I walk on stage, on that platform, everyone who watches knows my walking must have some meaning, some significance." Describe how do you want to be seen on that platform?
2. "If you walk around without a world, it makes your actions self-conscious. You must always fill the stage with your imagination." Describe an instance on stage when you did or did not envision your environment; how did this effect your acting?
3. "For the imagination to come quickly, all the actor has to do is let go." Explain what Stella Adler is talking about. Explain why it is easy or difficult for you to let go.
4. "The reality you create on the stage by opening a jar or threading a needle isn't so that the audience will believe in you. It's so that you believe in yourself." Explain what Stella Adler means by giving an example from your experience on stage.
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ReplyDeleteIt is really difficult to get into character without a set. It is up to the actor to continually visualize when you are without a set. If you were a character like a zombie it may be okay to not focus on visualizing the surroundings, but more the goal. A zombie doesn't think about "hey, I just crawled out of the grave, now what" but they would have an overwhelming hunger and that would motivate them. (And they should think about mobility -- during their death did something break or become defective that would limit their physical abilities.)
DeleteI like this advice^^^^ There's no "like" button though.
DeleteIt's hard to get into or stay in character when there is nothing for you to work with. However, maybe invisioning a set could help if you make it real. Like in a previous chapter, if u make something real to youthen the audience will beleive it to. It could make the whole scene stronger.
DeleteI agree with everything said here. It's really hard to act when you're having to "fake" your environment. You're having to tell yourself to act like how you would naturally act if you were really in a tiny house or whatever, and instead of an audience or a curtain there was a wall and you're closed in. So I think that more acting comes from pretending there's really a wall there than how you'd react to the zombie, because if there's a wall there, you're naturally going to react differently to a zombie coming at you because you've got nowhere to run to.
Delete3) I'm glad this is one of the questions because this was actually part of the book that stood out to me. I feel like an actor has to be comfortable in their own skin and environment to be able to just let go. Thats something I have struggled with because I am constantly worried about what others will think of what I do. It makes it hard to open up and commit completely to a part. When Stella Adler says, "For the imagination to come quickly, all the actor has to do is let go,", I think she is saying to ignore those feelings. She is saying in order to become a succesful actor you musn't care how silly you look or what others think. It is such a simple idea, yet I think its why acting is difficult. We are always being judged, especially as actors, and our natural instinct is to stop doing what is making us feel uncomfortable. We have to push ourselves farther than we want to in order to be great. However, once we have "let go" we will have gotten past the hard part and can continue on with an easier ride.
ReplyDeleteI do care about what the audience thinks of me and how I look, but in a different way of course. Their opinion is the world to me. I totally agree with pushing past boundaries to become great (Who wouldn't?). Nothing can be off limits if you want to be the best.
DeleteI agree that an actor must embrace how silly they look and just be able to look past those little things and create a memorable character. Out of pure honesty: I was most comfortable wear a monkey costume on stage than when I was playing Judy. Only because when you wear a mask, you can act as silly as you want without being uncomfortable because it's like the audience can't see past your mask. I think that comfort is behind the mask they wear. An actor must reach a point in their life where they are tired of being nervous and scared and take off their mask and step up to the world and show everyone that they are talented. Eventually when comfort is reached, imagination will be easier to achieve.
DeleteI agree Makenna. It's funny how that simple suggestion is a freakin' mountain we get to climb every single time we are given a new role. It's not just a one-time deal, either, it's a constant acceptance of what you need to do for your character, of truly "letting go" and falling. We'll fall flat on our faces a lot of the time, as Adler mentions, but we really do learn from our failures. We learn to continually let go of our own worlds, of our worries and insecurities, and fall into our characters world.
DeleteI think that's something that we're (clearly) going to have to work on as a class. As high schoolers, we are all really self-conscious and are too hard on ourselves and our peers. High school is a rough place, and drama should be the one place that we all can just sort of be ourselves and let go, and put on the persona of a character. I know we'll probably faceplant a couple times, even Adler talked about that, but that's how you grow. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and whatnot.
Delete3) Imagination never comes from over thinking things. As a child you are able to let yourself create a world where everything is not what it seems. For an actor to allow the imagination to flow through them, they must believe that every thing around them is real. That they are every ounce of their character. To really let go is all about having the same comfort level as you would in real life. If you are not comfortable on stage, why go up there? When they are on stage, they need to embrace every thing around them. Stop thinking and let yourself go. When you over-analyze every thing that you are doing, you begin to make mistakes. Referring back to the past chapters: You must be able to look into the mirror and see the character looking back at you. It used to be difficult for me because I was always worried about what the audience was thinking and it sometimes made me uncomfortable to think that I was not good enough. But when Into the Woods came around, I began to to realize that there is no reason to be afraid. (Unless you're wearing a really long blonde wig and you have to worry about it falling off and revealing that you are actually a brunette...Almost happened... But that's a completely different story.) I know that in the future, I am going to embrace my character and just live in their world.
ReplyDelete3. It's extremely hard for me to let go of what I have accepted as my "world" for 17 years and step into the world of a character whose experiences, beliefs, ideals and viewpoints may be entirely foreign to me. It's another reason I have to willingly march out of my comfort zone and let go of the analytical, realistic "banker" that picks my brain all the time. If I take the time to realize that letting go of my "world" will make room for boundless territory for my character, it will enrich mine and the audience's experience with my character.
ReplyDeleteGahh, I love your reference to Stella's talking about the "bankers". You know, she talks about what it's like to talk like an actor. Not being analytical, not just saying words but actually being those words, experiencing those words(just pretend being and experiencing are bolded). She has a really stong message of making things "your own" and I love it.
DeleteAnd that's amazing how an analytical person like you can be so freaking awesome at acting! :D You have a really strong work-ethic and it ceases to amaze me. Because you have such a good work-ethic, utilizing that attribute to overrun a weakness (letting go), is what can create a force to be reckoned with.
(I'm sure you already know that, but ya know.)
But yeah. Taking the time to realize that letting go makes an endless amount of opportunities is a great way to start making that character stand out. So that's really good that you are aware of that and are working on it!
and not cease, but continues*. I don't why I said cease. O.o
Delete3. For me, it depends on the situation on whether or not it is difficult for me to let go. I think at first while in a play, or even auditioning, I have a problem letting go because:
ReplyDelete1. I try too hard,
2. and I am not familiar/comfortable with my character and/or setting.
So in the beginning, I tend to not even think about my imagination because I'm trying too hard to concentrate on looking good and concentrate on what it is I'm doing. I think when it comes to acting, the imagination comes with the familiarity. You can't really fully imagine something if you're still looking at your script. It takes a lot of paitence to find out who your character is and how you can connect to that. Because when I have a sense of comfort with my character, the imagination part comes naturally. Fantasy and imagination is my forte, it's the mixing that with the reality that gets hard for me.
For an example, once I was at that comfort level with the Wolf, I was able to lose myself into the world of "Into the Woods." Right before the show, I would just sit in the stage left closet, looking creepier than the boogey man, and crawling out when it was about my time. Stelle mentioned that on stage, you have to create a world around you. Personally, that's one of my favorite parts when it comes to acting. The set seriously helps with that as well. :P
3. It's difficult for me to let go because I'm too self-conscious. I get embarrassed too easily, and I think everything through way too much. I know how much cooler acting would be if I would just let myself forget that there are people (my friends) watching that might think what I'm doing is silly. I hope to (this year) be able to be less critical of myself in that sense, and let myself learn how to let go like Adler is talking about.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kylie. My goal is to reach a point where I am comfortable enough in my own skin that I can put myself out there and not be self-consious. Its kind of funny because you would think that it would be easier to let go around friends, but its the opposite. We should feel the most comfortable around them because we trust them. Instead, we like to make fun of each other. To have a succesful drama program this year, I think everyone should focus on creating an environment where we don't have to worry about being judged.
DeleteI want the audience to see who my character is, not me. No matter what my role, must take on that role and walk as that person would walk. A strut, or limp, or quickness, stediness, or slowness can make all the difference in how the audience sees that character. I hope to never walk like Ryan walks from class to class or something, but walk like my character should. I must completely become the character.
ReplyDeleteWhich question are you responding to?
Delete3. It's so difficult to let go. It's a lot like singing - you want it be easy as possible, with no pressure, no strain, the sound just comes out of you without you interfering or "trying" to make it happen. In acting it's the same way - it's like telling yourself "try not to try and your message will get across." Well what the heck does that mean? It's paradoxical but true. I've found I just have to give myself permission to let my acting be natural and just trusting with what comes, instead of trying to project something and do things emphatically to try to make you see how upset I am or whatever I'm trying to get across to you. So it's just telling myself, "alright, trust yourself," and from there it's easy.
ReplyDelete2. Pretty much whenever I play freeze I never envision my environment, which is probably when I always end up making scenes awkward/clumsy/bad. I think with plays, you have the set and props to remind you where you are, and really helps you get into the feel of things, but with improv, you have you make that all up in your head, and I think that slows a lot of people down and hinders the scene. At an improv workshop at thes fest, we had an exercise to describe a setting and it's contents. Everyone kept trying to add actions to it, but that wasn't the point. I'm just figuring out that they were teaching us that you can't run until you walk. Strengthening your mind to create these environments fast is probably a key point of improv that we're missing out on. By believing that we ourselves are in these environments, the audience will too.
ReplyDeleteI think that is why improv is so beneficial to practicing acting in general, because it throws us so far out of our comfort zones. Some people can pick up a script, memorize it, and "act" it out with a decent amount of proficiency and not feel like it was too horribly challenging. But, to be able to create your environment and steep yourself in it in a matter of seconds is truly impressive. I think speed, in this particular skill, doesn't show sloppiness, but rather efficiency in doing something many other people can do, but you can do it better than they can.
DeleteAgreed, improv is a true test of actors abilities because of how quick on your feet you have to be in order for the scene to be successful. With freeze in particular, I find myself coming up with ideas and actions in my head so that I'll be prepared. But that's not the point, and I know that, I just don't want to look stupid. You're not supposed to be prepared, you just have to roll with it. I could definitely work on strengthening my mind and creating my environment on the spot/.
DeleteI agree with everyone so far. I think that as actors we sometimes move too fast in trying to do something and just make it up on the spot. What we should be doing is recognizing our environment and reacting to it. I like what Keenan said about speed in improv--that it's not hastiness, it's just an ability to act more efficiently. This is one thing I'm going to focus on in particular because I think it will definitely help improve my improv skills.
Delete3.) “Letting go” when I step between the wings has always been extremely simple for me. I think I’ve established theatres as places of relaxation in my mind, because no matter how stressful the production becomes and no matter how disastrous the show could potentially be, I am content with just being there. I think that when Stella Adler says that we should “let go,” she means that we need to completely let go of everything that makes us nervous, stressed, happy, sad, angry, sarcastic, snippy, ridiculous, silly, brave, annoying, or bland. Everything. It not only makes space for the character that you’re about to step into, but it also means you have resigned yourself to the idea of the stage using you and not the other way around. The idea that the subjects, characters, and actions portrayed on that elevated platform are communicating so much more than just “hey, I’m a convincing Hamlet.” Or “I’m good at this! Look at me!” It eradicates the temptation to focus too much on the medium and not enough on the message, because if that happens, the audience will do the same thing. If we can let go of these things that will distract us from the ultimate goal, then the performance will mean something, not only to the audience, but also to us. However, as serious as that all sounds, I’ve generally been able to let go of these things when I step on stage because I want to have fun, and I cannot do that if I’m worrying about all of the other crap that’s going on in my life. It’s kind of like at the beginning of the book, the author writes that in order for us to get the most out of the writing we must first completely zone out the rest of the world. I think that before I can get the most out of acting, I have to do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with this. The stage is a place where I can escape the troubles of the world. On stage, I can focus on doing something I truelly love: acting. Once on stage, nothing else matters to me besides acting and entertaining the audience. And I love it.
DeleteI agree with you Keenan-letting go is the gateway to acting. For some people, it's easy, like you. For me, personally, I had to get to a level where I was comfortable with myself and how people viewed me before I became very comfortable with letting go. This is an old example, but for my decades day, my group and I did Abba's "Dancing Queen". I remember getting really into the performance, and feeling great about it when I came off stage. I wanted to know what people thought of the performance, and to my dismay, some people though that I was getting "too into" the performance. Anyway, point of the story is, you can't let people judge you for what you do on stage. Because what you do on stage isn't you- it's your character.
Delete3.) When Stella Adler says "for the imagination to come quickly, all the actor has to do is let go," she means that you can't overthink things, and that you have to lose yourself in your acting. You have to let things come naturally. You have to just let yourself go and act. You have to free yourself from fear and worry. Some people have difficulty letting themselves go, as they can be self conscience about themselves and what others think of them. But to truly act, you must let yourself go.
ReplyDeleteDescribe one of your performances as an example.
Delete4) Stella Adler is trying to say that every action performed is not solely for the audience. The crowd staring back at you is here to see you act, but they're not going to believe your every word and action unless you do first. The actor should first be so involved in their character, that it's second nature to speak, walk, and move as them. When I was Mrs. Potts, I had become so accustomed to the accent, and the scurry-like way that she moved, that I could do these things in every scene without thinking. When I saw Chip, my motherly instincts would kick in and soon all Mrs. Potts' reality became mine because I believed in every action I performed and every word I spoke.
ReplyDelete4. Stella Adler explains that you have to believe in yourself before the audience can. If an actor is onstage and feels like they’re acting, the audience will notice. I think I’m getting fairly repetitive because I’ve said that in practically every post, but it’s not any less true. When I did my monologue from the Glass Menagerie as Laura, I wanted to start it out by playing with the glass horse. Laura’s glass figurines are what bring her peace and I wanted that to be somewhat highlighted in the monologue. Of course, she doesn’t really play with them though, she holds them very delicately. I tried to practice with little plastic toys at home (I had remembered reading this part of the book last year) by focusing on how my fingers moved on the toys, so that I could show that onstage without the actual figurine. When I really believed there was a glass doll in my hands, I was able to focus in on Laura’s insecurities and become her.
ReplyDelete