Advanced Acting Workshop (Being and Doing)

ACTING Being and Doing
MODULE ONE
ACTING v. EMOTING
WHAT WE DO WHAT WE MUST DO

• Display and exaggerate emotions. • Responding by expressing one’s
• Focusing on the emotional feelings on an organic moment-to-
obligation of the scene. moment basis.
Morris, Eric. Irreverent Acting (Kindle Locations 376-377). SCB Distributors. Kindle Edition.
Ñgayong tumugon kayo sa uhaw naming sigaw
ñg ikagagaling ñg bayan… Ñgayong nagpakita
kayo ñg mabuting halimbawa sa kapuá dalagang
nagnanasang paris ninyong mamulat ang mata at
mahañgo sa pagkalugamí, sumisigla ang aming
pag asa, inaaglahì ang sakuná!
WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOUR HEAD
• WRITTEN MONOLOGUE • WRITTEN MONOLOGUE
• Ñgayong tumugon kayo sa • Ñgayong nagpakita kayo ñg
uhaw naming sigaw ñg mabuting halimbawa…
ikagagaling ñg bayan… • INNER MONOLOGUE
• INNER MONOLOGUE • Hinihingal na ‘ko. Ayan,
• Tumitingin ako sa paligid… nababalisa na ‘ko.
Ano’ng susunod na linya ko?
WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOUR HEAD
• WRITTEN MONOLOGUE • Sumisigla ang aming pag asa,
• Sa kapuá dalagang nagnanasang inaaglahì ang sakuná!
paris ninyong mamulat ang mata at • INNER MONOLOGUE
mahañgo sa pagkalugamí… • Nakatingin silang lahat sa akin.
• INNER MONOLOGUE Para akong tanga. Ano kaya ang
• Mahusay sumulat si Rizal. Naiinip iniisip nila?
na ‘ko. Ano nga ba ang susunod
kong linya?
• WRITTEN MONOLOGUE
EXPRESSION v. EXPERIENCE
EXPRESSION EXPERIENCE
Obvious separation between what an actor was Connection with the inner self that can allow a
expressing in a scene and what he/she was person to function from total honesty.
feeling under that behavior.
You can never make an audience believe you
unless you invite them to share your experience.
Silverberg, Larry. The Sanford Meisner Approach: Workbook One, An Actor's Workbook: 1 (Career Development Book) (Kindle Location 275). Smith and Kraus Inc. Kindle Edition.
WHAT’S
LACKING
THE TRUTH IN THE
MOMENT.
Morris, Eric. Irreverent Acting (Kindle Location 381). SCB Distributors. Kindle Edition.
YOUR
ROLE AS
AN ACTOR
Stimulate the true
emotional life of the
character in that scene.
Respond on an organic
moment-to-moment basis
Morris, Eric. Irreverent Acting (Kindle Location 398). SCB Distributors. Kindle Edition.
THE BASE TRUTH
Is whatever the actor really feels and however he/she is
expressing that on an impulsive level.
The first step in approaching a scene is to
get in touch with everything you are feeling,
including all the obstacles and distractions
standing in the way of the real life.
HOW TO BE When an actor identifies a specific block of

IN THE fear, it is essential to delve into the area of
fear and find a technique to eliminate it.
MOMENT?
What was behind the block is then allowed

to flow freely into the actor’s work.
Groups of three.
The group is stranded in the desert;

they have run out of water and are all
PERFORMANCE suffering from thirst, exhaustion, and
exposure.
Some of the characters are expending

their last bits of energy feverishly
looking for water.
What am I Why am I How am I
doing? doing it? doing it?
I am looking for Because I am

With panic!
water! dying of thirst!
WHAT YOU DID

Imposing
Cerebral and
behavior that
does not
you have not
stimulate
organically
behavior.
created.
WHAT HAPPENED
Don’t Fake It!
THE ONLY RULE
• Create a state of real thirst.
• If you are really desperately
thirsty, you don’t have time,
WHAT YOU energy, or inclination to plan
SHOULD’VE
behavior or do little things to
DONE
convince the audience that
you are there in the desert.
• How?
• Using your senses, recreate the
experience and exaggerate it.
• The goal is to actually physically
and sensorially experience thirst.
SENSE • If the need is real, the behavior will
MEMORY be dimensional and unpredictable.
• The way the actor responds and
changes in emotional intensity will
be real and will follow a natural
path of reality.
You are
Tricking
Yourself!
THE EMOTER’S SIN
NOW TRICK YOURSELF!
• Walk quickly forward and tell yourself that you will turn right, keep
reinforcing the idea, then physically prepare to turn right, but at the last
possible moment, turn left.
• Try this many times in both directions.
• While walking quickly tell yourself to stop, prepare to stop, but do not
stop.
• Or being stopped, fully prepare to go, but then do not move.
• Really try to trick yourself.
Your head
rules! You
intellectualize!
THE EMOTER’S SIN
Anything you feel
uncomfortable
We are encumbered about expressing
Conditioning with a lifetime of will create an
We grow up with a taboos. interruption in the
lot of restrictions flow of your
that we are not even impulses.
aware of.
MAJOR OBSTACLES
IN SHORT
The major obstacle is exposure.
THE SOLUTION
Include the feelings that occur at the short-circuit point.
They then become a part of the total behavior of the character as opposed to an
unwanted interruption.
When the actor includes all the inner comments and dissatisfactions he is feeling at the
moment, he becomes compelling, unpredictable, and colorful.
Even though
Honor your
If in a scene But at that you know that
real feelings Then you must
you know that moment in the what is real at
and impulses express that
the emotional rehearsal your the moment
rather than which is real
obligation is to choice is does not fulfill
servicing the rather than that
feel a certain affecting you the
material which isn’t.
way… differently… requirement of
conceptually.
the material.
BEING YOU
PREPARE YOURSELF
TECHNIQUE
Stand-up.
Slowly exaggerate the weight of your head.
It gets heavier and heavier and heavier.
EXERCISE Your hands and arms get heavy. Heavier and

heavier.
You try to lift your head and your arms. But it
gets heavier and heavier.
You couldn’t fight gravity.
LETTING GO OF YOURSELF
TECHNIQUE
EXERCISE
Have an all-out tantrum

Lie on the floor.
like a toddler.
Scream and make huge

Move your body with
uninterrupted vocal
abandonment in all
expurgations, so that the
directions and with no
whole thing might look
physical interference or
like someone who has
leadership.
gone stark raving mad.
ACTOR SAY “YES!” REPEAT SAYING
ONSTAGE. “YES!,” LOUDER
AND LOUDER.
EXERCISE
LET YOUR BODY NEVER STOP

ORGANICALLY UNTIL YOU ARE
REACT. EXHAUSTED.
EXERCISE
Share what you did in the

Actor onstage. bathroom this morning: IN
SEQUENCE.
Describe every detail:

object, body part, actions,
Share the details.
texture, colors, feelings,
sensations.
AWARENESS v. CONSCIOUSNESS
STAND ONSTAGE. SAY WHAT YOU
ARE FEELING
WITHOUT FILTER.
EXERCISE
YOU WILL STOP

UNTIL YOU ARE
TOLD TO STOP.
BE VULNERABLE!
TECHNIQUE
Close Close your eyes.
Listen Listen to the music.
EXERCISE
Let the music take control of your mind
Let and your feelings.
React to the music moment-to-moment

React organically.
EXERCISE
Actor onstage.
Mentally choose one person important to your life: either living or dead.
Imagine you’re at the cemetery.
You will talk to that person.
You will tell that person all the things you haven’t told that person.
EXERCISE
• Grab a chair.
• The chair symbolizes your frustrations, your
problems.
• Lift the chair and never put it down UNLESS
YOU HAVE EMOTIONALLY SETTLED
WITH YOUR FRUSTRATIONS AND
PROBLEMS.
STIMULUS-AFFECT-
RESPONSE-EXPRESSION
TECHNIQUE
EXERCISE
Look around. Allow Stop at the objects that

Place objects at the
Actor in the middle. your eyes to “sweep” the appeal to your interest
center of the room.
entire place. and explore them.
When you have explored

Go to the object and Show interest: Don’t
Use as many of the other the object to the point
satisfy your curiosity by fake it! Don’t feel
senses. you want to, move on to
holding it or smelling it. obligated!
the next.
EXERCISE
• Two actors face each other.
• Look at each other; observe everything.
• Take turns: Describe every thing, every body part and every detail you see
on the actor in front of you. DO NOT SPARE ANYTHING!
• Do not hesitate. Do not think, just say it!
• Do not stop until you are told to.
EXERCISE
Actor 1 touches Actor

Two actors onstage.
2.
Actor 2 accepts and So on and so forth

responds by returning until they are told to
a touch. stop.
Two to three actors onstage.
Actor 1 will produce a sound, verbally,

any sound but not a word.
Actor 2 responds.
EXERCISE
Actor 3 responds.
And so on until they are told to stop.

Two actors on stage.
First actor will be given a dialogue on

a piece of paper to act out.
Second actor will respond.
PERFORMANCE
First actor will respond and so on.
They will stop when they are told to.

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ACTING Being and Doing

WHAT WE DO WHAT WE MUST DO

HOW TO BE When an actor identifies a specific block of

What was behind the block is then allowed

The group is stranded in the desert;

Some of the characters are expending

I am looking for Because I am

WHAT YOU DID

Include the feelings that occur at the short-circuit point.

Slowly exaggerate the weight of your head.

It gets heavier and heavier and heavier.

EXERCISE Your hands and arms get heavy. Heavier and

Have an all-out tantrum

Scream and make huge

LET YOUR BODY NEVER STOP

Share what you did in the

Describe every detail:

YOU WILL STOP

Listen Listen to the music.

React to the music moment-to-moment

Imagine you’re at the cemetery.

You will talk to that person.

Look around. Allow Stop at the objects that

When you have explored

Actor 1 touches Actor

Actor 2 accepts and So on and so forth

Actor 1 will produce a sound, verbally,

And so on until they are told to stop.

First actor will be given a dialogue on

First actor will respond and so on.

They will stop when they are told to.

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