The Essence of Acting

The essence of acting is the reason why a line is said or an action is executed.  It is the answer to the questions what, why and how?  What is this character doing? Why is this character doing this? How is he/she doing this?  These are essential answers to discover because it is the basic building blocks of your performance, they key component to making it believable.

If you don’t know what you are doing, then you will take away from the believability of the scene. You may hesitate, react too fast or react too slow. However, knowing the script beforehand, you may over think the action and make it stiff.  Picture a scene where a girl is going to slap a boy for hitting on her.  The male actor sees it coming, so he turns his head even before the girl raises her hand.  The audience, then, will be left wondering 'what is he doing?'.  Or, picture the same scene where the girl slaps the boy and, not knowing the script, he just stands there--not out of surprise and shock, but because he has no idea how his character is supposed to react or where the scene is going.  Therefore, you should always go with the flow, react as a normal person would in the situation and use your instincts, but also know where the scene is heading towards and what kind of character you are portraying.

Secondly, if you don’t know why you are doing or saying something, it too will look and sound dead and robotic. Without knowing the reason why, your action and/or line is empty.  It has no feeling or emotion and you will not grab the attention of the audience because there is no connection.  The audience will not be able to relate and be in that moment of awe.  For example, if a character is saying "I hate you" but the actor does not know why, how would he/she convey that emotion.  Is the character saying it jokingly, or does she genuinely hate someone?  That confusion takes away from the believability and emotional connection to the audience.

Lastly, know how your character would say a line or do an action is important in defining and building that character.  Do they do it lazily, cheerfully, quickly, flowingly etc.  Anyone can set a table, but how you do it can very well illustrate your character without the use of dialogue.  Likewise, the tone of voice and fluctuation while delivering a line will demonstrate the character’s emotion and current mood.  If the line is delivered quick, snappy and in-your-face, the character is probably angry or frustrated.  If it is delivered slowly and slurred, the character could be tired or drunk.  In these situations, the tone of voice and amount of fluctuation will let the audience know how the characters are feeling without having to say “She’s ugly.", "I feel so bad for him.", "I am so angry right now.”, "She hates him." etc.  Imagine watching a movie and the character says in a monotone voice, "I hate cleaning.  I am so lazy.  My mom makes me so angry because she expects me to do all the work," while picking up the clothes on the ground  Of course, there are times characters express their feelings, but to hear it instead of see for the entire movie would definitely make it a dry experience.

Ultimately, the essence of acting is why you say or do a certain line or action, but usually on a bigger scale, as in why a character is the way he/she is, why he/she is doing what they do, how they are doing it and why is the scene even in the script.  It is the subtext of a line or action.  It is the bigger picture, the intention of the script and the reaction wanted from the audience.  All of this put together creates a scene, play or movie a story that reaches out and pulls on the heartstrings of the audience.  It takes them on a journey of emotions and leaves them wanting more.