Sunday, 21 April 2013
Monday, 15 April 2013
Script writing tips
7 Rules for Writing Short Films
A short film script can be a great calling card for a writer. Short films aren’t a lesser form of cinematic storytelling. In fact writing them requires the exact same skills as writing a feature length script – though on a smaller scale. Although TV broadcast opportunities may be limited, there are more and more outlets for these opportunities. I recently read on IndieWire: “Shorts used to be this artsy thing. But now there really is this explosion in filmmaking. With all this new technology, shorts films have a lot more interest among regular people, because so many people are making them and putting them on the web. Suddenly, we’re not explaining short films to people. Everybody’s seen one.”
Many of the best writers and directors started out with shorts. Do you know that Sacha Gervasi, the writer of “The Terminal”, found his U.S agent, and then a lucrative writing gig with Dreamworks based on the strength of an extraordinary short film he wrote? It’s a rarity but it happens. In any case, it’s an excellent way to develop your craft and flex your writing muscles and it is much less daunting than penning a first feature if you haven’t much writing experience.
There are 7 rules you should remember when writing a short film:
1. THE SHORTER THE BETTER
A short film can be anything from fifteen seconds to forty five minutes in length. Make your short film script as short as possible because the shorter the short, the less costly it will be to produce. Of course, digital technology frees up filmmakers, yet time still costs money, so does feeding a hungry crew, and if you shoot too fast your short film might end up looking amateurish. It has to be cheap but shouldn’t LOOK cheap! Plus, if you want to get your short into a festival, then keep it to no more than ten minutes, which is usually 7-8 pages maximum. Why? Because if your short film is longer, it will eat up a longer slot and festivals love to play as many shorts as possible! You can also create real emotion in just a few minutes.
Look at Sebastian’s Voodoo. It’s a 4 minute animated short about a Voodoo doll who must pierce his own heart to save his friend from being impaled and it is absolutely heartbreaking.
2. KEEP THE PRACTICALITIES OF WRITING IN MIND
The great thing about shorts is that they can be anything since you don!’ have studio execs on your tail. However, don’t discard the practicalities of writing your script. I have read scripts with pages of chase-action scenes and car crashes, and many writers seem not to realize how time consuming it would be to actually shoot. In fact, see the writing of a short as an opportunity to become more aware of what each line you put down on paper implies and costs. Visions of white horses galloping in the moonlight certainly look amazing in your mind but are you sure you’re good friends with a wrangler and/or a CGI specialist? If you only have access to modest resources, think small.
Apricot is a good example of short film that could have been done on a low budget (it shows such impeccable production value I doubt it was actually done on the cheap) because it deals with two people sitting at a table at a cafe yet manages to show a wide range of emotion. Along the same lines, the Asian short film Just a Love Story takes place almost entirely in an elevator. Write for locations that are interesting yet practical, think of access and control, and avoid remote locations requiring driving for miles.
3. MAKE IT VISUAL
“Film is a visual medium”. “Show, don’t tell.” Those are the golden rules of screenwriting the gurus keep telling us. Yet it’s astonishing to see how talky most scripts are. Film is about telling stories in pictures, which is the most economical way of telling a story – and when you make a short film, economy is everything. Create visual backstories for your characters. Externalize through visual images their temperament, their profession, their status, etc.
In the Lunch Date the posh lady polishes her fork before using it. What does it tell you about her? Note how there is no dialogue in this short film, a short film that went on to win an Academy Award for best live action short film.
4. FIND SINGLE MOMENTS
The best short films are often a single moment that is played out, but one that has a story at its heart. What do I mean by story? I mean a conflict that has to be resolved, where there’s a dilemma at stake and a choice that the protagonist has to make. Strive to add a deadline, or ticking clock. It is not necessary but it will add some tension to your short film. The short On Time is a good example of a short film that meets all these conditions. It tells the story of a heart-broken young man can peek into the future and must act on it on the spot.
5. TELL A STORY
You should always try to tell a compelling story. Beware of ideas that are concept-driven or just aim at breaking all the rules for the sake of breaking rules. Short films are a great opportunity to push the boundaries of what cinematic storytelling can do, yet they must still engage your audience emotionally. As a rule of thumb, unless it is extremely brief a short film should have a hero with a goal and an obstacle/antagonist in the way. Watch I love Sarah Jane. It shows a bunch of teenagers in a ghost town where adults have turned into zombies, yet at the core it is a love story about a young boy who can’t reach through to the older girl he loves.
6. ENGAGE THE READER
Since you have so little time to make an impression the impact of page one is crucial, just as it is crucial to hook the reader in the first 10 pages of a feature length script. What is the world of the film? Do we root for the main character? Does the world and story of the film feel authentic? The ending is also essential as it’s rare to truly feel moved at the end of a short, so work towards a meaningful, satisfying ending.
7. BEWARE OF CLICHES
There are many clichés in short films, and much navel gazing. How come everybody feels the need to write about hit men for hire, heists, people seeing themselves die, children representing innocence, incestuous relationships, etc? Avoid stereotypes unless you have a fresh slant on them. That’s what The Descendent does. In this short film a couple of bewildered hit men actually have to kill a seemingly cute little boy and one of them gets cold feet until he realizes that the child is a supernatural being who terrifies his mother. Write what you’re familiar with and what resonates with you rather than writing something you borrowed from other films. Don’t shy away from small stories, short formats are the perfect vehicle for them and you won’t often get the opportunity to tell small stories as a professional writer.
Last but not least, watch as many short films as possible. There is no replacement for knowing what is out there, and knowing what you as an audience (as well as a writer) think and feel about it.
Stage Acting
STAGE ACTING
FINDING YOUR LIGHT
Much like finding your mark in film, finding your light on stage is a tricky technique. Unlike film, where a mark is set up specifically for an actor, lighting in a stage production is set up more generally – to light the scene. It’s up to you to find your light. The easiest way to do this is by feeling the light on your face and in your eyes. Stage lights are set from above, so when you step into your spot, per your blocking, feel where the light shines on you. Ideally, you should feel the heat of the light on your face and if you were to look up, you’d see the light angled at around your forehead. Be careful of standing directly under a hot light, however, as you will get “washed out” by the light’s glare.
Back to TopHAVE A VOICE
A thespian’s voice is one of the most precious possessions s/he has. Here are a few ways to keep it safe and warmed up:
- Only drink water that is room temperature or warm. Cold water will constrict your vocal cords.
- Before a performance and between scenes, sip hot water with lemon.
- Slippery elm lozenges are a great quick-fix for scratchy throats.
- Support your voice by using your diaphragm, not your throat, to control your breath and vocal cords.
- In between shows, keep your jaw loose. Bette Davis used to walk around her apartment with a wine cork held loosely between her upper and lower front teeth. Try it, it works!
LEARN YOUR DIRECTIONS
Acting on stage requires the knowledge of a new kind of navigation. When you are on stage, directions are oriented to you as the actor. (Conversely, House Left (HL) and House Right (HR) refer to directions oriented to the audience.) In a script, you’ll see blocking that may read any of the following: SL, SR, DSL, DSR, USL, USD. Here’s what they mean:
SL: Stage Left – Your left when you are standing on stage.
SR: Stage Right – Your right on stage.
DSL: Downstage Left – Moving toward the audience, to your left.
DSR: Downstage Right – Moving toward audience to your right.
USL: Upstage Left – Moving to the back of the stage, left.
USR: Upstage Right – Moving to the back of the stage, right.
Downstage and Upstage refer to the old days of theater -- think Shakespeare -- when stages were "raked," or sloped. When you moved toward the audience you were literally moving in a downward direction and upward when you moved to the back of the stage.
Back to TopSTAGE ACTING TERM: BLOCKING
Blocking is the term used to describe where and how an actor moves on the stage during a play. Most playwrights incorporate basic blocking into their scripts. Since stages come in different sizes and may have different special needs, the director will draft out his/her own blocking before rehearsals begin. Blocking includes elements such as where an actor takes his place at the beginning of a scene, “crossing,” when an actor moves across the length of the stage to another actor or part of the set, and any action that asks an actor to employ the use of a prop.
In musical theatre, blocking becomes especially important, particularly when choreography is introduced. It's imperative that every actor is in the right spot on stage before and after a musical number. Oftentimes, this positioning becomes a cue for the orchestra or for other actors' entrances.
Back to TopSTAGE COMBAT
Stage combat, quite simply, is fighting on stage. Of course it is more complex than that. In order to stage a fight, actors must look convincingly as though they are fighting – whether hand-to-hand or with swords (generally rapiers or broadswords). Fight directors are hired to actually choreograph moves for any fight you see on stage or on screen. It’s a serious business; no one wants injuries! Once the actors learn their fight “dance,” it is up to them to bring the final element to the scene: the acting. It’s one thing to see an exciting wrestling match, punchfest, or duel, but the scene is raised to a higher level when the actors deliver the emotion of the moment with each blow.
Back to TopSTAYING OPEN
Oftentimes, novice actors make the mistake of “closing” themselves off to the audience. In physical terms, this means you have positioned your body on a slight diagonal so that the side facing the audience is blocking the rest of your body. This is also calling “upstaging yourself,” as you have essentially shoved half of your body upstage, toward the back of the stage. Many young actors do this unconsciously, as a way to protect themselves from the very vulnerable position of being in front of an audience.
It’s important to remain open, both physically and emotionally when you are on stage. In terms of your body positioning, always angle your body out toward the audience if you’re not facing them outright. Any movements that require you to turn, always turn in the downstage direction. If you need to cross furniture, cross in front of it whenever possible. And as every actor knows, never leave your back turned to the audience. As many directors say, “They’re paying to see your face, not your behind.”
Back to TopTHE SCOTTISH PLAY
One of the biggest faux pas any actor makes is to utter the name of one of Shakespeare's most incredible plays, "Macbeth" under the roof of any theater. It's an old superstition that has lasted many years, and it's one many young actors are not aware of.
The superstition goes back to several accounts of terrible things happening to actors and sets alike, from the first performance of "Macbeth," when Shakespeare himself had to play the role of Lady Macbeth since the boy who was to play her suddenly died. King James hated the show so much, he shut it down. Over the years, there have been tales of injuries, bad luck, and even death at performances.
In order to reverse the bad luck, the person who uttered the word must exit the theater, spin around three times saying a profanity, and then ask for permission to return inside. Other variations require spitting over your shoulders or simply spewing a lot of curse words. The best thing to do is not say the word at all. If you must refer to the play, call it “The Scottish Play.”
Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Back to To6 Filmmaking Tips From Steven Spielberg
With a giant pile of movies to his name, Steven Spielberg has the considerable honor of being the only filmmaker who makes entertainment that’s massively popular, critically acclaimed and decade-enduring. It’s an illusive triumvirate. His fundamental success is owed to a lot of things, but principle among them is his childhood sense of wonder and magic – a sense he’s never let go of.
His childhood was also spent with a camera in hand.
From Jaws to Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Indiana Jones to The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun and Jurassic Park and Amistad and Schindler’s List and Munich and, and, and…he’s been a prolific, skilled presence in the filmmaking world for going on 5 decades, and he’s done so by spanning genres, tones, and subjects.
So here’s a bit of free film school (for fans and filmmakers alike) from a little kid who hid under his bed after watching Bambi.
Your Assumptions About Your Own Film Will Be Wrong
An excellent place to start. Perhaps the best singular piece of advice this column has looked at because it throws out a vile mindset that can corrode the filmmaking process. It’s easy to assume that as director (or producer) that you’ll have complete control over what you’re making. That assumption would be wrong.
“Well, for one thing, I don’t know what I’m in for. Most of my presumptions about a production are usually wrong. For instance, with Schindler’s List, I was pretty certain that whatever came my way in Poland I could tolerate, and just put my camera between myself and the subject, and protect myself, you know, by creating my own aesthetic distance. And immediately, on the first day of shooting, that broke down. I didn’t have that as a safety net, and immediately I realized that this was about to become the most personal professional experience of my life. It was a devastatingly insightful experience, but it’s something I still haven’t gotten over.
I think back on the production of Schindler’s List with very sad memories, because of the subject matter, not because of the working experience. The working experience was nearly perfect, because everybody held on to each other in that production. We formed a circle. It was very therapeutic, and for a lot of people, it changed their lives. A lot of the actors, a lot of the crew, it changed their lives. It changed my life, for sure. But then other productions that I’ve gone into with a blithe spirit, thinking, This film’s a pushover. It’s often when I take that attitude, the movie turns around and runs me over as if it were a tank. And so I’ve tried my best to stop second-guessing what the working experience is going to be like. Because I’m usually wrong.”
It might be the experience that can’t be predicted, but for anyone who’s ever tried to make a creature feature starring a shark only to make a Hitchcockian thriller about a shark that features almost no shark, it’s clear that the process can shift out from underneath you for reasons beyond your control. How you respond is what will define you and the movie.
The Right Kind of Collaboration is Key
“When I was a kid, there was no collaboration, it’s you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.”
Movies are a team sport.
Be Your Perfect Audience (and Hold Onto Your Childhood)
A Little Scamming Never Hurt
“I was fifteen, or sixteen. I was in high school. I was spending a summer in California with my second cousins. And I wanted to be a director really bad. I was making a lot of 8mm home movies, since I was twelve, making little dramas and comedies with the neighborhood kids.
One day I decided to get on the Universal lot. I dressed up in a coat and tie. I actually had taken the tour the day before at Universal, and actually jumped off the tour bus. (It was a bus in those days.) I spent the whole day on the lot. Met a nice man named Chuck Silvers. Told him I was a filmmaker from Arizona.
He said, “Kid, come back tomorrow. I’ll write you a pass and you can show me some of your 8mm films.”
I had a little film festival for him.
He said, “You’re great. I hope you make it. But, because I’m just a librarian I can’t write you anymore passes.” (He laughs.)
So the next day, having observed how people dressed in those days, I dressed like them, carried a briefcase, and walked past the same guard, Scotty – who had been there for like a long time, because he the oldest. He waved me in.
For three months, that whole summer vacation, I came on the lot every single day. Found an office. Went to a little store that sold cameras and also plastic title letters to title your films. Got the letters. Found an abandoned office, and put my name and the number of my office on this directory. Opened up the glass directory and stuck these stick-on letters on the directory. And basically went into business for myself. But it never amounted to anything. I learned a lot about editing and dubbing by watching all the professionals do it, but I never got a job out of my imposition.”
Spielberg has spoken quite a few times about his Universal Studios scam as a young man, but it’s even more fascinating in the context of Catch Me If You Can.
Of course, you might not be able to pull off quite the same scam today.
More Isn’t Always More
“Bloated budgets are ruining Hollywood – these pictures are squeezing all the other types of movies out of Hollywood. It’s disastrous. When I made The Lost World I limited the amount of special-effects shots because they were incredibly expensive. If a dinosaur walks around, it costs $80,000 for eight seconds. If four dinosaurs are in the background, it’s $150,000. More doesn’t always make things better.”
Amen.
The Stress and Madness Might Be Worth It
“It was worth it because, for number one, Close Encounters, which was a film I had written and a film nobody seemed to want to make, everybody seemed to want it right after Jaws was a hit. So, the first thing Jaws did for me was it allowed a studio, namely Columbia, to greenlight Close Encounters. For number two, it gave me final cut for the rest of my career. But what I really owe to Jaws was creating in me a great deal of humility, about tempering my imagination with just sort of the facts of life.”
In the best interview Spielberg’s done, Quint from Aint It Cool spoke to him in considerable depth about his career and the crappy shark that changed it forever. He speaks on giving personality to special effects, his personal drive, and a dozen other topics. It’s a revealing talk, but one of the clear indications is that going through hell is sometimes necessary, but the rewards are also worth it.
What Have We Learned
Spielberg is a unique filmmaker in his ability to tell uncynical stories. As Richard Dreyfuss points out, there’s a positivity surrounding much of his work. A “niceness” that encompasses the tone and the aesthetic. There’s also a grand sense of adventure, and doesn’t that always stand in for a theme of human achievement? Of human possibility?
That’s what many of his films represent (even when the morality or pragmatism of that advancement is questioned), but on a simpler note, Spielberg succeeds because he’s able to make jaws drop. Sometimes it’s because of human cruelty/kindness, a terrifying nightmare, or because a huge valley is filled with living dinosaurs.
Dropped jaws are at the heart of his filmmaking, and at the heart of that sensation is a spark of wonder that the younger versions of us understand better than we do. Spielberg stands hand in hand with his younger self, making magic
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Twenty Tips on Stage Etiquette
Etiquette in all areas of life, not just the stage, has gone the way of the Thylacoleo carnifex. “Please, thank you, I’m sorry, excuse me” have been booted out of our vocabulary. However, here are a few examples of bad and good stage etiquette.
ARE PRACTICAL JOKES ON STAGE GOOD OR BAD ETIQUETTE?
I was in a regional production, playing the mother of a young actor whose type we all have unfortunately met. “I am the best. You are a bug under my foot. I am clever, witty, destined for stardom” — an obnoxious actor whom I, as an older, theoretically more mature, tolerant adult, should have been able to treat graciously and all times smile and smile, and rein in my villainous feelings. (Do you Hamlet types recognize the mangled allusion?)
I was in a regional production, playing the mother of a young actor whose type we all have unfortunately met. “I am the best. You are a bug under my foot. I am clever, witty, destined for stardom” — an obnoxious actor whom I, as an older, theoretically more mature, tolerant adult, should have been able to treat graciously and all times smile and smile, and rein in my villainous feelings. (Do you Hamlet types recognize the mangled allusion?)
I was polite during rehearsal and on stage. Polite. Period. Off stage I stayed as far away from him as I could.
So being polite and staying away is one route (not, however, I emphasize, the ideal route) to stage courtesy. There must be ten thousand better ways to handle obnoxious people, on and off stage. But ignoring and avoiding are two ways to avoid confrontation.
During a matinee well into the run, we get to the scene where he and I have our big scene. He starts rewording and rewriting every line in our lengthy dialogue. No cues, no nothing. Just him being cute. No, he did not “go up” on his lines. This was his idea of a joke. He asked me later if I enjoyed his little exercise in improv. Now that’s one genuine example of bad stage etiquette.
During a matinee well into the run, we get to the scene where he and I have our big scene. He starts rewording and rewriting every line in our lengthy dialogue. No cues, no nothing. Just him being cute. No, he did not “go up” on his lines. This was his idea of a joke. He asked me later if I enjoyed his little exercise in improv. Now that’s one genuine example of bad stage etiquette.
ETIQUETTE TIP: Learn your lines. Say them when you are supposed to. If nothing else, at least give the cue for the next actor. Don’t joke around on stage, either in performance or rehearsal. The example cited here was a very well-paid regional production. Actors are paid to perform, not play jokes or pranks or kid around during performance. The audience deserves something better for their money.
It is absolutely essential that those of us out there together in a scene help each other, not play one-upmanship. If someone genuinely forgets his lines or loses his cue, it is professional etiquette to rescue the lost actor. Feed him his own lines in any way possible, until he gets back on track. That’s one kind of etiquette. It’s also called being professional.
OTHER SITUATIONS CALLING FOR ETIQUETTE
What about props?
What about props?
TIP: Check them before curtain. See that you do not remove or move your props or someone else’s. The prop table has been set up deliberately. Follow the design of where things are placed. Replace your props. That’s another form of stage etiquette.
TIP: The same goes for costumes. Hang them where they should be hung. “Hang them.” Important words. Don’t throw them over the back of a chair.
DRESSING ROOM ETIQUETTE
TIP: Keep the roar down. Some people actually like to focus and run their own lines before going on stage. Keep your makeup in your assigned spot. Another pet peeve of mine (actually an Equity rule, I believe) is smoking in the dressing room. And that peeve is followed very closely with a hiss/boo for those actors, male and female, who drown themselves in perfume or shaving lotion. These acts of carelessness all fall under the umbrella of stage etiquette.
TIP: Keep the roar down. Some people actually like to focus and run their own lines before going on stage. Keep your makeup in your assigned spot. Another pet peeve of mine (actually an Equity rule, I believe) is smoking in the dressing room. And that peeve is followed very closely with a hiss/boo for those actors, male and female, who drown themselves in perfume or shaving lotion. These acts of carelessness all fall under the umbrella of stage etiquette.
PUNCTUALITY
HUGE TIP: The most important of all stage etiquette, right up there with learning your lines, is being punctual.
HUGE TIP: The most important of all stage etiquette, right up there with learning your lines, is being punctual.
To summarize the most important rules of etiquette in acting (in semi-rap):
Learn your lines.
Be on time.
Be on time.
ETIQUETTE ON STAGE (As contrasted with “off stage”)
Watch out for those actors who insist on upstaging you, forcing you to turn your back to the audience.
Watch out for those actors who insist on upstaging you, forcing you to turn your back to the audience.
TIP: Solution: Let’s hope the director or stage manager catches on. But if they do not, then just deliver your lines out front. Remember in real life you do not have to face someone to talk to them. In the theatre the line of authority if from you to the stage manager, not from you to a fellow actor. If you must discuss this upstage problem, do it with the SM.
What if someone keeps jumping your lines (not allowing you to finish your lines)?
Tip: First thing is to be sure you yourself are not plodding. There are technical ways to stretch out an important word without taking interminable pauses. Sometimes the other actor just does not know whether your pause is intentional or whether you have forgotten your line.
Tip: First thing is to be sure you yourself are not plodding. There are technical ways to stretch out an important word without taking interminable pauses. Sometimes the other actor just does not know whether your pause is intentional or whether you have forgotten your line.
So first look in the mirror when someone steps on your lines.
If it continues, keep your fingers crossed that the stage manager or director notices. If they don’t, then grin and bear it. Keep it in proportion. It will pass. Just don’t create a hurricane about anything, if you can possibly avoid it.
That covers fellow actors, your props, dressing room, responsibility about lines and times. Now to the other side of the table:
THE DIRECTOR, AND OTHERS
ONLY ONE TIP: Handle with velvet gloves.
Life will be a lot easier for both of you. Yes ma’am and yes sir — or at least have the attitude of yes ma’am and yes sir even if the titles of address are omitted. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know more about the character and how it should be played than the actor does. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know how to block skillfully. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know what he is doing. After all, he cast you. So he must be smart. Even if he proves otherwise — that is, not “smart” — respectful behavior is the key.
No gossiping, no “attitude,” no arguing. He or she’s the boss. Your professional life will flourish much more rapidly if you recognize that.
If you have them, discuss your objections privately with him if he’s the kind that can be talked to. If not, just keep quiet, do a superb job, get great reviews. Learn when it is wiser to say nothing than to win an argument.
There are probably dozens of other situations or people who fall under the umbrella of etiquette. Remind me if I’ve omitted something/one important. And again, thank you to our Philippines’ actor for the question. They — your comments and questions — are all welcomed.
Thank you for reading ActorTips.
Please continue to do so.
Excuse me for omissions.
And all those other lost phrases of etiquette!
May etiquette spill over into all our hours, not merely those on stage!
By Ruth Kulerman
Twenty Tips on Stage Etiquette
Twenty Tips on Stage Etiquette
Etiquette in all areas of life, not just the stage, has gone the way of the Thylacoleo carnifex. “Please, thank you, I’m sorry, excuse me” have been booted out of our vocabulary. However, here are a few examples of bad and good stage etiquette.
ARE PRACTICAL JOKES ON STAGE GOOD OR BAD ETIQUETTE?
I was in a regional production, playing the mother of a young actor whose type we all have unfortunately met. “I am the best. You are a bug under my foot. I am clever, witty, destined for stardom” — an obnoxious actor whom I, as an older, theoretically more mature, tolerant adult, should have been able to treat graciously and all times smile and smile, and rein in my villainous feelings. (Do you Hamlet types recognize the mangled allusion?)
I was in a regional production, playing the mother of a young actor whose type we all have unfortunately met. “I am the best. You are a bug under my foot. I am clever, witty, destined for stardom” — an obnoxious actor whom I, as an older, theoretically more mature, tolerant adult, should have been able to treat graciously and all times smile and smile, and rein in my villainous feelings. (Do you Hamlet types recognize the mangled allusion?)
I was polite during rehearsal and on stage. Polite. Period. Off stage I stayed as far away from him as I could.
So being polite and staying away is one route (not, however, I emphasize, the ideal route) to stage courtesy. There must be ten thousand better ways to handle obnoxious people, on and off stage. But ignoring and avoiding are two ways to avoid confrontation.
During a matinee well into the run, we get to the scene where he and I have our big scene. He starts rewording and rewriting every line in our lengthy dialogue. No cues, no nothing. Just him being cute. No, he did not “go up” on his lines. This was his idea of a joke. He asked me later if I enjoyed his little exercise in improv. Now that’s one genuine example of bad stage etiquette.
During a matinee well into the run, we get to the scene where he and I have our big scene. He starts rewording and rewriting every line in our lengthy dialogue. No cues, no nothing. Just him being cute. No, he did not “go up” on his lines. This was his idea of a joke. He asked me later if I enjoyed his little exercise in improv. Now that’s one genuine example of bad stage etiquette.
ETIQUETTE TIP: Learn your lines. Say them when you are supposed to. If nothing else, at least give the cue for the next actor. Don’t joke around on stage, either in performance or rehearsal. The example cited here was a very well-paid regional production. Actors are paid to perform, not play jokes or pranks or kid around during performance. The audience deserves something better for their money.
It is absolutely essential that those of us out there together in a scene help each other, not play one-upmanship. If someone genuinely forgets his lines or loses his cue, it is professional etiquette to rescue the lost actor. Feed him his own lines in any way possible, until he gets back on track. That’s one kind of etiquette. It’s also called being professional.
OTHER SITUATIONS CALLING FOR ETIQUETTE
What about props?
What about props?
TIP: Check them before curtain. See that you do not remove or move your props or someone else’s. The prop table has been set up deliberately. Follow the design of where things are placed. Replace your props. That’s another form of stage etiquette.
TIP: The same goes for costumes. Hang them where they should be hung. “Hang them.” Important words. Don’t throw them over the back of a chair.
DRESSING ROOM ETIQUETTE
TIP: Keep the roar down. Some people actually like to focus and run their own lines before going on stage. Keep your makeup in your assigned spot. Another pet peeve of mine (actually an Equity rule, I believe) is smoking in the dressing room. And that peeve is followed very closely with a hiss/boo for those actors, male and female, who drown themselves in perfume or shaving lotion. These acts of carelessness all fall under the umbrella of stage etiquette.
TIP: Keep the roar down. Some people actually like to focus and run their own lines before going on stage. Keep your makeup in your assigned spot. Another pet peeve of mine (actually an Equity rule, I believe) is smoking in the dressing room. And that peeve is followed very closely with a hiss/boo for those actors, male and female, who drown themselves in perfume or shaving lotion. These acts of carelessness all fall under the umbrella of stage etiquette.
PUNCTUALITY
HUGE TIP: The most important of all stage etiquette, right up there with learning your lines, is being punctual.
HUGE TIP: The most important of all stage etiquette, right up there with learning your lines, is being punctual.
To summarize the most important rules of etiquette in acting (in semi-rap):
Learn your lines.
Be on time.
Be on time.
ETIQUETTE ON STAGE (As contrasted with “off stage”)
Watch out for those actors who insist on upstaging you, forcing you to turn your back to the audience.
Watch out for those actors who insist on upstaging you, forcing you to turn your back to the audience.
TIP: Solution: Let’s hope the director or stage manager catches on. But if they do not, then just deliver your lines out front. Remember in real life you do not have to face someone to talk to them. In the theatre the line of authority if from you to the stage manager, not from you to a fellow actor. If you must discuss this upstage problem, do it with the SM.
What if someone keeps jumping your lines (not allowing you to finish your lines)?
Tip: First thing is to be sure you yourself are not plodding. There are technical ways to stretch out an important word without taking interminable pauses. Sometimes the other actor just does not know whether your pause is intentional or whether you have forgotten your line.
Tip: First thing is to be sure you yourself are not plodding. There are technical ways to stretch out an important word without taking interminable pauses. Sometimes the other actor just does not know whether your pause is intentional or whether you have forgotten your line.
So first look in the mirror when someone steps on your lines.
If it continues, keep your fingers crossed that the stage manager or director notices. If they don’t, then grin and bear it. Keep it in proportion. It will pass. Just don’t create a hurricane about anything, if you can possibly avoid it.
That covers fellow actors, your props, dressing room, responsibility about lines and times. Now to the other side of the table:
THE DIRECTOR, AND OTHERS
ONLY ONE TIP: Handle with velvet gloves.
Life will be a lot easier for both of you. Yes ma’am and yes sir — or at least have the attitude of yes ma’am and yes sir even if the titles of address are omitted. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know more about the character and how it should be played than the actor does. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know how to block skillfully. It really is quite possible that the director does indeed know what he is doing. After all, he cast you. So he must be smart. Even if he proves otherwise — that is, not “smart” — respectful behavior is the key.
No gossiping, no “attitude,” no arguing. He or she’s the boss. Your professional life will flourish much more rapidly if you recognize that.
If you have them, discuss your objections privately with him if he’s the kind that can be talked to. If not, just keep quiet, do a superb job, get great reviews. Learn when it is wiser to say nothing than to win an argument.
There are probably dozens of other situations or people who fall under the umbrella of etiquette. Remind me if I’ve omitted something/one important. And again, thank you to our Philippines’ actor for the question. They — your comments and questions — are all welcomed.
Thank you for reading ActorTips.
Please continue to do so.
Excuse me for omissions.
And all those other lost phrases of etiquette!
May etiquette spill over into all our hours, not merely those on stage!
By Ruth Kulerman
Going from Good Acting to Great
+108-2
Unfortunately the word “great” has become so trivialized from careless overuse that it’s lost all its energy. However, to me it still means splendid, awe-inspiring, and beyond talent and into genius. Therefore moving into “great acting” is the equivalent of climbing Everest–difficult, but it can be done.
While clearing out paleolithic e-mail I unearthed this note. Six years later, the content is still intriguing, an attempt to define something we may only sense:
“Something wonderful happened in my audition. Remember you said you felt I was holding myself back? Something snapped and I couldn’t stuff myself back in the box if I wanted to. It feels great.”
Fast forward six years to this month. “Bob,” an adult newcomer to acting, is reviewing his monologue with me. “I know I can do better. I just can’t seem to let go,” he says.
Bob’s “letting go” equals the 1999 e-mail reference to “holding back.” When asked what he would do differently if he “let go,” Bob’s answer showed profound self-awareness: “I’d quit thinking about myself. In the middle of my monologue I started thinking, ‘What I am doing here? Do I really think I can be an actor? Am I crazy?’”
What is “Holding Back”? Or its opposite “Letting Go”?
How many times have we said, “That didn’t feel quite right”? Perhaps “not quite right” was the result of holding back.
It’s difficult to describe what holding back feels like–maybe like a cocoon separating you the actor from total you the actor. Or perhaps it feels like a self-imposed barrier separating adequate, OK, competent from mesmerizing, volcanic, meteoric. In simple terms, perhaps it is an awareness that you can give more in a line or even in the entire role.
How do you know if you have more to give? The inner being, the performing self knows. If you ask yourself the question, “Am I holding back,” the answer will most likely be “Yes, indeed.” The question is the answer!
If you say, “I know I can do better,” you are right. The actor himself recognizes his own holding back. Trust your intuition. In this area do not rely on friends’ and family’s ego stroking. Rely on the still voice of your internal talent, which is demanding to be loosened from your self-imposed limitations.
Why Do We Hold Back?
There are numerous reasons why we do not let go, why we are stuck in good and cannot move into great.
One of the main causes is precisely what Bob described. We lack focus. We allow the mind to doubt, question, and wander while in the middle of saying a line. Acting requires focus and focus requires discipline and discipline, ironically, is the beginning of letting go.
Holding back has many other causes: fear, lack of imagination, lack of respect for acting as an art, laziness, cowardice, not knowing that there is such a thing as “letting go,” willingness to “settle” for good or mediocre or competent or embarrassing rather than demand the totality of your talent. Lack of pride. Willing to be so-so rather than the best. Dilettantism.
Examples of Those Who Never Held Back
In order to let go, you have to know that letting go exists. Perhaps you need to see someone who did not hold back. I was lucky to have seen the greatest example at age 17.
Maria Callas, a controversial opera singer, was once the most famous singer in the world, scorned or adored, but never ignored! Her daring theatrics while singing sent shivers up your spine. She performed way out there at the edge. She dared and occasionally fell on her face.
As a voice student I heard her in Lucia di Lammermoor. Lucia (Callas) descends the wide curving staircase in her blood-splattered white gown, clutching the knife she used to kill her bridegroom. Callas gets to the final high E flat of Lucia’s famous “Mad Scene,” the one note the audience has waited for the entire evening. The cadenza ends. The E flat looms. Callas goes for it.
Her voice cracks.
Some of the audience boos. La Diva Callas steps to the edge of the stage, flays the audience with a look of utter scorn, repeats Lucia’s final cadenza and blasts out an E Flat that toppled buildings in Nevada. That was my introduction to the alpha and omega of not holding back. What was behind that rescued E Flat? PRIDE. COURAGE.
Remember the hypnotism of those old-time traveling preachers who could turn sensible people into hollering praise-the-Lord converts? Those preachers–charlatans or angels–did not hold back. Neither did Louis Armstrong going for that top note, Van Gogh swirling in a madness of color, Tina Turner strutting energy, Janis Joplin’s ironic gutsy raspy self. Letting go is controlled uncontrol. These are masters.
Steps in Letting Go
First comes courageous self-examination of your potential. A director may order louder, faster. But loud/soft-fast/slow relate to variety, not to letting go.
Variety, in all its variations, is a technique. Letting go is an attitude.
Next comes the courage to want to give more. We must dare to go from OK to better and then after better must come the courage to make the Grand Canyon leap into “best.” Having embraced the need to let go, next comes a grocery list of basics:
(1) have a polished technique,
(2) intelligently and imaginatively explore the script, remembering the powerful word “variety”
(3) diligently over-memorize the lines,
(4) discover a “competent” (believable) delivery that does not sound actory.
(5) search for every possible line reading and opt for the most interesting delivery, given the context of the scene.
(6) over-prepare and tune yourself up into a bundle of energy.
(7) insist that you have the right to be great but that right is not given–it is earned.
(2) intelligently and imaginatively explore the script, remembering the powerful word “variety”
(3) diligently over-memorize the lines,
(4) discover a “competent” (believable) delivery that does not sound actory.
(5) search for every possible line reading and opt for the most interesting delivery, given the context of the scene.
(6) over-prepare and tune yourself up into a bundle of energy.
(7) insist that you have the right to be great but that right is not given–it is earned.
A major step in letting go involves Bob’s need to “focus.” He logically asked, “So what do I focus on, myself? The character?” No, no and another no. Focus on the words. If you focus solely on the words you are speaking and the pictures they create then it is impossible to start questioning your ability!
In other articles we have written about not focusing on character or on your own feelings. That focus perpetuates the self-doubts. Focus on the words. The words do the emotional work for you. They bring up remembered pictures and pictures bring up the emotions, leaving you focused not on you but on the words and pictures. My sports fan husband says it is called “in the zone.”
The final step in letting go requires common sense. Just go for broke. What is there to lose? If you are over the top, your coach or your director will pull you back. “Go for it” creates another way to break out of the self-created cocoon.
Before you perform or audition, picture something full of energy and light. My own favorite is the brightest star in the heavens: Sirius. Some actors envision a comet or meteor, some a sun spot, some the July 4th fireworks–whatever says “energy” to you.
A HUGE CAVEAT:
Letting go does not mean self-indulgent, uncontrolled, chaotic solipsism. In time, your intuition (or your director) will find a balance between giving all and going nuts.
Letting go does not mean self-indulgent, uncontrolled, chaotic solipsism. In time, your intuition (or your director) will find a balance between giving all and going nuts.
The Reason to Let Go
Letting go is what performing is about. Being a “great actor” is not merely the thrill of being in the spotlight or on camera or the applause or the recognition or even the money. It is about the joy of being totally alive during performance.
Letting go is what performing is about. Being a “great actor” is not merely the thrill of being in the spotlight or on camera or the applause or the recognition or even the money. It is about the joy of being totally alive during performance.
There are two lines from a Yeats’ poem that come closest to describing-if not defining-my point:
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
The dancer and the dance, the actor and the role. Try it. But only after all the preparation, the analysis, the studying, the experimentation, the control, the technique–all of these things, plus the still silent center — these are part of you as an actor. They are all necessary in order to let go and be a great actor. Not good. Great.
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