In drama, “blocking” in refers to the physical movement and placement of characters throughout a filmed or live performance. While the positioning of actors has always been important in drama—usually in service of showcasing the most important character/actor to the audience—blocking has become increasingly complex with drama’s move towards naturalism. It is therefore important to learn and understand the fundamentals of blocking, so as to allow an actor to carry themselves confidently as they move through a scene.

Blocking is one of those things that feels so inherent to acting. And for this reason, many actors fail to explore the topic properly: storing in that part of their brain reserved for one-off drama school exercises and curios. But blocking is not only an essential part of drama, it helps you become a better actor when you can understand its meaning and deploy it effectively.

The Origins of Blocking

There’s a story about the origin of the term “blocking”, much like the origin of the word beats. Even if it isn’t strictly true, it’s a great yarn, so it’s the one we’re telling. W.S. Gilbert, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame, used to plot out his performers’ placement on stage using a scale model of the set. What did he use to represent the actors? Little wooden blocks. Delightful.

Of course, as long as actors have been standing on stages saying things, there has been a need to plot out where they stand. Blocking, however, became more important in the 19th century with the move towards naturalism on stage. It’s easy to forget that the concept of replicating real life, emotions and interactions in drama is a new one. And so modern blocking has become increasingly complicated, as we look for new and interesting ways to present drama.

Blocking can also be applied to screen acting—where it has its own importance as an aspect of the technical side of filmmaking. Below, we’re going to provide a short breakdown on each, so that you’re prepared no matter the job.

Blocking for Stage

Blocking a scene for theatre is usually undertaken by the play’s director—who will be informed by the text as to what is required. The top priority for any blocking of theatre is clarity for the audience. No matter how brilliant the actors or the writing may be, nobody is going to know unless they can be seen (and heard).

As we mentioned above, naturalism in Western theatre has led to blocking becoming far more complex than simply “walk on-stage and find your light.” It can involve multiple journeys across the stage, prop work and even scenes of violence and intimacy.

And let’s not forget that not all contemporary theatre is utilising naturalistic techniques. Theatre can still take other, non-modern-Western forms and require blocking that is highly unconventional. Postmodern theatre, contemporary dance, even interactive or immersive theatre events!

Stage Mapping

Whether you’re performing Death of a Salesman or CyberHamlet 2.0 (not a real show (yet)), one important aspect of blocking is the mapping of a theatre space.

On the ‘x axis’ we have stage left and stage right. These are left and right as seen from facing the stage, so for the audience they would seem backwards. This is often confusing, even for those in the industry. So some people substitute these for prompt side (P) and opposite prompt (OP). This hearkens back to the days when there’d be somebody in the wings on stage left holding a ‘prompt copy’ of the script if an actor forgot their lines.

On the ‘y axis’ we have upstage towards the back of the theatre and downstage, closer to the audience. Ever heard of the concept of “upstaging” somebody, as in overshadowing them? It refers to actors who would stand further to the back of the stage, forcing actors to turn their back on the audience to regard them. Cheeky, right?

If you’re unfamiliar with these terms, they’re great to get to know. Just in case a director yells: “Enter prompt side and then walk downstage centre!” and your first impulse is to freeze like a deer in headlights.

Should I Follow Stage Directions?

Spicy question, this one. We actually have a larger article on the topic of stage directions that covers this topic in more detail. For the sake of blocking, we’ll say this: it’s a popular thing for actors and directors to cross stage directions out these days. Many believe that following the exact path as set out by the writer will stifle them creatively, or not adhere to their particular playing space (theatre.)

Our recommendation is to ask why the writer has insisted on including stage directions that might indicate blocking. Is there something to the fact that a mother does not cross the stage to hug her son returning from war? Can we tell something about a character who doesn’t stand up when being threatened, even though that might be the actor’s impulse?

At the end of the day, you keep what you want—whatever you think might be helpful. But to cross them out on principle denies you the chance to really explore and tear apart the script. And the blocking suggested may very well be exactly what you’re looking for.

Blocking for Film

Blocking for film (or television or anything involving a camera) has a number of similarities and differences. Both shoot for clarity, and both are suggested by the germinating text (the playscript or screenplay.)

The biggest difference with blocking for film is that it is uniquely precise. Theatre blocking has its own technical requirements—finding your light, not upstaging people, creating spaces that might suggest new or simultaneous locations. But film is planned to the enth degree to accommodate cameras, the lighting, and the limitation of sound recording.

There’s also continuity to consider, which is the process by which each take of a shot looks the same. If you pick up a glass with your left hand in the wide, you have to pick it up the exact same way in the close-up. Otherwise you start having props and costumes and bloodstains flying about from shot to shot.

When you’re acting on a film set, know your blocking and follow instructions so that the crew captures what they need and time is never wasted. The plus side of this is that there is a much larger team on hand than in theatre to help you through this process.

Doing Your Own Blocking

But what if there’s no team? What if there’s no continuity supervisor, no stage manager, perhaps no director? Doing your own blocking is a skill to practice and experiment with. There’s no absolute right way to do it, but we can certainly help you with a few pointers.

• Less is more. Don’t plot ten moves for your character when two or three will do. Unnecessarily busy blocking always looks amateurish. And if you’re making a film, it’ll be a nightmare to keep the continuity in order.
• Minimise prop work. It’s often a sign of a less seasoned actor to utilise lots of props in a scene. It might help you feel like you’re inhabiting the story world more if you’re touching a bunch of your character’s things. But it can be incredibly distracting for the audience. If a prop is mentioned in the script, you’ll likely have to incorporate it into your blocking. But do you have to hold it the whole time?
• Analyse the script. As big fans of script analysis at StageMilk, we can’t stress enough the importance of knowing the words on the page. If you’re blocking your own scene, the script will give you the best idea of what needs to be achieved. And if there’s no blocking (here’s lookin’ at you, Shakespeare), look to our first two points above to guide you.
• Work with your scene partner/s. Discuss blocking with your scene partner. Are you doing something that isn’t feeling right, or doesn’t fit with the character or story? Ask your fellow actor for some advice, even if they’re completely motionless in the scene. There may not be a director, but that doesn’t mean that you have to work alone.

Conclusion

Blocking, like any important aspect of an actor’s practice, can be studied and practiced and improved upon throughout your career. Keep working at it, keep examining what you come up with and think of ways you can improve, experiment and challenge yourself.

But before we wrap this article up, here’s one last question to ask yourself: does this serve the story? It’s true to ask of blocking, of prop work, of acting, of everything in our craft. Ask this of the way you move on stage or screen as an actor, and watch all the unnecessary things fall away. Aim for elegance and simplicity. And you’ll do wonders.

Good luck!

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Subtext is something that every actor needs to understand: where to find it, how to create it and how to deploy it effectively. It’s a tool that brings depth to a performance, and allows for complex storytelling even if the scene has ten short words per actor. In this article, we’ll look at what subtext in acting is, how to identify it in a script and how to deploy it effectively as an actor.

What is Subtext?

Subtext is the term used to describe the underlying meaning of a piece of writing (the “text”.) In drama, it’s usually associated with a spoken line of dialogue, although it can be attributed to a stage direction as well.

Subtext relates to the true meaning of what is happening or being said; while it’s not explicitly mentioned, it nonetheless alters the significance of the text—or the meaning entirely. A simple line, such as “Get well soon!” may be infused with the subtext of the speaker hating the person they’re conversing with. The text, by result, becomes cruel, even menacing.

Subtext in Acting

Subtext has an important role to play in acting, as it allows actors to give insight as to their character’s personality, goals or motives without coming right out and Saying The Thing. It is important to identify Subtext in a script, so that the actor knows what the writer is intending with their character and doesn’t miss the point of a scene. If two characters sit and talk about the weather as they wait for their execution by firing squad … you can bet there’s more to the scene than clouds in the sky.

Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski spent a lot of time on the concept of subtext, offering to his students the helpful tools of using intonation, gestures, pauses and stillness to convey it. To Stanislavski, words were like the tip of the iceberg in human interaction: only ten percent of thoughts are spoken, with the other ninety percent remaining unsaid.

Most importantly, subtext allows actors to pursue their objectives in interesting and truthful ways. If your character has a goal to borrow $10 from a friend and their first line is “You look well!”, not using that with the subtext of “I need to butter you up because I need a favour” wastes that first line completely.

Subtext in theatre, identified and played, means that not a single line of dialogue is wasted.

How to Identify Subtext

Identifying subtext isn’t difficult in a script, although it can take some work. Much like analysing a script, the best way of finding it is to be thorough.

First of all, read the script and analyse it. If you’ve yet to read our article on the subject of script analysis, jump to it now and come back when you’re finished. To identify subtext, you have to know everything about the characters: who they are, what they want (the objective) and how they plan to get it (the action.)

Once you’ve read and thoroughly interrogated your script, look to your character’s dialogue. What is being said? And what is not being said?

Example

Let’s say the line we’re looking at is this:

ANGELA
Have a wonderful flight.

Aww. She seems nice, doesn’t she! But is there subtext to be found? For this, we might need to read back earlier in the scene:

EXT. RUNWAY – NIGHT
ANGELA picks up the last of her employer’s many bags and loads them into the storage compartment of the small plane. Her employer, DAPHNE, talks incessantly on her phone as she approaches the door of the aircraft. ANGELA smiles at her boss. DAPHNE walks past her, ignoring her completely.

ANGELA
Have a wonderful flight.

Suddenly, there are more questions about the delivery of this line. Sure, it’s only four words. But are they delivered sarcastically? Politely? Sadly? Defensively? Let’s do one final flip back through our imaginary script:

EXT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
ANGELA, still crying, lets herself into her boss’s hotel room. From her jacket, she removes a small explosive device, which she slips into the largest of DAPHNE’s luggage. 

And now “Have a wonderful flight.” takes on a whole new meaning. The line, on the page, is polite—even cheerful! But the subtext is “Goodbye, and good riddance.”

Subtext is hidden within the text. It’s not always obvious to see. But remember that your character’s objective is harder for them to mask. In this example, Angela’s objective is to kill her boss. While the line of dialogue doesn’t suggest that right off the page, the subtext informing it is fairly clear once you’ve done some digging.

How to Create Subtext

As an actor, you can’t “create” subtext, so to speak. What you can do is let your character’s wants (their objective/s) inform how they say what they say or do what they do. Again: what is being said? What is not being said?

If you try to manufacture subtext, you run the risk of making choices that aren’t supported by the character or the script as written by the writer. Some actors feel as though subtext is the guaranteed way to make a scene more interesting. If they play every line like they’re secretly a hitman and they want to kill the person they’re speaking to, then presto! the scene will instantly be gripping to an audience.

This is a terrible idea. Don’t let yourself become informed by subtext that can’t be suggested or supported by the script. Subtext can’t exist without text. Always return to what is written and ask yourself what the writer intended. Good writers will write subtext into their work. It may be buried deep, but it will be there.

Subtext and Shakespeare

Finally, let’s discuss a common misconception about the work of William Shakespeare. The rule goes: there is no subtext in Shakespeare. Everything he wants you to know is written plain on the page.

In truth, the relationship between subtext and Shakespeare isn’t so simple. While it’s true that Shakespeare’s language is clear and descriptive, it’s also not without room for actors to interpret: especially when it comes to a character’s true intentions (objective) and how they might be subverted.

Shakespeare used imagery, metaphor, double entendres and puns to hint at hidden meaning beneath text. Take this classic example from Hamlet:

HAMLET
Lady, shall I lie in your lap?

OPHELIA
No, my lord.

HAMLET
I mean, my head upon your lap?

OPHELIA
Ay, my lord.

HAMLET
Do you think I meant country matters?

“Lie in your lap” and “country matters” both refer to, well, if you’re not sure ask a grown-up. And yet the language itself is far from explicitly sexual.

With Shakespeare, look for hidden or layered meaning (whether you call it subtext or not) by examining the script, learning to ‘decode’ his words and looking to the objectives and actions of the characters. We’re not here to disparage the “there is no subtext in Shakespeare rule.” But we do think it’s best to be aware that there is more to the language than it reads off the page. It’s up to you to find it.

Subtext in Screen Acting

Everything that we has been discussed so far can be easily transferred into your screen work. However, when working on camera, subtext in acting is even more essential.  The camera is like a lie detector, picking up every tiny nuance in your expression. Because the camera allows us into your inner world, your subtext here can be even more subtle. On screen, simply having the thought, will read clearly. This means that when you are working on screen you need to make sure you have crystallised your acting choices and really understand the inner monologue of your character. Never feel like you have to “show” your subtext, and trust that if you are connected to the text that it will come through.

Conclusion

What is subtext in acting? It’s the good stuff: the gooey, complex workings that bring depth to characters and story. While it’s not always easy to identify, just remember that it’s there to help you. And so once you can find it and play to it, subtext will always support your performance and enhance the choices you make. Good luck!

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What is a Radio Play?

A radio play isn’t simply a play that happens to be missing the visual aspect but an entirely different and specific medium of performance. Radio plays are dramatized, purely auditory performances that are specifically designed to focus on painting a picture in the listeners mind’s eye. They rely entirely on dialogue, music, and foley, otherwise known as sound effects.

How Are Radio Plays Made?

Radio plays are made in a number of different ways but when they’re soaring at their highest of heights, they are made in studio’s specifically designed to make them.

Story time. When I was in my first year of drama school, in one of the earliest days we took a field trip for what was called a project week, this one being for voice, to ABC Studios in Perth, Western Australia. I’ll be honest, there’s not a huge amount I remember about that studio, but one thing that does stick around to this day, was the Foley Stage. This studio was like nothing I had ever seen before and I was blown away by how strange it was. When I first walked in, there was a set of stairs with all sorts of different materials on them from carpet, to tile, to hardwood floors for making different foley of people climbing the stairs.The floor was made up of every type of material you could think of. There were about 8 different doors of all shapes, sizes and materials. There was a myriad of different types of crockery and furniture for making the specific sounds they needed for any particular play, and there were microphones that could pick up sound from wherever you were in the room.

There I learnt exactly how they were made. It made perfect sense. The actors would act out the play and the foley artists would make the necessary sounds that they needed to make. Add in some blood, sweat, tears and hard work and there you have your Radio Play.

Where Can I Listen to a Radio Play?

Now, despite my unwavering enthusiasm for the art of the Radio Play since their inception in the 1920’s, meteoric rise in the 1950’s, they have sadly fallen out of popularity. Many countries around the world including the US, and Australia have significantly slowed their production of Radio Plays, but not all hope is lost! The UK is still producing quite a number of different radio plays on the BBC via Radio 3, Radio 4, and a number of different stations as is New Zealand on RNZ!

With the advent of the internet we now have access to anything our hearts desire and most radio drama is consumed online these days rather than on any sort of physical radio itself. Which is good news for us! By simply going to the BBC radio website, RNZ, or simply searching for ‘Radio Drama Online’ you’ll have access to all the new, old and experimental radio drama your heart desires.

Conclusion

So while the peak of Radio Plays may seem to have passed us by, there is some good news. The advent of the internet gives us access to all the brilliant radio dramas previous generations had before and so much more! So go give it a try! The humble radio drama may just be your cup of tea, and who knows, if enough of us enjoy Radio Plays again, perhaps they could make a comeback.

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Despite the air of confusion that accompanies their practice, dramaturgs are united in their efforts to analyse the theatrical elements of a production; they use their skills to interrogate meaning, as intended by a script, director or creative team, and how that meaning plays out on stage or on camera. Because of the understanding they gain of their chosen medium, and the influence they can wield in any given production, “dramaturg” is a role many creatives of other disciplines jump at the chance to perform, especially in countries (such as Australia) where formal training in the field is less established. If you have ever considered giving dramaturgy a try, this article should answer enough questions and provide enough guidance to get you on the right path. After that, it’s up to you to cultivate that all-important sense of mystery…

What is a Dramaturg?

This is a deceptively difficult question. Dramaturgy, in the classical sense, refers to the study of dramatic composition and the different elements of drama as they appear on stage. It was first used in the seminal theatre text Hamburg Dramaturgy (1767-1769) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing who, as the first dramaturg (to refer to himself as such), worked with his theatre to assess and program dramatic work. The closest modern equivalent to this is probably the literary manager of a theatre company. In the contemporary industry, dramaturgy tends to refer more to the practice of dramaturgs themselves; their role is to analyse and interrogate every facet of a production in order to help the director and creative team best realise the work. This may include script analysis, research, editing or suggesting amendments, and even giving feedback on the state of a production and what it appears to be saying. While dramaturgs primarily work alongside the director they may also think of themselves as representative of the author (and their intended meaning) as well as a sort of proto member of the audience—seeing through their eyes as observers and consumers of narrative, theme, meaning, and symbolism.

Why Become a Dramaturg?

While some might be deterred by the prospect of multiple roles and responsibilities, dramaturgy promises great creative satisfaction. No other position offers quite so broad a perspective of the production process, nor a better opportunity to hone your own understanding of film/theatre/television. You are also guaranteed to gain new insight into your primary field, such as acting, when challenged to approach it from a fresh and removed perspective. Beyond personal development, working as a dramaturg for a friend or peer’s production can be an excellent means of contributing to your own creative circle at minimal personal cost beyond time and effort. You can also use these opportunities to help develop your own dramaturgical skills, readying you for more challenging and less familiar ventures.

Finding a Job

When starting out, the best way to find work as a dramaturg is to ask for it. Many emerging productions will not think to budget for a dramaturg as they might do for ‘required’ roles such as a designer or director, so you have a fair chance of signing yourself on if your pitch is strong and your labour is free. Look for projects that compliment your own base of creative knowledge, and think about what kind of dramaturgical services you can offer; if you have a background in Shakespearean theatre, you might dramaturg a production of Macbeth and help the actors with script analysis. If your background is in musical theatre, you may work on a devised movement piece to help appraise their interpretation of the score. Dramaturgy often gives you the opportunity to incorporate skills beyond your trained discipline into your practice. Think about your knowledge of music, of history, of art, of design, of tennis, of medieval warfare–all of these fields may prove useful in the dissection of a play or film you work on. A university degree you earned ten years earlier, and now consider all but useless, may just give you the edge in securing the job.

Know the Text

The minute you find yourself attached to a production as a dramaturg, commit yourself to knowing the text inside and out. Take detailed notes, ask questions, and be ready for any inquiries as to the meaning of the work. If you are working on something that does not follow a script—such as a dance or devised piece—it can be helpful for you to compose your own “script” of notes or directions, so you have a clear understanding of what is going on. At times when there are disagreements about a creative decision, or the meaning of the work is obfuscated by a facet of the production, the text is going to act as a tie-breaker to determine what should be done to resolve the issue.

Talk With Your Director

The other thing you should aim to do as soon as possible is to meet with and speak to your director. While you may liaise across multiple departments, your primary task will be supporting and working with them; establish what skills of yours they might require (analysis, feedback, research etc.) and how best to keep checking in with them throughout the rehearsal or filming process. Some directors will want plenty of input from a dramaturg in the art-making space whilst others will be fine with a check-in outside of the rehearsal room/set. Whatever choice is made, it is best if you can schedule regular sessions together so that your input (and, in a sense, legitimacy) isn’t diminished by the appearance of it being surplus to the requirement of production.

At some point, it is likely that you will deliver feedback critical of the choices the director has made. While we will cover this in more detail below, the best way to navigate this situation is to communicate warmly and openly: always clarify that your priority is the work and its best possible presentation. Although you may be the only person able to directly criticise a director’s choices in the production, it is important not to mistake this as a symbol of elevated status.

Research

Hearkening back to the earliest incarnation of the role, dramaturgs often conduct extensive research—both of the script (as mentioned above) and the world it describes. You may look into a particular time period, a culture, or even concepts touched upon in the work such as politics or science. If your production is based on an older text, such as a Greek tragedy, you may also be required to research traditional staging practices, giving insight as to how such works can be either faithfully (or subversively) exhibited to contemporary audiences. Research is usually presented to the director in a production-tailored ‘workbook’. If required, an actor’s version is also produced containing material relevant to their particular discipline.

Keep Notes, Give Feedback

Following all of your careful prep work—all of your research and analysis of text and discussions with directors and designers—the best contribution you can make to a production is to take extensive notes on everything you see and hear. As you are looking to interrogate meaning, one of the best things to do is to record your observations either in the form of statements or questions that you can later ask a director—a la Katie Mitchell’s “facts and questions” method of script analysis in her 2009 book The Director’s Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre. If you were to observe a scene where the meaning of an important line is lost on the actor, rather than write down “this line could be better”, or “the actor doesn’t understand the subtext”, try: “What is this character trying to convey?” or “What is the significance of this moment for the audience?”

Positing your observations as questions will give a director the chance to provide their own point of view, and speak to a possible solution directly without simply being told they are wrong. You’ll still be able to make your point, but in a way that invites the person in charge of creative decisions to do their best work and not feel second-guessed. If possible, shoot for open-ended questions. And never forget the two most useful questions you can ask: “Could X be stronger?” “Could X be clearer?”

Remember Your Role

This leads us to one of the most important things you will need to develop when becoming a dramaturg; take the time to get used to the unique position you will hold in a creative team. You are separate from the ensemble, focused on the semantic end-game even when experimentation and self-expression are the order of the day. Often, you will be the first to realise when something does or doesn’t work. Your job is never to pass judgement, never to step in and co-create or direct (unless you are asked to do so). All you need to do is look and listen to what unfolds in front of you, and provide the best possible analysis. In time, your peers will take comfort from your shadow-lurking and note-taking; they will come to trust your process and know that you are there to help them make their very best work.

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Full Stops

Full stops denote the end of a thought. They show the character reaching the end of an idea, and when you think about the end of an idea it has some finality to it right? It is an ending and as such a full stop requires a downward inflection. The last sound that comes out of your mouth for the final word in the sentence needs to resolve to a lower pitch than what came before it. Check out the first part of this monologue from the movie Swordfish with John Travolta and some terrible facial hair. 

Here is the script for that section:

Listen to how Travolta hits that punctuation. Listen to how he drops his pitch down on the final syllable of words at the end of a sentence. Wherever there is a full stop, he inflects downward in the final moments of the sentence to let us know that the thought has ended in this position. This is really important to get right as the common mistakes here are two-fold. 

Common mistake 1: Downward inflections all the time.

Ever heard a really boring speaker? Been at a wedding and inside the first 10 seconds of a speech started wishing for the sweet release of death or divorce? Yeah me too – most likely because the person giving the speech was inflecting downward for every possible piece of punctuation. If you inflect down all the time, it’s boring. You must only inflect down when there is a full stop that tells you to do so. You do not get to put punctuation in where you want it. If you want to do that, go be a writer. Love that for you. 

Common mistake 2: No downward inflection at all.

This is very common with Australians who want to seem chill and easy going. The finality of a full stop at the end of a sentence makes us think of the finality of our own existence and to keep the existential dread away, we inflect up all the time. This makes you sound like you are constantly questioning things and is very confusing for people of other nations. Again, you must honour the punctuation in the text, you do not get to make up your own. See a full stop – inflect down. Simple as that.

First thing I do when I get a script is to go through and mark my punctuation. I circle the location of the full stop and put a downward arrow above it to denote the required inflection and a pause. I’d recommend you do the same!

Commas

Commas, predominantly, are part of a list, a series of thoughts, grouped together that require, a little break in them, but the thought the key thought is still alive, still up in the air, waiting to come back down, it is for this reason that commas for the actor denote an upward inflection. Now read that previous sentence again, out loud, and as you do so, give a conscious upward inflection to each comma. You can see that a slight upward inflection and a tiny little pause can do so much for you here. Again refer to Travolta above in Swordfish, look how he handles that sentence about Pacino’s greatest films. Everyone ends in a slight upward inflection and it lets the audience know that the thought is still alive, it is continuing until the end of the sentence.

Again as soon as I get my script, the first thing I do is go through and mark every piece of punctuation in it. I circle my commas and put an upwards arrow above them to denote the rise in inflection. This next video is going to help for commas and our next two punctuation marks. See how fantastically J.K. Simmons hits his commas and full stops in this. Take a look at this hectic scene from Whiplash:

Exclamation Marks

Now take a look at around 2.18 for the line ‘So you do know the difference!’ Ending in an exclamation mark. An exclamation is arguably the easiest one to deal with in my opinion. It is a variation on the full stop that requires intention behind it. An exclamation mark is the end of a sentence and the end of a thought where the character actively exclaims! You have to hit the end of that sentence with vigor and intensity. It doesn’t necessarily need to be louder, although that will work, it needs to have intensity behind it – you need to actively exclaim. You cannot be laid back or chilled out about an exclamation mark. The Oxford dictionary defines exclaim as: ‘​to say something suddenly and loudly, especially because of strong emotion or pain.’ So do that. A downward inflection is preferable here, but the intention behind it is the key part. See J.K. Simmons in the clip above.

Question Marks

Staying with Whiplash for a second. Look at the line ‘Was I rushing or was I dragging?’ Notice what Simmons does with his voice. He uses a curling upward inflection to denote a question mark. This in my mind is absolutely essential, especially on stage, that if you have a question mark – you really ask the question! You have to prompt the other person to respond! Even if the question is a rhetorical one. If the writer had wanted the character to downwardly inflect at this point they would have put a full stop. But they didn’t, there is a question mark there for a reason and it requires investigation. Your character really wants to get something from the other person in the scene. Simmons in this scene from Whiplash wants to see if the young drummer understands the basics of tempo. He is testing him and then harshly punishing him. 

Again, every time you see a question mark, it denotes an upward inflection and a slight pause. 

Ellipsis…

Aahh the ellipsis, these guys can be tricky. So an ellipsis is a thought that has been interrupted by something. Either another thought, an image, a memory or another character talking. Take a look at Inglorious Bastards here:

An exceptional performance from everyone here, and you can see what Christoph Waltz does with all these ellipses. He lets the thought carry, with a slight upward inflection and allows the imagery of the moment to fill the gap. He is very specific with how he uses them and lets that empty space sit for a moment as well. I usually approach these with a slight upward inflection and ensure an image is firmly set in my memory and ready be utilised for this moment.

Dash, colon and semicolon

The dash, colon and semicolon all fill similar roles for an actor approaching the text, they are all an upward inflection and get the same treatment as commas. The important thing to note is if they are around a list when that list begins and ends. Quite often the word that follows a colon will be a keyword in a paragraph so keep an eye on that.

Additionally, some writers can use dashes or slashes to show two characters talking over each other at the same time. So be aware of that too. Just as with all the other punctuation above, mark your punctuation in your text before you get started!

Italics

Just a quick side note here and not strictly punctuation I know, but italics are an interesting one. Most often they are used to show stage directions in a play and you will never see them in film and TV scripts. However, I have noticed some writers are using italics to denote keywords in a sentence for a character. This is worth examining, depending on the text you are working on and I would try and emphasise them if the writer has specified them so thoroughly.

Conclusion

So there you have it, folks! An in-depth analysis of the various types of punctuation and their appropriate vocal inflection for actors. You can see in all of these clips how specific the actors are with their punctuation. They all do a wonderful job of it and in doing so actively honour the writer’s work which helps tell the story of the film so much better. If you can get to be a militant in using punctuation as well you will be amazed at how much it adds to your work!  Go forth and enjoy!

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The brilliant Brazillian acting maestro Augusto Boal says in Games for Actors and Non-actors, 

“[…] the human being is a unity, an indivisible whole. Scientists have demonstrated that one’s physical and psychic apparatuses are completely inseparable. Stanislavski’s work on physical actions also tends to the same conclusion, i.e. that ideas, emotions and sensations are all indissolubly interwoven.”

For more on the Stanislavski Method

I love this quote because I think it sums up the importance of having a real and palpable inner monologue working for you. We know the physical and the psychological are completely linked, you can’t pretend that you are having thoughts and feelings with your body and actually be thinking about the washing. They end in the same conclusion that emotions and ideas are linked. Your ideas must be aiding you in driving the emotional work of the piece. And dissecting the character’s inner monologue is a vital addition to this process.

An Example

Watch this clip from The Irishman:

This is a scene entirely without dialogue right for the actress right? Just action. The character of Jo played by the legendary Welker White has just been fired from her job, and she’s heading out to the car, she gets in, inserts the keys and remembers the spate of car bombs and it makes her wonder, what if her car is next? A little while ago we had an interview with Welker with the StageMilk Scene Club, you can see a full replay of it by signing up here. Watching the full interview is really worth your time!

But for the purposes of this article. Watch the above video and as you look at Welker, track each time her thoughts change. What is going on inside her head? She comes out of the building and she’s pissed off, she’s been fired, slams the door, throws the keys right up to the ignition – but wait, what about the car bombs? Is there anyone around? She checks outside and behind her. Do I start it or not? Screw it, I’m going to start it. God, I hope this works. She turns the key and the car starts. We get all of that, all of that and much more because Welker allows herself to experience all of that moment to moment, she has a palpable and alive inner monologue that is actually having all of those thoughts I mentioned, and as she has them, we see them! She needs to live in those, moment to moment, every single take until the director (in this case Martin Scorsese!) Is happy to move on! There is a story in this scene, there is a narrative and it’s Welker’s connection to her inner monologue that helps tell us that story. 

Without that inner monologue, without Welker connecting the dots of the story, we wouldn’t get the tension that is so alive in this moment, we wouldn’t understand what was happening for the story or the larger picture of the movie. In our interview, Welker went into fantastic detail about Scorsese’s direction and his fine, fine detail that added immensely to her inner monologue work at this moment. Also, see how much detail and specificity there is in 59 seconds of a film! A great acting teacher said to me it’s the life, not the lines and with a moment like this I couldn’t agree more.

Practical Application

Okay so now let’s look at some text and figure out what the character’s inner monologue is and how to apply it. Here’s some Julius Caesar:

Julius Caesar (Act 3 Scene 1)
Antony:
O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood.
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy
(Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue)
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men:
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy:
Blood and destruction shall be so in use,
And dreadful objects so familiar,
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quartered with the hands of war:
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds,
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice,
Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

So just looking at the first few lines let’s look at the inner monologue. It begins here before the first line. A great way to find the inner monologue is to ask yourself the question – ‘Where does this line come from? Why are they saying it?’

The answer, in this case, is, Anthony is standing over the still-warm body of his friend Caesar who has just been brutally murdered. He is looking at the body of his friend and taking in the horror in front of him. For me it’s something in the region of ‘Julius, what have they done to you, look at your chest, the wounds, all of this blood. Those animals…’ Those thoughts will drive me through before and during the first two lines, looking at the next two lines, again those are driven by what he is seeing in front of him. Caesars once mighty frame cut down by those conspirators my inner monologue might be ‘they tore his flesh out, look at this cut into his liver. Not days ago we were together talking about how to make Rome better and now look at him’ 

And so forth and so on. I like to write out my inner monologue next to the lines on the page just in dot points. After a while, you can let natural thoughts arise in your mind as you go, but being specific about your inner monologue especially in preparation and rehearsal. can give you some really nice structure. Hopefully, if you are really alive and present in the moment, you will only need to have a conscious inner monologue for the first part of the script, then you will be so alive and so present that thoughts will naturally flow from one moment to the next.

In your preparation, however, going through line by line and asking yourself ‘Why does my character say this? Where does this line come from’ is an essential part of script analysis on any text, be it film, theatre, commercial or digital. Once you have worked out why they are saying it, then you can actively engage in the thought process required to make that part of the script come real and alive!

Conclusion

So there you have it, folks, the inner monologue is the things you are thinking while you are speaking or listening in a scene. It is a vital part of staying alive and present in your scene and can really help you unpack the subtext and motivations of your character. 

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Long story short, every acting trainer believes the same thing, that you must break down your script into smaller pieces, call them – beats, units, units of action or penguins if you like! The point is to identify the shifts in action, intention and thought that drive a character through the world. It also helps the actor learn their lines and makes scripts more manageable. Finally, properly beating out your script will show you the narrative arc of the character, in the scene, moving through the act to the climax of the play or film. In this article, I am going to refer to beats in two senses: in terms of the scene and in terms of the energy.

Scenic Beats

Again, there are millions of terms here scenic beats, units, tasks, events all of these terms refer to more or less the same idea: we are looking for a change in the physical world on the stage, a change in the topic of conversation, or importantly a change in tactic from a character. Let’s look at these one by one:

#1 Change in the physical world

The most obvious way to see a beat is the exit or the entry of a character into the space. Someone leaving or arriving denotes a shift in energy on the stage. You can see this at school when the teacher walks in the room. The mood of the group changes, the impact of a person of authority alters the energy in the room. The same thing happens when a manager walks on the floor of a retail store, or a general into the enlisted soldier’s mess hall. The same goes for when these people exit the space. 

Sometimes, depending on the relationship between the characters the entry or exit of someone on or off stage may not result in a seismic shift, however it is always worth noting it as every change of people onstage alters the environment for the audience and this denotes a shift in energy whether the characters are fully aware of it or not.

#2 Change in the topic of conversation

The next thing to look out for is a change in the topic of conversation, and some interrogation into why it has changed. Here’s an example:

Firstly, note how I have scored my beats here. A vertical line to denote where the thought changes and horizontal lines either side to alert me that a beat change is coming up. As you can see, I have split this up into beats of various sizes, that coincide with the characters train of thought. Beats can be any size, what we are looking for is when the thoughts change and importantly – why. You can see that on the right-hand side I have named each beat, a title or an idea that encapsulates that section of the text. These are sometimes useful to use as your inner monologue, driving your thoughts between the text. You can also see how simple this makes this speech. It’s Brutus figuring out if his friend and mentor must be killed. How to solve this problem, by beating out the changes in conversation, you become aware of the changes in the logic of the scene.

To jump back to the Greeks momentarily, there are three ways to persuade someone in conversation. Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos is an appeal to a person or audiences ethics, this speaker is trustworthy and the things they say carry weight. Pathos is an appeal to the audiences’ emotions, looking to incite their sympathy or empathy. Logos is an appeal to the logic of an audience, a means of convincing an audience by logic and reasoning.

By isolating the changes in thought and conversation that a character is going through you can get underneath the logos of the characters argument, begin to see the pathos of it and in doing so, understand the ethos you will need to bring this moment to life. Handy right?

#3 Change in tactic

These ones can be a little bit trickier, see a section from Hamlet below:

Hamlet in beat 1 is cordially thanking her for her question, his next statement is ‘I never gave you aught’ his tactics towards her change rapidly in this section, the part most thrilling is the beat change between beat 4 and beat 5. ‘I did love you once’ is a huge change of tactic and a standout moment in the play that in my opinion comes with a change in tactic. What is he trying to do to her by saying that line? 

It’s important to mention here that each actor will have a slightly different interpretation of beats and what they mean or where they are placed. This is why it is so important to work with a director to give you guidance on these matters. 

There you are, three key ways of identifying a beat, unit or unit of action in your script. Let’s talk about how to build them up with energy.

Energetic beats

So now you know where your beat is, let’s talk about building it up. See every beat of action represents a section of the overall narrative arc. Narrative arc is how stories are told, I have an in-depth article on it here. We need to build the intensity, line online, through the beat until we get to the crisis moment of the beat, the apex of the action. Take a quick look at Barrack Obama here, now say what you like about his politics, no one can deny he is an incredible speaker. A big part of what makes him so compelling is his ability to build a beat to a crisis point, and resolve to a lower pitch and energy to start over again. 

Check out this speech of his from 2004 from the 11-minute mark. 

At exactly 12 minutes he ends the beat with ‘Out of many, one.’ By then he has reached the apex of the intensity of that moment, lets it settle and starts again with a lower tone, and contained energy. He builds, line on line, without dropping the energy of what he is saying, keeping his tone and intention at the same level until he reaches a punctuation mark. He then raises the pitch and tone of his voice and continues on, until his reaches another punctuation mark and so on and so forth until he hits the most important thing he has to say, let it ring in the air and brings the tone, the pitch and the energy back down to start a new beat. 

This, as you can see, is an incredibly powerful technique to make people interested in what you are saying, it draws them in and all the great speakers of history have used it, for good and for evil. 

If you add in this principle and make the decision with your scene partner that you will not let the energy drop during a beat, that you will lift your pitch, tone and energy to match or overtake theirs with every line you have until you reach the end of your marked beat, you will be amazed at the impact and the life that comes alive in your work.

Conclusion

There you have it folks! Beats, in all their complex, wordy nature and application. Undoubtedly, you will learn a different word or a slightly different approach to beats or units over your acting life, what you call them and where you put them is up to you and your director. What really matters though is that you use them, and if you add in the energetic component you will really bring that beat to life!

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The term ‘sides’ dates all the way back to our friend Will Shakespeare’s day, where actors were only given their lines for rehearsals to save on paper and time – imagine old Will having to write 30+ copies of Richard III! Nowadays the term ‘sides’ refers to the pages or selections from a script that actors are given to learn for an audition. ‘Sides’ has become the industry standard term instead of ‘scenes’ – this is because often an actor will be given only part of a scene or scenes rather a full scene as audition material.

Sides are normally provided to the actor prior to the audition day from a casting agent, usually through the actor’s theatrical agent. Typically, sides will be a couple of pages. Actors are expected to be familiar with the sides when they arrive to audition. Some casting agents will allow an actor to hold the sides during the audition – some will even encourage it – but it’s good practice to become familiar with the content of the sides regardless of your preference.

So what are some key things to keep in mind when looking at your audition sides?

Often, particularly for film and television auditions, sides will be lifted directly from the spec script and marked up with a ‘start’ and ‘end’, indicating that the actor need only learn that particular section. Sometimes, the rest will even be crossed off or blacked out. However, everything on the page can still be useful material for an actor’s understanding of context, given circumstances and character background, and often actors won’t be sent any more of the script than this, so use everything to your advantage!

One thing to ask yourself is: why have they chosen this particular section for my audition? What is it they want to see? Try to think like the casting director and ask yourself what they might be looking for in this character that they chose this section for you to work on. Perhaps the character is at an emotional peak, or they are trying to charm someone, or they simply have to cry (and maybe produce actual tears!). As an actor in an audition, you want to be offering a ‘solution’ to their casting ‘problem’, so if you can identify what that problem is, you’re halfway there.

If your audition sides include two or more sections to learn, ask yourself why they’ve chosen these sections and what difference do they want to see in your characterisation between them. Does one scene have your character under pressure and the other have you at ease? Here’s your opportunity to show the casting agent your amazing range, and you’ll want to avoid performing both scenes in the same way. Again, ask yourself. Why have they chosen these two scenes for me? What are they looking for?

Finally, good film scenes (and indeed, good audition scenes!) show the character being changed in some way. Have a think about what change/s your character undergoes in the scene. Where is your character in the beginning of the scene and where do they end up? This is what the casting agent wants to see.

Well, that’s a basic run-down of sides, what they are and what to look for when you get them. For more information, check out our other guides for actors here at StageMilk!

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“living truthfully under imaginary circumstances”
– Sanford Meisner

A little test…

Heres an example of how specific and powerful your imagination is and how specific and powerful it can be for your next role. Think about your favourite food, got it? Okay now, close your eyes and think about the first time you ate it, or if not the first, the best time. Why was it the best? How did eating that thing make you feel? Describe really quickly, where you were, what time of day it was, what the sensation of the taste was like. See how incredibly specific your imagination is? Doing that took me right back to eating the most extraordinary Koh Sok curry in Northern Thailand with a close friend in the pouring rain.

Your character has an imagination as vivid and as powerful as this, you need to get as specific about your characters imagery as you are with your own memories. If you fancy diving in for a bit of Chubbuck style substitution as a means to make it more personal, you can totally do that! I will go into some more detail about how I go about that later in this article, but first, let’s talk about the different types of images in a script.

Primary images

Primary images are specific memories or descriptions of people, places or things in your script. An easy example of this is in Shakespeare’s iconic Sonnet 18: ‘Shall I compare thee to a summers day?’ The primary image in there is the summers day, right? Therefore the actor or speaker needs to have a personalised, clear, idea of what a summers day looks like. And, given that he has compared his passionate love interest to this summers day, it has to be pretty damn perfect. Now whether you use your imagination completely, to imagine an absolutely perfect summers day for Romeo or you the actor pull a memory of a perfect afternoon from your childhood really doesn’t matter.

What matters is, that you have an image in your brain for that moment. If you think it, the audience will see it. You do not need to show the audience that you have an image and it’s beautiful you just need to see it in your imagination at that moment. By having a specific image to refer to you will bring to life the characters history and their emotional life into view for the audience. Additionally, by using your images on the fourth wall of the theatre, or on the opposite side of the camera lens you can let the audience see a different side of you.

Secondary Images

Secondary images are a more abstract concept, derived from the work of Brazilian theatre practitioner, Augusto Boal. The idea here is that every line, every word and even every silence can have an image attached. Additionally, this technique mixed with some substitution can prove to be a powerful emotional trigger for an actor. Let’s look at another Shakespeare example – this time from Romeo and Juliet. Later in the play, Juliet says ‘Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?’ now the primary image in this line is her husband Romeo right, the actress should have a very clear image of him and what he means to her for that part of the line. But as an exercise or to help heighten an emotional state, secondary images could be attached to the rest of the line.

“Shall I’ could be a sickly green blob pushing at the actress’s neck, ‘speak ill’ could be a black twisting shadow above the other actors head. ‘Him that is my husband’ could be a white halo hanging off the lighting rig. So forth and so on. You can see how the creation of these images could be an effective tool for moving the scene around the stage and eliciting a visceral emotional response to the text. As with every acting technique, this may not work for you, but give it a go to see how it makes you feel!

Substitution

Substitution is an exceptionally powerful tool for an actor, and substitution and imagery combined are an awesome combo (I think at least!) Substitution is an Ivana Chubbuck technique and its sort of a midway point between Strasberg’s Method acting, i.e. experiencing working as someone in a cafe before you play a waiter and Adler’s power of the imagination. My bastardised interpretation of it is this; when Romeo talks about Juliet he’s talking about someone he is deeply in love with. If I was to play Romeo, I would talk about Juliet but think about my girlfriend who I love or another person that elicits a strong emotion – hell even a sportsperson I felt a strong emotion for!

It doesn’t matter who that person is, it matters that you can clearly see them in your imagination and that your relationship to that real person is the same or similar to the person you are talking about in the text! The same goes for my summer day example in primary images, I would think about my most recent perfect summers day and throw that image out on the fourth wall of the space for the audience to experience. Personalised images give the audience the opportunity to experience that moment with you, and therefore the character. They are extremely powerful and great fun too!

Conclusion

So there you have it, images! They are so powerful and so important for everything we do as actors. I have mainly dealt with them in terms of theatre, but the same applies for film! Just instead of using the fourth wall, use the opposite side of the lens with your eyes. Give it a go with your camera at home, do a monologue and throw a few images across to the other side of the lens! It’s awesome. Hopefully, you’ve found some useful additions to your acting toolbox here and if you’d like to get in the habit of practising your images, why not sign up to our online Stagemilk Scene Club.

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Given circumstances are a set of dramaturgical tools an actor might use to determine the wider context of a character or scene. Often posed as the “who”, “when”, “where”, “why” and “how” questions, they develop an actor’s understanding of a script’s context. This then allows the actor to create a more considered and nuanced performance.

Given circumstances require balanced measures of imagination and detective work. Yes, it is up to you to create a detailed backstory or a rich, inner life for a character that might not necessarily be on the page! However, given circumstances should always be informed by what the writer put down on the page: make sure you can justify every one of your choices, and ground them to the reality of the world of the script. In this article, we will talk about the origins of given circumstances as teaching tools of Konstantin Stanislavski, and how they have been further explored and improved by practitioners such as Uta Hagen.

Konstantin Stanislavski Given Circumstances

Stanislavski’s work on given circumstances can be traced back to his early days at Moscow Art Theatre, and are subsequently explored in his book An Actor’s Work. He thought of given circumstances as the environmental and situational modifiers that might a sway character’s actions within a scene.

Interestingly, Stanslavski puts given circumstances in the same category as the “Magic If” as “products of imagination”. However, through a process of script analysis (or simply reading the script) it is often within an actor’s grasp to wrest cold, hard facts from the text.

Uta Hagen – Given Circumstances saved me.

I’ve recently gone on a bit of an Uta Hagen/Given Circumstances binge. This binge has brought me back from the edge. I started thinking that I couldn’t act. That the combination of bringing a character to life while telling a story was too much. I was a step away from throwing in the towel because I had turned acting into a concept. A convoluted concept filled with metaphor and intellectualisms which made the whole process stressful. Then my friend flippantly mentioned Given Circumstances. Queue my lightbulb moment. Uta Hagen’s Given Circumstances was the real world solution to my excessively cerebral acting process. It’s not dumbing your work down, it’s grounding it in real life.

Here are Uta Hagen’s essential questions for understanding your characters Given Circumstances:

Who am I? Answer as many details about your character as you can including name, age, address, relatives, likes, dislikes, hobbies, career, physical traits, opinion, beliefs, religion, education, origin, enemies, loved ones etc.

What time is it? Answer these questions for every scene. Century, season, year, day, hour, minute. Discover the significance of time for you characters. How does the time of day influence your mood?

Where am I? Country, city, neighbourhood, home, room, area within a room. Is it your home? Your enemies kitchen?

What surrounds me? Discover all the animate and inanimate objects around you. Be specific. How does the presence of a knife change the scene?

What are the given circumstances of the past, present, and potential future? As an actor your research needs to be specific so that your performance isn’t generalised. Detail the past, present and potential future so you can play in the moment.

What are my relationships in the scene? Define for yourself your relationship to the events, other characters, and objects in each scene.

What do I want? This one is really closely related to actions/objectives. Be specific about your characters needs, immediate and longer term.

What do I do to get what I want? This is what rehearsals are for. Try different tactics to try and achieve your character’s objectives. Test which tactics work. Find a few options and play in the moment. Stay reactive.

When I first started acting I would intentionally blur my vision so that I could imagine everything that was happening around my character in the story; the story I had constructed for myself while reading the script. The only problem was it had the opposite effect. I couldn’t see what was actually happening around me. I couldn’t respond to what the other performers were giving me because I was trapped in my own world. Being specific with my given circumstances and sharing my ideas with other cast members and making decisions as a group got us all on the same page. Uta Hagen’s work saved me then, and it has saved me now.

I highly recommend it as a foundation for your work on stage and screen.

Exercise: Pack Your Bags

Let’s put the concept into practice with a simple exercise—one you may very well have done in drama school.

Start by miming packing a bag.

If you’ve roped somebody into watching you do this, you might want to check in with them as to how thrilling it was (it wasn’t). And if their response is less than enthused (it will be), consider applying some given circumstances: where are you going? Why are you packing this bag? Who are you, this character who is packing a bag? What do you want by packing this bag? Where in time are you, what’s going on in your immediate vicinity?

A police officer going on holiday to Hawaii will pack a bag differently than a distraught woman trying to escape a tornado. Or packing for a funeral. Or packing precious cargo. Or drugs you’ve been told to smuggle through an airport if you want to see your family again.

Applying different given circumstances can be extremely useful in adding life and depth to a simple narrative of packing a bag. Imagine what you can do with a full-length script…

Give it a go!

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