Jon Jory

on Acting

The actor’s toolbox

Ten ways to tune your performance

I ’VE BEEN chatting with you about act-

ing for several months now.
1. Concentration. While you’re acting,
keep your mind on the stage and in the
3. Get the part in your body. What your
mind thinks, what your emotions feel,
Among other concepts, we’ve dis- circumstances. You have to enclose all of this is supposed to show up in
cussed the action (some people call it yourself in the world of the play. You your body if you really consider yourself
the objective), which is what your char- have to be wildly alive to what the other an actor. Look around you. See that ac-
acter, at any moment, wants another actors are doing and to how your char- tor with nothing happening below the
character to do, feel, or understand. acter would react to them. To focus wa- neck? Don’t let that be you. Tell your
We’ve talked about the obstacle, which is vering concentration, set yourself small body to get into the act. Acting is do-
the circumstance that stands in the way achievable tasks onstage, inside the ing. Don’t know how? Start with a
of your achieving the action. We’ve spo- story. The woman over there is your simple physical task accompanying your
ken about the subtext that lies under- “mother”? What exactly is she wearing? speech. Stretch, do some easy exercises
neath the lines and reveals what is re- How, exactly, is she responding to your while you talk to your sister about last
ally being talked about. We’ve covered “father”? What does your character night’s game. At the very least it will sig-
how you can intensify the scene (that is, want her to do right now? Drag your nal your body that it’s expected to show
make it more dramatic) by raising the mind onto the stage and keep it there. up. In most cases, no body means no
stakes. This means to make the obstacle 2. Be aware of rhythm. The actor’s acting.
even more difficult to overcome and to work is much like that of the jazz musi- 4. Ever heard the term “self-reacting”?
want what you want from the other per- cian. Every play, every scene, every You do it all the time in life but you
son even more passionately. And we ex- speech needs mixed rhythms. If every- probably don’t do it enough on stage.
amined the superobjective, the one thing thing is slow or everything is fast, every- Here’s how it works. While you talk you
your character wants above all, even thing is loud, everything is soft, the have opinions about what you’re saying
while other actions are taking place. We minds of the audience (and even and how you’re saying it. You start a
talked over the idea that the actor must yours) drop out. Look for the quick sentence describing an automobile acci-
be exhaustively aware of the circum- part in the slow, nostalgic memory dent. Suddenly you realize you left a
stances that surround the scene she’s speech. Look for the pause in the hard- detail out, and you stop in mid-sentence
playing. driving, angry argument. Reinvest new and readjust. Or you’re talking and you
Surely all this is enough? No. I want acting energy at the point where the say something even you think is stupid,
to spend our last visit (at least for now) subject changes or the conversation and you make a face that lets the other
with a list of ten more acting tools you veers off. You need to find the sensible person in on your new opinion of what
need to have in your kit when you start variety in speed and tone. Say to your- you just said. Or you say something and
assembling the role. self, “Let’s do a little jazz here!” realize it needs more emphasis so you
22 DRAMATICS • MAY 2001
 KEVIN SPRAGUE

repeat it. These are just a few example

of self-reacting. It’s a tool you need in
your acting toolbox.
5. Tone. Here’s a bad acting habit
you need to be aware of. You might
have let it become a key part of an im-
portant scene you’re playing and you
need to replace it with more specific
work. It goes this way: you’re doing the
balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet and
you’re locked in the “love” tone. You
give every line you say a particular
sound that reeks of roses and heart-
shaped chocolates and the words “I love
you.” The whole scene is being played
in the love tone. There are other favor-
ite tones, including the “angry” tone,
the “memory” tone, the “tragic” tone,
the “dominant” tone, etc. Get out of the
tone and into the scene. Juliet may love
Romeo, but she’s also worried that her
brother Tybalt will find him in the gar-
den and cut him to ribbons, as well as
being furious with herself for being at-

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou,

Romeo?” has more shades of emotion and sig-
nificance than just love. What other tones
might an actor use in the balcony scene?
(Carolyn Roberts as Juliet in Shakespeare &
Company’s 2000 production of Romeo and
Juliet.)
MAY 2001 • DRAMATICS 23
tracted to a Montague, and scared to 8. The pause. Silence is the actor’s gas. One of the reasons that this small
death the Nurse will come out and find condiment. It adds flavor where you flaw can deeply affect your playing is
her in her nightgown talking to some need it. Remember that language is that playwrights often put the most im-
guy. Don’t let some idea of how a scene born out of silence. Silence is the gesta- portant and colorful information at the
should sound get in the way of what a tion period for words. After a long line end of the line. Drop the end of the
character’s action is on a moment-to-mo- of words and sentences, a pause often line and you obscure or lose the sense
ment basis. refreshes the listeners and refocuses of the line. Don’t do it.
6. Words mean something. Sometimes I them. A sudden silence with the actor So, my actor friend, that’s all for now.
go to the theatre and get lulled into a thinking hard about what to do or say I hope these tools will be in your acting
somnolent state by a river of words that next can literally startle the audience bag throughout your career. All of our
seem to have no personal meaning to into a fierce attention. The pause usu- talk for the last several months has been
the actor. The words seem colorless, con- ally appears at a key moment when an attempt to rediscover for ourselves
tainers filled with a transparent fluid. there are important choices to be the things fine actors have known for
The good actor makes the words signify. made or when going forward in the situ- generations. There are more where
When she says “Aunt Helen,” you can ation implies a profound commitment. these came from. Perhaps you’ll make a
picture Aunt Helen, remote, cynical, and Where are these moments in the play new discovery in tomorrow’s rehearsal.
overbearing. Part of this is simple em- you are rehearsing or performing? Remember that as a good craftsperson
phasis. The sentence you’re saying Often you will see (and hear) long sec- you don’t use every tool on every job.
means entirely different things depend- tions of text delivered without these cru- Practice will refine your sense of what
ing on the word or words you choose to cial rests. Think of it this way: the im- tool will solve a current problem.
stress. Another aspect of this is your atti- portant pause occurs when what you Thanks. See you down the road.
tude toward the words you are saying. want is so balanced by the difficulty of
You say, “The sea seemed to stretch out getting it that you have a profound need
forever,” but what’s your attitude toward to think it over before you can go on. This is the seventh and final article in a se-
that sea? You long for it, you’re afraid of Think about the possibilities for these ries that began in our September 2000 issue.
it, you had a friend drown in it, you pauses as you rehearse. They can define Jon Jory, artistic director of Actors Theatre of
can’t sleep without the sound of it, the role. Louisville for thirty-one years, teaches acting
what? You need to invest meaning in 9. I know she knows I know. When and directing at the University of Washington.
the words you say, you need to ener- you’re playing a scene in which the
gize them and sometimes roll the characters know each other well and
sound of them around in your mouth. probably have for a long time, you have
Don’t just let the words lie there. to be careful to play in a way that ac-
They need you. knowledges that almost anything you
7. Variety. Here’s a real and con- say has a history. For instance, if you are
tinual secret of the trade. Don’t be any- talking to your long-term boyfriend
thing all the time. Don’t be angry all about your old car, he has probably rid-
the time, don’t be sweet all the time, den in it. You would talk about it in a
don’t be passive all the time, don’t be tone that implies mutual understand-
aggressive all the time. Don’t treat the ing rather than one that suggests what
other characters all the same way. Life is you say should be news to him. I call
changeable, and so is the personality of this the quality of acknowledgment. When
your character. Don’t sit down all the you talk about a mutual friend to your
time, don’t stand up all the time, don’t brother, you already know what his atti-
be still all the time or active all the time. tude toward that person is and you take
When the audience thinks they know that into account as you talk. It is this
what you’re going to do next they are understanding of each other that de-
less interested. Remember that the fines scenes where the two characters
good actor is not only full of surprises have a history together. When it’s not
but is sensitive to a continual need for present such scenes seem flat and even
change. Look for opposites in your part. dishonest.
If the character always seems to criticize 10. Finally, a small but important
his or her parents, look for the kindly piece of advice. Don’t drop the end of the
gesture toward them. Like the old Pony line. Be careful that the strong verbal
Express riders, you have to be careful energy you start with doesn’t gradually
not to ride one horse until it dies un- dissipate, so that near the end of the
der you. sentence or speech you have run out of
24 DRAMATICS • MAY 2001
Originally published in Dramatics magazine. More info: [Link]