jcdietrich

[jcdietrich]

from "Prefaces to Shakespeare", by Harley Granville-Barker

[jcdietrich]

Almost everything Vinh says about communication, is directly applicable to acting. Choosing the set of behaviours your character has will change how they are perceived. Make conscious choices for your character, that don't necessarily align with your own default learned behaviours, and you will find the character emerge.

[jcdietrich]

❝A beat is an action at its most precise and unable to be broken down any further. A new beat occurs with every transition, with the slightest change of thought, and can be as short as an intake of breath or an exclamation. However, its criterion is not its length, but its indivisibility. Beats are what actors actually play. The concept of beats is to alert actors to be specific and consequently gives due weight to details of text that they may tend to ignore or dismiss as of little or no significance, such as Shakespearian ‘O’s, that are frequently thrown off without much thought or intention, when not totally ignored.❞

— Mike Alfreds: Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor

[jcdietrich]

❝Character, mood, atmosphere and style will quite naturally be created if actors play their actions and objectives within the context of their GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES.❞

— Mike Alfreds: Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor

[jcdietrich]

❝The super-objective is the character’s overarching purpose in life; the through-line is the character’s purpose through the context of the play; the scene objective is the character’s purpose from situation to situation. Super-objectives motivate through-lines that motivate scene objectives. The counter-objective is a strong character drive in conflict with the super-objective.❞

— Mike Alfreds: Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor

[jcdietrich]

❝The release of the voice and the placing of words into space have an emotional effect. When you place a word out of you – into space – you begin to create the thing itself. This is particularly compelling when the language is so concrete and sensual. When characters speak, it is an event: they are making things happen – speech is not separate from action. That is why a curse, for instance, is so potent and frightening. If you place words into space, you cannot call them back – they are out there – so in placing them there, you have to commit to what you have said, thought and felt. No retreat is possible. You must have meant them!❞

— Patsy Rodenburg: Speaking Shakespeare

[jcdietrich]

❝You must listen to stay in the play, in the moment, with the other players and the audience. The inability to listen cuts you off from the world. You need to stay attentive in your spirit.❞

Patsy Rodenburg: Speaking Shakespeare

[jcdietrich]

Btw, it's "thy" if the following word starts with a consonant, and "thine" if the next word begins with a vowel e.g.

"I wish to hold thy hand"

"drink to me only with thine eyes"

[jcdietrich]

Caesar bites it.

(Because this was posted in a community, I can't easily reblog it) I like the idea I had that the placement of the stage direction at the end of the line indicates the lack of time between the last word spoken, and his death. It is very similar to how when verse lines are split between characters it is a cue to jump right on top of those cues.

[jcdietrich]

It is also a note to the actor, a hidden instruction from Shakespeare. You have to show the character's emotion, and it has to be worthy of a man. (I'm not sure exactly what that looks like, but an actor playing Macduff must figure it out)

Sometimes I think about how Shakespeare had a better grasp on masculinity than half of the men on TikTok

[jcdietrich]

Also good notes for directors and actors.

Posture & Physical Presence For Writers

(Because how they stand can say more than how they speak.)

Upright and stiff — Formal, tense, or deeply uncomfortable. Slouched shoulders — Insecure, exhausted, or defeated. Relaxed stance — Open, comfortable, confident. Hands in pockets — Guarded, casual, or hiding something. Crossed arms — Defensive, cold, or waiting to be impressed. Leaning forward — Engaged, flirtatious, or impatient. Back straight, chin high — Proud, stubborn, or putting on a show. Shifting weight side to side — Nervous, indecisive, or stalling. Foot tapping — Anxious, impatient, or barely holding it together. Arms loose at sides — Neutral, calm, open to the moment. Fidgeting with sleeves/hair/etc. — Inner turmoil disguised as casual touch. Spine curled inward — Trying to be small, invisible, or unnoticeable. Standing too still — Suppressed emotion, discomfort, or internal freeze. Dominant stance (feet wide, chest forward) — Confidence, aggression, or showmanship. Head tilted slightly — Curiosity, confusion, or playful challenge.

[jcdietrich]

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

- Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5

[jcdietrich]

my voice is in my sword

[jcdietrich]

The desperate chant of every actor after 8pm: “I must not scrutinise my body. Body dysmorphia is the mind-killer. Botox is the micro-expression death. Veneers obliterate the natural face. I will embrace my body. I will permit it to look like an actual human being’s.”

[jcdietrich]

"Cutting" for Performance

As I mentally prepare, to begin preparing, to prepare for a proposal, to direct my next Shakespeare production, I am thinking about prepping the script.

I had a hard time trimming Romeo & Juliet, and in the end, the performance ran a fair bit longer than planned. I think that part of the issue is that it is hard to continue cutting when you reach a certain point (that is not yet as trim as you wish).

So with this next show, I plan on taking an "additive" approach. Start with a blank script, and then only add lines/speeches that are required to tell the story. Start with the bare minimum. Then I can do a read, get timings, ask readers regarding what they felt was missing, and then can go back and consider adding more.

I am hoping that it is easier to stop adding that it is to stop cutting.

[jcdietrich]

Articulation is very important for actors. Without it, people may be able to hear you, but they won't be able to 100% understand you.