Making it personal

Four steps to help your students

connect to a character’s actions
BY PETER KING

I RECENTLY DIRECTED A Raisin in the “living truthfully under the imaginary

Sun by Lorraine Hansberry—an Ameri- circumstances of the play.” Living, of
can classic, no question, and certainly course, just means “doing.” So the path
an actable script, but a daunting choice to good acting lies in discovering what
for a high school-aged cast. The play’s the character is doing in the scene, and
setting, a cockroach-infested tenement in particular, what the character is do-
in 1950s Chicago, seems pretty remote ing to the other character in the scene.
from our independent day school in That’s what creates the conflict, and
suburban Baltimore, to say nothing drama is conflict.
of the characters’ struggles. How can My Raisin in the Sun cast members
a seventeen-year-old of today play spent a lot of time and energy getting
Mama, as she strives to lead her family at the root of what their characters
after the loss of her husband? Or Ruth, were doing, using a simple (I won’t say
who’s pregnant and fighting to save easy) four-step process that I also teach
her marriage? Or Walter, a man try- in my acting classes. It’s based on a
ing desperately to realize his dream of technique called Practical Aesthetics,
owning a liquor store? which was developed by David Mamet,
The challenges my students faced, William H. Macy, and Gregory Mosher
connecting to Hansberry’s characters in the mid-1980s, and is described in
and bringing their story to life in a detail in A Practical Handbook for the
truthful way, were perhaps an extreme Actor by Melissa Bruder (Vintage,1986).
example of what all actors face every It builds on the work of Stanislavsky,
time we pick up a script. It’s not easy, Meisner, and others, so the principles
making it real. Luckily, some very smart should be familiar to you even if you’ve
actors over the years have figured out never read A Practical Handbook,
ways of at least making it ours—and though it’s become a widely used text.
that can make all the difference. I learned Practical Aesthetics in the
As Sanford Meisner said, “acting is early nineties from Lee Michael Cohn,
the reality of doing.” If you’re really one of the book’s co-authors. Over the
doing something on stage, chances last fifteen or so years, the technique,
are, you’ll be believable to the audi- taught at the Atlantic Acting School in
ence. Meisner also defined acting as New York and elsewhere, has evolved,
10 TEACHING THEATRE
 SHANNON BISHOP

Portia Boston as Mama and Jordan Williams as Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Peter King
this spring at The Park School in Baltimore.

TEACHING THEATRE 11
SHANNON BISHOP

and I too have refined it in my own id- Here’s how I might answer the four the first step, the actor analyzes his or
iosyncratic ways, for my own purposes. questions if I were the actor playing Ben: her scene in terms of what is literally
For example, if you read the book, 1. The scene’s literal activity: Ben happening (I call this the literal activity
you will find only three steps; an ad- is literally asking his sister for money. so as not to confuse it with the essen-
ditional step (number two, of the four I 2. The want: Ben wants his sister to tial action)—for example, a boy tells a
describe in this article) was developed give him three hundred bucks. girl he loves her. Next the actor deter-
later at the Atlantic. The basics remain 3. The essential action: To beg mines what the character wants in the
the same, however, and I think you’ll someone to help me out of a bind. scene; maybe the boy wants the girl
find them extremely useful with your 4. The as-if: It’s as if I’m trying to get to kiss him. So, here’s the big trap for
students. my wife, who works, to stay home with most inexperienced actors or perform-
The four steps as I use them are as our sick kid, so I can go to rehearsal. ers: they try to spoon-feed the lines to
follows: the audience, matching each inflection
1. What is the character literally Now let’s examine each step in to their idea of what the playwright
doing? more detail. I’ll suggest several exer- means. The boy actor always gets star-
2. What does the character want the cises you can try with your students ry-eyed when he says he loves the girl,
other character to do in the scene? to help them better understand the and the girl always glows when she
3. What is my essential action? process and eventually apply it to their says she loves him back. I call this “act-
4. What is the action like to me? It’s work on stage. Finally, I’ll share how ing the line.” The audience hears the
as if… two of my actors in A Raisin in the words “I love you” at the same time the
Sun were able to work the steps with actor is “acting” the words “I love you,”
Here’s a quick example using a dia- a particular scene in the play, building and so they get a double dose. David
logue between a brother and sister: personal connections to Hansberry’s Mamet says this sounds to the audience
dialogue that helped them avoid vague, like, “I love you. I mean it.” See what’s
BEN: I won’t ask you again. clichéd, or flat acting choices. happening? The interaction becomes
GEORGI: I don’t believe you. redundant—over-acted. It is, as Mamet
BEN: I wouldn’t ask you unless I really 1 What am I doing—literally? says, “like putting a horse costume on
needed it. I tell my students they need to distin- a horse.” Acting the line while you say
GEORGI: What you really need is help, guish between what they are saying the line is far from dramatic; it’s boring.
Ben. (along with any physical business) and It’s an insult to the audience’s intelli-
BEN: Please. what they are really doing with their gence. That’s what you see in all those
GEORGI: I won’t. I can’t. partner—what they are trying to get. In bad daytime soap operas on TV.
12 TEACHING THEATRE
 Thus, the first step in your students’

SHANNON BISHOP
analysis is to determine their charac-
ters’ literal activity, so they know what
not to act.

Exercise: The Popcorn Test

The Popcorn Test, developed by the
folks at the Atlantic Theater, is an easy
way to determine what literally hap-
pens in a scene. Have a student leave
the room to “get some popcorn” while
the rest of the class watches a bad soap
opera or TV movie improvised by two
actors. Upon his or her return with the
“popcorn” the student asks the group,
“Hey, what happened? What’d I miss?”
The students must then recount what
they saw happen between the actors
improvising the bad soap opera or TV
movie. For the most part, what the
students relate will be literal and non-
interpretive. Here’s an example of what
might happen with the students impro-
vising the soap opera scene:

GABI: How could you do this to me?!

MICA: How could I do what to you?
GABI: You went out with him, didn’t
you?
MICA: I don’t know what you’re talking
about.
(Gabi slaps Mica and rushes out of
the room in tears. Cue bad soap opera
scene-change music.)

The students watching will say

something like, “Gabi accused Mica
of going out with her boyfriend, then
Gabi slapped her.” That’s what literally
happened in the scene.
As we do this exercise several times,
I discuss what literal activity means and
remind my students of some important
points. The literal activity…
s)SANON INTERPRETIVENON JUDG-
mental statement about what’s going
on in the scene.
s)NCLUDESEVERYTHINGTHATHAPPENS
in the scene or unit of action in a single
descriptive clause. When written out as a
sentence, it should not contain an “and.”
s)SSTATEDINTHETHIRDPERSON
s#LARIlESTHEPLAYWRIGHTSINTENTIONS
While rehearsing the end of Act 1, Scene 2 in A Raisin in the Sun, actor Portia Boston (left) looked within her own family
s7OULDSTRIKEDIFFERENTREADERS to find a personal connection to Mama’s challenge of her son. Meanwhile, Jordan Williams, playing Walter Lee, imagined
viewers as an accurate description of that he was speaking to his own parents about his dream of attending New York University.
what happens—it is simple and direct
enough that everyone would agree.
TEACHING THEATRE 13
 s)SWHATTHESCRIPTSAYS)TISWHAT s3HOULDNOTBEANERRAND!VOID the scene work. The action is a univer-
the characters say to each other. simply delivering a message, for ex- sal objective that both you and the au-
s3HOULDnot make someone curi- ample. dience will recognize and feel. The ac-
ous. It should be cut and dried, nuts s3HOULDBEINTHEVOICEOFTHE tion serves as the vehicle that connects
and bolts. character, not of the actor. you, the living actor, to the character.
s3HOULDBESTATEDCLEARLYANDSIM- s-USTBEINTHESERVICEOFTHESTORY If, for example, your character wants
ply, as if you’re talking to a young of the play. Should evoke the spirit of her husband to sign the divorce pa-
child. the scene. pers, and you’ve never been married,
s)LIKETOINCLUDEANYBUSINESS s-USTSTARTATTHEBEGINNINGOFTHE much less divorced, you won’t know
called for in the scene as well. For scene. Should make sense from the how to play the scene. You’ll make up
example, in the above example, if the first moment. a cliché or act a vague generality—but
script called for the girls to be in the s3HOULDBESOMETHINGPHYSICALNOT if instead you define a clear, strong, es-
ladies’ room putting on makeup, I’d emotional; wants such as “Gabi wants sential action, such as “to get an enemy
want to include that in my statement Mica to feel ashamed for betraying her” to concede defeat,” you will under-
of the literal activity: “While putting on can get the actor stuck in an unactable stand what playing the action means,
makeup, Gabi accuses Mica of going tangle of psychological manipulation. because we all have enemies and we
out with her boyfriend.” If the script s)SROOTEDINTHEPOINTOFVIEWOF all would love them to concede defeat.
calls for the slap, I’d try to incorporate your character. Like the literal want, a good essen-
that as well. s(ASACLEARCAPAVISUALORVERBAL tial action has a test in the partner—in
sign you’ve gotten what you want). other words, the answer to whether
2 What does the character want? s3HOULDNOTHAVEANhANDvWHEN you win your goal is found in your
After having examined their scenes you write it down. partner. I like to say an essential action
and determined the literal activity— s7ILLCORRELATEWITHANEWACTION is the pursuit of a goal on a partner.
what the characters are saying along every time the want changes. "YHISBEHAVIORTHEPARTNERCHARACTER
with any physical business—students shows you that you’ve won: he signs
determine what their characters want Many actors, directors, and act- the divorce papers.
within the literal confines of the scene. ing teachers stop after this step. They Whereas Steps 1 and 2 focus on
The want is what the character specifi- know their character’s want, and they what the playwright has provided, and
cally wants the other character to do, act it. This can work, but it can also can lead to some enlightening discus-
plain and simple. If we return to our produce superficial results. Actors can sions with your students (even some
example of Mica and Gabi: Mica wants cheat. They can remain emotionally strong disagreements—none of this is
Gabi to say she went out with Mica’s and psychologically outside the charac- an exact science), Step 3 invites the ac-
boyfriend. If the actor understands what, ter. You’ll notice the scene feels clear tor to find parallels in his own life. It’s
in exact terms, her if character wants, the (there may even be some conflict) but the crossroads between the fictional
actor will engage and play off her part- flat, not quite real. Another danger en- desires of the character and the person-
ner, because the test of her goal is in her countered by young actors who stop al, vibrant, and moving desires of the
partner. Her partner’s words or behavior at this stage is that they act clichés. It actor. If the actor does not distinguish
will show her if she has won. We call looks okay, it feels okay, but it looks as between the literal activity and the es-
this sign of victory “the cap.” The actor if you’ve seen it before—a lot. It looks sential action, he will be in danger of
playing Mica will know she’s achieved like TV. The actors are “showing” us acting “I love you,” when he should be
her want if Gabi’s character says, “OK, what their characters are feeling and trying very hard to get the scene part-
so I went out with him.” Caps can be doing. This happens because the actors ner to do something, something big,
non-verbal as well: Mica might have seen have not made a personal connection something he must have, something
the guilt and dishonesty in Gabi as Gabi to their work, a connection to what he may not be able to live without.
turned away, avoiding eye-contact. their characters do. This leads us to our A strong undercurrent will propel the
Here’s what I emphasize as I discuss third step. scene forward, and the audience will
this step with my students. The want: be swept along with it.
s)SYOURCHARACTERSGOALWITHTHE 3 What is my action? I tell my students that how we
other character in the scene. After determining the character’s literal phrase an action makes a difference
s3HOULDBEWITHINTHELITERALCON- want, the actor determines the essen- in how easily we can relate our char-
fines of the scene’s circumstances. tial action. I explain to my students acters’ actions to our own lives. No-
s3HOULDBESPECIlCEGh-ICA that an essential action is the true na- tice in our example about the divorce
wants Gabi to say she went out with ture of what you the actor and you the above, there is no mention of signing
Mica’s boyfriend” instead of “Mica character are trying to get in the scene. anything. This is for several significant
wants Gabi to confess.” It is the physical pursuit of a specific reasons: first, you want to avoid act-
s3HOULDNOTCREATEANYCONFUSION goal with a partner on stage. It embod- ing the literal. You don’t want to be
in the partner. ies the struggle or conflict that makes tempted to act what you are saying or
14 TEACHING THEATRE
 see how what we say doesn’t matter,
The action is a universal objective that both but rather, how we say it and what we
do while saying it, does.
you and the audience will recognize and feel.
Exercise: One-line scenes
The action serves as the vehicle that connects I use one-line scenes a lot. They help
actors get out of their heads, play
you, the living actor, to the character. strong actions on their partners, and
stay connected. For these scenes, have
the actors sit across from each other.
(If you’ve ever practiced Meisner tech-
literally doing in the scene, because it s)FPLAYEDFULLYCANMAKETHEOTHER nique, this setup will sound familiar.)
will come across as redundant—over- actor waver, even if circumstances Give them the situation and their char-
acted. The second reason is that you make it seem impossible. acters’ actions. Each actor repeats his
want an action that is universal, an s$OESNOTNECESSARILYHAVETOBE or her line in response to the partner
action that you intuitively understand “to get” or “to make” the partner do while playing his or her action on the
and that the audience intuitively un- something, but these two verbs almost partner. Actors sometimes fall back on
derstands. A good portion of the au- always work as a basis for a strong ac- playing the literal words in this exer-
dience will never have been married tion. cise; coach them to play their action.
nor have signed divorce papers, but s)SPHRASEDINAWAYYOUWOULD
they will have tried to make an enemy talk about yourself, and readily accepts Situation: Two friends. Sarah wants
concede defeat. There’s a third reason: an as-if. Darcie, who happens to have a car,
you want your action to accommodate s3HOULDSUPPORTTHEGIVENCIRCUM- to drive them to Rhode Island to visit
your as-if readily. More on that later. stances and the characters’ relationship, Sarah’s boyfriend for the weekend. If
Here are some other important while reflecting the story of the scene Darcie does, she won’t be able to study
points for this step; see the sidebar and the entire play. for a big test on Monday.
on page 18 for some examples. The s3HOULDNOTINCLUDEANYTHINGPRES- Sarah’s action: Get a friend to take a
action: ent in the literal scene. walk on the wild side.
s)SYOURGOALONSTAGEWITHYOUR Line: Darce, it would be so cool!
scene partner. Exercise: Text vs. subtext Darcie’s action: to get a dreamer to
s)SANINTERSECTIONBETWEENTHE I use this exercise to help my actors face reality.
character’s wants and your own. (This understand the difference between the Line: You’re crazy, Sarah.
will be clarified further when we dis- literal activity and the essential action. The first time through, here’s what it
cuss as-ifs.) Improvise a scene between two might sound like:
s)SAUNIVERSALHUMANOBJECTIVE sisters washing their father’s car. You
Most everyone will know, understand, are allowed to talk about washing the SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool!
and have at some time played the ac- car. The actor playing the older sis- DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah.
tion in real life. ter should play the essential action of SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool!
s(ASAGOALTHATLIESINTHEOTHER “getting an inferior to see who’s boss,” DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah.
person. The test is in the partner. and the actor playing the younger sis- SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool!
s3HOULDEVOKEAVERYSPECIlCSET ter should play the essential action of DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah.
of behaviors in the partner. “getting a sibling to accept her as an SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool!
s)SONEUNITOFDESIRE7HENTHE equal.” Remember, you can only talk DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah.
action is achieved, a new action is cho- about washing the car. In this scene
sen, along with a new want. the literal activity is talking about and You and your students will see and
s4HEhCAPvVISIBLEORVERBALSIGN washing the car, which is distinctly dif- hear how strongly the actors play their
you’ve won your action) should be ferent from the actors’ underlying es- actions and how many different tactics
concrete but exciting to you. sential actions. they use. These scenes don’t last more
s)FYOURCHARACTERISLYINGTHEAC- A variation: a husband and wife than five or six repetition cycles before
tion itself should still be honest, and talking about and folding laundry. His they start sounding contrived, so after
noble as far as your character is con- essential action is “to get a lover to actors have really explored the action
cerned; your character assumes he or take a walk on the wild side,” and her through repeating only their lines, I
she promotes what is right and best. essential action is “to get a child to allow actors to repeat their partners’
s3HOULDFEELASTHOUGHITSOLVESTHE grow up.” Again, the literal activity, the lines back to them and to say the part-
problem of the want. dialogue, may only pertain to folding ner’s name whenever they want. Actors
s3HOULDBEUNDERSTANDABLETOA laundry. Though these scenes may end will want to break the rules, and after
ten-year-old. up becoming stilted, your students will I know they understand the exercise
TEACHING THEATRE 15
is about playing action truthfully, I let about the script. Acting the literal be- doesn’t have a date. The actor playing
them. I stipulate that they may break comes more difficult because the script Sarah then speaks to the actor playing
the rules but only if they come back to is so limited. These scenes also demon- Darcie as if Darcie were the friend in
their scripted lines and keep playing strate the difference between the want her real life. For the actor playing Dar-
their action. and the action. cie, whose action is “to get a dreamer
Here’s what this might sound like: Which brings us to the last and cru- to face reality,” the as-if might be: it’s
cial step… as if I’m talking to my talentless friend
SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool! who thinks she’s going to be a pop
DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah. 4 The as-if: what’s it to me? star. The actors would do the scene
SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool! As-ifs catapult the actor inside the speaking to their partners “as if” they
DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah. character’s actions and energize the are speaking to the people in their
SARAH: I’m crazy? Darce, it would be actor like nothing else. For the actor real lives.
so cool! truly to become the character, he or As-ifs give energy, life, stakes, and
DARCIE: Yes, you’re crazy, Sarah. she must take it personally. With this urgency to a scene by encouraging
SARAH: Darce, it would be so cool! step, the actor can tap his deepest the actor’s sense of play and fantasy.
DARCIE: No, it wouldn’t be so cool! desires or hidden fantasies, and that Most students find them not only use-
SARAH: Darce, it would so be cool! is what makes as-ifs exhilarating (and ful, but invigorating. A cautionary
DARCIE: You’re crazy, Sarah. sometimes scary) to play. When he note for teachers, though: Normally,
rehearses the scene, he doesn’t have actors should never reveal their as-ifs,
These scenes do not need to go on to pretend he’s in love with his scene because they are deeply personal and
very long. The objective is for each ac- partner, whom he might not even get very powerful, but while your students
tor to commit fully to his or her action along with offstage. He also won’t be learn to use them in class, they will
and to try to win at all costs. It is not “acting” or “indicating” he’s in love, need to share. Have everyone agree
about being clever or trying to “play- which would strike the audience as that “what happens in Vegas, stays in
wright” around the script. Here are a artificial. Instead, he will be doing what Vegas.” And you might have to exer-
couple of other examples you might try he would really do in order to get a cise some discipline yourself to avoid
with your students. special someone to show his or her af- reacting to what you hear in a way that
fection for him. makes a student regret “going there.”
Situation: Siblings, in which the older Basically, an as-if is a fantasy based Try to stay neutral and focused on the
brother (Nick) is trying to find out if on what is currently happening in an work. Later, privately, you can follow
his sister (Sue) is in love with his best actor’s life. It’s like when we stand in up on any troubling revelations that
friend (Adam). front of the mirror and imagine say- seem to demand a response or some
Nick’s action: extract crucial infor- ing what we really want to our bosses other adult intervention.
mation. or our loved ones. For your students, With all that said, a good as-if:
Line: It’s Adam, isn’t it, Sue? this might mean imagining what they s4APSTHEACTORSPASSIONSANDIS
Sue’s action: Get a family member to would love to say to a potential boy- important to her. She would love to do
respect my privacy. friend or girlfriend, to a teacher who it or must do it.
Line: Nick, forget I even mentioned it. does not appreciate their work, or to a s-IRRORSTHESAMEACTIONASTHEAC-
friend who has let them down. As-ifs tion in the scene.
Situation: Mother and daughter, in allow actors to fantasize and tap their s)SNOTTHESAMESITUATIONASTHE
which the mother is telling the daugh- true passions, likes, and dislikes. They scene or a substitute for the scene.
ter (Natalie) she cannot go to college encourage actors’ sense of play and s(ELPSSHOWTHEURGENCYAND
out-of-state because she’s not mature ignite their imaginations in a way that stakes of the scene.
enough. helps them fully embody their charac- s5SESANACTIONPERTAININGTOACUR-
Natalie’s action: Get an authority fig- ters’ actions. rent and unresolved situation in the ac-
ure to accept my independence. To practice as-ifs, you can take any tor’s life, not the past.
Line: Mom, I can take care of my- of the one-line scene examples above s-AYHAVEIMAGINATIVECIRCUM-
self. and simply add the fourth step. For stances, as long as they are plausible
Mom’s action: Put a rebel in her example, in the scene about Sarah to the actor and as long as the target of
place. and Darcie, Sarah’s action is “to get the action is someone specific that the
Line: Natalie, you’ll do as I say. a friend to take a walk on the wild actor knows.
side.” The actor would go to her own
Your students will enjoy making up life and think of someone whom she Giant steps toward truth
new situations with new lines. Doing would love to get to walk on the wild For my cast of A Raisin in the Sun, the
one-line scenes allows actors to focus side with her. Her as-if might be: it’s four steps of the Practical Aesthetics
entirely on their partners and to play as if I’m trying to talk my best friend process were a perfect way in. The stu-
their actions without having to worry into going to prom even though she dents were able to break down Hans-
16 TEACHING THEATRE
 Essential actions: a menu for inspiration
HERE’S A LIST of essential actions Get someone to loosen up
your students might use as models: Get someone to loosen me up
Get someone to give me what I
Let someone down easy deserve
Get someone to admit a betrayal Get someone to respect my
Put someone in his place boundaries
Get someone to open up Get absolution
Put someone on the right path Get crucial guidance
Bring someone down to earth Get someone to take me under her
To lay down the law wing
Make a love bond Help someone to see his own
Get someone to back my crusade ridiculousness
Get someone to face reality Get someone to lighten up
Burst someone’s bubble Get someone to heed my warning
Teach a simple lesson Get someone to come clean
Get someone to accept a simple truth —P.K.

berry’s script into workable pieces and the insurance money would mean to
to play strong, honest actions. him. The actor playing Walter easily
One particular sequence toward the defined a very clear want (Step 2): the
end of Act I, Scene 2, where Mama money. A powerful essential action
questions Walter about his having to (Step 3) emerged: “Get someone to
go out and drink, provides a nice ex- trust me and my decision-making.” For
ample. (If you have a copy of the play the as-if (Step 4), the actor used the
handy, the exchange I’m talking about fact that his parents had told him he
between Mama and Walter begins after could not go to college in New York,
Ruth’s disgusted exit and Walter’s bit- where he had his heart set on NYU. He
ter reaction, when Mama asks, “Walter, spoke to his scene partner—“Mama, I
what is the matter with you?”) The ac- don’t know if I can make you under-
tor playing Mama defined the literal stand…”—as if he were speaking to his
activity (Step 1) just the way I wrote it own mom and dad.
here: “Mama questions Walter about Because these young actors could
his having to go out and drink.” The tap into their own lives and relate
actor defined the want (Step 2) as: personally to their characters’ ac-
“Mama wants Walter to tell her what is tions, they could play with fierce
wrong and why he is going out drink- honesty and complete conviction.
ing.” For the action (Step 3), the actor The four steps provided a technique
said, “to push a loved one to do his or for rehearsal; by the time we reached
her best.” As you can see, the action performance the technique had faded
is bigger and deeper than just getting away, the actors could live fully in
an answer about the drinking. The their imaginary circumstances, and the
big goal is to get someone to see they audience forgot they were watching
need to do better, to live better. For high school students. Instead, they
her as-if (Step 4), the actor imagined saw the characters as real people,
encouraging her smart, younger sis- striving for real dreams. WEB EXTRA
ter to engage more in her education.
In reality, the sister was doing fine in Peter King studied acting at Northwest- For more on as-ifs, see Peter King’s article
school, but the actor could imagine her ern University and received his M.F.A. in the Winter 2002 issue of Teaching
sister failing classes and throwing her in directing from Boston University. He Theatre, archived at Schooltheatre.org.
life away. directs and teaches acting at The Park Go to the publication page and click on
A little later in the same scene, Wal- School in Baltimore, where he heads the Teaching Theatre journal.
ter (Step 1) tells his mother how much theatre program.
TEACHING THEATRE 17