[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s acting blog from Fran Montano of Actors Workout Studio discusses “The Actors Language.”
I like to think we, as actors, have our own language. Other professions have their own shorthand and specifics. For example, chemists can describe anything on the planet with a simple combination of 118 elements. Water is H2O, healthy to drink, sulfuric acid is H2SO4, and drinking that can kill you. Both are clear liquids to the common person. NACL is salt. NaHCO3 is baking soda. Both are white powder to the common person, but very different. The chemist’s language is specific, direct, and speaks directly to the root and details of what they are describing. Police officers give you a citation with a specific code. It gets to the root of exactly what they are talking about.
I like to think actors also have our own language, and that is “behavior.” Behavior in my curriculum means how you (and your partner) are expressing yourselves physically or emotionally. If you study Meisner you do that from the beginning with the repetition exercise.
The idea of speaking to behavior is to get out of your head, get into your body and connect with your partner. You don’t have to think (and thus be in your head) to see what color their shirt is or if they are smiling or frowning. Their size, shape, hair color, physical details, shoes, jewelry, etc. The idea is to connect what your body is communicating to what their body is communicating.
I like to give the example of showing up on a set and meeting your partner in your guest-starring role. You might meet for the first time on the set while in hair and make up. And your story line is you’ve been married for 25 years. How do you create the chemistry? Many people make lists, do story history, create background, use sense memory, substitution, etc. Good to do. Yet, the bottom line is you need to make that specific person your lover, partner. And the best way I’ve found is to speak and listen to each other’s body and behavior. Notice them deeply, what they’re wearing, the wrinkles, the age marks, teeth, hair, how they move, smell, the sound of their voice, etc. They need to be the person ultimately. I like to say, “If they (audience director, casting director) doesn’t believe you have a 25-year history, you don’t get the job or you’re fired.” You need to do your side of the work on this. Each actor has their own process but one technique you can use for yourself is to notice the behavior, not only theirs, but yours, as that is the essence of chemistry. Speak to it, either to yourself or to them, connect on a visceral level, and get out of your head. If this is not a part of your process, give it a try next time and see if it helps.
I talk more about this in my book, “Act Authentically.” All the best. Remember, it’s not enough to just create a character and relationship, you must create chemistry.
Fran Montano