Vivian Rubio

  CREATING AN ACTION   Having narrowed the focus of wants to the choice of specific verbs, let us take the first of two steps in refinement. An adequate expression of the want is a verb by itself.  A superior, more subtle, and certainly more actable expression of the want will include the person to whom the want is directed   and the response sought from that person  so that a first-class actor expressing an individual want of the character would include all three elements:                                   VERB                 RECEIVER + RESPONSE I want               to WIN              Gloria's  admiration.   I want              to AWAKEN       my father's enthusiasm.   I want  ...

Wants. Wants. Wants. Wants are what create drama. Wants are what give life to the character. Wants are what the waking individual is never without. Wants are perpetual. Wants cause action. Wants create conflict. Wants are the very energy man's life and the   System of Wants  is the aspect of character to which the actor gives his relentless and obsessive attention. The actor tracks down the wants. Everything else is classified as a condition. The golden key is the character's system of wants. And after I have studied and structured and tested and assumed the character's system of wants, then, and only then, am I permitted to occupy their inner life and express their personality. Of all the questions I ask the character about themselves. the overwhelming majority have to do with their wants: "What do you want?" "What do you want now?" "What is your ultimate want?" "What do you want from the other person?" "What do you want in the ...

It is easier to see your character's   beat objective , each of these beat objectives stem from your character's   scene objective , and all these scene objectives can be seen as springing from a deep, overall objective that is your character's   superobjective .  The idea of a superobjective is easier to grasp if you think of it as a life goal or a guiding principle governing your character's behavior, often on an unconscious level. They can also be "negatives," such as the avoidance of failure or ridicule. And they can be idealistic such as a passion for justice or freedom.  In real life, people often have life goals that influence their behavior, but  it is not easy to identify someone's superobjective  unless you have a lot of experience with the person and know him or her well. In a similar way, your understanding of your character's superobjective will develop gradually as you rehearse; it will be the result of your experience of the role, not a ...

  The actor creates the embodiment of the author's idea. Your ability to penetrate a script's inner meaning and make a visceral connection with the text is vital to a successful performance. An actor must learn how to think about a play, a film or an episode on a show.   Acting students, above all else, want to be on set/stage acting, and this is as it should be. But you must recognize that all you will eventually do on set/stage depends on learning how to read a script effectively. As Stanislavski reminds us,”... the result of an artistic analysis is feeling."   An enlightened actor  works with confidence. Once you have learned  to read a script for a performance,  you can take the creative risks  that are the mark of  a fine artist.     THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION   When your understanding of a script deepens, the bond to the emotional life of a character becomes increasingly profound. This happens in all human relationships. As...

  OPINION AND COMPLAINT In the theatre, everyone considers himself an expert. The critics speak from a position of assumed omnipotence, and every member of the audience fashions himself an expert, not only at playwriting but at acting and directing as well. This brings to mind the famous adage about opinions: They are like a nether part of the anatomy of which everybody has one. A professional director is one who has disciplined his tendency to elaborate on personal opinions. Everyone has an opinion. The parading of opinions is frequently an ego opportunity for an individual to upgrade his self-esteem when he is in the company of impressionable. As for complaining, it is opposite to the artist's disposition. An artist is a person who uses whatever is given in a creative manner. To complain that the production would have been better if there had been more rehearsal is simply to say what every  director always feels. There is never enough rehearsal. There is never enough money. ...

  FINDING ACTABLE VERBS Are all verbs equally actable? No. This immediately eliminates the following classification of verbs.   Intellectual verbs These usually come in packages of three syllables or more. They are lofty or elegant. No ordinary human being ever spent two seconds, much less ten minutes, pursuing them. Cogitate, for example, is the intellectual form for a more ordinary activity: figure out. No one can put his shoulder behind the frail verb reciprocate, but anyone could push hard on get even.   Behavior or Condition verbs These verbs describe a state of being or an action that does not require a strong commitment of intent. They are usually reflexive or subconscious activities that can be accomplished without effort- sleep, laugh, sneeze, cry, eat, wait, or stand usually require no hard push-ing.   Existential verbs These verbs include those vast activities that go on without our volition. They are too vague to be endeavored in. For instance, one can ha...

UPGRADING THE VERBS   In the early rehearsals, the actor is tentative and their choice of verb may be weak, frail, thin. Their choice may be a verb, but it may not be strong enough to throw one's shoulder behind. Particularly in the first scenes of a play, in which the playwright is wrestling with the artfulness of their exposition, the actor comes up with a shrug:  "I'm merely telling him about the procedures around here."  What would happen if we were to upgrade that objective?  "I'm merely telling him about the procedures around here."   VERB: TELL TELL  may not be a strong choice of verbs. TELL - INFORM - RELAY - DOCUMENT - EXPLAIN - PROVE - CONVINCE -BOMBARD -  OVERWHELM   Now, how would it be if, instead of  telling or informing  him of the procedures of the house, you were to  overwhelm  him with the procedures, or even  bombard  him with the procedures? The upgraded verb may seem outsized at first, but we...

  INGREDIENTS TO COME UP WITH ESSENTIAL ACTIONS:     1. Be physically capable of being done. 2. Be fun to do. 3. Be specific. 4. Have its test in the other person. 5. Not be an errand. 6. Not presuppose any physical or emotional state. 7. Not be manipulative. (make someone feel...) 8. Have a “cap.” 9. Be in line with the intentions of the playwright.   List of Powerful Essential Actions Try and substitute or upgrade “get” and “someone” with something a little more  meaningful for you. To get someone to be truthful To make a loved one take a risk To get someone in my corner To get a friend to admit a fault To get someone to get their act together To knock someone off their high horse To get a lazy person to take responsibility To lay down the law To bring a layman up to speed To get someone to respect my boundaries To teach a rookie the ropes To show a rookie the ropes To let me join the party To get someone to be straight with me To get someone to put their fait...

  Actors always   collaborate , literally   "labor together"   with others. They work not only with other actors but also with directors, stage managers, costume and makeup people, and many others. The success of any collaborative artistic endeavor depends on the ability of these many kinds of artists to work together toward the common goal of bringing the material to life. When a group works together in the best possible way, the energy of each member of the group flows into a common stream, forming a single energy that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is why everyone on the team receives more energy from the group than he or she gives to it; we can do our best work when we are part of a well-functioning team. Furthermore, no member of the team needs to sacrifice their individuality; rather, each member finds his or her individual power enhanced by membership in the group. Such ideal teamwork is achieved when five conditions have been met: Each member is g...

  MOMENTS A moment comprises a purposeful action toward the beat objective and your assessment of your success or failure at achieving it, based on the response received from the situation or from another character. A moment is thus a cycle of  intention-realization-reaction  that circle of energy flow and communication. As a result of your feedback in the moment, you may decide to stay in the beat or make a tactical adjustment, moving to a new objective and a new beat. As long as the intention remains unchanged, you are still in the same beat, although you may have moved through several moments.    Although each beat and moment is connected to your super objective and through-line, when you act,  it is the needs of the immediate moment that determine your course of action. The overarching concepts are there to keep your performance on course, but they are not part of your active consciousness, just as in life what you do at any given moment is usually a re...

  BEATS    Scenes themselves may be divided into units of action called  beats.  The word beat may come from bit, meaning "a small part." Stanislavski used the term "unit of action" for what we commonly call a beat today. In any case, a beat has its own dramatic shape, with an underlying conflict and a rising action leading to a crisis. Beats, like scenes, do not have much resolution, since they must lead us on into the next beat in order to continue the flow of the scene.   Each beat contains an objective, an action, a conflict, and an obstacle.  Each beat can be broken down into a series of moments.   Felner, Mira.  Free to Act . Allyn & Bacon, 2004. Benedetti, Robert.  The Actor In You . Pearson Higher Ed, 2015.

  THE SCENE AS A MICROCOSM OF THE PLAY As we have seen, every play has a design of action, a basic structure to which each segment of the text connects. Within this larger framework are smaller units of action - whose cumulative action comprises the plot and advances the through. action of a play. A good scene is a microcosm of the play, reflecting its structure, style, and theme; it also ideally contains the essential elements of the drama-conflict, crisis, and dramatic tension. The scene is the basic unit through which student actors explore their craft, and your understanding of play analysis will help you to dissect its anatomy effectively. Defining a Scene Scene divisions are formulated in several ways. In classical drama, plays are divided by the author into large divisions acts and the acts are divided into smaller segments scenes. Each division is made because of a change of place or characters. Within these formal structural scenes, there are beats that form a natural divi...