Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice

Perspectives on Activating the Actor

Hillary Haft Bucs, Valerie Clayman Pye

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429812002
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Acting & Auditioning

Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice is the first book that compiles practical approaches of the best practices from a range of practitioners on the subject of working with Stanislavski's "objectives, " "obstacles, " and "tactics."

The book offers instructors and directors a variety of tools from leading acting teachers, who bring their own individual perspectives to the challenge of working with Stanislavski's principles for today's actors, in one volume. Each essay addresses its own theoretical and practical approach and offers concrete instructions for implementing new explorations both in the classroom and in the rehearsal studio.

An excellent resource for acting and directing instructors at the university level, directing and theatre pedagogy students, high school/secondary theatre teachers, and community theatre leaders, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice serves as a resource for lesson planning and exploration, and provides an encyclopedia of the best practices in the field today.

PART I

PLAYING OBJECTIVES

One

Money in Your Pocket

Meisner, Objectives, and the First Six Lines

Dennis Schebetta

As a Meisner teacher, I often saw students struggle to connect the improvisational elements of the technique to their scene work. After weeks and weeks of students moving from the simple Repetition game into more advanced elements of independent activities and “the knock on the door,”¹ they would come alive with spontaneity and truthful moments, but as soon as students were handed a scripted text, they would revert to old habits, displaying preconceived ideas and falling into clichéd line readings. Also, the exercises in the Meisner sequence felt physically static, with little movement in the space. This work greatly benefits when supported by outside movement and voice work. When movement is not incorporated in some way, all physical inhibitions return as soon as actors are up on their feet. This, in turn, stifles the inner impulses, and the core of Meisner’s work is connecting to those honest impulses. “The First Six Lines” came out of a need to create an easier transition, both mentally and physically, for students from improvisation to scene work – so that they could realize that the scene should feel as spontaneous as the Repetition game and they should respond in the same way – truthfully and off their partner’s behavior.

Much has been written about Sanford Meisner’s technique and the foundation of “the reality of doing.”² Most are familiar with the early exercise, the Repetition game (i.e. an actor makes a statement and the other actor immediately repeats exactly what they hear and so on).³ Not all are aware, however, that Repetition develops into a complex improvisatory exercise that conditions the actor’s instrument; building listening and concentration skills, developing the imagination, heightening awareness of truthful impulses, and honing an actor’s point of view. (If you are unfamiliar with Meisner’s technique and the Repetition game, I would recommend reading any of the books in the bibliography).

Unlike a traditional Meisner teacher, I modify the Repetition game so that students are standing and then incorporate movement exercises. This keeps students present and connected, not just to each other but also to their bodies. I use plush indoor snowballs which are soft but have some weight (juggling bean bags work just as well) to add a sense of play, which is a variation of an exercise developed by John Basil (who had worked long ago with Grotowski). Not only is it fun, but also gets them to physicalize the text and add meaning, even if they don’t know the context or given circumstances of a scene. The snowball fight also gives a specific objective (“to win”), even if that objective is not necessarily the one they may end up using in the scene.

In the Meisner technique, the objective is introduced well into the sequence. Students have been working with the Repetition game for several weeks, adding independent activities, relationships, and the “knock at the door.” At this point, there is less and less actual repetition and the exercise feels more like an improvisation, which is our goal: to eventually drop the Repetition game completely once it has served its purpose. The objective is introduced as a simple and specific imaginary justification to start the exercise (a reason to knock on the door of their scene partner who is in the room working with an independent activity). For example, you loaned your scene partner 100 dollars and now you need it back so you can take your girlfriend out to dinner for your anniversary. It may never even come up in the exercise as the interactions of the actors take priority over “trying to make a scene.” At this point, I have observed students fall into the trap of ferociously latching onto their objective, forgetting about working off their partner. The First Six Lines addresses this problem, as a reminder that characters are not always direct, that there is subtext. As actors, we need to trust that our objective is there underneath and driving our actions. As William Esper states,

A good objective is like having money in your pocket. Let’s say you leave your apartment one morning with eighteen twenty-five. You put the money in your front pocket and you forget that it’s there. You don’t walk around the streets of New York City saying over and over: ‘I have eighteen twenty-five in my pocket! I must remember …’.⁴

In other words, objectives are not something you can act. They exist as part of the work, but actions (or tactics) are the specific building blocks of behavior upon which you achieve (or don’t achieve) your objective.

The First Six Lines

The First Six Lines is a variation on how students in a traditional Meisner sequence would work with text on their first scene. Typically, students are handed an entire scene and asked to memorize it by rote, without reading the entire play or crafting a character other than themselves. Students work on the scene as an exercise in moment-to-moment work, letting memorized text replace the repetition, but with the same spontaneity. I concentrated on the first moments as a way to prepare them to work on the rest of the scene, as handing out a whole scene to an undergraduate to be memorized immediately can be an overwhelming task for them.

Although The First Six Lines grew out of my work with the Meisner sequence, it could easily be modified as a way to introduce a scene regardless of the techniques you are using to train your actors. As a teacher working in any scene class, I find my attention focusing extensively on the beginning of scenes because if the actor missed that first moment taking in their partner, or didn’t know their objective, point of view, or relationship, then it really didn’t matter what else they did later on.

In the Meisner technique, the first scene should have a simple conflict between two characters, each with their own distinct point of view. Scenes should mirror the earlier exercises, with one character knocking on the door or entering and another character in the room doing an independent activity. Although some Meisner teachers choose scripts from the early 20th century, I tend to choose contemporary plays by recent playwrights. Contemporary plays have accessible language and offer greater diversity. I also encourage students to work on unfamiliar scenes in order to discover new material and make fresh choices.

Prior to this exercise, partners should be assigned and roles cast, but students should not know what play or scene they are doing yet. It is important to frame this as an exercise, not as a scene, so that the stress and pressure of putting on a performance won’t seep into these early stages. Print the lines out in a large, easily readable font (14 or 16 pt.) and remove the title and characters’ names, as well as any stage directions (especially if there are any adverbial acting directions). The character’s names can be replaced with A and B, as if it were an open scene.

For example:

What You Will Need

• A copy for each student of the first six lines of their scene as described above.
• A copy of the full scene as excerpted from the playscript.
• A secondary handout for each scene which gives simple details of the given circumstances, including the characters’ relationships to each other. These details should include time, location, space, relationship, and any incidents that may affect the action in the scene. For example, one character has recently learned that the other character may be having an affair with her husband.
• A small plush or foam ball. I’m a big fan of indoor snowballs but you can also use juggling bean bags. I’d avoid using tennis balls or other bouncing balls so students aren’t spending more time chasing balls than working on their text.

Physical Setup

You will need ample room for your students to move around the space so it is best to clear the room of chairs or black boxes.

Directions

Preparation

Assign partners as A and B based on how you have cast the scene. Give the handout with the first six lines and inform the students that they must memorize the words by rote for next class. (You may want to demonstrate to them what “by rote” means – mechanical or flat, no intonation or “acting.” Have two actors stand up and read through the lines and guide them to do less.) Treat this as though it was a self-contained exercise, without telling them it’s the first six lines of their scene.

Exercise

Have the students pair up with their partners and ask them if they have memorized their lines exactly. Most students will be comfortable with the words, but have them review the lines anyway. Then have them put the paper down and do a speed-through, until they can do the lines without hesitation or mistakes. Next, have the students walk around the space as they say their lines, walking alongside their partner, careful not to bump into anyone. Again, aim for no hesitations or mistakes (though there will be both once they start moving). After that, have each partner face each other, a few yards away. Give each pair an indoor snowball. Have the students first throw the ball back and forth underhand until they find a consistent rhythm that is mutually agreed upon, without discussion. Once they feel they have a good rhythm of throwing the ball, tell them to once again go through their lines, with the objective of keeping that same rhythm. Many of the students will drop some lines (and balls), which may provide some laughter and chatter. If the students seem confident, then modify it by having them once again walk around alongside their partner in the space, but adding the throwing of the ball as they walk. For a more advanced variation, you can have them separate as pairs so that each is wandering the space in various areas as they throw the ball, and try to listen for their lines over the cacophony of other actors shouting lines.

Collect and set aside the snowballs. At this point you can ask questions about the difference between responding to their partner in the Repetition game and responding with memorized text. What are the challenges? Most will talk about getting in their head or anticipating what will be said. You may throw out the question: How does one keep an improvisational feel of spontaneity when an actor knows what’s coming next?

Bring up two students as an example. Ask them to say their lines – again, with no “acting,” simply flat. Emphasize that these are merely words without any meaning yet. It’s their job as the actor to give them meaning, which we will work on in this exercise. If you are working within the Meisner sequence, review the concepts such as the reality of doing and “living in imaginary circumstances.” Their goal is to listen and be present with their partner, reacting off of their behavior. The challenge, of course, is that with repetition it is clearly all improvised, so of course everything feels spontaneous.

Ask them to use the text as if it were a repetition. This means that the text will no longer be “flat” and without emotion. They should be achieving a more “conversational reality.” It should seem like two people actually talking and interacting with each other. The students need to work off the other partner and what is being given in terms of behavior. For example:

Some students may try to “act” the scene, reverting to habits that may have inhibited them in some of the repetition work, but remind them to work off their partner, not play a scene. You haven’t added any imaginary circumstances, relationships, or an objective yet. You may want to tell them what Meisner said: “The text is like a canoe and the river on which it sits is the emotion.”⁵ This is not to say that emoting is acting, but emotion can and often is a residual of the behavior and the actions you see on stage. The aim is to avoid a cliché in reading the lines. If the line is “I love you,” one may think that this line should be spoken in a romantic way, but if two characters are in a fight, it may come out quite differently, depending on what is happening in the scene. Context is key, not just from the given circumstances, but from the behavior of our scene partner.

When the students are ready, add the snowballs and tell them they are going to say their lines while they have a snowball fight. Have each student line up across from each other and tell them to use as much as the space as possible. Their objective is simple – to win the snowball fight. The other students can cheer for who they want as the snowball game commences. If a student drops a line, tell them they can always use the repetition. (Alternatively, another student can be on-book.) You ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I: Playing Objectives
• Part II: Overcoming Obstacles
• Part III: Identifying Tactics
• Afterword
• Contributor Biographies
• Chapter Abstracts
• Index