Full Literature Review

Emotion on demand – An actor’s workbook for mastering emotional triggers     

Author: Michael Woolson                                                                             

Published by: Drama Publishers an imprint of Quite Specific Media Group LTD Hollywood. Written 2007 updated and expanded 2010.

The target audience for this book is professional or training actors. Emotion on demand resonated with me right from the introduction. Woolson begins by referencing an event in his own career where he was unable to access emotion on set after a sudden script change. Originally his character, (when being informed of the sudden death of his farther) was to show no reaction, as if in shock. But the new stage direction called for him to burst into tears. (Stage directions such as these are what inspired me to study emotional access in the first place as they ignite such terror within me as an actor)  He talks about the busy environment of the film set putting him off, ‘it was almost as if they were trying to distract me’ and what this confidence crushing experience made him realise, ‘I had to learn how to bring up emotion on demand no matter what the circumstances’. It was this event, along with conversations with actors who faced the same anxiety, which compelled him to write this workbook. Woolson goes on to discuss his work as an acting coach and says he found it surprising how many of his students felt emotionally blocked. He believes all that’s needed is very simply technique and practice ‘If you are committed, your find yourself going places you never thought possible’. The book offers a range of techniques explained in full, along with exercises to help you access them. The way it’s structured invites the reader to pick and chose which bits they want to work on. It’s also a workbook and there are many sections where the reader is required to answer questions and make notes.

Woolson’s theories on accessing emotion consist mainly of internal character work from the Stanislavski school of thought. He uses 3 main techniques: Real life (emotional recall), 50/50 (very similar to the Magic if – taking parts from your real life and manipulating it in imaginary circumstances) and Imagination (Throwing yourself fully into your given circumstances). Michael also introduces a way to action your work by breaking it down into core events and core emotions. A core event being what has happened in a specific moment to trigger a core emotion, e.g. Failure: being fired, failing a test, blowing an audition. Core emotion being the emotion required by an actor at the specific moment for example guilt, sadness, peace, anger etc…

This piece of literature was an integral part of my inquiry. Firstly it outlined some of my own thoughts and fears around emotion access therefore giving me encouragement of my cause. It also introduced me to a new approach of actioning text which I was then able to discuss with my focus group participants.

True and False – Heresy and common sense for the actor                        

Author: David Mamet                                                                                    

Published by: Random House Inc New York 2007

Quoting the blub the booked is aimed at ‘Anyone who cares in the slightest about actors and acting’. Mamet’s intensions are to show the reader another way, (in his opinion the correct way) to approach acting work. He believes a lot of the notions that have become commonplace in drama schools are nonsense theories informed by academics. He feels too much emphasis is placed on techniques that don’t develop a skill and describes Stanislavski’s method as a ‘cult’. Mamet says ‘The organic demands made on the actor are much more compelling and the potential accomplishments of the actor more important’.

Mamet refers to emotion memory as ‘mugging’ and concludes ‘it’s the audience’s right to exercise emotion at the theatre not the actors’. “Emotion memory and sense memory are paint-by-numbers.” Just say the words to accomplish a goal. He feels acting is a skill and an art, not “the ability to self-induce a delusional state.” He doesn’t believe actors should conceal there insecurities with technique but instead should ‘Act in spite of it’ and just be truthful. Mamet assumes that by using such techniques to access extreme emotion the actor can only be thinking one of  two things, they are; ‘I’m getting there, I’m getting there, I’m getting there’ or ‘I’m there, I’m there, I’m there’ neither of which are what the character (played truthfully) should be thinking/feeling at the time. An actor, (who when producing tears) is thinking to themselves ‘Yes I did it’, is totally contradicting the emotional state of the character they are playing. The writing style is very passionate and informed by some really thought provoking examples to back up his points. I found the short heated chapters accessible and refreshing. It brought an interesting perspective to my inquiry, by having such conflicting ideas to other texts I’ve read.

An Actor Prepares                                                                                             

Author: Constantin Stanislavski                                                                

Translated by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood                                                 

Published by: Geoffrey Bles Ltd 1937

An actor prepares is aimed at actors, directors, teachers and practitioners.

Stanislavski wrote this book in order to introduce the acting world to his ‘system’ of approaching text and character. He believes that in order to explore a role fully you must undergo inward preparation. Concepts launched in this book such as emotion memory and the magic if are now world renowned rehearsal tools.

Emotional Memory requires an actor recreate an event from the past in order to regenerate the feelings they experienced at that time. These memories could be fuelled by sensations such as taste and smell etc…‘Just as your visual memory can reconstruct an inner image of some forgotten thing, place or person, your emotion memory can bring back feelings you have already experienced’ Stanislavski not only  suggested using emotions experienced but those generated by events witnessed or read about. The author assumes thee actor tends to approach emotional access in the wrong way, ‘To repeat a feeling that occurred accidentally, don’t start with the results — look for the original stimulus and use that.’ He uses powerfully examples and quotations to grab the reader’s interest and invites us to look at the small intricate details when recalling a memory as they are often the key to accessing emotion. ‘Never allow yourself externally to portray anything that you have not inwardly experienced’. This autobiographical book is the diary of a fictional student. It’s a detailed descriptive journey which at times can be challenging for the reader as it goes off on tangents. However there are some incredibly insightful quotes along the way which keep you going. It’s the type or book where your find something new every time you read it.

This text contributed to my inquiry by giving me a more developed knowledge of emotion memory and how it was intended to be used.

Respect for acting                                                                                                

Author: Uta Hagan with Haskel Frankel                                                          

Published by: Wiley Publishing Inc 1973

This is a booked aimed at actors and audience members who are interested in the creative process. Hagan’s intension is for the reader to find reality within themselves whilst exploring in detail specific dramatic techniques. ‘We have an image of who we think we are, but we are more than this — we can be childish, stupid, angry, arrogant, etc. An actor must develop a full sense of his own identity’ Hagan suggests that emotional memory can be unreliable or ineffective, ‘Sometimes the direct substitution is not suggestible enough to bring out the desired result’ while also recognising the damage it can have on an actors wellbeing and suggesting actors only use memories they have previously dealt with. Hagan introduces the reader to her own interpretation of emotional recall, where, instead of placing the focus on an emotion, finding a ‘release’ object – an item, smell, sound, associated with the original emotional experience ‘which releases the censor’. Hagan assumes that reliability with any technique may cause anxiety for the actor and so offers a list of reasons lists why an emotion might be losing its freshness.‘1) You are stopping to demand that you feel, because you have not made your object synonymous with the one on stage.2) You are anticipating how or at what second the emotion should manifest itself.3) You have dwelt on the emotion for its own sake, rather than for furthering your stage action. 4) You are weighing the degree of intensity of previous use of the emotional experience.5) You are fearful that the emotion will elude you, etc. etc’                                                                                                                          

 I found the book very nurturing and inspiring. It was full of anecdotes and examples from Hagan’s own experience making her relatable to the reader. It works tremendously well as one piece of literature but can also be picked up at any chapter and still makes sense.

Hagan’s book reinforced something I was particularly interested in when launching this study which is reliability and effectiveness. Her advice will be very useful when creating my artefact.

Trusting the actor                                                                                                                                                         Author: Brian Astbury                                                                                                                                                     Copyright 2011 by Brian Astbury – All rights reserved   

   

This book as been written for the purpose of acting students, directors and practitioners. It’s a theoretical study of acting techniques made up of two parts. The first part consists of anecdotes and stories, including how Astbury’s techniques evolved; the second is the actual exercises themselves described in detail. Astbury’s aim when writing this book was to dispel acting myths and share his solutions to issues surrounding the subject of acting and directing.The Author defines emotion as ‘A physical force - an energy field – which is communicated, transmitted through the air’ He believes these transmissions can be recreated by a good actor. ‘The pain, the joy, the anger, the sorrows flow through them – from the character and into the audience.’ Astbury assumes the practice of accessing emotion can have a negative effect on the actor. By focusing too much on the effect they are having on the audience the actor can become vain. He urges the reader to have ‘pure intensions’ and not to abuse emotion for ‘selfish ends’.   

‘Trusting the actor’ is honest and at times moving. It’s accessible to acting novices whilst still connecting with a more experienced audience. Although it’s broken into chapters, I feel it needs to be read from the beginning (at least once) to get a real insight into Asbury’s journey. This literature contributed to my inquiry by encouraging me to look at the negative connotations thee act of forced emotion can have, on both the actor and the audience. It also stimulated me to look at actor’s opinions on using personal emotions for professional gain.

The Stanislavski System – Growth and Methodology                                                  

Author: Perviz Sawoski                                                                                                 

Viewed 24^th February 2014 http://homepage.smc.edu/sawoski_perviz/Stanislavski.pdf

   

This paper is aimed at academics, directors, teachers and students interested in the work of Constantin Stanislavski. The author’s intension is to examine Stanislavski’s teachings during the later part of his life, mainly focusing on the evolution of his ‘Method of physical actions,’ that replaced his earlier techniques based on ‘Emotional Memory’.

Sawoski’s paper comes from her position as a teacher of actors. Research carried out on this subject will inform her own practice whilst allowing her to pass on her knowledge to students.                                                                                                                                

The paper infers that two much impetus is placed on Stanislavski’s earlier findings rather than the more developed ‘Method of Physical actions’ in which Stanislavski proposed ‘That a series of physical actions arranged in sequential order will trigger the necessary emotions in an actors performance’ The reader is given an in-depth break down of how to approach the system followed by opinions on why Stanislavski’s earlier work proved questionable to some. The formal language is captivating without alienating a non academic audience. The papers format allows the audience to obtain specific information without having to search for it. Reading this paper inspired me find out more about the physical actions technique. It also brought up an interesting discussion topic within my focus group as we looked at actors approaches to emotional access and if they preferred to work from the outside in or inside out.

How to cry – An actors guide to crying and tears                                                     

Author: Wade Bradford                                                                                             

Viewed 2^nd Feb http://plays.about.com/od/basics/ht/How-To-Cry-An-Actors-Guide-To-Crying-And-Tears.htm

 Aimed at aspiring actors and theatre lovers this blog features hints and tips to aid the process of crying on cue. The article outlines various techniques, summarised in a short and simplified manner. These include tricks of the trade such as a tear stick. Bradford, who works as a playwright, professor and acting coach, uses the blog as a forum to share practice, initiate discussion and advertise his services. The author hooks the reader by opening with the sentence ‘If I asked you to produce tears within the next sixty seconds, could you do it? (Give it a try before you continue to read.)’. His theories are labelled clearly and well defined however not explored in any great detail. The article forced me to question the need of the actor to feel real emotion if there are ways to demonstrate it without the use of technique. This then highlighted a thought I had in my draft which was, does it really matter if the actor feels it? It’s not about the actor it’s about the audience, so as long as the audience believes it who cares??

How to cry for a play or other performance                                                                       

Author: Various                                                                                                                   

Viewed 3^rd Jan http://www.wikihow.com/Cry-for-a-Play-or-Other-Performance 

This article is listed under the Arts and entertainment section of the WikiHow website It’s been produced and edited by various readers and offers a quick fix to crying on cue. The introduction refers to other methods as being ‘cumbersome’ and ‘taking to long’ whilst techniques in the article are described as ‘quite manageable’. The approaches offered by thee authors are more what I would describe as tricks than acting tools. They include, using spicy food, rubbing your eyes, making convincing sounds and using vapour rub. Pictures make up the main bulk of the article with short descriptive captions below. The various authors make me question the reliability of this source. I feel the format suggests it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I’m not sure how much of a contribution it made to my inquiry; however it did make me think about how seriously we take ourselves as actors sometimes and really Joe Bloggs isn’t interested in our process, people just want to be entertained.

 

The Actor's Arena - Terry Kiser explains Strasberg's lesson on crying on command in performance. Viewed 3^rd March http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpzO-k3UDrI                         

 In this clip (aimed at aspiring actors) Kiser demonstrates crying on command whilst informing the audience of his process. The purpose of the film is to share the teachings of Lee Strasberg with another generation and help actors find away to emotionally connect. Kiser obviously finds this method works, relying heavily on the recall of senses to transport him back into a moment. He is very clear that you should only work with memories over 6 years old because they are ‘part of you’. This clip is inspiring for the viewer as you’re actually seeing the technique in action and being successful. However it maybe would be more effective if Kiser was guiding a student through the process rather than doing it himself, as it can come across quite self indulgent in places which takes away from the teaching.

I feel this video contributed to my inquiry by dispelling the mystery around emotional access and taking it back to basics. It also made me think a lot more about the effect the breath and relaxation can have on the performer and how open you need to be to allow yourself to be affected by your given circumstances.