Action Over Emotion
“If acting were crying, my Aunt Rivka would have been a huge star,” says acting coach Robert Lewis, highlighting the common misconception that acting is primarily about being emotional. Contrary to what the general public believes, acting is not about being emotional. The bedrock of acting lies not in the emotion but in the doing.
Sanford Meisner emphasized this by stating, “Acting is founded on the reality of doing.” Simple actions, such as listening, observing, and responding authentically within the imaginary circumstances of the script, are the tasks that actors need to focus on.
In most acting training, actors are handed a scene from world literature in the first lesson. Sanford Meisner, trained as a classical piano player, questioned this approach. As a beginning piano player, one wouldn’t start with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27. Instead, the piano player begins with tonal scales, practicing the same simple, perhaps even boring, melody over and over. This practice teaches the correct posture and finger setting that will ultimately lay the foundation for any virtuoso.
Meisner Training: Making Every Act Like the First
Similarly, Meisner’s acting training begins with exercises that engage actors in real actions: simple tasks that demand full attention and precision because the need to executed to a standard of perfection. Over time, the tasks become more elaborate and the imaginary circumstances, though acceptable and simple, become meaningful settings. But they always need to be rooted in the doing, enabling actors to respond genuinely and spontaneously.
The real doing of physical activity and the real doing towards the exercise partner, thats what keeps the actor grounded. They will never lose control or be overwhelmed with emotions, for the doing needs to be maintained. And, as in normal life, emotions come up by surprise. They will be always be spontaneous and unanticipated. This approach ensures that performances remain authentic and connected. And this is what you need, when you as an actor do characters work as in the second year. Your performance will be fresh and believable every time, even if you performance it 99th before this one or 15 takes in movies: for the actor, the doing is every time new and for the first time.
The question is: where is the doing located within the actor?