Your life on and off stage, or in front of the camera, utilizes the power of speech as a means of getting your point across as well as accomplishing a certain goal. We use our vocabulary to establish objectives, communicate with those who are standing in our way of our objectives as well as releasing our internal emotional desires.
Throughout my time as a theater and film actor there have been many instances where I saw other performers downplay a scene that should be emotionally and physically charged. The reason for this? The actors did not have a solid understanding of how to turn speech and dialogue into physical actions.
Reading lines within a script, no matter how eloquently and beautiful, is only a portion of your responsibility as an actor. No matter how wonderful you can recite dialogue, if you do not engage in the action that these words demand, your performance will appear to be superfluous.
Physical Conflict
I remember standing in front of one of my first acting classes I was leading. I went around the room and asked each actor what he thought of physical conflict within a script. Many of the answers were the same, which focused around physical hostility and sometimes even violence.
While this is a portion of conflict within some story lines, conflict encompasses many forms. Conflict may show itself through a smile, a lie, a movement in the eyes, hushed speech and body language. Other times, a character’s conflict can be hidden so it is not immediately visible by those around him.
When it comes to making action out of speech in the terms of internal or external conflict, you must have a solid understanding of your characters objectives and his relationships with those around him. You must also consider how this internal conflict should be released externally. Just because a line in a script reads, “I hate you more than ever,” it doesn’t automatically mean screaming and throwing a tantrum. Rather, the character may showcase his physical conflict by delivering this line in a calm manner fueled with hushed anger behind each word.
Relationships between Characters
The type of action choices your character creates from his speed or dialogue is also dependent on the relationship with the other character(s) within the scene. Even with a monologue, your character’s physical actions are based in who he is talking about and those who are in his life.
For example, you would not use the same actions if you were having an argument with your best friend as you would with your teacher or parent. You must have a solid understanding of your character’s relationship to those around him in order to make rational and realistic action choices.