Perhaps one of the most interesting auditions I have had the pleasure of being the casting director for was for a serious drama. The audition sides were carefully chosen to showcase the dramatic skills of all auditioning actors. There were two scenes – the first was a calm interaction between two characters, while the second was the emotional climax for the lead actor. Expecting a lot, I sat through the auditions, and one thing was made perfectly clear – far too many actors overact and don’t choose the proper intensity level.
Selecting an intensity level when performing a dramatic scene is vital to not only ensure the believability of the performance, but to get the true emotion of the scene across to audience members. Nothing can kill the emotional state of a scene than selecting an intensity level that is completely inappropriate – while it may seem easy to avoid such a blunder, it is easier said than done.
Types of Intensity
There are several different types of intensity levels an actor can choose within a dramatic scene. There is the favorite among most actors, and that is the yell, scream and throwing your arms around. While this may be appropriate for some scenes, most dramatic scenes are much better when the intensity level is controlled and almost suppressed. Now, in real life, you may be the person to fly off the handle quickly; however, this is an undesirable personality trait that few acting characters will possess.
I remember performing a scene for an acting class. The scene involved a husband and wife having a tell-all conversation. The wife explains that she has been cheating on him with his best friend. The dialogue between the two could easily have been raised to yelling and screaming, but after watching several actors choose this stylistic approach, I decided to keep my vocal intensity level down while increasing the emotional and psychological intensity. I delivered the lines without yelling, but with an absent tone that signals my character is thoroughly hurt, but trying to suppress his true hurt. This character choice gave my character depth, and at the conclusion of the scene, my acting instructor applauded not only this character choice, but the intensity level.
Remember, being intense doesn’t mean screaming. You can be extremely intense while keeping your voice down and your tone level. Play with your words, use your body to inform the audience of your internal anguish.