Techniques for emotion in acting (Hayes Gordon)
January 22nd 2010 05:47
Some notes from Hayes Gordon's Acting and Performing, 1987.
(1) The notion of supplementary actions. Whereas acting classes normally divide scenes into action beats ("to accuse", "to flatter", "to thank", "to plead"...), and lay out a series of actions, Gordon allows that you can be playing one mainline action and any number of secondary, "supplementary", actions at the same time. Further, the object of an action is not restricted to your scene partner, but could be yourself, or a relationship, or the audience, or an inanimate object.
(2) The separation of action and feelings. Most acting classes will tell you on the whole not to worry about feelings -- just play the actions, and the feelings will come. If they don't come, then perhaps you need somehow to "raise the stakes" -- adjust the imaginary details of the imaginary situation that you've drawn for yourself.
Gordon adopts a slightly different approach. Firstly, he provides a grab-bag of "motivational" techniques (47 of them in fact, most of which I've listed below) that can be used to generate feelings independently of actions. Secondly, he allows that a performer might want to separate action and feeling for particular effects. For instance, he gives the example of an actor who "played the action 'to concede'... but kept up the conflict by providing a feeling of resentment. That action continued for some time and yet the phrasing increased in dynamics, because he kept amplifying his resentment".
One point to emphasize here is that Gordon doesn't rely solely on contrary objectives and actions to generate conflict, but believes it can come from, among things, contrary feelings and behaviour.
(3) Systematic rehearsal technique. So you've got four weeks for rehearsal for a play, and it's not a musical. In ideal situations, Gordon wants to structure rehearsals like this:
-- First day: ice-breaking, text-familiarising game from Lee Strasberg.
-- Second day: discussion of spine of play, of how each character fits with spine, their scenic objectives, their physical characteristics. Discussion will be revisited as rehearsal progresses.
-- Possibly next seven days: going through text line-by-line, having a group discussion of the action of each beat. While this goes on, the actors also have character homework and will be learning lines.
-- A read through, playing the actions, without any characterisation.
-- Another read through, to check on the feelings side of the play. If the right feelings haven't come from the actions, then you scribble down an adverb for what feeling you need to supply.
-- Rough blocking. Stand here, then move there, then exit over there. Lines are recited mechanically, without any acting, to synchronise with staging.
-- Detailed blocking, with performers encouraged to add their own touches.
-- Rehearsals combining blocking with performance. At this point the actors should basically have learnt their lines. I think it's probably around the beginning of week 3 by now.
-- Rehearsals that gradually add props and costume.
-- Technical rehearsal.
-- Dress rehearsals.
-- Previews.
Now, this process seems to me to be great for producing a type of play -- one that's business-practical in its production methods and working conditions, and repeatable in its performances (each audience would get the same experience -- you could sell the rights to a theatre company in a different country and the audience would see the same show); -- a play that allows for careful coordination and precise use of all dramatic elements including lighting and sound, that at all times is under the control of the director, that lends itself to clear actions and clear directorial intention moment-to-moment, that gives the impression of being highly detailed, and that can be adjusted on a very fine scale. You the director could watch the opening night, and say to yourself that the action on a particular line needs tweaking, and speak to the performer and make that change.
A problem with this process is that it does stifle some life and spontaneity. Not entirely, of course -- a classical piece of music might be rigidly structured, and still have endless room for variation and personality. But there is something to be said also for improvisational jazz.
I think towards the end of his life Stanislavsky did dream of a theatre that was less rigidly planned, but still detailed and sensical from moment to moment with an overall unity.
"Motivational techniques" -- techniques for generating feelings
Note: (a) that Gordon's terms are slightly idiosyncratic -- for instance, not every acting teacher will use the expressions "as if" and "psychological gesture" in the same way; (b) that Gordon is interested not only in feelings that are visible on stage, but in feelings that are useful for you the performer -- for instance, perhaps you need to bring to the stage a higher-than-normal level of energy, or perhaps you're full of self-doubt and need confidence; and (c) that Gordon is presumably primarily interested in emotions, but the word "feelings" embraces any response.
1. Belief in the situation. If you're able to put yourself the actor in the imaginary situation, maybe that's enough for all actions and feelings to flow smoothly and proportionately.
2. Imagery/Identification. Gordon lists five types: (a) a person; (b) an animal; (c) an inanimate object; (d) an idea or abstraction; (e) a token image, such as make-up, wigs, costumes, masks, expressions, props, adjustments, business. These are techniques for building a character, motivating actions, and eliciting feelings. The first four categories involve putting yourself in the place of x and letting yourself respond as x would. For example: if it's easy for you to imagine yourself in Hamlet's place, then maybe you'll automatically get certain feelings when you see the ghost or when you kill Polonius. Or: if you can imagine that you're a rock being buffeted by waves, or a rocking chair being sat on by a nubile model, that fantasy might elicit certain moods or emotions. The final "imagery" category, "token images", involves putting yourself in the place of someone who wears x, or simply letting yourself be influenced by x. It probably colours your behaviour to wear a funny hat, or dark glasses, or the clothing of the opposite sex, or to pick up a revolver...
3. If and As if. "If" works like a game: "I know that piece of set dressing isn't really a tree, but if it were a tree, how would I respond? Would I be prepared to lean on it?". "As if" draws on more irrelevant circumstances or is more purely imaginary -- "What would it be like if...?" If you have to portray terror, you might imagine what it would be like to take a cold shower, or have bamboo slivers inserted beneath your fingernails. Gordon notes that these techniques are "auxiliary" as well as primary -- they not only motivate feelings in their own right, but, since they encourage you to play and to suspend doubt, they help open the door to other techniques.
4. Circle of concentration. A technique that's also both primary and auxiliary. Gordon describes this as beginning with imagination -- you imagine that everything is dark, and a light shines only on specific things. You have no knowledge of anything outside the light, but you have a heightened awareness of and connection to all that's within the light. This technique could be used, for instance: to develop sensitivity to everything that happens on stage; to create intimacy (you and your scene partner are the only two people in the world); to dispel stage fright (the circle embraces the audience, so they become friends and acting partners); to remedy any tendencies to withdraw into yourself and ignore the people around you; or to exclude information that you're not supposed to be aware of. If you're able to expand your concentration beyond the walls of theatre, you could incorporate sounds from the outside world into your performance, or use them to affect you -- for instance, the sound of a helicopter or a church bell-tower.
5. Just like. For example: you think to yourself that your scene partner, whom you're supposed to hate, is just like that guy who spat on you in the street yesterday. Or: if you're supposed to feel warm towards your scene partner, perhaps he/she is just like your kitten. When I've used this sort of technique, I've looked in my scene partner's face for features that remind me of the person I'm trying to imagine they are.
6. Identity. Whereas "just like" draws on a specific person or thing, "identity" usually draws on a label, prejudice, or stereotype. You might think of your acting partner as "a spy", "a doctor", "a lawyer", "a black person", "a Muslim", "a rich person", "a friend", "a spiteful person", etc. Whatever label triggers something for you.
7. Ensemble effect. Basically, this relies on getting everyone else to treat you in particular ways. If you need motivation to be defensive, hostile, impatient, the group might be directed to regard you as devious, foolish, dishonest, boring. And the effect is a two-way street -- it brings out feelings in the group as well as the victim.
8. Reality. What real things can I use to create feelings? If I'm tired and want to keep my energy up, I might arrange for a cup of tea to be given to me during a scene break. If I need a reason for looking curious and crossing upstage on a particular cue, I might start a running gag with the props department to place a different prop behind the mirror on the bookshelf every night. Gordon includes under this heading the exploitation of an unexpected reality (like a piece of the set falling).
9. Usery. A combination of imagination with "reality". If I need to feel angry, I might search for real things around me, and project an interpretation on them that makes me angry. The footsteps I hear backstage come not from a stagehand but from my understudy, who's hoping I'll stuff up so he can take over my role, the bastard.
10. Research -- especially for building a character.
11. Improvisation. A rehearsal-type technique. You might improvise the author's script, expressing it in your own words, to better understand it; you might do an exercise where you switch characters with your acting partner, either to better connect with your partner, or to give your performance more compassion; you might improvise an incident that's referred to in the text of the play, so you can imagine it in your mind's eye as you describe it; or you might do a random improvisation before a scene just to generate the right mood before you walk on stage. It seems to me that under this category could be included the endless variety of theatre games.
12. Sensory stimulation. Every sensory perception has the capacity to stimulate feelings in you. If you need to be irritated before walking on stage, maybe have someone scratch their fingers down a blackboard. If you need to be childlike, perhaps smell something that reminds you of your childhood, like candy floss. You can employ these stimulations before going on stage, or incorporate them into your performance. Gordon recommends that the beginning actor begin to explore the infinite range of sensory stimuli to see what affects you, in what way, and how strongly.
13. Pornography. Depending on the individual, this could generate any number of responses, including arousal, embarrassment, giggles, shock, scholarly detachment, prim outrage...
14. Sense memory -- using a memory, perhaps an emotion-charged memory, of a sense perception instead of a present sensory stimulation. For example: a spider on your arm. Gordon notes that this technique is useful for speaking into a telephone on stage or performing monologues: a good way to prepare is to script the piece as an actual dialogue, perform the dialogue with someone before the show, then draw on your memory of that rehearsal to make your performance more realistic.
15. Sensory projection. Instead of an actual sense perception or the memory of one, you concoct or hallucinate.
16. Emotion memory. Gordon notes that four variables affect this: (a) if the incident was suppressed, the better the chance of a dramatic result; (b) the earlier in life the incident took place, usually the more emotive the result (although humorous incidents seem to be an exception); (c) if the incident was never revealed or discussed, the fuller the response; (d) the deeper and more detailed the recollection, the fuller the response. The technique involves relaxation, visualisation of the physical features of the environment in which the incident occurred, then reliving the incident moment-by-moment and detail-by-detail. You don't reach for the feeling directly, but rather let it come to you. (Richard Boleslavsky gives the same description of the process in Six Lessons on Acting, 1933.) After recalling an incident a few times, the process of getting to the feeling will come faster and faster, till you need only a token signal to set it off. Gordon describes a landmine-detecting game for directors/teachers to help uncover useful memories: sit in a circle; someone says a random word; the person to their left immediately says another word associated with that word; etc, etc; sooner or later someone will be blocked and unable to think of a word; at that point, stop the round, and note the word; begin the round afresh, starting with the person who blocked; as soon as they say a new word, stop again; ask them to think to themselves what word they would use to link those two words; then ask them to dig under this third word, and perhaps they might find something.
17. Psychological gesture. Gordon uses this term to refer to any physical activity that gives rise to feeling -- shadow boxing to generate pugnacity before going on stage, or screaming to generate panic, or curling up in the foetal position, or stamping, or doing push-ups, or... In some cases, these can be used while actually performing. For instance, if sucking your thumb generates a certain feeling, you might arrange for a cigarette as a stage-friendly substitute. As with sensory stimulation, Gordon's recommendation is to become more and more conscious of your physical activities and how they push your buttons.
18. Ambience -- the technique of leaving yourself alone if your mood is already right. For example: you're supposed to come on stage happy, and in real life you've just received a phone call saying you won the lottery. All you need is not to stifle your real feelings.
19. Faith -- telling yourself "She'll be right" and trusting in your skills. This can be used to give the actor confidence or to give the character a particular mood, and might generate feelings like composure, authority, or openness.
20. Dedication. For example: find an attractive girl in the audience and tell yourself that you're performing for her, or a poor child in a wheelchair, or some other cause you can champion. This technique can create a feeling of warmth, or power any actions you play on the audience, or enliven a stale performance.
21. Licence. Remind yourself that as an actor you have been given permission to provide certain goods in exchange for certain remuneration. This is an antidote to doubt about your right to do what you do.
22. Alibi. Equip yourself with a possible excuse to cushion any failure. This will give you permission to relax -- you're now insured with a face-saver.
23. Procrastination. Basically, if you're finding something hard or are in doubt, take a break and sleep on it.
24. Contagion. Real feelings are catchy. The technique of "contagion" could be used for: spreading laughter among a crowd that's supposed to be merry; spreading nervousness; or generally raising the energy levels.
25. Trickery -- usually where the director manipulates a response out of someone. But it doesn't have to be the director. For instance: an actor playing a groom shows his bride that the flower in his lapel is a water pistol. He doesn't answer when she asks him if he intends to squirt her on stage. The effect is that her eyes never leave him, because she's apprehensive of being squirted, so she gives a convincing performance of a girl in love.
26. Indication. If you can't get the real feeling, fake it, and sometimes it'll come.
27. Imitation. This technique is related to "indication". Consider when an understudy mimics the person they're studying gesture for gesture, or when a director can't get through to an actor any other way, so ends up giving him a reading of a line to copy. Sometimes simple imitation causes the juices to start flowing, and real feelings ensue.
28. Diversion/Distraction. Mainly an auxiliary technique. Used, for instance, to relax yourself or calm nerves. Instead of worrying about the curtain going up, occupy yourself with studying the pattern on a wine glass.
29. Alteration. Altering the script, staging, characterization, whatever, either on stage or before the show starts, to liven up the show or surprise a response out of someone.
30. Distortion. A rehearsal technique. When rehearsing actions or feelings or building a character, either start really big, exaggerate it, and then tone it down until it's right; or start small, adding more bits and pieces until it's right.
31. Suggestions. Using autosuggestions or suggestions from other people -- to elicit feelings or responses, or to allow yourself to accept another motivational technique. Gordon notes that four factors involved are: the susceptibility of the subject; the prestige of the suggester; any inhibitions or limitations, eg moral limitations; and the environment in which the suggestion is made, eg if it's a safe environment. Gordon mentions this technique partly so that a performer is aware of how to block it -- how to make yourself non-susceptible and ward off the endless suggestions from critics, family, friends, fans, agents, managers...
32. Hypnosis.
33. Chemicals. Each drug has a different effect.
34. Semantics. When deciding on an action, the particular verb and adverb you describe it with will have different effects on you. Giving yourself the action "to tuck into" some food might have a different effect from "to wolf down" that food. The Ensemble Studios required students to buy just one textbook -- Roget's Thesaurus. (And for anyone reading who has experience with Meisner classes, a teacher used to tell me that a dictionary is a good friend for preparing for repetition exercises.)
35. Ritual and Magic. Actors have endless backstage rituals. Gordon's own ritual was to touch his pants zipper, his collar, and his head, while saying "Fly, tie, sky". Performance/non-performance of the ritual might have an effect on your feelings.
36. Gamesmanship -- exploiting a pre-existing power relationship between you and your scene partner in order to colour your actions. For example, if your action is "to top" someone who is three places above you on the status ladder, thinking of their actual status might add glee to your performance. Or: if you're playing a game of chess backstage with your partner, this might add a sense of mischievousness or banter to your scene.
37. Interpersonal chemistry -- exploiting some actual relationship with your scene partner to motivate a feeling. Perhaps you hate them, perhaps you're in love with them, perhaps you feel united with them against the director. One teacher I studied with, when trying to get two actors to appear closer, asked them to tell each other a secret.
38. Built-ins. Under this heading, Gordon lists a variety of personality traits, and speaks of their use in a more general way. For instance, a quality of possessiveness might generate determination or courage to persist in a career despite rejections (Gordon mentions a 90-95% unemployment rate among actors). For most of the section, he seems more to explain what people do in terms of their built-ins, rather than recommend traits as things you can consciously call upon for a particular performance or characterization.
39. Personality compensations -- taking advantage of neuroses. For example: you the actor feel good whenever you look at yourself in a mirror, and your character needs to feel confident in a particular scene, so you might arrange to have shiny metal objects with you on stage. Or: you have a compulsion to straighten pictures, and your character needs to feel frustrated, so you might arrange to have a number of crooked pictures on set and forbid yourself to touch them.
40. Psychoanalysis.
41. Group-reinforced hysteria. For example: clapping of hands at a revivalist meeting; shouting at protest marches; and the chanting of a lynch mob. In contrast with "contagion", there is an element of repetitive activity, and a surrender of rationality and individuality in return for automatism and excitement.
42. Isolation. Focusing on one part of your body. For instance, taking all your tension, and focusing it onto your hand. You then hide your hand.
(1) The notion of supplementary actions. Whereas acting classes normally divide scenes into action beats ("to accuse", "to flatter", "to thank", "to plead"...), and lay out a series of actions, Gordon allows that you can be playing one mainline action and any number of secondary, "supplementary", actions at the same time. Further, the object of an action is not restricted to your scene partner, but could be yourself, or a relationship, or the audience, or an inanimate object.
(2) The separation of action and feelings. Most acting classes will tell you on the whole not to worry about feelings -- just play the actions, and the feelings will come. If they don't come, then perhaps you need somehow to "raise the stakes" -- adjust the imaginary details of the imaginary situation that you've drawn for yourself.
Gordon adopts a slightly different approach. Firstly, he provides a grab-bag of "motivational" techniques (47 of them in fact, most of which I've listed below) that can be used to generate feelings independently of actions. Secondly, he allows that a performer might want to separate action and feeling for particular effects. For instance, he gives the example of an actor who "played the action 'to concede'... but kept up the conflict by providing a feeling of resentment. That action continued for some time and yet the phrasing increased in dynamics, because he kept amplifying his resentment".
One point to emphasize here is that Gordon doesn't rely solely on contrary objectives and actions to generate conflict, but believes it can come from, among things, contrary feelings and behaviour.
(3) Systematic rehearsal technique. So you've got four weeks for rehearsal for a play, and it's not a musical. In ideal situations, Gordon wants to structure rehearsals like this:
-- First day: ice-breaking, text-familiarising game from Lee Strasberg.
-- Second day: discussion of spine of play, of how each character fits with spine, their scenic objectives, their physical characteristics. Discussion will be revisited as rehearsal progresses.
-- Possibly next seven days: going through text line-by-line, having a group discussion of the action of each beat. While this goes on, the actors also have character homework and will be learning lines.
-- A read through, playing the actions, without any characterisation.
-- Another read through, to check on the feelings side of the play. If the right feelings haven't come from the actions, then you scribble down an adverb for what feeling you need to supply.
-- Rough blocking. Stand here, then move there, then exit over there. Lines are recited mechanically, without any acting, to synchronise with staging.
-- Detailed blocking, with performers encouraged to add their own touches.
-- Rehearsals combining blocking with performance. At this point the actors should basically have learnt their lines. I think it's probably around the beginning of week 3 by now.
-- Rehearsals that gradually add props and costume.
-- Technical rehearsal.
-- Dress rehearsals.
-- Previews.
Now, this process seems to me to be great for producing a type of play -- one that's business-practical in its production methods and working conditions, and repeatable in its performances (each audience would get the same experience -- you could sell the rights to a theatre company in a different country and the audience would see the same show); -- a play that allows for careful coordination and precise use of all dramatic elements including lighting and sound, that at all times is under the control of the director, that lends itself to clear actions and clear directorial intention moment-to-moment, that gives the impression of being highly detailed, and that can be adjusted on a very fine scale. You the director could watch the opening night, and say to yourself that the action on a particular line needs tweaking, and speak to the performer and make that change.
A problem with this process is that it does stifle some life and spontaneity. Not entirely, of course -- a classical piece of music might be rigidly structured, and still have endless room for variation and personality. But there is something to be said also for improvisational jazz.
I think towards the end of his life Stanislavsky did dream of a theatre that was less rigidly planned, but still detailed and sensical from moment to moment with an overall unity.
***
"Motivational techniques" -- techniques for generating feelings
Note: (a) that Gordon's terms are slightly idiosyncratic -- for instance, not every acting teacher will use the expressions "as if" and "psychological gesture" in the same way; (b) that Gordon is interested not only in feelings that are visible on stage, but in feelings that are useful for you the performer -- for instance, perhaps you need to bring to the stage a higher-than-normal level of energy, or perhaps you're full of self-doubt and need confidence; and (c) that Gordon is presumably primarily interested in emotions, but the word "feelings" embraces any response.
1. Belief in the situation. If you're able to put yourself the actor in the imaginary situation, maybe that's enough for all actions and feelings to flow smoothly and proportionately.
2. Imagery/Identification. Gordon lists five types: (a) a person; (b) an animal; (c) an inanimate object; (d) an idea or abstraction; (e) a token image, such as make-up, wigs, costumes, masks, expressions, props, adjustments, business. These are techniques for building a character, motivating actions, and eliciting feelings. The first four categories involve putting yourself in the place of x and letting yourself respond as x would. For example: if it's easy for you to imagine yourself in Hamlet's place, then maybe you'll automatically get certain feelings when you see the ghost or when you kill Polonius. Or: if you can imagine that you're a rock being buffeted by waves, or a rocking chair being sat on by a nubile model, that fantasy might elicit certain moods or emotions. The final "imagery" category, "token images", involves putting yourself in the place of someone who wears x, or simply letting yourself be influenced by x. It probably colours your behaviour to wear a funny hat, or dark glasses, or the clothing of the opposite sex, or to pick up a revolver...
3. If and As if. "If" works like a game: "I know that piece of set dressing isn't really a tree, but if it were a tree, how would I respond? Would I be prepared to lean on it?". "As if" draws on more irrelevant circumstances or is more purely imaginary -- "What would it be like if...?" If you have to portray terror, you might imagine what it would be like to take a cold shower, or have bamboo slivers inserted beneath your fingernails. Gordon notes that these techniques are "auxiliary" as well as primary -- they not only motivate feelings in their own right, but, since they encourage you to play and to suspend doubt, they help open the door to other techniques.
4. Circle of concentration. A technique that's also both primary and auxiliary. Gordon describes this as beginning with imagination -- you imagine that everything is dark, and a light shines only on specific things. You have no knowledge of anything outside the light, but you have a heightened awareness of and connection to all that's within the light. This technique could be used, for instance: to develop sensitivity to everything that happens on stage; to create intimacy (you and your scene partner are the only two people in the world); to dispel stage fright (the circle embraces the audience, so they become friends and acting partners); to remedy any tendencies to withdraw into yourself and ignore the people around you; or to exclude information that you're not supposed to be aware of. If you're able to expand your concentration beyond the walls of theatre, you could incorporate sounds from the outside world into your performance, or use them to affect you -- for instance, the sound of a helicopter or a church bell-tower.
5. Just like. For example: you think to yourself that your scene partner, whom you're supposed to hate, is just like that guy who spat on you in the street yesterday. Or: if you're supposed to feel warm towards your scene partner, perhaps he/she is just like your kitten. When I've used this sort of technique, I've looked in my scene partner's face for features that remind me of the person I'm trying to imagine they are.
6. Identity. Whereas "just like" draws on a specific person or thing, "identity" usually draws on a label, prejudice, or stereotype. You might think of your acting partner as "a spy", "a doctor", "a lawyer", "a black person", "a Muslim", "a rich person", "a friend", "a spiteful person", etc. Whatever label triggers something for you.
7. Ensemble effect. Basically, this relies on getting everyone else to treat you in particular ways. If you need motivation to be defensive, hostile, impatient, the group might be directed to regard you as devious, foolish, dishonest, boring. And the effect is a two-way street -- it brings out feelings in the group as well as the victim.
8. Reality. What real things can I use to create feelings? If I'm tired and want to keep my energy up, I might arrange for a cup of tea to be given to me during a scene break. If I need a reason for looking curious and crossing upstage on a particular cue, I might start a running gag with the props department to place a different prop behind the mirror on the bookshelf every night. Gordon includes under this heading the exploitation of an unexpected reality (like a piece of the set falling).
9. Usery. A combination of imagination with "reality". If I need to feel angry, I might search for real things around me, and project an interpretation on them that makes me angry. The footsteps I hear backstage come not from a stagehand but from my understudy, who's hoping I'll stuff up so he can take over my role, the bastard.
10. Research -- especially for building a character.
11. Improvisation. A rehearsal-type technique. You might improvise the author's script, expressing it in your own words, to better understand it; you might do an exercise where you switch characters with your acting partner, either to better connect with your partner, or to give your performance more compassion; you might improvise an incident that's referred to in the text of the play, so you can imagine it in your mind's eye as you describe it; or you might do a random improvisation before a scene just to generate the right mood before you walk on stage. It seems to me that under this category could be included the endless variety of theatre games.
12. Sensory stimulation. Every sensory perception has the capacity to stimulate feelings in you. If you need to be irritated before walking on stage, maybe have someone scratch their fingers down a blackboard. If you need to be childlike, perhaps smell something that reminds you of your childhood, like candy floss. You can employ these stimulations before going on stage, or incorporate them into your performance. Gordon recommends that the beginning actor begin to explore the infinite range of sensory stimuli to see what affects you, in what way, and how strongly.
13. Pornography. Depending on the individual, this could generate any number of responses, including arousal, embarrassment, giggles, shock, scholarly detachment, prim outrage...
14. Sense memory -- using a memory, perhaps an emotion-charged memory, of a sense perception instead of a present sensory stimulation. For example: a spider on your arm. Gordon notes that this technique is useful for speaking into a telephone on stage or performing monologues: a good way to prepare is to script the piece as an actual dialogue, perform the dialogue with someone before the show, then draw on your memory of that rehearsal to make your performance more realistic.
15. Sensory projection. Instead of an actual sense perception or the memory of one, you concoct or hallucinate.
16. Emotion memory. Gordon notes that four variables affect this: (a) if the incident was suppressed, the better the chance of a dramatic result; (b) the earlier in life the incident took place, usually the more emotive the result (although humorous incidents seem to be an exception); (c) if the incident was never revealed or discussed, the fuller the response; (d) the deeper and more detailed the recollection, the fuller the response. The technique involves relaxation, visualisation of the physical features of the environment in which the incident occurred, then reliving the incident moment-by-moment and detail-by-detail. You don't reach for the feeling directly, but rather let it come to you. (Richard Boleslavsky gives the same description of the process in Six Lessons on Acting, 1933.) After recalling an incident a few times, the process of getting to the feeling will come faster and faster, till you need only a token signal to set it off. Gordon describes a landmine-detecting game for directors/teachers to help uncover useful memories: sit in a circle; someone says a random word; the person to their left immediately says another word associated with that word; etc, etc; sooner or later someone will be blocked and unable to think of a word; at that point, stop the round, and note the word; begin the round afresh, starting with the person who blocked; as soon as they say a new word, stop again; ask them to think to themselves what word they would use to link those two words; then ask them to dig under this third word, and perhaps they might find something.
17. Psychological gesture. Gordon uses this term to refer to any physical activity that gives rise to feeling -- shadow boxing to generate pugnacity before going on stage, or screaming to generate panic, or curling up in the foetal position, or stamping, or doing push-ups, or... In some cases, these can be used while actually performing. For instance, if sucking your thumb generates a certain feeling, you might arrange for a cigarette as a stage-friendly substitute. As with sensory stimulation, Gordon's recommendation is to become more and more conscious of your physical activities and how they push your buttons.
18. Ambience -- the technique of leaving yourself alone if your mood is already right. For example: you're supposed to come on stage happy, and in real life you've just received a phone call saying you won the lottery. All you need is not to stifle your real feelings.
19. Faith -- telling yourself "She'll be right" and trusting in your skills. This can be used to give the actor confidence or to give the character a particular mood, and might generate feelings like composure, authority, or openness.
20. Dedication. For example: find an attractive girl in the audience and tell yourself that you're performing for her, or a poor child in a wheelchair, or some other cause you can champion. This technique can create a feeling of warmth, or power any actions you play on the audience, or enliven a stale performance.
21. Licence. Remind yourself that as an actor you have been given permission to provide certain goods in exchange for certain remuneration. This is an antidote to doubt about your right to do what you do.
22. Alibi. Equip yourself with a possible excuse to cushion any failure. This will give you permission to relax -- you're now insured with a face-saver.
23. Procrastination. Basically, if you're finding something hard or are in doubt, take a break and sleep on it.
24. Contagion. Real feelings are catchy. The technique of "contagion" could be used for: spreading laughter among a crowd that's supposed to be merry; spreading nervousness; or generally raising the energy levels.
25. Trickery -- usually where the director manipulates a response out of someone. But it doesn't have to be the director. For instance: an actor playing a groom shows his bride that the flower in his lapel is a water pistol. He doesn't answer when she asks him if he intends to squirt her on stage. The effect is that her eyes never leave him, because she's apprehensive of being squirted, so she gives a convincing performance of a girl in love.
26. Indication. If you can't get the real feeling, fake it, and sometimes it'll come.
27. Imitation. This technique is related to "indication". Consider when an understudy mimics the person they're studying gesture for gesture, or when a director can't get through to an actor any other way, so ends up giving him a reading of a line to copy. Sometimes simple imitation causes the juices to start flowing, and real feelings ensue.
28. Diversion/Distraction. Mainly an auxiliary technique. Used, for instance, to relax yourself or calm nerves. Instead of worrying about the curtain going up, occupy yourself with studying the pattern on a wine glass.
29. Alteration. Altering the script, staging, characterization, whatever, either on stage or before the show starts, to liven up the show or surprise a response out of someone.
30. Distortion. A rehearsal technique. When rehearsing actions or feelings or building a character, either start really big, exaggerate it, and then tone it down until it's right; or start small, adding more bits and pieces until it's right.
31. Suggestions. Using autosuggestions or suggestions from other people -- to elicit feelings or responses, or to allow yourself to accept another motivational technique. Gordon notes that four factors involved are: the susceptibility of the subject; the prestige of the suggester; any inhibitions or limitations, eg moral limitations; and the environment in which the suggestion is made, eg if it's a safe environment. Gordon mentions this technique partly so that a performer is aware of how to block it -- how to make yourself non-susceptible and ward off the endless suggestions from critics, family, friends, fans, agents, managers...
32. Hypnosis.
33. Chemicals. Each drug has a different effect.
34. Semantics. When deciding on an action, the particular verb and adverb you describe it with will have different effects on you. Giving yourself the action "to tuck into" some food might have a different effect from "to wolf down" that food. The Ensemble Studios required students to buy just one textbook -- Roget's Thesaurus. (And for anyone reading who has experience with Meisner classes, a teacher used to tell me that a dictionary is a good friend for preparing for repetition exercises.)
35. Ritual and Magic. Actors have endless backstage rituals. Gordon's own ritual was to touch his pants zipper, his collar, and his head, while saying "Fly, tie, sky". Performance/non-performance of the ritual might have an effect on your feelings.
36. Gamesmanship -- exploiting a pre-existing power relationship between you and your scene partner in order to colour your actions. For example, if your action is "to top" someone who is three places above you on the status ladder, thinking of their actual status might add glee to your performance. Or: if you're playing a game of chess backstage with your partner, this might add a sense of mischievousness or banter to your scene.
37. Interpersonal chemistry -- exploiting some actual relationship with your scene partner to motivate a feeling. Perhaps you hate them, perhaps you're in love with them, perhaps you feel united with them against the director. One teacher I studied with, when trying to get two actors to appear closer, asked them to tell each other a secret.
38. Built-ins. Under this heading, Gordon lists a variety of personality traits, and speaks of their use in a more general way. For instance, a quality of possessiveness might generate determination or courage to persist in a career despite rejections (Gordon mentions a 90-95% unemployment rate among actors). For most of the section, he seems more to explain what people do in terms of their built-ins, rather than recommend traits as things you can consciously call upon for a particular performance or characterization.
39. Personality compensations -- taking advantage of neuroses. For example: you the actor feel good whenever you look at yourself in a mirror, and your character needs to feel confident in a particular scene, so you might arrange to have shiny metal objects with you on stage. Or: you have a compulsion to straighten pictures, and your character needs to feel frustrated, so you might arrange to have a number of crooked pictures on set and forbid yourself to touch them.
40. Psychoanalysis.
41. Group-reinforced hysteria. For example: clapping of hands at a revivalist meeting; shouting at protest marches; and the chanting of a lynch mob. In contrast with "contagion", there is an element of repetitive activity, and a surrender of rationality and individuality in return for automatism and excitement.
42. Isolation. Focusing on one part of your body. For instance, taking all your tension, and focusing it onto your hand. You then hide your hand.
Hayes Gordon (1920-1999)
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