The Actors Technique
What do we mean by Acting Technique?
If you have spent any time scrolling through famous actor interviews on social media, then you may have heard actors speaking about technique. You may also hear different actors talking about their numerous different approaches they take to acting.
There aren't many drama students out there that are not aware of Konstantin Stanislavsky and his system. Then there is Lee Strasberg's “the method”, derived from Stanislavsky’s earlier work and leading to many other variations thereof. Then there are actors who consider the method a complete load of bollocks and those who follow it “naive” to say the least.
In reality there are many actors who never had any form of training. To paraphrase David Mamet, the Pulitzer prize winning playwright, and proponent of his own technique, Practical Aesthetics, he doubts acting schools offer any value or skills that you would not pick up in the process of working as an actor. Actors such as Tom Cruise, Russel Crowe, Jennifer Lawrence, Matthew McConaughey, Cameron Diaz and Joaquin Phoenix back this assertion up. None of them attended formal acting classes. They found success in early roles, and that proved to be their training ground.
But does that mean they don’t have any technique, or dare I say “method”?
All actors have technique, and all actors use some kind of “method”. Just because they don’t subscribe to one particular approach, doesn’t mean they just turn up and create magic without any hard work leading up to a role.
A very succinct description of acting, as described by Stanislavsky in his later work is “the art of experiencing” where the actor lives the role through specific, logical, and purposeful physical actions that would lead to the unconscious, genuine emotions. Another great teacher, Sanford Meisner, describes acting as “Living truthfully under given circumstances”.
To reach this state of truthfulness under given circumstances takes a great understanding of the human condition. Making yourself aware of the many different approaches actors use to get there can’t hurt. Find what works for you, practice it, experiment, try your own methods.
An actor's technique is whatever she has to do to reach this truth. And if she achieves it, does it really matter how she got there?
Artistic Director / Acting Tutor - The Actors Class