A is for Acting... NOT!

Colleagues have often said to me things like: “How can I act angry?” or “What can I do to act this scene?” or “How should I be acting here? I don’t know what to do!”  All of these questions use the word “act” as the verb.  Really, and this is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing I’ll ever say in this blog, we should think of another verb: “to act” is actually what throws us off-course.  What we should really say to ourselves is: “How do I react angrily?” or “What can I do in this scene?” or “How should I be feeling here?”  So, my first point about Acting is it is more to do with Reaction.  Or better still: Action and Reaction.  Another verb that also describes what an opera singer does is Emote.  NEVER think of ACTING!

Ian as Papageno in OperaPlayHouse's
production of "The Magic Flute" in 2007

Let’s think about these three terms in more detail: 

Action relates to things you actually do onstage, such as “pick up the coffee cup”; “light the cigar”; “hold hands with the soprano”; “move down stage left and wait”.  That’s what you do.  But simply performing an action isn’t acting – there has to be a reason for doing it.  Is it an action, or a reaction?  Ask yourself the question “Why?” to all these actions or anything else you may be asked to do onstage.  E.g. “Why do I pick up the coffee cup?  Is it to drink, or to throw, or just to pick up?”  And the answer “The director told me to do it!” does not work here.  You, as the actor, must find the answer.  If you are not sure, then by all means ask the director why you are doing something, and always discuss a move or action if there is something you have been asked to do that doesn’t feel right for your character.  Remember: you are the one onstage performing, so you have to feel comfortable, and know why you are doing what you are doing!

Reaction is part of the listening process and physical response to your colleagues onstage.  Reaction is where most of our acting comes in – and this is why I prefer it as one of the verbs we should use when talking about the acting process.  As performers, we should spend more of our time reacting when we are not the one who is singing.  This doesn’t mean that you upstage your colleagues who are singing, but it means that most of your acting work is going on while you’re not singing, but listening.   Now, imagine this scenario in an opera: a soprano comes onstage with a gun and starts shooting.  What is your reaction to this?  There could be one of many responses, based on where you are in relation to said soprano onstage.  You might hide in a corner; you might fall to the floor; you might hide behind someone else or a piece of the set like a drinks bar or a door; and possibly you might not move at all unless the soprano aims the gun at you.  All these are valid reactions to this scenario.  You decide how your character might react.  It is all about finding the most appropriate reaction to the type of character you are playing.  Another form reaction can take is through breathing, but I am going to cover this in more detail in the next article.

Most of the lines we have to sing in an opera (or say in a play or film) will either be a line that provokes a reaction from other characters, or is a reaction to something said by other characters, and it’s very important to work this all out first, especially in opera where you may be singing in a language that you might not necessarily be fluent in, or can even speak at all.  Sometimes of course, there are those arias and duets to fill – 5 or 10 minutes, or more of singing that may not be crucial to the development of the plot, but are musically crucial else they wouldn’t have been written.  But why are they musically crucial?  Because the composer is allowing us (and the audience) space and time to explore our character.

This is where the term Emote comes in.  We are emoting to the audience, giving away our character’s innermost secrets.  Whether it is in Wagner or Handel, Puccini or Gluck, Barber or Cherubini, an extended solo passage or duet is usually the chance to share with the audience the deepest feelings in a character, whatever they may be.  These feelings might be anger, love, desire, lust, rage, ambition, or many other single emotions.  Or it might be a combination of emotions, or the swinging from one emotion to its opposite.

I think the best way to understand emoting is to ask: “How does my character feel at this moment? Are they sad, dejected, despairing, angry, happy, elated, or simply neutral?”  Think also of words like longing, reminiscing, nostalgic, or vengeful.  Does this feeling change during the course of the aria, duet or monologue?  If it does, work out the next feeling and when that change occurs.  Find a musical passage if possible to “breathe into” the emotion.  This means allowing your body to display the type of breath which can give the audience the physical clues as to how you feel!

And this is the perfect end to my first article, because next time I will be discussing “B is for Breathing”.  And I am not talking about breathing while you are singing, but breathing as an actor.  And remember, the lesson for this week is don’t think: Acting; think: Action, Reaction or Emotion.

Welcome and Introduction to this blog

Right: Ian Wilson-Pope as Wotan in "Das Rheingold" for Fulham Opera, August 2011.

Welcome to my Guide to Acting for Opera Singers

I'm writing this blog at the suggestion and recommendation of a number of my professional colleagues, and it is intended as a guide for younger or less experienced opera singers about an essential skill in our profession, and perhaps also as a refresher for those in the profession who wish to "brush-up" or improve their existing skills.

The main reasons for writing this blog are:

 

1. There appears to be a predominant view that opera singers can't or won't act.
2. Opera singers aren't always taught how to act.
3. Opera places special demands on a singer as to "how" to act, that do not occur in the other major arenas of acting, such as Film or TV work, and even to some extent Theatre Stage work ("straight" acting, as it tends to be known).
4. There tends to be an over-emphasis on musical and vocal studies while at college, neglecting acting workshops and performance skills.

I'll be covering all sorts of acting techniques, some of the "Do's and Don't's" of acting, how to act in a chorus, principal roles, fights and choreography, film acting, acting close up and personal, dealing with directors and producers, and even performing when "in the round".  Some important points will probably recur again and again.  But before we embark on the "A-Z" articles, which I hope will come out either weekly or fortnightly, let's think about what acting actually is!

Acting is essentially the portrayal of another person (character) in a realistic, honest and sincere way, so that the audience should not see the performer's own character, but the one being represented on either the stage, film, or TV.  In other words, acting is pretending to be someone else other than yourself.

 

That all sounds pretty simple and easy: surely anyone can do it?  Well, you'd be surprised the number of times that I've seen people with as much "acting ability" as a drowned rat or a baked potato appear on the operatic stage.  In one opera I saw, there was a wooden puppet that was less "wooden" than most of the "live" performers on stage!  So, that's why I am writing this blog, to pass on some of the tips and skills that I've learnt and accumulated from years of performing in opera on the stage and in film, from small-scale fringe performances to large theatres and in cinema.

 

One last point I should make in this introduction is this: the only way to learn is to try and fail, then try again!  Don't lose heart if at first something doesn't work.  Many times trying a new technique for the first time might not work, but keep with it and persevere.  And remember, this is only a Guide to Acting.  The greatest actors have something innate and deep within them, what we call "Star Quality", but many skills can be learnt and developed to turn a mediocre or poor actor into a very good one!

 

Come back soon for the first proper installment when we'll discuss "A is for Acting... NOT!"