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.