Stage Acting Techniques

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Published: September 21, 2006

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Mamet's point? There is no one lucky technique which works for every actor in every performance or audition. Though stage and film stars may seem to owe their success to luck or talent, Mamet believes there is no magic inherent in the actor or in technique. Good acting is exclusively a question of audience response, and learning to interact with the audience is only learned by experience.

Despite Mamet's skepticism, the vast majority of stage professionals make use of some sort of formal training to enhance their acting ability. Whether it consists of vocal exercises done before a performance or pursuit of the all-encompassing technique of Method Acting, numerous schools of stage technique are available to today's aspiring performers.

Because stage performance places different physical demands on actors than screen or television, both venue and medium help to define what techniques are appropriate or necessary. Speech training provides a strong example.  An actress may seem inaudible if she does not project her voice while performing in a live theater.  On the other hand, she may seem to be shouting or over-acting if she delivers the same monologue at stage volume on a film set.  To appeal to casting directors, actors today should strive for versatility and pick up as many speech techniques as possible.

The vocal technique most widely taught to actors is Standard American Speech, which was popularized by famed speech coach Edith Skinner among others. Skinner's book, Speak with Distinction, remains a popular textbook in contemporary acting schools. Her method is designed to correct accents and make actors' voices more believable across a variety of different characters.

A second area of study is that of gesture or physical technique. Professional actors must study physical performance with an eye to versatility as well. The greater the range of emotions they can train their body to convey, the more likely they will be recognized by casting directors as valuable talent.  Stage actors must focus on training their body movements to be especially distinctive, clear and expressive because they are generally viewed from a distance.

Very specific physical techniques were used in the staging of 19th Century melodrama. For example, one could tell by the actor's gestures if his character was good or evil. An actor speaking into his left hand was instantly recognized as sinister or evil (a Latin word originally meaning on the left), whereas a character using his right hand was seen as good. Physical performance in 19th Century drama acted as a veritable code for spectators, but this once-popular school of technique gave way to a desire for realistic performance in the 20th Century and the present day.

Perhaps the most widely known realistic acting technique is Method Acting. Method Acting was first developed by Russian dramatist Constantin Stanislavsky beginning in the 1890s and continuing through the 1930s. Stanislavsky felt that in order to act a scenario, one had to have experienced it in real life. Actors still use "the Method" in an effort to improve their performances today.

One of the more extreme examples of this technique in recent history was actor Steve Carrell's decision to have his chest waxed on camera during filming of The 40-Year Old Virgin. For Carrell to play a character in physical pain in the film, he chose to experience the character's plight in real life. Clearly, the Method has its limits and actors must use discretion in pursuing a true-to-life performance.

Though some sense of acting technique is a valuable investment for stage performers, iconoclasts like David Mamet are correct that no one style of acting has remained popular throughout history. Given general guidelines as to what succeeds on stage, the actor must develop his own original technique.



“Constantin Stanislavsky.” PBS. 2006. September 20, 2006.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database /stanislavsky_c.html.

“How to Become an Actor.”  Instant Cast. September 20, 2006. http://www.instantcast.com/casting/become_an_actor .asp

Mamet, David. True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor. New York: Vintage Books, 1997, pages 5-6.

“Method Acting.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. September 20, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_acting

Rusie, Robert. “The Great White Way.” http://www.talkinbroadway.com/bway101/, 1999.