Revealing Relationships Through Our responses

When we start breaking down scripts, one of the first things we usually ask ourselves is “Who is this person we are playing?”, but our own characters should not be the only “who” we should be concerning ourselves with.

We usually have different social groups and cliques based on our occupations, our families, our hobbies, and even various aspects of our pasts—none of these connections are exactly the same, nor should they be. Yet how we react is dependent upon who someone is to us personally and how precisely they are a part of our lives: the relationships between people act as an underscoring to the scene.

Through our behavior and actions in a scene we express the true nature of our thoughts, feelings and point of view towards other people, but the relationships with other characters will alter these behaviors depending upon their significance and connection to us. We must consider these factors while doing our preparation for a scene since it will instinctually affect our behavior and the reactions we have when played out in the present moment.

For example, there is a vast difference between the way we respond to our lover and to our parents for the same scenario.

In short: our connections with other people dramatically alter how we will respond.

The more we explore the inherent nature of the relationship, the more it will naturally reveal itself in the scene. We must always remember that our actions speak louder than our words, and as literal actors this rings true more than ever when making choices regarding the relationship.

Sandford Meisner said, “It’s not about showing. It’s about knowing… It’s not about being bigger, it’s about going deeper.” And although we should still have a goal or ‘doing’ in the scene for why we are acting a certain way, the relationship will filter how we should respond from one moment to the next. We must allow the relationship to affect our choices or else it wouldn’t matter what the other character thinks at any point—we would simply plow through them to achieve our objective. The connection with the other person will influence our behavior and act as a built-in obstacle that we must take into consideration.

The first question we should begin to ask ourselves when starting to dive into the subtext is: what type of relationship do they have with this other person? Is this a stranger to us? An acquaintance? A family member? A lover? Be concise and make a decision.

Once we have established the more obvious nature of the relationship between the characters we must dig deeper for the more specific version of these choices. The more specific the choices, the more meaningful every response will be. These decisions ultimately develop the reality of the imaginary circumstances.

Consider yourself a detective when making choices about the relationship. Keep asking questions and making other decisions based on previous responses. By maintaining a sense of curiosity and interest in the relationship the more suspense we may develop when the relationship plays out in performance.

We may even consider going into a stream of consciousness thought process to allow ourselves the opportunity to keep going deeper. For example, if this is a stranger, do they feel safe around them? Do they feel like they need to keep their distance? If they were to brush your elbow, would this person be startled? If it is an acquaintance, what aspect of their lives do they get to see? Is it always the ‘polished and put- together’ version of themselves? Or is it someone who only ever sees the goofy side? If it is a family member—is it a parent, is it a cousin, a sibling? If it’s a sibling, are they older? Do they speak every day? Are they more like friends, or does every word get under their skin? If it is a lover, how long have they been together? 3 weeks or 3 years? Have they been intimate? Are they still in the ‘honeymoon’ phase or do they know this person so well that the idea of them taking out the trash seems romantic? Have they been faithful? Do they think they are compatible?

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg for what all we may begin to ask ourselves. The more time we give ourselves to establish these types of details the more effective the scene will be.

Although relationships may seem simple enough to understand, we often take for granted how truly complex each interaction we have in everyday life is. For true authenticity to be played out in a scene we must be willing to discover how someone affects us on a deeper level and determine how previous encounters will affect the present moment.

Regardless of everything, it is important to acknowledge that all of this information is only meant to act as a tool to help guide us in the preparation stages of a performance and should never be forced into a scene. Whatever happens in a scene—happens. As soon as a scene has begun, from that moment forward we must not let the homework distract us away from the present moment; we should continue to maintain our focus on listening and responding to our partner.

As long as we trust in ourselves and our preparation, whatever knowledge we have retained will reveal itself naturally in our behavior under the imaginary circumstances.

Do you want to discover other ways we use text analysis and preparation to affect our choices in the present moment? Come check out our Virtual Meisner and Script Analysis classes at the Houde School of Acting at the link below. Seats for the month of June are already almost gone, so if you would like to join us, please do not hesitate to sign-up before they are sold-out!

by Diana Frankhauser