Info about Actresses
Let's Talk Sense About Acting Technique
Technique liberates the actor. Technique is the means by which ideas and feelings are turned into a believable performance. Without expressive skills, the actor is awkward and confused; what he thinks and feels about a part is only the germ of the performance, which must be realized emotionally in terms of speech, use of language, movement and body language. There are four words here which nearly every acting teacher, director and actor use again and again: what? where? why? how? - questions which relate closely to the way in which a character is placed in his or her social and emotional context. How? is probably the most important question for the actor because it affects what you do, how you do it and with what.
Technique takes two forms. When we say an actor has a good technique we mean that he or she has, most importantly, a strong, musical, attractive voice, clear and articulate speech, skill in the use of language and vocal expression. Also a well-managed body, agility, finesse and an expressive use of movement. The actor will have the ability to work creatively, to focus his thought on what he's doing in a deep but economical way and will be in possession of well-tuned stage skills - a sense of pace, and timing, for example, a sense of size and energy, a sense of style.
The other aspect of technique is the manner in which all of these qualities are brought to bear on that particular play, that particular script. For example: there's a world of difference between playing the exquisite Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest and the lovely Sylv (she of the legendary knockers') in Berkoff's East Both girls are much of an age, wanting most of the same things, perhaps having many of the same feelings, and they're not difficult to understand. But they are quite difficult to act. They belong to different tribes and different times and so do things - dress, speak and move - very differently. Gwendolen wears a flowing dress, pretty little shoes and a gorgeous hat; her social class and upbringing show in every move and gesture she makes, she's as complex and artificial as an Oriental princess. Sylv wears towering white stilettos, a very tight blouse or jumper, and a very tight, very short skirt. She's another kind of princess, the princess of the Lyceum Ballroom, and equally complex, speaking a special form of English in a special way. So successful acting of both these girls depends very much on asking what, where, why and how.