🎭 How to listen and react authentically on stage with these 5 ways
The relationship between characters is one of the strengths of theater. Here's how to use it to give your performances impact
Hey Thespian,
Have you ever seen a theatrical performance, been immersed in it and, at some point, felt that there was something “fake” about it? As if the characters had stopped relating to each other.
One of the strengths of theater lies precisely in the relationship between the characters.
It's not like in cinema, where the actors often don't really relate to each other, but have a filter (i.e., the camera) that creates the illusion of relationship. On stage, the relationship between your character and others must be genuine.
And this is where the problem arises: how do you hold up for 1, 2 (or sometimes even 6 or 7 hours) of a relationship during a performance on stage?
Maybe with people you are forced to work with but with whom, in real life, you wouldn't go out for a beer if they threatened you with a gun.
...And yes, this happened to me just the other day during a very important production.
Here's how to listen and react authentically on stage with these 5 ways, especially during very long shows.
Some of this may seem like trivial advice, but I'll bet you anything that, of these 5, at least 2 occasionally slip your mind.
Way 1: Listen for real
Forget about the lines.
Don't focus on what you are going to say or what you have to say in 2 minutes. Instead, focus on what is happening onstage at that moment.
How would your character react to these events?
Sure, he would say the lines you've studied (and in fact, if you have a very precise director, that's exactly what you need to say). But how would he say them?
What leverage makes him bring up those very words?
By doing this your reactions will be much more genuine, and the audience will see a real relationship that will immerse them in the story.
Bonus: with this behavior you are not only helping yourself, but also the other actors who are on stage with you. If you are attentive and listening, they too will find it easier to stay focused and won't have to somehow try to “make up” for your mistake.
Way 2: Stay in the moment
We all have our lives outside the stage.
Taxes, expenses, family problems, health issues-we all have our own thoughts. But when the audience pays to see a performance, they have no interest in your problems.
The audience is there to see a performance.
But if you are not fully in the moment, the audience will see that something is wrong. If they are not actors with years of experience, they probably won't understand what is going wrong. But they will not be captured by the performance.
Let me give you a very recent example.
Last month I was in the ensemble of a musical that dealt with a very sensitive topic (violence against women). The main character, just before going on stage, fell and hurt his shoulder.
Nothing serious, but you could tell he was very concerned about it, as he is a man who lives alone.
As an actor with over 40 years of experience, he tried to mask his worries. But in doing so he created a character that was too aggressive. A feigned aggressiveness that was too excessive for his scenes.
Result? His parts that night were really a flop.
If he had made an effort to be in the moment he would have struggled much less to bring his character to life....
And, in the second case, he would also have had a chance to forget, at least temporarily, about his problems.
Way 3: Practice active listening.
You don't have to be on a stage to practice active listening.
You really can do it anytime you talk to someone. There are 2 important aspects to active listening.
The first is eye contact.
People are afraid, very often, to look into the eyes of others. After all, it is said that “the eyes are the windows to the soul,” and looking into people's eyes (Especially the left eye) can often tell you a lot about them.
And not everyone likes to be “read like a book.”
The second lies in “giving signs of life.” Nodding your head, adding little comments like “huh yeah” or “I understand” are a form of active listening.
Theatrically you can train this by asking your scene partner to paraphrase his or her lines, so you are forced to respond not by waiting for a certain word, but by actively listening to what he or she says.
Way 4: Train your emotional range.
There are so many ways to train it, and over the next few weeks I will reveal several of them to you.
To be sure you get them, subscribe to Confident Actor's Playbook.
Meanwhile, my advice (which is then the advice you will hear me give to the point of exhaustion), is to keep a journal.
Write in your journal anything that can help you better understand and explore your emotions. After all, emotions are a chaos of energy that, if used correctly, makes a play into a truly unforgettable event for the audience.
But, to get there, you must first do a big job of understanding your own emotions.
And journaling is the most effective (and cheapest) way there is.
Way 5: Instinctive and non-mental
If you stop and think, you only slow down your reactions and make them fake.
Just like when children play at being actors, faking every reaction.
Always remember that acting is a “game.” A game in which you step into the shoes of a character and, for a few minutes of your life, live what he would live.
Your mind, however, is not programmed to “be someone else.” It is only made to process information.
Your instinct, on the other hand, combined with active listening, is exactly what allows you to react instantly and absolutely genuinely to what is happening on stage.
I realize this is easier said than done. But think of it this way: the instant you learn to turn off your brain while you're onstage and rely on your instincts, that's the instant your performances will take a huge leap forward.
Final summary
Here is a small summary of the 5 ways you can listen and react authentically on stage:
Listen for real
Stay in the moment
Practice active listening
Train your emotional range
Instinctive and not mental
See you next week,
Henry the Mighty
Founder of Confident Actor's Playbook
PS - Let me know in the comments if there is any particular topic you would like to explore. I'm always interested to know what we can explore together to grow more and more confident actors capable of unforgettable performances.