For years, as owner of The Jentzen Technique and Master Talent Teachers’ Acting Coach, I have been coaching talented theatre actors as they constitute the transition from stage to film and television acting. It seems the distinction between stage and film acting has become an obsession for actors who desire to constitute the leap!
The ability to adapt between the two has undeniably become an extremely vital skill for any actor who wants to be a working professional. I have worked with students who have thrived in theatre, be it starring roles on Broadway or repertory companies; however found themselves a bit befuddled when it came to translating their acting ability to film.
The following is the beginning of a series of videos and articles that will continue to shed insight into this vital skill and the differentiation between stage and screen acting.
The first difference is vital to grasp, as the medium will determine how the tale will be told. In theatre, the actors relay the tale as it happens via monologues and dialogue. However in film, there is much less dialogue and the camera tells the tale visually. So, in film, the actor will be communicating via looks, action, behavior and emotion and will sometimes simply utter only a hardly any lines of dialogue. That same scene in a play might be executed in a five-minute monologue presented to a live audience. Also, on stage that actor can never really “utter.” In theatre the actor must be heard all the path to the back of the balcony and will project their voice accordingly.
The Challenge of Truthfulness
Everyone has excellent and terrible days, and, in theatre, an actor could very well “pretend” some of their emotions. As some theatre actors may not like to admit it, the rigors of performing night after night can lend an actor to skillfully do their emotion outwardly. A stage actor understands that as extended as there is a theatrical energy emanating, the audience will continue to be engaged.
In film, the emotions are intimate and raw; as the lens is recording the actor up close. It isn’t simple to pretend or much try to get away with faking an familiarity. In film, the actor must commit to the truthfulness of the lifetime they are playing; the actor must be what I call, “intimately believable.”
Rehearsal
The rehearsal action is vastly different from one medium to the following. The beauty of theatre is that it affords the actor the opportunity to develop a character over a four-week period (give or capture a week or two). What a luxury to nurture character development while memorizing your lines! In film, you are lucky to get a hardly any days of rehearsal, dependent on the budget and the director… and in television; you most often won’t get any rehearsal at all! In television, your rehearsal is the run-through prior to the director and DP setting up the camera for the shot. Sometimes, a series regular might really delight in the rehearsal action and you luck outside and get a session prior to the 2nd AD calling for you to be on locate.
Performance is Key
If you like acting, you quickly realize that it doesn’t really affair what medium you are currently working in, as extended as you are effective in each one of them. Often working in one medium can lead to getting you a gig in another. So it’s vital to keep working the skills required for each medium.
A fantastic theatre role could lead to a television role. Years ago, I witnessed an incredible performance in a play called Topdog/Underdog at the Mark Taper Forum. “I was blown away by Harold Perrineau, who gave a powerful performance in his portrayal of the older brother, Lincoln. He had been in a television series however wasn’t working in TV at the age, so he took the role and went on tour. A couple of years later he booked a series regular role on J.J. Abrams, Lost. I remember hearing April Webster, the casting director of Lost, mention that she had seen him in Topdog/Underdog and remembered him.”
Coming soon…! Stage to Screen Acting: Part Two
Master Talent Teachers is an award-winning team of top entertainment industry teaching professionals providing FREE valuable videos, insider tips and products to empower your craft and career! For even more valuable information Go to => http://www.mastertalentteachers.com now and watch FREE in-depth videos.