The Actor/Director Dance
by Mark Travis
I feel very fortunate, and blessed, to count Mark W. Travis among
my professional friends in this creative, and often high stress
business we call “the film industry.”
Mark has often been called “The Director’s Director” and he is
regarded by Hollywood’s top brass and international film
professionals as the world’s leading authority on the art and
craft of film directing.
He is currently on the faculty of HFF (Munich), HSU (Kiev) and
has taught at AFI, UCLA, The Binger Institute (Amsterdam), PU
(Pixar University), FAS Screen Training Ireland and many other
internationally acclaimed institutions and film schools.
http://www.markwtravis.com
Mark is also the author of two popular filmmaking books:
1) “Directing Feature Films: The Creative Collaborarion Between
Director, Writers, and Actors” http://amzn.to/XqQSpU
2) “The Film Director’s Bag of Tricks: How to Get What You Want
from Actors and Writers” http://amzn.to/Z39xTX
All of his techniques stem from the pursuit of organic authentic
performances that are deeply felt by audiences.
Enjoy Mark’s “wonderful-words-of-wisdom” below.
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“The Actor/Director Dance” by Mark W. Travis
As far as relationships go I propose the one between actors and
directors is one of the most challenging. It is extremely
demanding and often misunderstood.
Just think about it. A director gets a script that is full of
complex characters and he/she needs actors to portray those
characters. No problem. There are thousands of available actors
from which the director can choose.
But … once the selection has been made the trouble begins. It’s
like dancing a waltz and both you and your partner are trying to
lead. Or, perhaps a more accurate metaphor: you think it’s a
waltz and your partner is convinced it’s a tango. (And we won’t
talk about what music the writer or the producer thinks the band
is playing!)
Actors expect most directors to be ‘result’ directors. They
expect the director to communicate only how he/she wants the
scene to be played as if actors can flip switches and push
buttons until the prescribed performance comes out.
The reason most actors expect result directing is because most
directors are result directors. Hey, it’s the easiest way to
direct. It’s like going to MacDonald’s: I tell you what I want
and you put it in the bag.
This ‘marriage’ is dysfunctional (and curiously co-dependent)
from the start. It’s not because of any malicious intent but
rather because the two species have never really learned how to
communicate effectively with each other.
Take a look through all the literature on acting and directing,
search through all the finest acting and directing schools and
see how little is written or taught about regarding the
communication between actors and directors.
Yet it’s very clear that actors and directors all have the best
of intentions of making this relationship work. I have not met a
director who did not have a clear idea of what he/she wanted. And
every actor I have worked with has an intuitive instinct for
their character and how a scene can be played.
Why then does this relationship so often begin to fall apart when
they begin talking to each other? The answer is quite simple:
different languages and different ideas of how this relationship
should or could work.
What’s missing? The missing element is the understanding that if
this process is going to work there must be collaboration. Okay,
I know what you’re thinking. “We collaborate. We work together.
We talk to each other.” And you’re right, of course you do. But
are you clear on what the job is and what each of your bring to
the table?
Way too many directors think that it is the director’s job to
‘tell the actors what you want’ and too many actors believe that
their job is to ‘give the director what he/she wants’.
This is their collaboration. And with this co-dependent formula
the final product is destined to be limited to the imagination of
the director and most of the potential creative input from the
actor will never be exposed.
So, what is the shared goal of the actor and director and what is
it that they are missing?
In this challenging relationship there is a third entity – the
product of this union, the child if you will – the character. In
fact the primary reason for this ‘marriage’ is to create the
offspring. Can you imagine raising a child when you and your
partner have two totally different ideas of how to nurture it?
One of you (the actor) wants to infuse the child with certain
emotions, habits, attitudes, fears and dreams. And the other (the
director) has very clear ideas how that child should behave under
certain and specific conditions.
And who is there to advocate for the child? Is anyone even
listening to the child? Is anyone truly interested in what the
child might want, what the child might need? Or how the child
thinks or dreams? What about his fears or desires?
The essential job of the actor and director relationship is to
create a character of such depth and authenticity that it can be
‘released’ into any scene without prerequisites of ‘acting’ or
‘performance’.
What the director or the actor believes the character wants or
needs pales by comparison to what the character truly wants or
needs. How we believe the character would behave under certain
circumstances may have little to do with the character’s own
intuition and instincts. Create the character and then let the
character breathe.
Here’s a thought. What would happen if directors stopped
‘directing actors’? By this I mean, what if directors abandoned
the idea of demanding a certain performance, or controlling the
behavior of the actor/character? What if the director actually
allowed the actors, as the characters, to find their way through
each scene?
And, what would happen if actors stopped ‘acting’? What if they
gave up the practice of shaping, defining and controlling the
behavior of their characters? What if they just allowed their
characters to exist authentically and purely? What if they let
their character carve his/her own way through each scene, through
each moment of the character’s life?
Imagine, no more ‘directing’ and no more ‘acting’?
Imagine a world of storytelling where each character was free
from the constrictions and restrictions of actors and directors.
Imagine the actor/director relationship evolving into a creative
relationship full of wonder, joy, creativity and parental pride.
It is possible. All it takes is the willingness to explore new
ways of working together. All it takes is the courage to
relinquish those old traditional controls and roles and immerse
yourself in a world of exploration and discovery.
———-
If you liked this article, please visit Mark’s website at
http://www.markwtravis.com where you will find more valuable
information on directing actors.
And while you are there, please sign up to his newsletter. 🙂
Copyright (c) 2013 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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