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The Tools Every Actor Needs

by Mario A. Campanaro

The Tools Every Actor Needs

by Mario A. Campanaro

Let’s discuss the importance of certain tools that the actor uses to dive deep into what motivates and drives the character throughout a given text. Just as a ballet dancer needs to know all the technicalities to perform a thousand fouetté turns effortlessly, the actor also needs a set of tools that support them physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually during the creative process. There is no shame in an actor, or any artist, needing and utilizing tools to help them throughout their work. This is what makes an actor a true craftsman or craftswoman.

It’s the difference between an actor making choices that have nothing to do with the text and an actor making choices that are completely connected to the text. It’s also the difference between an actor going into an audition and living the writer’s work versus rewriting the writer’s work by making uninformed choices. If the actor truly wants to live in the unknown of the moment, they have to be aware of what is known to do just that. This is what actually creates freedom in the space for the actor.

The actor has to be so connected to the life essentials of the character that they are able to freely live moment to moment, based on what is driving the character forward. This is why it is so important for the actor to identify, understand, and connect to the unwavering, uninterpreted facts as laid out in the text. These facts, also known as the given circumstances, may sound very elementary to some, but truthfully, the givens are the foundation, or skeleton, of the character’s life as specified by the writer.

It takes a very skilled detective to identify all these givens, especially the most subtle facts that can easily be overlooked, but which influence the full creation of the character. Once the actor can identify all these essentials, they can begin to understand and formulate the driving force, life goal, and overall dream of the character that specifies all action, motivation, and even listening throughout the entire piece. This, known as the spine, super-objective, or throughline, is there to guide, support, specify, and most importantly, stimulate the actor, and all of their senses, to fully live the character’s life.

Once all of this is identified, the actor has the creative opportunity and responsibility to bring their interpretation based on those facts to life using the totality of their instrument. And that’s when the next chapter of the creative magic truly begins!