Expert Article

 

Lights, Camera, Action……….  Unless you are on Stage!

 The differences of acting on stage vs. on camera, and how to do both

  

By: Angel Perez

 

“Are you a different animal, and the same beast?” Ah yes, the famous wise words from Kobe Bryant, the legend himself, in his memorable Nike Kobe System commercial. This is the question that Kanye West (another legend) was asked, leaving him utterly perplexed. He was not the only one left confused of course, this question has left many scientists, philosophers, and theologians searching for the answer. “How could one be a different animal, and the same beast?” If you have not seen the 2012 commercial, I highly recommend you pop on over to YouTube and look it up.  

 Now I know you must be wondering, “what does this quote have to do with acting on stage vs. on camera?”   Being a theater minor has allowed me to view this question as an analogy. Allow me to explain- The art of acting is the Beast itself. Theater acting and acting on camera are different animals. Lions and crocodiles are different animals, yet both can be beasts. Let us identify the differences of stage acting and film acting, but first we must understand the history of acting.

 

History

 It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the art of acting first began. The earliest records pop up in Athens in around 500BC. Thespis, an ancient Greek poet, is thought to be one of the first if not the first actor in history. Between 1000BC and 146BC, the Greeks began to build amphitheaters. (Scholastic) They were arenas that were built into hillsides, with seats forming around in a half circle manner. Throughout history, theaters evolved, and so did the content and styles of plays. We started with some Greek tragedies and got Shakespeare in Elizabethan theaters. The earliest actors had to project their voices, so that they could be heard in the very back. Their expressions were much more exaggerated for all to see. Thomas Edison changed the game when he invented the motion picture camera- (it was Kennedy Dickson who invented it, but Edison took the credit) (Jason Hellerman) The earliest films were in black and white and had no sound. Now we have films with color and sound, and you can zoom in on the pupils of an actor with such clarity. With all the technological advancements, the art of acting has evolved.

  

Preparation, Process, Environment

 For live performances, actors tend to get anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months to remember all their lines. It's important for actors to be completely off book meaning that they have all their lines memorized. In live performances you don't get any retakes so if you forget or fumble your lines it becomes part of the story. On top of having your lines memorized you must remember all your blocking (rehearsed movements), entrance and exit cues, and you must be able to adapt to the unexpected. If in a scene an actor forgets to bring a prop on stage, they must work around this. This is one of the many reasons that the scheduling for a theater production is methodical. Immediately after the casting has been done, the first couple of days consists of cold reads and in-depth analysis of the script. Next step is getting off book and learning the blocking. Then there will be a week of run throughs with costumes and props. One week before opening night, you will have a tech week. Tech week is when the final pieces are incorporated into the production, lights, and sound.     Image below: Theater Production Schedule

 

Audience members at a play, in a sense are part of the performance. Audience members see and feel the emotions of the actors in real time. A couple of months ago I was part of a production called the Plaint Girls, at USC and I can tell you that every performance was different. Believe it or not the energy that the audience gives can affect how well an actor performs. On the days when the audience was engaged and laughing and gasping, myself and my fellow cast members were able to feed off that energy. There were also days when the audience was dead, and we had to muster up our own energy. William Dafoe a word renowned actor, got his start with theater, before transitioning into film. “The activity of doing theater, is creating a score and your biggest job is reanimating the score every night, refining the rhythm, refining life, making the illusion of it happening for the first time” (Dafoe 0:40-1:00) The first couple of live performances you'll have nerves and butterflies, and you can channel that energy into your acting. The problem after doing the play a couple times is you can get into this state of autopilot, when you’re just saying your lines with no real intent or purpose behind the words. I would relate it to times when you're driving your car and you're alert but you're also daydreaming at the same time. Every actor has their own unique way of addressing this problem. What I find most effective for me is to keep my mind off the play whenever I am not at the theater. I go about my day, and once call time comes around, I give myself time to get engaged. I slowly start to become the character by going over some of my lines in my head, I listen to music, and allow myself to enter back into the world of theater.

 The process for an actor on a film production is much different. You don't get the same long window of opportunity to rehearse. For a film production it can be much more fast paced, leaving you with little time to develop your character. Often the first couple of scenes that are filmed are those of the end. It can get confusing at times. As an actor your character is not able to go through its natural arc, and there may be a feeling of disconnect that develops as a result. One clear advantage however is that you're able to film multiple takes. If you are not feeling it in a particular scene, you can cut give yourself a break and revisit after taking a moment.

 You can expect to be in several different locations, your environment will change. There may be scenes that are indoors, outdoors, in another country, or in a studio with a built set.  You may not get time to familiarize yourself with your environment as you would in a theater. For an actor weather condition is another factor to take into consideration. According to Mike Floorwalker, “DiCaprio was forced to perform in these conditions while wearing 47 different pieces of prosthetic makeup which took five hours to apply; the bearskin he wears through much of the film would become saturated and freeze solid, and DiCaprio was constantly struggling to avoid hypothermia.” Acting is already challenging, now imagine trying to meet the physical demands.

 

 Physicality, Voice, Expressions  

 Movement, body language, facial expressions, and your voice are all a part of an actor’s arsenal to tell a story. The way you use your arsenal and to what extent differs. For theater productions the distance from an audience member to the stage can rang anywhere from 5 feet to 100 feet. On stage your movements and facial expressions are much more exaggerated. They need to be for all to see and to be able to understand the story that is being told. Actors on stage must cheat their body open to the crowd. Cheating open is having your body angled in a manner where the audience can still see most of you and your face. It is unnatural but essential, not everyone will be able to see subtle expressions of grief or joy, or the eyes, the windows to our souls. To be heard you must project your voice and articulate your words.

 On camera work requires an actor to be still and bring the act down a bit. I had one director say to me “less is more”. You tell the story with your eyes. You have different kinds of shots, you may have a wide shot, med, long shot, or close up. Most of the time when there is dialogue, you’re going to have a close shot of the actors. You don’t move around as much as you would on stage because you may step out of frame of the shot. Stage acting on camera will just be overacting, and it will look awkward. You don’t need to worry about projecting your voice when you have mics setup all around to pick up the slightest of whispers. According to D.W. Griffith, “the stage actor projects an emotion or a character to an audience, whereas a film actor must in some way embody and perform these emotions in as true and believable a way as possible.”

 

 Different Animal, and the Same Beast

 Whether you’re acting on stage or acting on camera, the end goal is sharing a story and to bring it to life. If you’re an aspiring actor I encourage you to dive into both environments, you can learn from each and  both will assist in your development.   

 

 Works Cited

 

“Acting for the Screen vs. the Stage.” Performing Arts Academy, 14 Feb. 2021, https://paacolorado.org/acting-for-the-screen-vs-the-stage/. 

Actsocialmedia. “From Stage to Screen-Tips to Remember for on-Camera Acting.” From Stage to Screen-Tips to Remember for On-Camera Acting, Blogger, 7 Apr. 2021, http://blog.act-sf.org/2021/04/from-stage-to-screentips-to-remember.html. 

Floorwalker, Mike. “Actors Who Endured Horrible Conditions during Filming.” Looper.com, Looper, 27 Apr. 2020, https://www.looper.com/135119/actors-who-endured-horrible-conditions-during-filming/. 

Hellerman, Jason. “When Was the First Movie Camera Invented?” No Film School, No Film School, 4 Sept. 2020, https://nofilmschool.com/when-was-the-first-movie-camera-invented. 

History of Theatre - Scholastic. https://images.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/a6/a5/je1208a2i-inp-121895.pdf. 

Kantilaftis, Helen. “Stage vs. Screen: What's the Big Difference?” Film School And Acting School Of New York Film Academy, 14 Aug. 2015, https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/stage-vs-screen-whats-the-big-difference/. 

Moran, Katrina. “Acting on-Camera vs on Stage.” Acting & Voice Studios, Acting & Voice Studios, 26 Aug. 2021, https://www.actingandvoicestudios.com/blogs/news/acting-on-camera-vs-on-stage. 

TulaneLiberalArts. “Willem Dafoe Talks Film & Stage with Tulane Theatre Professor.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Oct. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsc1-2voZVg.