Acting Action: A Primer for Actors

by Hugh O'Gorman

Overview

“What is it that we’re doing, when we’re acting well?” This is the question famously posed by Earle Gister, the legendary head of the acting department at Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1999. In Acting Action, actor, director, and teaching artist Hugh O’Gorman invites readers to explore the question in detail.

Focusing on playing action—one of the essential components of acting passed on to renowned acting teachers Earle Gister and Lloyd Richards by Paul Mann—Acting Action is divided into two parts: context and practice. The first section provides a thorough examination of the theory behind the core elements of playing action. The second section presents a step-by-step rehearsal guide for actors to integrate playing action into their preparation process.

Acting Action offers a foundation for how to get started and build the core of a performance. More precisely, it provides a practical guide for actors, directors, and teachers in the technique of playing action, addressing a void in the world of actor training by illuminating what exactly to do in the moment-to-moment act of acting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538139295
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/07/2021
Pages:	290
Sales rank:	513,405
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.03(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Hugh O’Gorman is an actor, director, teaching artist, and co-executive director of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Since 2002, he has been the head of acting at California State University, Long Beach. His acting credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, and over a dozen of the nation’s most respected regional theaters. His many television credits include AMC’s Emmy Award–winning show Remember WENN (SAG Award nomination) and HBO’s John Adams. O’Gorman is the author of The Keys to Acting.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: Context

Chapter 1. The Space Between

The Essence of Acting

The Beautiful Game of Acting

Ma

Acting is Like Love

When the Penny Drops

Dissolving the Ego

Daily Self & Artistic Self

Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 2. Acting is Action

The Two Actions

The Script & Invisible Action

Performance & Visible Action

Nomenclature

Feelings

Chapter 2 Summary

Chapter 3. Acting Defined

Living

Verisimilitude

Believably vs. Truthfully

Imaginary Circumstances

The ‘As if…”

Precise Repeatability

The ‘What’

The ‘How’

Complete Spontaneity

The River of Action

Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 4. Playing Action

The Action

The Objective

The Need

The Event

The Super-Objective (Hopes & Dreams)

Play's the thing…

Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter 5. Sculptors of Energy

Lifeforce

Attention

Paying Attention

Talent is a Lifestyle

Properties of Thought

Targets of Attention

Curiosity

Sourcing

The Release

The Allowing

Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 6. Deeper Not Wider

Intimate Harmony

The Cost

Artistic Love

Courage

Landscapes of Paradox

Perception

Reception

Chapter 6 Summary

Part 2: Practice

Chapter 7. Invisible Action – Cognitive Analysis (Preparation)

Reading the Script (or Becoming Event Detectives)

The Arc of Action

The Five questions

Coming from some place

Chapter 8. Visible Action – Physical Analysis (Rehearsal)

Études, Actions and the Event

Action and Counter Action

The Obstacle

Sourcing Your Scene Partner

Sourcing Images

Evaluation

Relationships

Chapter 9. Advice from the Front

Unconscious Competence (or forgetting technique)

Loving the plateau

The Beginner’s Mind (or remaining an eternal student)

Confidence and Antifragility

Fail Better

Objective Observation

Luck

Role vs. Character

Character vs. Characterization

Competition

Frustration (the first sign of creativity)

Attention vs. Concentration

Creative Individuality & Interpretation

Birds and Frogs

On Being Sexy...

The Label Libel

Finding the Right Teacher

Gratitude

10. Epilogue

Bibliography

Notes

Index

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

A comprehensive and clear-eyed distillation of some of the core tenets of acting technique, O’Gorman’s primer beautifully demystifies the craft for young actors. Finally someone has re-articulated some of the substantial contributions of Lloyd Richards and Earle Gister to our understanding of what acting is. This is an important addition to the canon of material for actors in training.

Gregory Wallace

I wish I'd had this book when I started teaching acting thirty years ago. Hugh O'Gorman is omnivorous. I've never known someone so hungry to understand—and explain in the most practical terms—acting technique and training from every possible angle. He's read everything remotely related to the field, and he's developed an approach to training that's broadly comprehensive and cohesive, analytical and intuitive—one that honors the wisdom of master teachers, many of whom he's studied with. Acting Action is practically its own syllabus. In 10 chapters, its author lays out every aspect of actor preparation—all adding up to a highly effective approach to playing action onstage. This book is one-stop-shopping for teachers of acting.

Amy Herzberg

Hugh O'Gorman has pulled together his lifetime of experience as actor and acting teacher—not to mention as a soccer player—into a wonderfully comprehensive, eminently readable book on acting in general, and on acting training and work on scene and character. The synthesis between Stanislavsky, Earle Gister, and Michael Chekhov is truly remarkable, and the progression of the exercises is just right. It is a tremendously rewarding treasure house of professional guidance for actors, teachers, and directors alike.

David Zinder

A book for breakthroughs! It presents comprehensive techniques and tools with warmth and humanity; myriad diagnostic and performative keys are shared in a thoughtful, approachable, and deeply relatable manner. A compelling read that translates into practical, dynamic touchstones for building an active and fulfilling craft—all illuminated by the joy the author so clearly finds in delving into the ineluctable, elusive magic of stage and screen performance.

Kathleen Chopin

Acting Action: A Primer for Actors is a gem! O'Gorman distills such complex information into learn-able (and teach-able) bites. The result is a delicious meal for anyone who wants a real technique to guide his or her path to artistry as an actor.

Mary Lou Belli

A book for breakthroughs! It presents comprehensive techniques and tools with warmth and humanity; myriad diagnostic and performative keys are shared in a thoughtful, approachable, and deeply relatable manner. A compelling read that translates into practical, dynamic touchstones for building an active and fulfilling craft--all illuminated by the joy the author so clearly finds in delving into the ineluctable, elusive magic of stage and screen performance.

A comprehensive and clear-eyed distillation of some of the core tenets of acting technique, O'Gorman's primer beautifully demystifies the craft for young actors. Finally someone has re-articulated some of the substantial contributions of Lloyd Richards and Earle Gister to our understanding of what acting is. This is an important addition to the canon of material for actors in training.

Acting Action: A Primer for Actors is a gem! O'Gorman distills such complex information into learn-able (and teach-able) bites. The result is a delicious meal for anyone who wants a real technique to guide his or her path to artistry as an actor.

Hugh O'Gorman has pulled together his lifetime of experience as actor and acting teacher--not to mention as a soccer player--into a wonderfully comprehensive, eminently readable book on acting in general, and on acting training and work on scene and character. The synthesis between Stanislavsky, Earle Gister, and Michael Chekhov is truly remarkable, and the progression of the exercises is just right. It is a tremendously rewarding treasure house of professional guidance for actors, teachers, and directors alike.

I wish I'd had this book when I started teaching acting thirty years ago. Hugh O'Gorman is omnivorous. I've never known someone so hungry to understand--and explain in the most practical terms--acting technique and training from every possible angle. He's read everything remotely related to the field, and he's developed an approach to training that's broadly comprehensive and cohesive, analytical and intuitive--one that honors the wisdom of master teachers, many of whom he's studied with. Acting Action is practically its own syllabus. In 10 chapters, its author lays out every aspect of actor preparation--all adding up to a highly effective approach to playing action onstage. This book is one-stop-shopping for teachers of acting.

From the Publisher