Write Micro Plays

The Words of Wisdom this week are unusual because they are about an exercise I recommend to you which is as much about writiing as it is about acting. It's an exercise some of you will know because I've used it in class and the Words of Wisdom are Write Micro Plays.

A Micro Play is a five point play scenario devised very quickly by any number of people from one to five. It is very important that it should be done very quickly, against the clock, so there is no time for doubts or second thoughts. You don't have to write it down and, of course, it could be a screenplay, rather than a stage play.

The five points are:
1 Where and when is the play happening? Example 'Sweatshop in New York garment district 1957.'
2 Who are the main characters? Example 'Bette, beautiful daughter of boss: Ricardo, cool leather jacketed ne'erdowell type.'
3 First happening: what is the first thing that turns everyday events into a story? Example 'Ricardo delivers parcel to clothing factory and Bette and he are iinstantly attracted, but she plays hard to get.'
4 Second happening: after possibly giving an idea of how the story has continued, what is the point of decision at which the story is going to fall one way or the other? Example Bette's father has forbidden them to see each other; Bette is being sent away to her aunt in Vermont. The factory catches fire, the old man is trapped in the flames, Ricardo has to decide whether to run through the flames to rescue him.
5 Ending (most important because, for good or ill, it will contain the moral of the story): the very last thing the audience sees. Example The old man is led away by the cops (it was an attempted insurance fraud); he has handed the keys to the half burned out basement to the lovers. They walk through the smoking wreckage in the dawn light and but up a sign reading 'Business as usual.'

And why is this exercise so valuable? Because it teaches you so much about story structure, which is very important because an actor always needs to know where their characters arc stands in relation to the shape of the whole story. It also teaches you not to censor yourself unnecessarily when acting, rehearsing or improvising.

Write Micro Plays

Always be ready to work with children or animals

This week's Words of Wisdom refer to morose American comedian W C Fields who said 'Never work with children or animals. But the Words turn this on its head and say 'Always be ready to work with children or animals.' Why? Well, if we examine W C Fields's maxim there are two possible reasons for not wanting to work with children or animals. Maybe it's because children and animals are notorious scene stealers or maybe it's because their behaviour is unpredictable. Now, don't worry about having scenes stolen from you: theatre is a team activity and an actor's job is to contribute to the success of the team as a whole. If an actor just wants to be in the spotlight all the time they're going to be a liability to work with and a pain in the neck, so don't worry about the audience's eyes not being on you all the time. And if you're used to improvising you'll welcome the unexpected and cope with whatever happens. So always be ready to work with children or animals - even if the children or animals are adult human ones. Which brings us to Rod Hull and Emu and Michael Parkinson - but that's another story.

Your voice is a musical instrument

The Words of Wisdom this week are Your Voice is a Musical Instrument. Think of all the attributes of music: pitch, tone, tempo, rhythm, is it staccato or legato, do the words run counter to the tune? You produce all of this when you speak and, by using them skilfully, you enhance the emotional effect of what you say. If you try and add to these elements artificially, you will sound unnatural and false, but if you work at them, you will gradually recruit them to the army of effects you have at your disposal. Your Voice is a Musical Instrument.

Repetition is the Mother of Skill

Time we had another Words of Wisdom. 'Repetition is the Mother of Skill.' No-one seems to know where this saying comes from, but it was made famous by American success guru Anthony Robbins. So what's behind it? If you train and practice, you gradually adapt to improve at whatever you are training and practising at. If you lift weights your muscles get stronger, if you run regularly you find that you can run further and faster. If you practice mental arithmetic you get much better at it. If you practice technique in sports or music you improve. This is one of the most important lessons in life. We are told 'practice makes perfect' when we are young, but somehow this message doesn't quite hit home, perhaps because a lot of hard work and effort are involved before you register real improvement and there is no such thing as instant success.

But there is plenty of good science to prove it is true. One of the most remarkable findings is about the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for spatial memory. Tests on taxi drivers prove that their hippocampuses grow larger than on people who don't have all their knowledge of places and how to get to them - and the longer they've been driving, the greater the effect.

The good news of all this is that the amount of practice you do far outweighs the aptitude you may have to start with. The bad news is the '10,000 hour' rule, that to achieve real expertise at anything you need to put in 10,000 hours of focused practice. That means that if you spend, say, 25 hours a week on your training, eight years of hard work. So, if you really want to succeed at, well, anything, that's what you've got to put in. How many hours do you put in? Repetition is the Mother of Skill.

You are what you wear

The Words of Wisdom this week are You are what you wear. Often when you are going to appear in a production you will be called for a costume fitting, so that you may be kitted out with whatever you are going to wear in the performance. This call serves a dual purpose. Firstly, obviously, to make sure that the clothes fit you properly. But secondly, so that you have the experience of what it feels like to wear the costume. Our clothes give out strong signals about ourselves and what we are like and conversely, when we are acting, they tell us a lot about the character that is wearing them. The fitting gives us an opportunity to feel how the clothes hang and how we move in them. Once you consign that knowledge to your sense memory, you can draw in it again in rehearsal, even though you may not then be wearing the costume. Imagine the effect of wearing a variety of different clothing: a military uniform, a crinoline, surgeons' scrubs, white tie and tails, a peasant's smock, a wetsuit, a tight corset, high heeled shoes. I once had to wear the vestments of a Roman Catholic priest. I felt quite sanctified! You are what you wear.

Make it easy on yourself

The Words of Wisdom this week are 'Make it easy on yourself.' This comes from when I was in my twenties. As some of you will know I am a mathematically minded person and in that time in my life I used to coach people for their Maths exams. I found that, with a piece of Mathematics, once people understand it, it seems easy to them, but, when they don't understand it, it seems impossible. There is no middle ground. My task as a teacher was to find a way they could make the jump from not understanding to understanding. And I found that the way to do this was to break the jump down to a series of steps, each of which was simple. It is possible to apply a similar method to anything that can be learned, even artistic subjects which are not as factual and logical as Mathematics. If you have a task or technique to learn, break it down into the smallest possible steps, so that each step is easy. This is how good teachers make difficult things seem simple. Make it easy on yourself.

The delight is in the detail

Here are the Words of Wisdom for this week. When we are in the audience we want to engage with the characters being portrayed and to feel the emotional tides as they wash to and fro. That is the big picture. But we also need all the little pictures, the accuracy and definition that make us believe that what we are seeing is authentic. That is important too. The delight is in the detail.

So we, in the audience, need to see characters that are individual and not stereotypical, that have a way of speaking and a way of walking and a way of doing everything that they do that is distinct and differentiated. So actors need to make every word and every action particular to the character, so that every line of the script reveais more about the character or advances the plot - or both. Let your performances hold up a mirror to nature and show the physical and mental landscape of every profession and type of person.

How to achieve this? Through observation and imagination. Never cease from observing people in their lives and, not to be forgotten, draw on elements you observe in other actors' work. And remember: the delight is in the detail.