Techniques of Embodying Emotions in Screen Acting
Introduction
According to Cabanac (2002), a consensus on the actual definition of the word emotion in the world of literature does not exist. As a result, many scholars in a bid to define it draw reference from a list of words that include anger, disgust, surprise, sadness, and joy. However, emotions can be looked at as a multifaceted psychological state that entails three major exclusive components; an experience that is subjective, a physiological response and lastly a behavioral reaction. Embodying emotions according to Niedenthal (2007) refers to the perception of emotions which in its simplest form involves discernment of the implied emotion. Human beings he further argues perceive and discern feelings and emotion in an amazingly consistent and similar way. One of the most challenging experiences actors have to deal with is putting up with the complexity of performing a character’s emotional journey in an unchronological manner and under pressure (Stanislavski, 2016). Jeremy Irons; one of the most celebrated British actors describes the process of filming as a disjointed journey that require skills to sail through.
“You have to find ways to get, very quickly, into your role – to learn the techniques that you’re going to need when you’re going to shoot, probably, in short little bites. You have to understand what the scene’s about and what the arc of the scene is, as you would in theatre, but then you have to be able to get immediately in to the right bit of that arc for the particular shot that’s being done. (Irons in Churcher, 2015, p. xiv).”
By arc of the scene, Irons means that actors must always be ready and willing to grow emotionally throughout the filming process and not stagnate halfway as situations are thrown towards them in a bid to test their personal qualities. This is because according to Stanislavski (2016), at the beginning of any screen adaptation, characters have their already preset virtues, strengths and qualities that actors must meet.
This essay seeks to explore possible techniques that can be employed in times of pressure to access and embody emotions that are crucial in enabling the screen actor to be truthful to the character and emotional state of the character, scene after scene, and take after take. It seeks to investigate how a screen actor can embody emotion in the fast paced screen environment, focusing on Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gestures and Stanislavski’s Sense memory. Through this expedition, I hope to gain an understanding of how an actor can quickly embody and adapt emotions to serve the specific moment of an emotional journey of a character in a scene.
Konstantin Stanislavski’s Sense Memory
According to Sawoski (2010), the term sense memory which is a modification of emotional memory for quite a long time has been subject to controversy and continues to spark heated debates especially in America where it is fairly more common. The term emotional memory from which sense memory is derived was espoused by Stanislavski who was a Russian writer and producer in 1898 (Allen, 2015). Emotional memory development was inspired by the screen adaptation of Stanislavski’s play entitled Seagull that was done in 1898 under the Moscow Art Theater popularly referred to as MAT then (Sawoski, 2010). The adaptation was regarded as failure because actors could not bring out the true emotional and psychological depth that characterized the original script. Stanislavski criticized the actors for not being truthful to their characters. Motivated by the ‘Affective Memory’ concept pioneered by Theodule Ribot (1839 – 1916) who was a French psychologist, he invented the emotional memory. The emotional memory concept was more of a reflection of his lifelessness on stage and a comparison between the best actors on stage. The first draft of this technique was done in 1909 and his desire to test his techniques and principles implored him to start his own studio in 1911 to serve as a laboratory (Sawoski, 2010; Merlin, 2007). From the emotional memory concept, sense memory was derived and popularized by Lee Strasberg; the founder of method acting technique.
The sense memory is a technique of embodying emotions that requires an actor to remember and reconstruct occurrences from the past so that he can replicate and regenerate the not only the emotions but also what they heard, tasted, felt with their hands, smelt and saw at that particular time (Stanislavski, 2016). The emotions regenerated as a result of remembering a past event are then put into use in a current situation to give it a humanly touch laden with true human profundity and personal involvement. The sense memory technique was informed by the belief that the richness and opulence of an actor’s performance depends greatly on the authenticity and earnestness of his personal experiences (Sawoski, 2010; Bennett, 2003).
The major reason why Stanislavski believed at that time in the power of distant past occurrences rather than recent ones is because he considered time to be a distiller of feelings which had the power of refining tem and making them as genuine and strong as possible (Bennett, 2003; Merlin, 2007). Beyond doubt, Stanislavski believed that any actor could swirl the much needed emotion on stage in himself by simply remembering an event that carried with it a similar emotion through their common senses (Sawoski, 2010). Through coaching and guidance, Stanislavski believed that actors could develop a conditioned reflex that would enable them to stir up emotions on stage by remembering events that really occurred in their lives or just thought about.
Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture
Michael Chekhov continues to be celebrated in the world of acting because of his immense contribution towards the process of making actors and their roles. He was born in 1891 in Russia and by 1910, Chekhov had already started to establish himself in the acting arena featuring the same year in the annual Maly theatre performances before meeting with Stanislavski. From being a student of the great teacher of acting Constantin Stanislavski, Chekhov established himself as fervent actor, tutor and director who was dedicated to devising new, interesting and accessible approaches to acting. In one of her books, Merlin notes,
“I studied acting for several years with Michael Chekhov, a great actor, director, and teacher, considered by Stanislavski to be his most brilliant pupil. In my search for a simple and accessible approach to auditioning, I found that many of Chekhov’s ideas could be adapted and used in preparing an audition scene (Merlin 2001, p. xx).”
Chekhov’s psychological gesture technique of emotional modification was inspired by his interaction with the Stanislavskian system and Steiner’s eurhythmics in early 1920s. Psychological gesture techniques just after invention became one of the most criticized subjects and this earned Chekhov a denouncement from Bolshevik officials.
Chekhov’s psychological gesture technique of emotional perception revolved around imagination and movement of an actor. It is technique that seeks to employ movements that embody the actual mentality and objective of a character and as a result, put the actor in various moods, evoke emotions and feelings as required by the script (Cornford, 2014). Solomon (2002) asserts that as a student of Stanislavski, Chekhov employed most of his teacher’s lessons in the development of his technique. Nonetheless, his focus on mind’s eye, movement and physicalisation was unique and exceptional from all the other teachings of his time. The psychological gesture technique held that movement is an irreplaceable key to an actor’s will according to Solomon (2002). It entailed movements that would in the end exemplify the psychology and purpose of a character but carried out inwardly during performance. Chekhov (2013) believed that the psychological gesture possessed a unique nearness to an actor’s personal creativity and spiritual power that enabled the actor to relinquish all sorts of forcing in his or her acting. Through the conscious working of gestures, actors automatically get an overflowing reward of inspiration from their subconscious minds (Solomon, 2002; Cornford, 2014). Richard Brestoff on Chekhov’s psychological gesture observed that;
“He felt that using one’s own experiences exclusively would soon exhaust the actor’s emotional resources, and that after a while, actors would begin imitating themselves (Brestoff 1995, p. 63).
Brestoff was keen illustrate that emotional memories as the only way of achieving feelings during filming was fast becoming outlived thus proposing the psychological gesture as an alternative. Brestoff (1995) further argues that Chekhov believed that imagination was a more reliable tool of stirring emotions than emotional memories as it is easy and inexhaustible. In his techniques, he shared in Stanislavski’s postulation that an actor’s spring of motivation is to be developed except that the source should be outside one’s life.
Utilization of Stanislavski’s And Chekhov’s Techniques in Filming
During the filming of my SIP, I came to appreciate the need to employ both Chekhov’s psychological gesture technique and Stanislavski’s sense memory technique in adapting and embodying emotions in a fast-paced filming environment. As Cornford (2014) puts it, being an actor always presents an opportunity to turn an imagined story from the mind of the writer into a reality. The duty of knitting the two worlds is entirely the work of actors.
My emotional-laden SIP film story entitled Fate was about a small happy family that lived in the rural areas of Birmingham Britain before the Second World War. When the war ensued, the family had to be separated from its sole breadwinner (a husband and father of three) who was recruited into the British military in order to help his country to conquer its adversaries. In the battlefield, he was captured and tortured to death while his family back in England was taken hostage not by foreigners, but by their neighbors they had lived with for a long time in Birmingham because of their race (they were originally Indians). The family had to fight for its freedom in a place they called home for years through blood, sweat and tears having to brave harsh realities. In the film that was filled with emotional twists, I acted as the family’s eldest son.
The sense memory techniques by Stanislavski application in embodying emotions during the process of filming was at first a rather challenging task. I, at first thought that switching from being happy to being sad was a matter of deciding and it happened. The process of shooting the screenplay was hectic and the pressure to remain truthful to the characters was overwhelming. It became more complicated when the scene where the news of the capturing and killing of ‘my father’ in the battlefield was delivered and we were all required to sob, express hopelessness, misery and despair. Then immediately after, act a flashback of the happy moments with him in a restaurant. Remembering the memories of my late grandfather who at a point in my life as a toddler meant the heavens to me did the magic and the sadness engulfed me with tears running down my cheeks. Remembering how he laid motionlessly, the songs that were sung in his send off and the fragrance during his burial evoked feelings of sadness instantly. The intensity of the moment made me forget that I was supposed to act. Just like Sawoski asserts in his analysis of the Stanislavski system,
“The actor can stir the needed emotion in him/ herself by remembering a parallel situation having a similar emotion. This emotion would then need to be brought out at the exact moment when called for on stage (Sawoski 2010, p. 20).”
In the next minute, I was supposed to act a scene full of happiness, making the entire process even more complex. Remembering that my sadness was due to the memories of my past and not because of what was actually being filmed was hilarious in itself. I just had to reflect on my eleventh birthday memories to embody the emotions of happiness. The memories were from my distant past, but the feelings regenerated were indeed the same or even stronger at the stage.
The pressure to be truthful to the characters of the story continued growing stronger with every unfolding scene as Sawoski (2010) insists. From filming back to back the scene where ‘my mother’ is tortured and enslaved in the film to the scene where ‘my sister’ bids ‘dad’ goodbye as he leaves to fight for his nation; scenes that require different opposite emotions was a big challenge. Remembering the sad, happy and even dreadful past events in real life and reproducing them during the actual filming required not only a good memory but also a tender heart. The director of the film kept on reminding us to stay candid to ourselves, our characters and characters which are pillar to good screen acting (Solomon, 2002).
Michael Chekhov’s psychological gesture technique remains one of the most sought after techniques of embodying emotions in the field of films and acting. When I was allocated the role of playing Eli (Frank’s eldest son) in film Fate, I knew a lot was expected from me. Eli is a character with a burly and unbending will to liberate his family, obsessed with dominating and repressive desire to equalize life and filled with detestation and abhorrence to the rich top class who oppressed the poor in his hometown. With the strict deadlines and pressure to film the story, I knew I had to get an appropriate over-all gesture which could successfully express the character of Eli. According to Solomon (2002), when an actor finds one suitable gesture that is strong and well shaped and he or she repeats it severally, the will tends to be strengthened. The qualities and emotions that then pervade and fill up each muscle of the actor’s body will in the end incite feelings and the objective of the character according to the script. The Psychological gesture technique seeks to pierce and kindle the depths of an actor’s psychology.
I chose to utilize two gestures or movements in order to fit the character and help me embody the emotions that changed in split seconds; the outer and inner gestures. Outer psychological gestures are those meant for a character’s persona that face the world also called mask (Solomon, 2002). On the other hand, the inner psychological gesture is meant for a character’s private persona. For my outer psychological gesture, I chose clenching my teeth as it not only helped ignite the courageous and gusty will in me to stay true to my character, but also inspired me to be flexible with the plot. I chose using fist clenched on my cheeks as my inner psychological gesture to face my character’s private persona because I was scared not of death or grievance but disappointment and humiliation. The fact that the film kept on switching between scenes some with contrasting emotions and some similar meant that at all cost the motivation and will to remain the character I was supposed to had to be kept focused throughout the exercise. Scholars have however observed that once an actor finds his correct psychological gesture and goes ahead to rehearse it, he may never see the need to contact it again unless he wishes to refresh the image for example just before a live performance or the start of a complicated scene. Joanna Merlin writes;
“After making the gesture several times, try saying some of the lines while making the gesture. Then imagine yourself making it inwardly without moving. The gesture will resonate in your work as an impulse for whatever your objective or action may be. It will help connect your body and mind (Merlin 2001, p. 58).”
Furthermore, a psychological gesture ought to be simple as it is the backbone and architecture of the character according to Merlin (2001).
Acting on screen gives an actor an opportunity to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses not by his own judgment but through the eyes of others. Even though I tried to incorporate the two techniques of embodying emotions in my acting, there are things that worked and other did not. Sense memory techniques worked for me as an actor majorly when it came to scenes that required actors to inhabit feelings of sadness or happiness. It took little effort to become happy during filming when it was required considering that I am naturally a jovial person. Remembering some of the saddest moments on the other hand enabled me to reproduce the emotions although with little difficulty. However, sense memory did little, if any, when it came to scenes that frightening in the story and thus required me to show fear. Instead, my imagination became important in embodying feelings of fear and surprise and this is probably because of my less terrifying past.
Devising psychological gestures and employing them to embody the emotions of character was admittedly a challenging task. In the end, playing Eli in the story worked out well because I managed to transform and adapt to his qualities, inspirations, motivations and objectives throughout the play. However, the dynamics of each and every scene throughout the story that more often than not demanded a revisit of the gestures and even smaller gestures made the technique complex. Chekov’s technique of embodying emotions has been seen as a system that only works in the initial stages of filming since it is more inclined to knowing the characters and transformation of the actor to become the character in emotions, will and objective (Gillett, 2016).
Conclusion
Stanislavski’s emotional memory technique that anchors on the ability of an actor to regenerate emotions based on real past events laid a firm foundation for further research and development in the world of filming and acting. The psychological gesture technique by Chekhov borrows a leaf from the Stanislavski system even though the focus mainly revolves around physical movements of an actor to embody emotions and adapt fast-paced filming environment. Notwithstanding their differences in ideologies, the two techniques aim at achieving the same outcome; helping screen actors to adapt and embody emotions in dynamic, competitive, evolving and demanding filming environments. My experience of acting has without doubt taken on a new dimension after exploring the Chekhov’s technique and Stanislavski system of embodying emotions. This research has changed my perception towards acting from mere imitation of the characters in any story to being the character in that story on screen. Through this exploration, the reality that screen acting and real life in terms of the feelings and emotions we perceive are inseparable dawned on me. I have gotten an understanding of what it takes to create an out of the ordinary and emotional film in a short time in ever-changing filming environments without having to take long periods of time preparing or giving up as an actor. I intend to further strengthen and nurture the ability to adapt and fully embody emotions in screen acting through further research on the role of imagination, characterization, relaxation, involvement among others keeping in mind the existence of a fast-paced filming environment. Through continuous learning and practice, filming is undeniably a fascinating and exciting experience to be part of.
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