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Just so we’re all on the same page, here’s how these three terms apply to this technique: Beats (aka events) are specific moments where certain sentiments and activities are presented that propel the story forward. Tactics are the changes you make within the various beats. The tactics are determined by whether you’re getting closer or further away from your goal as you strive to achieve your main objective. Actions are the words and/or physical actions you use to accomplish those tactics.
In the last chapter we discussed the value of making discoveries and figuring out what emotion(s) those discoveries produced. Those emotions will have an effect on you. If the discovery brings you closer to achieving your Main Objective, you’ll probably feel some variation of joy. That feeling will influence how you deliver your next line or set of lines. If your discovery lets you know you’re getting further away from your goal, another emotion will surface and influence you in a different way.
Let’s say your Main Objective, like Ned’s in the last chapter, is to seduce another character. Then as long as the other character is agreeable, you’ll feel pretty good (joy) and that good feeling will be reflected in what you say or do. But what if, like Matty, she says, “No.” Then you might feel sad, or confused, maybe even angry. And the way you deliver your next line or the next physical action you take will reflect that emotion.
Rarely will one character come right out and tell the other character what he/she wants. Ned doesn’t say to Matty, “I want to bed you”—it’s implied. He knows it; she knows it. And she spends a good portion of the scene saying “No.” She tells him, “You shouldn’t have come. You’re going to be disappointed. Most men are like little boys,” etc. Nothing she says overtly suggests that Ned is going to get what he wants.
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But Ned persists. He finds a different way of asking for what he wants. That’s what tactics are: finding a different ways to pursue your objective.
We do this all the time as human beings. We’re constantly evaluating, trying to figure out how to get what we want. Based on our Main Objective, we formulate various tactics and execute them through a series of actions.
In theatre, actors are trained to find the beats of a scene. The same is true in film and TV. But because so much of what we do on camera is reacting, and because the camera can read our thoughts, we need to be aware that those microscopic conditions create beats within a beat. The tiniest gesture on the screen can replace a paragraph of dialogue.
If you have a beat that consists of eight lines then depending on the dance you have to do to in order to achieve your main objective, this beat, instead of being just one big beat, could actually be three or four smaller beats. And each of those beats may require a different tactic.
You say your first three lines, you see the other character’s reaction, and you make a quick assessment as to whether or not you’re getting closer to what you want. If not, it would be foolish to keep using the same tactic, so you switch to another one. You say your next three lines and make another assessment. If what you’re doing is working, great, but if not, you switch to a third tactic. Each tactic will generate a different action or series of actions.
To give you an example of how this works, here is a scene from Georgia,14 a wonderful film written by Barbara Turner, directed by Ulu Grosbard, and which starred Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham.
Synopsis
Georgia, the older sister, is a successful singer/songwriter. She is well established in the business, has a huge fan base and lives in a big, wonderful home with an adoring husband and two young children.
Sadie, the younger sister, is also a singer, and perhaps the more passionate of the two. She is, however, not as grounded as Georgia and is tormented by her insecurities and her inability to live up to her own expectations. Sadie also has a recurring drug and alcohol problem.
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Both girls have a rocky relationship with their father.
Down on her luck, Sadie recently left a difficult situation and has come to live with Georgia. Since Sadie has been at Georgia’s, she has been clean and sober for the most part but lately she’s slipped and is drinking and doing drugs again.
This isn’t the first time Georgia has provided a refuge for Sadie. Georgia genuinely loves her sister but she also knows who Sadie is and what her faults are. Lately she’s begun to suspect that Sadie is using again.
Sadie loves her sister but is also jealous of her. Georgia has everything Sadie wants.
Georgia comes home from a trip earlier than expected. When Georgia walks into the house, Sadie bounds down the stairs to greet her. Sadie is wearing one of Georgia’s favorite blouses.
SADIE
I stripped the beds.
GEORGIA
You didn’t need to do that.
SADIE
Yeah, well. Sure I did.
GEORGIA
It’s pouring, Sadie.
SADIE
And you hang them out. How dumb to forget. Well, no harm done.
(Sadie notices Georgia staring at the blouse she is wearing)
SADIE (cont’d)
I borrowed this, okay?
GEORGIA
Whatever, it’s fine. You don’t need to clean my house, Sadie.
SADIE
I was cleaning motel rooms. Really. No, really. “Oh, God, Sadie reduced to that.” Or, “is there anything Sadie can’t be reduced to?”
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GEORGIA
You want to give me a break, Sadie?
SADIE
You want to give me one? I can feel what you’re feeling.
GEORGIA
No. No, you can’t, Sadie. No. You can’t feel what I’m feeling. You aren’t me.
(pause)
GEORGIA (cont’d)
I believe in you. I’ve always believed in you.
SADIE
I think we should not get into this.
GEORGIA
Fine. Better for me.
(pause)
GEORGIA (cont’d)
Oh, shit. Dad’s coming to stay for a week, Friday.
SADIE
I won’t be here.
GEORGIA
It gets really tense, Sadie.
SADIE
I won’t be here, okay.
(pause)
SADIE (cont’d)
How’s he doing?
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GEORGIA
I think fine. I think all right. You need some money?
(long pause)
SADIE
Yeah. Yeah. Something to get started on. I’m good for it.
GEORGIA
I don’t want you to be good for it. It pleases me to be able to give it to you. I love being able to give it to you.
SADIE
Okay. Things are going to break for me. There’s not a doubt in my mind. This has all got to be about something. This whole adventure. Everything’s stored for later use. There must be a pony.
That’s the scene. Incredibly well written, full of possibilities, it’s just waiting for the actors to fulfill its potential. The following is a breakdown of the same scene that the actor playing Sadie did in class, combining the Discoveries/Emotions with the Beats, Tactics, and Actions. As we go through the scene again, see how the work she did influences the scene.
The actor playing Sadie said her main objective is to win Georgia over. That’s what she’s trying to do for a good part of the scene. But there are several moments when she does just the opposite—she’s flippant, disrespectful, and doesn’t care what her sister thinks.
Sadie has the first line of the scene so she needs to make a discovery in the Moment Before (see Chapter 8). But before the scene begins, the actor playing Sadie has a big decision to make. Actually she has several decisions to make, but this one isn’t as obvious as the others and yet it could have a huge impact on what happens. The actor has to decide if Sadie is high during this scene.
As actors, you need to learn to say “yes” to possibility and keep the doors of opportunity open.
We know that Georgia is coming back from a trip sooner than expected. Did Sadie get high, thinking no one would be the wiser? If the actor says “no,” she has closed the door on a wonderful opportunity. If, on the other hand, the actor says “yes,” then the door is open and it can be opened as much or as little as she wants.
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The choice to be high in this scene not only makes the scene more interesting, it’s also logical. We know that Sadie has a drug and alcohol problem. We also know she’s fallen off the wagon before so it’s possible she could be high. Her being high adds an element of danger. Danger is good. It heightens the tension.
There’s another reason it’s a good choice to play Sadie high: Sadie’s mood will be affected. Now, not only will it be much easier for the actor portraying Sadie to generate the emotional roller coaster ride that occurs during the scene, it will also make it easier to justify her mood swings. Sadie’s behavior, which ranges from bubbling enthusiasm (joy) to bruising anguish (anger), will be unexpected but completely plausible.
Door open or closed? Whenever possible, keep it open.
The Moment Before (from Sadie’s POV): I’m in Georgia’s room, in her closet, looking through her stuff. Feeling good. The ’lude is kicking in. Gosh, she has some beautiful things. Oh, wow, look at that blouse. I am totally trying this on. Oh, Boss, man. It looks great. What’s that? A car? Shit, it’s Georgia’s truck. What’s she doing back? Okay, okay, everything is cool. Let me check my eyes. Good, good. (Giggling) She’ll never know I’m stoned. Okay, okay, pull it together. Go downstairs and tell her what a good girl her little sister is.
I discover Georgia is home. I feel fear (anxiety) because I’m high and I don’t want her to know. And I feel joy because I’m smarter than she is and she’ll never be able to figure out that I’m stoned. I also feel another type of joy because I did the laundry and she’ll be pleased to see that I’m helping with some of the chores. I rush downstairs, pleased with myself, and I blurt out . . .
SADIE
(action—to boast) I stripped the beds.
GEORGIA
You didn’t need to do that.
SADIE
I discover, to my amazement, she isn’t happy with what I have done. I feel confused. I was sure my helping out would please her.
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(action—to validate what I did) Yeah, well. Sure I did.
GEORGIA
It’s pouring, Sadie.
SADIE
I discover her disappointment with me. I feel sad. I was trying to prove how worthy I am.
(action—to acknowledge) And you hang them out. (action—to reprimand myself) How dumb to forget. (action—to shrug it off) Well, no harm done.
(Sadie notices Georgia staring at the blouse she is wearing.)
SADIE
I discover Georgia is staring at me. Are my eyes dilated? Does she know I’m stoned? I know that look. She’s angry. I feel fear and embarrassment. I need to change the subject, quick.
(action—to divert her attention) I borrowed this, okay?
GEORGIA
Whatever, it’s fine. You don’t need to clean my house, Sadie.
SADIE
I discover that Georgia is disappointed with me, again. I feel anger. All I wanted to do was to be helpful.
(action—to shock, playing an opposite) I was cleaning motel rooms. Really.
No, really. (action—to mock) “Oh, God, Sadie reduced
to that.” Or, “Is there anything Sadie can’t be reduced to?”
GEORGIA
You want to give me a break, Sadie?
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SADIE
I discover she is angry. I’m angry too. She has no idea what I have been through, what my life has been like.
(action—to lash out) You want to give me one? I can feel what you’re feeling.
GEORGIA
No. No, you can’t, Sadie. No. You can’t feel what I’m feeling.
You aren’t me.
(pause)
GEORGIA (cont’d)
I believe in you. I’ve always believed in you.
SADIE
I discover that she is changing directions, taking the argument in a different direction, telling me how much she believes in me. I feel betrayed. If she believed in me so much, why doesn’t she help me get my career going?
(action—to deflect) I think we should not get into this.
GEORGIA
Fine. Better for me.
(pause)
GEORGIA (cont’d)
Oh, shit. Dad’s coming to stay for a week, Friday.
SADIE
I discover my father, who doesn’t speak to me, who threw me out of the house, is coming for a visit. I feel betrayed and jealous. I’m supposed to be the guest, the one who gets Georgia’s attention. Now she’s spoiled that by allowing Dad to come for a visit.
(action—to sulk) I won’t be here.
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GEORGIA
It gets really tense, Sadie.
SADIE
I discover she is patronizing me. I feel anger. She’s the one who screwed up and now she is trying to make an excuse for her mistake.
(action—to dismiss) I won’t be here, okay.
(long pause)
SADIE (cont’d)
In the silence I discover that, in spite of myself, I still have feelings for my father, I still care about him. I feel confused.
(action—to inquire, reluctantly) How’s he doing?
GEORGIA
I think fine. I think all right. You need some money?
SADIE
I discover that Georgia is trying to make up for what happened by offering me money. I feel sadness and fear>. Sadness because what I want more than anything else is for her to love me, not buy me off; fear because I have nothing, I am dependent on her once again.
(action—to accept, with difficulty) Yeah. Yeah. Something to get started on.
(action—to assure, myself mostly) I’m good for it.
GEORGIA
I don’t want you to be good for it. It pleases me to be able to give it to you.
I love being able to give it to you.
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SADIE
I discover Georgia does love me. That she wants to help and this is the only way she knows how. I feel both joy and embarrassment.
On the verge of tears, I try to pull myself together. It’s a speech I’ve delivered many times before and although I say the words, go through the motions, I believe it less and less each time I say it.
(action—to pull myself together) Okay. Things are going to break for me.
There’s not a doubt in my mind. (action—to justify)
This has all got to be about something. This whole adventure. (action—to rationalize)
Everything’s stored for later use. There must be a pony.
Take a close look at Sadie’s last speech. It has seven lines. You could say the beat of this part of the scene is “Sadie pulls herself together.” And while that’s true, if you limit yourself to that one conclusion you’ve missed out on a terrific opportunity to show other elements of Sadie’s character. She not only pulls herself together, but in the process of doing that, she shifts slightly so she can justify—to herself—that this is the way the world works. Then she shifts again by spouting a philosophy that claims, “everything is good and there has to be a reward in this,” as a way to rationalize what she’s going through. And all the while she doesn’t really believe any of it. Wow! What an amazingly complex character the actor created. It’s all there in the words, waiting for an actor to find it.
The fact that Sadie doesn’t gain her sister’s approval, that she doesn’t achieve her Main Objective, doesn’t mean she doesn’t try. The writer, for whatever reason, wanted to tell a story in which Sadie loses. To ensure that end, the writer put enough obstacles in Sadie’s way so that she ultimately had to fail. However, it doesn’t mean that Sadie should ever stop trying to win, stop trying to achieve her Main Objective.
The fact that she doesn’t win, doesn’t get what she wants, has nothing to do with her attempt to win.
Storytelling involves creating and maintaining a certain degree of tension, and one of your goals should be to keep that tension bubbling. If your character gets what he/she wants right away there’s no conflict and the scene will suffer for it. Creating a series of tactics and the actions that go along with them as you try to achieve your Main Objective will provide you with different ways of asking for the same thing.
Please note the various emotions the actor playing Sadie used while breaking down this scene. This is a habit I encourage you to develop. By using different emotions you create variety, and variety will not only make the work exciting for you, it also helps you stay ahead of the audience. If you use the same emotion over and over again, the audience will quickly figure out where you’re headed. If they do that, you’ll lose their attention and you may never get it back.
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If your character is angry all of the time take another look and see if it’s possible that a discovery you’ve made could lead you to a different emotion, one that’s also true for your character, one that would give the scene a slightly different flavor. Instead of just being frightened all the time, perhaps for a moment you’re jealous. Jealousy would nudge the scene in a different direction. Even if it’s for the briefest of moments you will have added another color, making the scene richer than it was before. Instead of being sad all the time, is it possible you’re embarrassed? Embarrassment will alter your course, take you down a different road. You don’t have to be embarrassed for an extended period, just long enough to add another spice to the mix.
It’s important to note the discoveries the actor playing Sadie made in this scene were not the only discoveries that could have been made; they were the Discoveries/Emotions she made. Every actor brings his or her own interpretation to the creative process. I guarantee you if Amy Adams or Anne Hathaway had played Sadie, they wouldn’t have played it the way Jennifer Jason Leigh did. Both of those actors, like Ms. Leigh, have been influenced by their own life experiences. The same is true for you. Who you are and the values you hold will lead you to make your own discoveries.
And those discoveries, whether they’re made while you’re in the “tilling the soil” part of the process or in the moment-to-moment reaction process during a performance, will impact how you feel. The actor playing Sadie said she discovered several new things each time she did the scene and incorporated them into her work. After doing the homework, after prepping the scene, you too, once you’re doing your scene, will also make new discoveries. And your choice to use or reject those discoveries helps give the scene a quality of “freshness” each time you perform it, night after night, take after take.
What helps is your making interesting discoveries, discoveries that will propel the story forward. Look at the food you eat. When you go to a restaurant do you always order the same thing? Meal after meal, day after day? Are you so predictable that the waiter knows what you want before you even sit down? Do you want that in your work?
The newest trend in the casting aspect of our industry is self-taping your auditions (see Chapter 16). This is where this work we’ve been discussing—the “tilling the soil,” this digging into the story and developing your character on your own—is essential. A lot of the time, whether you self-tape or have someone do it professionally, the only person who is going to have any input is you. Sure, you might get a friend to read with you but he/she’s not going to know any more than you. But if you’ve done everything we’ve talked about up to this point, you will be way ahead of the curve.
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This work will give your character dimension; it will make him/her real. By doing all of this work you will have created a character that is vital and alive, someone that has a history that will serve the present, who is opinionated and makes choices. All of those things will make the scene come alive.
Years ago Mike Nichols was directing a play. After the auditions he gave his assistant a list of people he wanted to see at callbacks. The assistant questioned him about one of the names. “Why her?” he asked. “She did everything wrong.” Mr. Nichols replied, “Yes, but she did it so well.”
The fact this actress came in with strong choices let Mr. Nichols know she had worked on the script, she had put some thought into it. That got him excited. Seeing actors who have already made an investment in the material, whose minds are already engaged—that will get every director excited.
The things we’ve been talking about will prove helpful at every stage of the process. This technique will help you prep for your audition. (I have been to Network for lead roles in series with no more input than: “They want the piece to move.” Or: “Make sure to show some emotion. They want to feel it.”)
This technique will also help you after you’ve been hired because, except for sitcoms, you’re not going to get a lot of rehearsal. And it will help you when you’re shooting because, if the director asks you to take the scene in a different direction, you will have a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate those changes.
The goal in all of this is to make sure you have a strong foundation, one that’s easy from which to pivot. You want to be flexible enough so you can accept new input while at the same time having a firm grasp on what the story is, how your character fits into it, and what he/she wants.