More Words . . .

Actors, au fond,(showin' off again!)are communicators. In an age where young folk are losing the ability to write a coherent sentence, the actor remains, willing or unwilling, an agent for the glory of words. Language. Until telepathy becomes further advanced - we have to depend on expressing ourselves the old-fashioned way. Is it only me who shudders when I hear/read something along these lines: "Well . . .like he went, that's sick." Then she like . . .goes . . ."You wish! ROTFLMFAO." That's shorthand. Talk to a teenager. Anyway, the language of The Bard deserves better, and the actor had better deliver

What some actors don't know - and which many have forgotten - is that words are the verbal expression of the inner beat. If a character feels strongly about something and the writer has captured the emotion accurately, then the words should accurately communicate the feeling. This really needs to be demonstrated, not explained - but I'll do my impoverished best

Let's say we've defined the inner beat as "prideful anger/vengeful fury." The lines are:

"Well my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top th' legitmate. I grow, I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards."

(King Lear, Edmund - Act I,ii

Without going into the rules for speaking Shakespeare, it's abundantly clear that words like "letter", "speed", "invention", "thrive" and so on, are filled with lots of juice. The actor playing Edmund has to squeeze every drop out of them, propelled, of course, by emotional truth. If the words are flat, emotion remains hidden, meaning falters, the drama is diluted and the play fails. Not a happy outcome.

All dramatic text is expressed through words that carry emotion. The actor has to locate their meaning, express emotion through them - thus keeping audiences engaged in the play or film. It's been said, truthfully, I think - audiences don't go to the theatre to merely hear the words. They can buy the script and read the words themselves. They go to the theatre to experience feelings that support the words. It's human process, created by the actor, that makes for vibrant drama.