Tactics are Everything

When you have decided upon a working task to go after in your scene, then you need to employs the tools of the actors trade – tactics (sometimes called actions).

Tactics are entirely outwardly focused. They are usually transitive verbs (horrible phrase). Transitive verbs are simply verbs that can be done to someone else.

I LICK You, I NUDGE You, I COAX You, I HUG You, I DARE You, I TEACH You, I NEEDLE You, I PINCH You.

You’ll notice that they snugly fit between I and You. That’s the test of them. And you’ll notice that they’re all focused on the other and NOT you. That keeps your focus off the self and helps to avoid the crippling self consciousness that destroys confidence and performance.

But tactics are everywhere. In the street, when someone comes up and asks you the way to the Swimming Pool, there is an exchange of tactics.

We are using tactics all the time, whether we are conscious of it or not.

However, to use them as an actor, we need to become familiar with them, conscious of how we use them. This can be difficult because we’ve never been conscious of the tactics that we use in life. But we do. And you should watch how people use tactics on you. When you see them, you will become aware of how they make you feel. That’s the test of the good tactic, it has a REAL effect on the recipient.

Acting is real people, doing real things to real people in real situation. That’s how you get truthful acting.

But when you select your tactics, do not do so arbitrarily. You must be precise and specific. You must also have a connection to those tactics. By this I mean, if you choose a tactic such as CASTIGATE, you need to really know what it means to do that tactic. Work out physically what doing that tactic is. Connect with it for real, because if it remains only an intellectual understanding, it will not be able to come out of the body. It will remain an idea.

Tactics are all around us, learn by observing, watch how people use them on each other, watch how people use them on you, observe how you use them on other people.