Trust the Writer

The writer is either good or bad, and there’s nothing that you can really do about it. But I would urge you, if you find good writing, to pay attention to what they have done in the script with regards to lines. Many actors struggle with script and it comes out as many problems such as paraphrasing, avoidance, and a failure to pay attention to both how the line reads, but also the intention of the writer.

I discovered by working on Shakespeare, just how different actors and musicians are. Musicians play the notes that are written, some improvise, but that’s always under particular circumstances and no one would think of improvising Chopin in the middle of a classical music concert. Yet, many actors are willing to ignore the “notes” that Shakespeare, or in fact, any writer has written for them, and go off on their own, often to the detriment of all concerned.

We find it clearly in the verse lines of Shakespeare. If we run on through sentences at the cost of the verse lines, we aim to naturalise Shakespeare when it cannot and should not be done. This is particularly true in America, where following the verse seems to be considered artificial. Instead, they stick to the punctuation and speak whole sentences, destroying the verse lines as they go, refusing to let the character think and breathe.

Yet the same could be said of any writer. Why should it be any different with a new writer, with Arthur Miller or Ann Marie di Mambro? Shouldn’t we respect not only their words, but their intentions too?

But many times I’ve seen an actor pause, break a line, attempt to animate the writer’s work by putting in their own punctuation, yet the writer spent hours offering us complete lines.  That’s when we should follow the punctuation because that’s how these modern writers let us know which notes to play.

You have to trust that the writer has done a good job, or you start to try to “help” the play. You’ve really got enough to do without contributing your version of the play to the performance. It’s remarkable how many actors are willing to improv lines, because they think they’re better. I am dismayed by writers that allow this to happen, as if an actor would necessarily know how best to put what was intended, just because they speak words for a living. Trust the writer, give their words the respect they deserve, your job is to bring to life the story of the script for the enjoyment of the audience and if you struggle with any part, you should seek the help of the director, or failing that a good acting coach, or failing that the bloody writer!

But actually, that brings me to something. The writer may not be able to help you. The creation of a script is so different in process from the acting of it, that a writer may not be able to explain or express what you need to hear. You must develop in yourself a reliable approach to script that allows you to open up any script you come across, so that you may understand it fully and convert it into action for the amusement of an audience.

But first, trust the writer, respect the words.