Posted on July 18, 2022 at 1:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Desmond Hall has a theme for his most recent edition of Desmond's Drops: lessons learned from the New Actors Workshop with Mike Nichols.
The first video describes MGM's telephone game for actors — in which they were supposed to answer a phone call with a completely different emotion than what the scene would ultimately evoke.
This, Hall explains, provides the audience with a chance to experience change; watch the video to learn the equivalent version for writers.
The second two videos are about character behavior.
One suggests following Meryl Streep's lead in Sophie's choice and having the character suppress a strong emotion until it boils over.
The other describes a technique called "name your job," in which actors (or characters) say something or behave a certain way that makes clear to the audience (or reader) what that person's aim in a scene is.
Consequently, the viewer/reader will develop a particular rooting interest for that character.
You can watch the New Actors Workshop-inspired videos at Writer Unboxed or below.
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Categories: Behind the scenes