ActingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor the legal meaning, seeActing (law). For the military sense, seeActing (rank).

French stage and early film actressSarah BernhardtasHamlet

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Actingis the work of anactoror actress, which is a person intheatre,television,film, or any otherstorytellingmedium who tells the story by portraying acharacterand, usually,speakingorsingingthe written text orplay.Most early sources in theWestthat examine theartof acting (Greek:,hypokrisis) discuss it as part ofrhetoric.[1]Contents[hide] 1Definition and history 2Professional actors 3Training/Acting Systems 4Amateur actors 5Improvisation 6Semiotics of Acting 7See also 8References 9Sources 10External linksDefinition and history[edit]One of the firstactorsis believed to be an ancient Greek calledThespisof Icaria. Anapocryphalstory says that Thespis stepped out of thedithyrambicchorusand spoke to them as a separatecharacter. Before Thespis, the chorus narrated (for example, "Dionysus did this, Dionysus said that"). When Thespis stepped out from the chorus (year 12 BC), he spoke as if he was the character (for example, "I am Dionysus. I did this"). From Thespis' name derives the wordthespian.Acting requires a wide range of skills, includingvocal projection, clarity ofspeech, physical expressivity, emotional facility, a well-developedimagination, and the ability to interpretdrama. Acting also often demands an ability to employdialects,accentsand body language,improvisation, observation and emulation,mime, andstage combat. Many actors train at length in special programs or colleges to develop these skills, and today the vast majority of professional actors have undergone extensive training. Even though one actor may have years of training, they always strive for more lessons; the cinematic and theatrical world is always changing and because of this, the actor must stay as up to date as possible. Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and teachers for a full range of training involving, but not limited to, singing, scene-work, monologue techniques, audition techniques, and partner work.Professional actors[edit]Further information:ActorA professionalactoris someone who gets paid for acting. Not all people working as actors infilm,televisionortheaterareprofessionallytrained. For example,Bob Hoskinsdid not have any training before taking up acting.Training/Acting Systems[edit]Further information:Drama schoolConservatories typically offer two- to four-year training on all aspects of acting. Universities will offer three- to four-year programs, where a student is often able to choose to focus on drama, while still learning about other aspects of theatre. Schools will vary in their approach, but in North America the most popular method taught derives from the "system" ofConstantin Stanislavski, which was developed and popularised in America byLee Strasberg,Stella Adler, and others. The ambiguously termedmethod actingcame about through iterations of Stanislavski's system by Strasberg. Part of this style of training includes actors memorizing lines to be able to work off-book, a term that means being able to work without a script. Other approaches may include a more physical approach, following the teachings ofJerzy Grotowskiand others, or may be based on the training developed by othertheatre practitionersincludingSanford Meisner. Other classes may include mask work, improvisation, and acting for the camera. Regardless of a school's approach, students should expect intensive training in textual interpretation, voice and movement. Although there are some teachers who will encourage the improvisation as technique in order to free the actor of limitations in rehearsal. Harold Guskin's approach or "taking it off the page" as he calls it is steeped in this philosophy. Applications to drama programs and conservatories are throughauditionsin the United States. Anybody over the age of 18 can usually apply todrama school.Training may also start at a very young age. Acting classes and professional schools targeted at the under-18 crowd are offered in many locations. These classes introduce young actors to different aspects of acting and theatre, including scene study.Amateur actors[edit]Amateur actors are actors who do not require payment for performances. Although there are some paid professional actors who do amateur work for multiple reasons. Some may be for educational purposes or even charity events.Improvisation[edit]Improvisationwas created byViola Spolinafter working withNeva Boydat a Hull House in Chicago, Illinois. She was Boyds student from 1924 to 1927. Improv was created on the realization that adults do not play games. Spolin felt that playing games were good exercises and can benefit in future acting. With improv, people can find true expressive freedom since they don't ever know how the situation is going to turn out. When one continues to operate with an open mind they will have a real sense of spontaneity rather than pre-planning a response. You perform a character of your own making, and with that character and the others working with you, you create a new and spontaneous piece. Improv is also used to cover up if an actor or actress makes a mistake.Semiotics of Acting[edit]Semioticsof Acting is the actors ability to transform into a convincing character in front of theaudience. The audience no longer sees the actor as a performer, but sees acharacteras a completely different being. Once this shift occurs, the actor becomes a semiotic device communicating a set of signs to the audience. A characters signification can represent a multitude of different meanings to the audience. This may or may not be intended by the actor, who has limited control over how the audience will read the character. For example, if the actor is playing a character diagnosed with cancer, the audience may not just see a cancer patient, but may instead see a character similar to other cancer victims or survivors they have known. The actors performance, like any text, must be read by the audience.[2]However, the actor is judged by giving a convincing and believableperformance. The actors performance is mediated by particular semiotic signs includingfacial expression,emotion, andvocabulary. All these examples are known as performance signs. Performance signs are simple codes that the audience must decode during the actor's performance. It is the actors job to deliver those codes effectively to the audience. If the audience does not find the character believable, then the actor has failed in their performance. Like other forms of communication, non-verbal or visual clues are tremendously important. Acting teacherSanford Meisneronce said, An ounce of emotion is worth a pound of words.[3]Great actors master performance signs in order to win over an audience.[4]Acting involves two forms ofcommunication: intrascenic (communication between characters) and extrascenic (communication between the characters and the audience). Both intrascenic and extrascenic communication must work in order for the audience to read the semiotic signs of the actors performance. The characters must have intrascenic skills good chemistry in a scene in order for the audience to understand the performance.[5]The actor represents the text of thescriptas performance signs. Actors bring the text to life through performance and through the personal qualities they may contribute to the narrative of script. Actors represent the ideas of the text, but also create a new visually dimensioned reality through their performance.Becoming an actor representing semiotic signs can be a very difficult process. One must understand the performance signs, the audience, and human emotion.See also[edit] Stanislavski's system Method acting Constantin Stanislavski National Michael Chekhov Association Lee Strasberg Sanford Meisner Ion Cojar Ivana ChubbuckReferences[edit]1. Jump up^Csapo and Slater (1994, 257);hypokrisis, which literally means "acting," was the word used in discussions ofrhetoricaldelivery.2. Jump up^Radul, Judy."Excerpt on sign and frame from Umberto Eco, Semiotics of Theatrical Performance". The MIT Press Stable. RetrievedMay 6,2013.3. Jump up^Meisner, Sanford (1987).Sanford Meisner on Acting. Random House Inc.4. Jump up^Marvin, Carlson (1993).Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the present. Cornell University Press. pp.500, 502.5. Jump up^Yotov, Nayden."The actor as a semiotic narrator". New Bulgarian University. RetrievedMay 6,2013.Sources[edit] Boleslavsky, Richard(1987) [1933].Acting: The First Six Lessons. New York: Theatre Arts.ISBN0-87830-000-7. Brustein, Robert (2005).Letters to a Young Actor. New York: Basic Books.ISBN0-465-00806-2. Csapo, Eric; Slater, William J. (1994).The Context of Ancient Drama. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.ISBN0-472-08275-2. Darius, Adam(1998).Acting: A Psychological and Technical Approach. Helsinki: Kolesnik Production OY.ISBN952-90-9146-X. Hagen, Uta(1973).Respect for Acting. New York: Macmillan.ISBN0-02-547390-5. Hodge, Alison, ed. (2000).Twentieth Century Actor Training. London and New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-19452-0. Marston, Merlin, ed. (1987).Sanford Meisner on Acting. New York: Random House.ISBN0-394-75059-4. O'Brien, Nick (2010).Stanislavski In Practise. London: Routledge.ISBN978-0415568432. Spolin, Viola (1999).Improvisation for the Theater(3rd ed.). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.ISBN978-0-810-14008-0. Stanislavski, Konstantin(2008).An Actor's Work: A Student's Diary. Trans. and ed. Jean Benedetti; intro. Declan Donnellan. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-42223-9. Thomson, David(2015).Why Acting Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-19578-1. Zarrilli, Phillip B. (2002).Acting (Re)Considered: A Theoretical and Practical Guide(2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-26300-X.