Power and Status in Communication: The Actor and Director's Forensic work together: Blog 141

Good morning.

I was in a conversation yesterday about -  funnily enough - conversation. At the core were actually some key questions about power, status and control and in this particular case the thoughts were coming from a woman so issues of gender were at the forefront of her mind in our chat. Although not in a rehearsal process this woman is a very talented actor. And so in the course of our conversation about some troubling stuff we were able to call on our shared references to the rehearsal process, which by definition requires a forensic analysis of the power and status dynamics present in every drama. 

As a director of course I have permission to interrogate character and relationship in the safety (or challenge!) of the rehearsal studio which would not be acceptable in normal relationship, unless a therapeutic or intimate agreement had been made.

In the rehearsal space we ponder the tiniest of moments - the turn of a head, the intake of a sharp breath, the exact physical space between two characters, the touch in passing between two lovers, the tone and intention of a single word. All this is the stuff of our metier and our material. 

So where do we learn this as actors and directors ? Of course we need to create a process and a system through which to build the scaffolding of a piece of drama, driven by the preoccupations of the characters and situation particular to that piece. This is what the study of theatre and drama training offers students. But the reality is that our deepest available resource of course is our own lives which give us the raw and rich material. And here's the rub. Much of that swampy stuff is unconscious.

Most actors and directors like most people in any walk of life have a well rehearsed definition of who they are - most often described in static terms - 'I am a mother', 'I am a great cook' etc, and this serves a useful human classification purpose. Provided of course we don't buy into it hook line and sinker - there laziness lies. This unified persona would appear to satisfy the getting on with everyday life. We can easily sum someone up in a sentence - 'She is cold', 'He is generous', 'She's a flirt' etc;  It would take much more time to go any deeper in the course of every day interaction and frankly we would probably never have time even if we had the inclination.

But in the rehearsal studio we can - indeed we must  - to have half a chance of playing back to an audience the kernals of authentic, contradictory and complex human stories and characters. I cannot leave any stone unturned. And indeed however much I have prepared, explored the language of relationship in the text, had a sense of the rhythm and structure of power and status in the characters - I must also be entirely open to what unknowns emerge in the rehearsal process. And I demand that of my actors too. Its not always comfortable, and I am known for asking them to do all sorts of weird and wonderful things, that would likely get us locked up should a well-meaning psychiatrist happen upon us! 

Its a strange thing - but in my experience good actors are drawn to their art by a deep resonance with this and a willingness to play, expose and explore the stuff that it is to be human  - indeed to be them. Most are startlingly honest in the sharing of insights and experiences that shine a light on the preoccupation of the current piece we are making.  'I know the ecstatic madness of Romeo - I just fell in love and it was like this.....' might a young actor share with his peers. Fed straight into the text and its realisation - this gives a charge and resonance that speaks directly to the truth of this experience, unique and yet common, indeed archetypal. Its the point at which the actor has done sufficient excavation to manage and express an idea, an image or a feeling with depth and authenticity that transcends the actual words she is speaking.

We learn about power and status from the moment we are born - and the subtle gears of control, coercion, freedom play a part in most people's lives to a lesser or greater degree. And mostly we are unaware of them consciously - they play out in our homes, work places as an undertone, a mood music to the intense activity in which most of us are engaged. 

We are going about our business sometimes when suddenly a feeling rises up and we have an argument with a loved one or a colleague. And its often as if it has erupted from nowhere. Something is just not right, we feel bullied or misunderstood, ashamed - only we also struggle to find a way of articulating it. We get hijacked by the emotion. 

Much drama is played out through this emotional landscape - indeed its what attracts most of us to other people's stories and particularly their traumas 

(thank God its not me - we say and go off for a pint after Hamlet). 

So there you have it - we as actors and directors must be technicians of the emotions, understand, locate and resource them and at the same time form and shape them into this communal and shared art form. Its a great privilege to spend time forging a new piece of work with an inquisitive and emotionally generous cast of actors. There is no substitute - apart from great personal relationships of course! 

Have a great day.