I challenged a former student, now long-time friend, Geoff Culbertson, to define Action. He\u2019s what he sent me:<\/p>\n
Geoff\u2019s Definition of Action <\/strong>\u2013 If that\u2019s somewhat too complex for you, here\u2019s Earl Gister\u2019s definition of action. Earl was a master teacher of acting, the mentor at the Yale School of Drama program for many years. <\/p>\n Earl\u2019s Definition of Action<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cTry to make the other actor really feel something.\u201d<\/p>\n If you DO what Earl is suggesting, I think you will discover how wise and complete Geoff’s definition happens to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I challenged a former student, now long-time friend, Geoff Culbertson, to define Action. He\u2019s what he sent me: Geoff\u2019s Definition of Action \u2013 \u201cAn action is one side of a dual interaction. This interaction is most often external: a person, an object, a place. However, it can be internal: an emotion, a thought, an image. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-teacher-musings"],"metadata":{"_edit_last":["298"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"_wp_old_date":["2022-10-18"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cAn action is one side of a dual interaction. This interaction is most often external: a person, an object, a place. However, it can be internal: an emotion, a thought, an image. (A complex line-of-action will involve the seamless use of all these elements.) An action is observable by an audience as a small unit of human experience that communicates a psycho-emotional state. Action is demonstrated through the delivery of a line, the expression of a gesture or some combination of both. An actor\u2019s expression of an action is dependent upon the sense receptivity of the actor\u2019s body and the image receptivity of the actor\u2019s mind. The clearer the actor\u2019s receptivity to images and senses, the greater the actor\u2019s capacity for truthful action. The most difficult and most important aspect of teaching acting is making the student aware of the other side of an action: points of interaction. What Declan Donnellan refers to as the Target. If a student can relax enough to become aware of the shifting nature of awareness and surrender the instrument of the body to a receptive posture in relation to points of interaction \u2013 a natural flow of action will arise.\u201d<\/p>\n