Congratulations are in order – you got the role! But now the hard work starts. It’s time to learn your lines, get under the skin of your character, and work out how you’re actually going to play the part. The good news? There’s no strict process you have to follow. The bad news? That can be overwhelming!
But have no fear. There are plenty of acting techniques and habits you can draw on to help you develop an acting process that works for you. Here, we go through lots of ways an actor can prepare for a role.
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This may sound obvious, but before you start making big decisions in terms of forming a backstory for your character – imagining their friendships and school days – it’s worth actually reading the script in serious detail. Things may come to light during an organised table read, but we’d advise doing some preparatory scene study on your own before then. Take notes when reading your script, and pull out lines that really mean something to you. It is also worth thinking about the things your character isn’t saying and why that is. Your script analysis should also consider the historical context of the text, its genre, and where in the world it’s set. The more research you do, the better!
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The aim is to get to know your character inside and out, as if they were your friend. “I try to notice small things,” writes the actor Liv Hansen. “Does she hesitate before speaking? Is her voice used to being heard? Does she move through a room confidently, or does she prefer to go unnoticed? Those details tell me more than a long backstory ever could.”
It’s important that you know everything that has happened to your character up until this point in their life, so ask questions. Where did they go to school? What is their favourite food? What was their first relationship like? Think about what motivates them, what keeps them awake at night, and their biggest fears.
You can think about physical things too. What would they wear? How do they style their hair? How do they behave around people they love compared with complete strangers? Do they speak differently when they’re nervous? You need a full picture of who they are, even if these facts aren’t written in the script.
You’d be surprised how many actors turn up to set or rehearsals without being properly prepared. Learning your lines isn’t just about avoiding an awkward blank; it gives you the freedom to stop worrying about what comes next and start thinking about your character’s psyche. Once the words are second nature, you can focus on your intentions.
But learning your lines can be hard. It may help to break your script into smaller chunks, as actor Chiara McDougall told The Actors Studio. “Uniting is a big technique that actors use to divide the text into smaller chunks,” she says. That makes learning the script less daunting and more achievable. “It takes the pressure off learning this huge text,” or repeating your lines again and again. You could also add physical movement to some sections to improve recall, or record your lines and listen to them like an audiobook or podcast. “It’s important to realise everyone has a different method that works for them and it will take time and dedication to realise what works for you,” according to The Actors Studio.
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As you prepare for your role, it may help to use different acting techniques to inform your practice – and there are lots to choose from.
Stanislavsky’s system is probably the best known. It asks actors to think about their character’s objectives by asking “what would I do?” in various situations and consider their given circumstances. Given circumstances are the details, situations, and external conditions that inform and influence a character in a dramatic narrative. Collectively, they determine how a character lives.
Then there’s the Meisner technique, at the heart of which is the principle of “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” One of the most basic exercises involves repeating the same phrase back to your partner, focusing on the meaning underneath. Finally, if you really want to get into your character’s head, you could dip your toe into the world of Method acting, which evolved out of Stanislavsky’s system and which the likes of Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, and Lady Gaga have reported using to get into character. The practice emphasises fully inhabiting a character and trying to immerse yourself in their world.
Of course, you could choose to mix and match elements of these techniques, along with others. “You have to find what works for you,” Nick Pollifrone writes for the Physical Lab blog. “And that technique or process just might be a little Meisner, a little [Stella] Adler, and maybe a lot more of something that is entirely unique to you.”
Remember: Preparing for a role isn’t the final product, so have some fun with it! The period before you get in the rehearsal room is a great time to explore freely. Try saying your lines in completely different ways. Give your character a different motivation and see how it changes the scene. Experiment with your voice, movement, and physicality. Read around the subject and soak up as much background information as you can. This is your chance to really get inside your character’s mind, so take it!