J~

.)
, Objectives

his appearance his hobbies

Objectives
his
his
movements
smell
his
his
social status
politics
his nationality his accomplishments
his habits his attitude toward death
his memories his family
his laugh his friends
his failures his religion
his dreams his passions
his daydreams his intellect
his nervous gestures his education
his smile his language
his mannerisms his voice
,II his health his posture
,I'
his loneliness his weight
his age his strengths
THE GOLDEN KEY his fears his diet
In the empty space before us there is a chair. Let us say the his weaknesses his goals
his biography his energy level
"
I chair is an ordinary household chair-straight backed, wooden,
and green. Now, in our imaginations we place someone in the his needs his likes and dislikes
chair. This is the beginning of acting. The someone we place in his experiences his sexuality
the chair will be the character that we wish to portray. We can his wants his eccentricities
visualize him sitting there. We can sense him. We can smell his clothing his sense of humor
him. We can hear his movements-for the purpose of this ex­ his income his temper
ercise, I'm going to use "he" or "his." Suffice it to say, the per­ his birth sign his pride or lack of it
son in the chair could be a male or female. his perceptions his morality
The actor's purpose is, first, to observe the model in the chair his name his self-confidence
and then to go sit inside the skin of the person in the chair. his profession his love
Before the actor goes and sits in the chair, he must observe the
person in the chair with methodic scrutiny. When the charac­
ter in the chair has been observed completely, the actor as­ We could add more; when the list was complete, we would have
sumes the skin, contour, and personality of the character in the a fair and accurate picture of his character.
chair, as if stepping into the model's space, or sliding into an His name is Leslie. There he sits, gazing and breathing si­
invisible envelope. lently and motionlessly in the green chair before us; sitting there
Let us look for a few moments at this character sitting before in his own clothing, in his own posture, in his own complexion,
us. What is there about him that interests us? What could move in his own thought, and in his own history.
us to imitate him? Let us list those aspects that fascinate us: I am the actor. I stand before Leslie observing him. He the

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A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

model, I the artist. I am to become him. I am to think his borrow his central nervous system. I am going to borrow the
thoughts, share his feelings, speak his words. How shall I be­ story of his experience. I am going to borrow his mentality, his
come him? He awes me. In some ways he and I are alike. But awareness, his pleasure. I am going to borrow his sense of hu­
in most of the patterns of his life-his expressions, his rhythms, mor. I'm going to borrow his rhythms. I'm going to borrow the
his looks, his wants, his background, his ways of going about pair of shoes he is wearing. But where shall I begin? Where is
things-he is very different from me. Yet to succeed I must be­ my golden key?
lieve myself to be him. His goals must become my goals. His I return to the model. I study the model. I will give Leslie
appearance must become mine. His words must rise from my no rest until I have observed him completely. I will not rest
heart and soul, and I must experience his pain. until I have scanned and memorized everything about him. I
My model slips a hand into his pocket as he turns his head will watch my model night and day. He will never be out of
slowly to look at me. How shall I become him? Where shall I my presence. He will yield to me all his secrets.
begin? What path shall I use by which to enter his being? What I will walk around him for hours. I will pester him with
shall I give my attention to first? Shall I study the entire his­ questions. I will be exacting in detail. This is the first step in
tory of his life? Shall I scrutinize his anatomy, his health, his the acting process. I study the model:
diet, his grooming habits, his weight, his movements? Shall I
begin by reconstructing his thought, his education, his self­ Leslie, where did you get that coat? What is in your pockets?
Where did the smudge on your collar come from? Do you have
discipline, his ethics, his I. Q., his confidence, his social posi­ callouses, freckles, corns? Do you have any scars? Have you ever
tion, his job, or his personal habits? I am beginning to sense had an operation? Ether'? Flowers afterwards? From whom? When
that I could observe my model for years before I would be truly do you feel most lonely, Leslie? Whom do you love? Leslie! What
are you thinking at this moment? Who is your favorite playmate?
able to enter and become him, before I would be able to take
What foods give you heartburn? Can you keep a secret? Do you
on the heart of his unique and wonderful mystery. I sense the owe anyone money? What makes you laugh? Do you complain?
need for a technique, a shortcut, a device for entering him Do you pray? Do you masturbate? What do you feel most lost
quickly, accurately, effortlessly. I need a golden key. without? Do you drink? Do you daydream? Do you worry? What,
Leslie, is your absolutely most favorite thing in the world? What
Let's look at Leslie again for a minute. Is he a happy man? do you do in secret that no one is aware of? Tell me. How did
Has he succeeded in everything he pursued? Is he in pain? Is your spinal column get the way it is? What is your strongest
he alone? Is he uncertain? Does he suffer? Does he think well childhood memory? What is your pet peeve? What pain do you
have in your body right now? Is there anything or anyone you
of himself? Does he fear us? What part of himself does he seek hate? Is there a supreme being for you? Whom do you imitate?
to hide from scrutiny? See how he shifts his weight in the chair
now that he knows we are looking at him. He raises one hand,
presses his nostrils together lightly, looks at his shoe, curls his As the actor, I study the model. I move around him steadily.
fingers, and places his fist behind his lower back. Gradually, systematically, relentlessly, courageously I per­
There's no part of Leslie that is not going to be known to me. suade him to yield up his truth to me; his heart, his being. Only
In time, I, as actor, am going to enter into Leslie. His life will when I know him thoroughly can I become him. Only when I
be mine. I am going to borrow, for a prolonged period of time, share his thoughts, his hopes, his dreams will I be permitted
his thoughts, his fears, his loves, and his desires. I am going to to go and sit in the green chair in his place; only when I love
borrow -the hair that grows out of his nostrils. I am going to him will he allow me to slide into his skin. The actor studies

72 73
A SENSE OF DIRECTION
Objectives

the model. This is the first step. But where is the golden key? his appearance his religion
When the golden key is mine, then I will go to him, sit in his loves his use of language
his place, and become him. Then I will place my feet where his fears his anger
his feet are. I will place my knees where his knees are, and my his frustrations his uncertainty
hands where his hands are. I will assume his carriage, his gait, his nationality his wants
his personal relations his inner rage
his glance. I will take upon myself his mentality, his pain, his
his emotions his ethics
memory, his loneliness. I will take his voice. I will like what he
his thoughts his love
likes. I will laugh at what amuses him. What he finds sexy will
his habits his loneliness
turn me on. What he has achieved will make me proud, and
his memories his pride
what he resents will make me indignant. His convictions will
his sense of humor his eccentricities
be my principles. I will consent to take onto myself all his life.
his childhood his uniqueness
When I agree to take on his life, I may be taking on a lot of
his daydreams his education
weight, a lot of sorrow, a lot of suffering, a lot of resentment, a
his mannerisms his awareness
lot of fear, a lot of loneliness-all strange to my usual nature. I
may take on ugliness, despair, bigotry, uncertainty, ill-fortune. his needs his strengths
But when I enter him I will include all, and I will dare to ac­ his hopes his weaknesses
cept the entirety of his being. I will become Leslie. his physical health his energy
The enormity of the task seems to be awesome. We have asked his age his mentality
so many questions and received so many impressions. The sheer his biography his rhythms
number of facets of Leslie's life and experience cause us to seek his wardrobe his sexuality
a simple, sure, and effortless method of becoming the charac­ his birth sign his expressions
ter. We do not want to spend countless and unsystematic hours his self-esteem his habits
asking random questions and patching our haphazard impres­ his social status his pain
sions together in the hope that some accident will ignite a co­ his profession his mystery
his name his pleasures
herent and truthful performance. We need the golden key. We
his hobbies his central nervous system
need a technique that will bring the multiplicity of impressions
into alignment and unity. his politics his worries
Thanks to the methods articulated by our master, Constantin
Stanislavski, we have a golden key. His study is a revelation to Did your eyes go right to the golden key? It may be cor­
every serious actor. rectly said that the actor is interested in every characteristic on
Every skilled professional actor will be able to spot the golden the above list. But there is one particular word that is the tool,
key immediately in the following list of character traits. The the lever, the power, the passion, the exercise, the obsession,
golden key will leap out and light up as the one valuable tool the quest, the revelation, the liberator, and the joy of the gen­
for the actor; the other characteristics in the list will recede into uine and knowledgeable actor. It is the golden key that frees
the shadowy recess of secondary consideration. Can you spot all other creative energies. It is the golden key that unlocks and
the single golden key to which the actor should anchor his full opens the gate, freeing my direct, clear, and easy path into the
attention from among the many we have discussed? inner life of Leslie; so that I become him thoroughly, opu­

74 75
I

 Objectives
A SENSE OF DIRECTION

lently, fearlessly, effortlessly. This technique is the key to all Leslie may want a motorboat, a wife, a moment's peace and
success in acting. This golden key is the sine qua non--or quiet. These are nouns.
"without which nothing"--of the art of theatre. The profes­ In another category, Leslie may want to earn enough money
to buy a motorboat; he may want to win Georgia's heart, to
sional actor could spot the golden key on that list from a mile
eliminate the distractions to his peace of mind. To earn, to win,
away. The amateur is still puzzled. There is one and only one
"open sesame" to creative acting. There is one and only one to eliminate. These verbs are the wants.
We narrow the focus of the actor's pursuit now by stating
way to enter and know and experience and express the inner
clearly that, for our purposes in theatre, Leslie never wants
life of a character in a play. And that technique is the system­
nouns. His wants are expressed as verbs.
atic and thorough pursuit of the wants of the character.
When asked what Leslie wants, a skilled actor will never an­
How simple it seems! How prosaic. How obvious. His wants.
swer that Leslie wants an object, or a person, or a job, or love,
But the overwhelming majority of rehearsals are mired in con­
or independence. A skilled actor always states Leslie's wants in
fusion, frustration, and non-success, because the artists fix their
the form of a verb. What does Leslie want to do?
attention on the secondary paraphernalia of results.
Wants. Wants. Wants. Wants are what create drama. Wants
I WANT TO (verb)
are what give life to the character. Wants are what the waking
individual is never without. Wants are perpetual. Wants cause
The behavior of an individual is caused by what he wants.
action. Wants create conflict. Wants are the very energy of hu­
What does Leslie want to do? What does he want to do for, or
man life and the System of Wants is the aspect of character to
to, himself, and what does he want to do for, or to, other peo­
which the actor gives his relentless and obsessive attention. The
ple? A serious actor doesn't give time or attention to any other
actor tracks down the wants. Everything else is classified as a
aspect of the character until he has made a thorough study of
condition. The golden key is the character's system of wants.
what the character wants to do. Leslie is always wanting to do
And after I have studied and structured and tested and as­
something. If he is awake he wants to do something to himself,
sumed Leslie's system of wants, then, and only then, am I per­
to others, or to his surroundings. The one thing that is perpet­
mitted to occupy his inner life and express his personality. Of
ual and constant in Leslie's consciousness is that he is always
all the questions I ask Leslie about himself, the overwhelming
wanting. There is never a moment when a human being is not
majority have to do with his wants: "What do you want?" "What
wanting to do something. Leslie may want to make himself more
do you want now?" "What is your ultimate want?" "What do
comfortable in his chair; he may want to convince me of his dis­
you want from the other person?" "What do you want in the
interest; he may want to get out of the room; he may want to
play?" "What do you want in life?" When I succeed in making
fall asleep. He may want to figure out why I am gazing at him
Leslie's wants my wants, I succeed in the process of acting. The
with such interest; but Leslie is always wanting to do some­
want is the golden key.
thing. He has many characteristics, but the one thing that he
always has-if he is alive-is that he wants to do something.
A SYSTEM OF WANTS His entire life has been composed of a system of wants.
As an actor I say, "The only thing that interests me is what
I will want what Leslie wants.
Leslie wants. I will study what he wants; when I know what he
It is essential at this point to divide wants into two classifi­
wants I will borrow his wants and make them my own. His wants
cations and to throw one of the classifications away.

77
76
A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

will become my wants; and when I want completely what he Listed below are a number of frequently recurring "actable"
wants, I will have entered the inner life of Leslie. Everything verbs:
I do will flow from his nature."
The system of wants in Leslie is what the actor gives his ab­ I want to CONVINCE. I want to HELP.
solute, continuous, and undivided attention to. The actor is like I want to ENCOURAGE. I want to SEDUCE.
a detective hunting down those wants. I want to PREPARE. I want to IGNITE.
We have already narrowed our focus to eliminate nouns: I want to ENLIGHTEN. I want to BUILD.
I want to ANNIHILATE. I want to HURT.
NOUN VERB
I want to GET EVEN. I want to AWAKEN.
I want a motorboat. I want to EARN enough for a I want to OVERWHELM. I want to MOCK.
motorboat: I want to. REASSURE I want to CRUSH
I want a wife. I want to WIN Georgia's I want to BOMBARD. I want to INSPIRE.
heart. I want to SUPPRESS. I want to DESTROY.
I want peace. I want to ELIMINATE I want to BELITTLE. I want to INCITE.
distraction. I want to LAMBAST. I want to TEASE.
I want attention. I want to FASCINATE
everyone. Having narrowed the focus of wants to the choice of specific
I want order. I want to ORGANIZE this verbs, let us take the first of two steps in refinement. An ade­
mess. quate expression of the want is a verb by itself. A superior, more
subtle, and certainly more actable expression of the want will
Now let us narrow further and eliminate adjectives:
include the person to whom the want is directed and the re­
ADJECTIVE VERB sponse sought from that person, so that a first-class actor ex­
I am angry with her. I want to DESTROY her. pressing an individual want of the character would include all
I am nervous. I want to FOCUS my three elements:
attention.
DESIRED
I am frustrated. I want to FIND a way out.
VERB RECEIVER RESPONSE
I am in love. I want to TAKE CARE of her
forever.
I want .. to WIN . . . . . . . .. Gloria's..... admiration.
I am being charming. I want to DAZZLE the
I want.. to AWAKEN .. .. my father's .. enthusiasm.
guests.
I want to FIGURE OUT a I want .. to REDUCE my lover to tears.
I am confused.
solution. I want .. to IGNITE the crowd to riot.
I want to CONTAIN my I want .. to PERSUADE .. Ann to kiss me.
I am giddy.
rapture. This is the most sophisticated and effective expression of
I am drunk. I want to PRESERVE Leslie's wants because it includes the other person's response.
business as usual. This three-part mechanism requires Leslie to be dependent on
I am friendly. I want to WIN him over. the other character's response. The other character's slightest
I am arrogant. I want to BELITTLE him. response will tell Leslie whether he is getting closer to the ful­

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A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

rector does nothing more than continuously ask the actor for actors have never learned to make the transition. They are very
his objective, he will have a successful production. If he fails to poor actors. They spend their entire careers indicating the feel­
ask the actor repeatedly what his objective is, there is the greatest ings rather than experiencing them. They are phony. They never
likelihood that his production will fail. actually experience the feelings of the character, whereas the
Despite the fact that an actor is fervid, and despite the fact entire art of acting is based on the performer's ability to sustain
that acting is his life, most actors tend to resist acting. Al­ the experience of the inner life of the character.
though he deeply longs to be swimming in the water, the actor So the director is there to persuade the actor away from the
approaches the shore with great reluctance. A director is there representation of the feeling and into the experience of the
to encourage him to go into the water. When an actor is acting feeling itself. To do this the director uses one technique, and
well, he has taken on some degree of suffering. In lending his he uses it all the time. It saves a great deal of energy and con­
belief to the character, he consents to go through the passions fusion. Rather than lengthy discussions on the merits of each
of the character. Since no one really desires to suffer, there is scene, and rather than delivering long directorial expostula­
a part of the actor that wants not to experience the deep and tions on the character, the skilled director simply asks one
painful feelings of the character. Another part of the actor wants question relentlessly: "What is your objective?" At first the ac­
those experiences but would prefer to delay the real experi­ tor will not know. He will try to offer an adjective.
ence as long as possible. The actor tends to postpone making And so the question "What objective are you playing?" is re­
choices that would cause him pain. The actor does not want to peated, and the director will only accept a verb as an answer.
pin himself down to experiencing the suffering of the character. Pin the actor down; he probably doesn't want to be pinned down.
He would rather indicate these passions for a while rather than There is safety in vagueness. There is comfort in "indicating."
go fully into them, because he knows that when he finally con­ There is painlessness in remaining uncommitted. Actors tend
sents to go into them it will cause him some pain. He knows it to run like pigs in a barnyard to avoid pinning down the objec­
is going to hurt him. To some extent it hurts to be "in" the tives. Frequently they will throw up a barrage of adjectives:
character. "As long as I can stay outside the character, at least "Well, you see his anger here, the pent up fury, the resent­
I am not suffering," he mutters subconsciously, "so I'll sketch ment from the past; he's really bitter, he's gotten cynical, he's
in the feelings for a while in order to avoid going fully into a sour; he's rejected, disillusioned, full of contempt, and it all
deep personal belief in those feelings." erupts in a torrent of rage and recriminations and revenge . . ."
Now, this is a resistance that is natural for almost all actors. And on and on he goes, flinging colorful adjectives and nouns
The actor deeply wants to play the part, but he is reluctant to about like confetti. This kind of waffling should be stopped. After
get into it. He would rather "indicate" the passions than feel the second sentence, the director should gently step in and say,
them. The director's job-and here it is in a nutshell-is to "Those are adjectives. Please give me a verb." Once again the
persuade the actor away from giving the "representation" of the actor experiences a sense of resistance. He suddenly realizes
experience. The director persuades the actor to participate in that he is about to commit to experiencing the character's want
the experience. To put it another way, the director coaxes the and in the company of that want will come some discomfort,
actor away from giving a demonstration of the passion and per­ some suffering. "I think he probably wants to annihilate his wife."
suades the actor to go into the inner life of the character and Immediately the actor has committed himself to experience a
actually experience the passion. very painful desire. The director says, "Thank you for that verb;
Every actor is slightly reluctant to make this transition. Some 'annihilate' is a very playable objective."

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A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

Gradually, the actor abandons this avoidance technique of experience and avoiding a personal commitment to the want of
hiding behind decorative emotional descriptions. Adjectives and the character." To put it another way: "You are indicating a
nouns are of no use and must be avoided during the rehearsal. feeling rather than playing your objective."
The skillful director limits what he says. He systematically draws There is a value in the actor knowing which phrase a director
the actors toward the right verb and encourages them to give customarily uses. But it is even more helpful for the actor to be
their full personal commitment to that verb. This is the busi­ aware that when he hears any of the phrases on the above list,
ness of directing. they all mean, "You do not have an objective. Find one and
play it."

INDICATING
FINDING ACTABLE VERBS
Not all verbs are actable. But before proceeding to a discussion
about refining the choice of verbs, let us once again give our Once we have persuaded the actor to respond with a verb when
attention to some terminology. asked for his objective we have opened the door to creative act­
Here is a list of words that directors commonly use when they ing. Now we have two refinements that will increase the effec­
are criticizing an actor's work: tiveness of these verbs. The first of these refinements might be
called the preference for actable verbs. The second we shall re­
you are GENERALIZING
fer to as upgrading the verbs.
you are TELEGRAPHING
Are all verbs equally actable? No. An actor will offer a wide
you are INDICATING
variety of choices, but the director should be prepared to ac­
you are PLAYING ATTITUDE
cept only the verbs that an ordinary person could get behind
you are PLAYING the ADJECTIVE
with his shoulder and push hard for at least ten minutes. This
you are PLAYING RESULT
immediately eliminates the following classification of verbs.
you are MODE PLAYING

you are BEING SCENIC

Intellectual verbs These usually come in packages of three
you are DIRECTING YOURSELF
syllables or more. They are lofty or elegant. No ordinary hu­
you are ANTICIPATING
man being ever spent two seconds, much less ten minutes,
you are ILLUSTRATING
pursuing them. Cogitate, for example, is the intellectual form
you are DEMONSTRATING
for a more ordinary activity: figure out. No one can put his
you are MUGGING
shoulder behind the frail verb reciprocate, but anyone could
you are BEING PHONY
push hard on get even.
you are UNBELIEVABLE

Each director has his favorite phrase, but all the above phrases Behavior or Condition verbs These verbs describe a state
mean exactly the same thing. Once again, we see how much of being or an action that does not require a strong commit­
simpler our profession would be if we were to establish a uni­ ment of intent. They are usually reflexive or subconscious ac­
form vocabulary for our techniques. These phrases all carry the tivities that can be accomplished without effort-sleep, laugh,
same message from the director to the actor. The message is sneeze, cry, eat, wait, or stand usually require no hard push­
this: "You are allowing yourself to represent a picture of the ing.

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A SENSE OF DIRECTION VERBS
Existential verbs These verbs include those vast activities ACTABLE INTELLECTUAL BEHAVIORAL or
that go on without our volition. They are too vague to be en­ CONDITIONAL
deavored in. For instance, one can hardly push hard for ten
hurt reciprocate walk
minutes on the verbs to be, to exist, to die, to become, to live,
inspire atone sneeze
to use, to try, or to think.
suppress glean cry
incite repudiate laugh
Adjectival verbs This classification is extremely subjective,
enlighten reign shout
and one director will consider a certain verb in this category to
crush blame run
be dangerous, while another will consider it acceptable. The
encourage mollify eat
determining factor is this: Does the choice of the verb sound
lambast avenge sleep
dangerously close to indicating-Dr playing the adjective? For
explain vilify sit
instance we might discourage the use of a verb such as argue,
organize obfuscate stand
because it slides so unnoticeably into the adjectival playing of
destroy ruminate fear
argumentative; charm because it slides into being charming; pity
prepare
reinstate like
leads to pitiful; imagine leads to imaginative; deceive leads to
build
postulate endure
deceptive, and so forth.
ensnare
avow hiccough
tease
require belch
Trigger verbs These verbs depict actions that occur so
cheer up
accomplish wait
quickly the doer could not pursue them for ten minutes: shoot,
reassure
adjust record
slap, kick, kiss, touch, quit.
justify
narrate see
mock
impugn recover
Actable verbs These verbs, it is worth repeating, are com­
monplace, gutsy activities that an ordinary person could put his EXISTENTIAL ADJECTIVAL TRIGGER
shoulder behind and push hard for ten minutes. One can cer­
think
create slap
tainly work hard for a long time to convince, excite, tease, en­
use
aggravate kill
courage, destroy, prove, entice, intimidate. shoot
try
discuss
The following rough chart could be augmented and refined
be
argue kick
by any student of directing. It provides a graphic way of look­
live
forgive touch
ing at actable verbs. Gradually the director becomes selective
exist
charm kiss
in listening to the actor; so that, for example, when the director
die
pity quit
asks, "What is your objective?" and the actor answers, "I want
become
deceive slice
to castigate him," the director will suggest, "Give me the down­
create
pine tweak
and-dirty form of 'castigate.' " The actor might say, "bawl him
do
deplore wince
out"; "give him hell"; "curse him out." The director: "That's
need
adore lock
better, those are more actable. You can't put your shoulder
intend
enchant notice
behind 'castigate'; it disappears. But you can really push hard
hope
marvel omit
on 'give him hell!' Use the down-and-dirty form; it's more
love
loathe meet
actable. " flash
happen
grieve
begin
judge snap
86
A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

It becomes apparent that nearly seven-eighths of the verbs Now, how would it be if, instead of telling or infonning him
in spoken English are of absolutely no use to the actor. So we of the procedures of the house, you were to overwhelm him with
have, once again, narrowed the field of choices, enabling the the procedures, or even bombard him with the procedures? The
director to focus his attention on a small list of very refined verbs upgraded verb may seem outsized at first, but we remember
that he will find himself using over and over again. It may seem that it is inevitably modified by the conditions or given circum­
astonishing to the novice, but frequently an experienced direc­ stances of the scene and will therefore not appear to the audi­
tor comes to the sudden realization that play after play he is ence as an exaggerated choice. The hefty size of an upgraded
using the same small group of verbs. The actable verbs turn objective-its definiteness, its ability to be used like a club­
out to be a mere handful of words used over and over again, will seem attractive to the actor. It gives him something tough
by character after character. The conditions that surround these and clear to grasp--something powerful, something to which he
actable verbs vary widely, and these different conditions give can easily lend full commitment.
definition and color to the drama. Let us look at some other examples of the verb being up­
graded.
UPGRADING THE CHOICE CHARM her COMPLIMENT him
In the early rehearsals, the actor is tentative and his choice of FASCINATE her FLATTER him
a verb may be weak, frail, thin. His choice may be a verb, but DAZZLE her PRAISE him
one that is not strong enough to throw one's shoulder behind. o WIN her REINFORCE him
Particularly in the first scenes of a play, in which the play­ MANIPULATE her ENCOURAGE him
wright is wrestling with the artfulness of his exposition, the ac­ SEDUCE her STRENGTHEN him
tor comes up with a shrug: ''1' m merely telling him about the SURROUND her FORTIFY him
procedures around here." The director asks, "What would hap­ OVERWHELM her INVIGORATE him
pen if we were to upgrade that objective?" For example, the DOMINATE her ELEVATE him
actor gives us TELL, and the director suggests that it may be VICTIMIZE her EXALT him
upgraded as follows: CONQUER her IMMORTALIZE him
TYRANNIZE her LIONIZE him
TELL
POSSESS her MONARCHIZE him
INFORM
OCCUpy her DEIFY him
RELAY

DOCUMENT
Some observations should be made at this point:
EXPLAIN
An actor may be "stuck" with a weak objective. When the
PROVE
director invites him to upgrade it, he does not force the situa­
CONVINCE
tion. He suggests the possible options. He encourages the ac­
OVERWHELM
tor to broaden his thinking, to consider splashier possibilities,
BOMBARD
thus adding color and fervor to the beat.
DEVASTATE
The audience never sees the actor's choice. For example,
ANNIHILATE
suppose the actress is to say to her lover, "What a wonderful,
OBLITERATE
kind, thoughtful person you are!" The audience will hear only

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1;·'

A SENSE OF DIRECTION Objectives

those words. But the degree of her conviction will be revealed would also be obviating the purpose of rehearsal. But what if
by the actress's secret choice: whether to flatter him, to fortify the director gets stuck? What if he doesn't have a clue to what
him, to exalt him, or to immortalize hI';. the next scene is about? What if he is required to work rapidly
Actors love poetic words and even words they may not un­ with a script with which he is unfamiliar? What if he is tired,
derstand. It could be quite meaningful to suggest to the actress angry, or disinterested and can hardly bring himself to the quest,
who is praising her lover that she oil him, smother him, con­ much less savor the subtle differences of choice?
sume him, or arouse him. But the actress might respond to Fortunately, we have a rescue tactic. It is an all-purpose,
lionize him, because of its connotative rather than its exact ex­ shortcut, surefire, knockdown, bring-'em-back-alive, fail-safe,
plicit meaning. Even though she doesn't understand the mean­ self-cleaning, inexhaustible magic trick, which, no matter how
ing of the word, her imagination is captured by it, and she hap­ crudely employed, will always work. It is the crowbar of di­
pily envisions her lover becoming a rampant lion as she speaks recting and will always produce satisfactory results in bringing
of him. the actor close to the choice of the right objective. This pow- )
When we use this technique of upgrading the verb, we erfullever is the interchangeable use of the giant verbs get and
sometimes lose track, temporarily, of the second and third make. !
components of a well-constructed objective-that is, the re­ Either of the following questions will always get the director
ceiver and the response. After the verb has been upgraded, we out of trouble:
merely add them in; so that the progression goes this way: "What are you trying to GET him to do?" ~.
"What are you trying to MAKE him do?"
I want to FLAITER him.
Some directors, desperate to cover for lack of preparation,
becomes
manage to get through the entire rehearsal period on these two
I want to PRAISE him.
sentences alone. In fact there are some directors who, unable
becomes
to be bothered with refinements, have built an entire career on
I want to STRENGTHEN him.
these two handy sentences.
becomes
"What are you trying to GET from him?"
I want to GLORIFY him.
"What are you trying to MAKE him give you?"
becomes, with the receiver and the response included,
These two questions require an answer from the actor, and
I want to GLORIFY him into realizing his true worth.
the answer has built into it the three components needed for
All this discussion of actable verbs and upgrading of choices pales the most effective statement of an objective. The answer must­
by comparison when we come to consider two immensely pow­ 1. Contain a verb: "I am trying to CONVINCE."
erful verbs-the giant crowbars of acting technique-get and 2. Contain a receiver: "I am trying to convince HIM."
make. 3. Contain a desired response: "I am trying to convince
him TO GO WITH ME."
THE CROWBARS: GET AND MAKE "What are you trying to get him to do?" may be asked beat
No matter how much homework a director may do, it is impos­ by beat, scene after scene. It will never wear out. It applies to
sible for him to know in advance all the objectives of all the the beginning, middle, and end of a play; to lead characters and
characters in a play. If he did he would be straining badly and extras; to verse and prose; to old and young; to rich and poor;

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A SENSE OF DIRECTION

to active and passive; to real and imagined; to morning, noon,

and night. '
When there is any uncertainty about how things are ~oing in
any scene, the director merely inserts the crowbar:
"What are you trying to MAKE her do?"
''I'm trying to MAKE her relax, MAKE her cheer up, MAKE
her smile at me."
Presto. Both actor and director have something to go OIl. The
scene has been pried loose and is actable now. The objective
may be changed, modified, refined, or upgraded later, but, at
least for now, we have­
1. a verb
2. a receiver
3. a desired response

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