Louise Harris

4 September 2018
Acting 1
An Actor’s Work - Quotes

“In theatre, knowing means feeling.” xxiv

“Any system has to become so familiar that you forget about it. Only after it has become part of
your flesh and blood and heart can you begin, unconsciously, to derive real benefit from it.” xxv

“Acting is above all inward, psychological, subconscious.” xxvi

“The words got in the way of the acting and the acting got in the way of the words.” pg. 8

“In my opinion a good prompter is someone who can keep silent for a whole evening and then,
at the critical moment give you the one word which has slipped your memory.” pg. 10

“As soon as I sensed their approval such energy boiled up inside me that I didn’t know what to
do with it.” pg. 14

“...it is always best when an actor is completely taken over by the play. Then, independent of his
will, he lives the role, without noticing ​how​ he is feeling, not thinking about ​what ​he is doing, and
so everything comes out spontaneously, subconsciously.” pg. 17

“...once the subconscious starts working we must try not to get in its way.” pg. 18

“...our prime task is not only to portray the life of a role externally, but above all to create the
inner life of the character and of the whole play, bringing our own individual feelings to it,
endowing it with all the features of our own personality.” pg. 19

“...every moment of your life onstage will evoke corresponding personal experiences.” pg. 20

“... a mirror must be used with caution. It leads an actor to observe not what is inside but what is
outside.” pg. 24

“The actor creates a model in his imagination, then like a painter, captures every trait and
transfers it not onto canvas but onto himself.” pg. 25

“Cliches cannot replace experiencing.” pg. 30 (using magic “if” you might replace something)

“The theatre, because it is public, because of the element of display in it, is a double edge
sword. On the one hand,
“There is only one way… ceaselessly to fulfill the basic goal of our art, and that consists in the
creation of ​the life of the human spirit of a role in a play and in giving that life physical
embodiment in an aesthetic, theatrical form. T ​ he ideal of the genuine artist is contained within
these words.” pg. 36

“Everything that happens onstage must occur for ​some reason or other. ​When you sit there, you
must also sit for a reason and not merely to show yourself off to the audience.” pg. 39

“If someone sits onstage it doesn’t mean he’s being passive… You can be motionless and
nonetheless fully active, not outwardly, physically, but inwardly, mentally…​ acting is action -
mental and physical.”​ pg. 40

“You must not play passions and characters, but react under the influence of passion in
character.” pg. 43

“Be like children” pg. 46

“The secret of “if”, as a stimulus, lies in the fact that it doesn’t speak about actual facts, of what
is, but what might be… “if”... this word is not a statement, it’s a question to be answered. The
actor must try to answer it.” pg. 51 (The magic “If”)

“You have… to understand ​when, where, why, for what reason y​ ou are there. You can already
distinguish the outlines of a new life, previously unknown to you. You can feel the ground
beneath your feet. You have lived in your mind. But this is not enough. The stage demands
action. You must evoke it by setting tasks and intentions towards them.” pg. 81

“... the actor needs imagination not only when creating but also when renewing what has
already been created and is now getting jaded. This is effected by introducing a new idea, or
revitalizing individual details.” pg. 82

“... ​to divert your attention from the auditorium you must become engrossed in what is
happening onstage” ​ pg. 90

“There is not one single moment in a man’s life when his attention is not engaged by some
object or other.” pg. 91

“Not for nothing are the eyes called “the mirror to the soul”” pg. 95 (empty eyes reflect an empty
soul)

“When there’s a doubt, decide for yourself. Make mistakes, but don’t have doubts and don’t
keep asking questions. An actor must be resourceful.” pg. 97
“You only have to be in a circle of light, in the dark, and you immediately feel cut off from
everything. There, in the circle of light, as in your own home, there is no one to fear and nothing
to be ashamed of.” pg. 98