Overview
This lecture focuses on tactics in acting, explaining how to use different strategies to elicit desired emotional responses from other characters to achieve objectives.
Understanding Tactics
- A tactic is what you do to another character to get a specific emotional reaction.
- Tactics are used to achieve your objective in a scene.
- You may try multiple tactics if your first attempt does not work.
Real-Life Example: Asking for a Raise
- The objective: get your boss to give you a raise.
- Possible tactics include flattering, impressing, negotiating, guilting, shaming, or intimidating your boss.
- Escalating tactics, from nice to more forceful, can move the scene forward and create dramatic tension.
Naming Tactics: Two Approaches
- Traditional approach: name tactics as verbs (e.g., seduce, threaten, negotiate, soothe).
- Alternative approach: name tactics by the feeling you want to create in the other person (e.g., make them feel valued, ashamed, powerful).
- Both methods can be used interchangeably depending on what works best for you.
Examples of Tactics as Verbs and Feelings
- Verb examples: seduce, berate, cajole, intimidate, calm.
- Feeling examples: make them feel understood, threatened, small, sexy, generous.
Tools for Naming Tactics
- Actor thesaurus or lists of actor action words can be helpful for finding verbs.
- Mixing both naming approaches is valid and can make your performance dynamic.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Tactic — an action taken to influence another character’s emotions to achieve your objective.
- Objective — what you want from the other character in the scene.
- Verb Tactic — naming a tactic as an action word (e.g., impress, flatter).
- Feeling Tactic — naming a tactic by the feeling you intend to evoke in the other person.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice identifying and naming tactics as both verbs and feelings.
- Find and review an actor’s thesaurus or list of action words online.