Answers for actors.
Plain, complete answers to the questions actors actually ask, from what a cold read is to how to cry on cue. Written for working actors and the ones about to be.
Nothing here yet for that. Try the glossary.
Script analysis and character
Reading a scene for what is actually happening, and building the person who lives in it.
- What are given circumstances in acting?Given circumstances are the facts of a script that the actor does not get to choose: who the character is, where and when the scene happens, what just happened, who everyone is to each other, and what each person knows. The term comes from Stanislavski. You find them by reading the script for facts first, and they shape your choices before you make any.
- What is an objective in acting?An objective is what your character wants in a scene, usually from the other person in it: for him to forgive you, for her to leave, for them to give you the job. A good objective is specific, active, aimed at someone, and something you could tell whether you are getting. The super-objective is the larger want that drives the character through the whole story.
- What are beats in acting?A beat is a section of a scene in which one thing is going on, usually one tactic or one topic, and it ends when something changes: new information lands, a tactic fails, someone gives in. That change is the beat change. Separately, in screenplays, "(beat)" written in the dialogue means a short pause.
- What are action verbs in acting? (A list of 150)Action verbs are transitive verbs that describe what your character is doing to the other person on a line: I charm you, I warn you, I belittle you. They fit the sentence "I ___ you." Actors use them to turn each thought into a specific playable action, and the process of assigning one to every line is called actioning. Below are 150, grouped by direction.
- What is subtext in acting?Subtext is what a character really means, wants or feels underneath the words they actually say. In Casablanca, Rick and Ilsa make polite small talk about Paris with her husband at the table, while really talking about the affair that ended when she left him. Actors find subtext by asking what the character wants and why they are not saying it outright, then play that want while letting the words stay about the surface topic.
- How do you score a script as an actor?Scoring a script means marking your analysis directly onto the pages: your objective at the top of the scene, lines where the beats change, an action verb beside each thought, underlines on the operative words, and marks for pauses and discoveries. Use pencil, keep the symbols few and consistent, and score in layers, starting with the facts and finishing with the line-by-line detail.
- How do you read a script as an actor?Read it several times, each time asking a different question. First, straight through like an audience member, for the story. Second, for the facts: places, times, relationships, what happened before. Third, following only your character's thread. Fourth, for everything other characters say about you. Learning lines comes after all of that, and goes faster because of it.
- Script analysis example: Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2, broken down step by stepHere is a complete breakdown of one famous scene, Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2, in the order working actors do it: the facts the page gives you, what each character wants, what stands in the way, where the scene turns, an action verb for each beat, the subtext under the key lines, the moment before, and two different interpretations the same text supports.
- What is the moment before in acting?The moment before is what was happening to your character in the seconds and minutes just before the scene begins: where they came from, what just happened, what they want as they walk in. Actors build it so the first line arrives in the middle of a life already in motion, instead of starting cold from zero.
- What is the magic if in acting?The magic if is a tool from Konstantin Stanislavski: instead of trying to believe a fictional situation is real, the actor asks what they would do if it were. That question turns imagination into action. If this cold tea were scalding, how would I drink it? If I had just lost my job, how would I walk in the door?
- How do you build a character as an actor?Start with the facts the script gives you, then what other characters say about yours. Work out what the character wants, in each scene and overall. Invent history only where the text is silent, and only what changes how you play. Then find the body, voice and habits, define every relationship, and settle on how this person sees the world.
- What are Uta Hagen's nine questions?Uta Hagen's nine questions, from her 1991 book A Challenge for the Actor, are: Who am I? What time is it? Where am I? What surrounds me? What are the given circumstances? What is my relationship? What do I want? What is in my way? What do I do to get what I want? Answered in the first person, they build a character's world.
Lines and rehearsal
Getting words off the page and into your body, and what to do when they leave.
- How do you memorize lines fast?Understand the scene before you memorize it, then learn it in small chunks of thought, out loud, by testing yourself instead of rereading. Cover your line, say it from memory, check, repeat. Learn the cue lines as well as your own, run the scene at speed, and spread the work over two or three sessions with sleep in between.
- What does "run lines" mean?To run lines means to practice the dialogue of a script out loud, usually with another person reading the other characters' parts and feeding you your cues. Actors do it to memorize their lines and to check they know them. Outside acting, "want to run lines with me?" is also a playful, flirty invitation, borrowed from the romance trope of rehearsing a scene that gets real.
- How do you run lines by yourself?Record the other characters' lines on your phone, leaving a silence after each one long enough for your reply, then play it back and say your lines into the gaps. Combine that with a cover card over your own lines, writing them out from memory, and running them on your feet. Read the other parts plainly so you do not lock in one way of reacting.
- How do you memorize a monologue?Before you memorize a word, work out who you are talking to, what you want from them, and where the speech changes direction. Write the monologue as a short list of thoughts, one line each. Then learn it section by section, out loud, linking each section to the next turn in the argument. Finish by saying it to a real person, not the wall.
- What does "off book" mean?Off book means you have memorized your lines and no longer carry the script in rehearsal. In theater, the director sets an off-book date, after which actors are expected to work without scripts. If you get stuck, you say "line," and the stage manager, who is following the text ("on book"), gives you the next words.
- What is a line reading?A line reading has two meanings. It can simply mean the way an actor delivers a line: the emphasis, pace and tone. When a director "gives you a line reading," it means they say the line out loud the way they want it and ask you to copy it. Many actors and directors avoid that second kind, because it hands over a result without the reason behind it.
- How do you learn lines the night before?Triage. Understand the scene first, then learn the lines that matter most: your first and last lines, the lines at the turns of the scene, and the cues that lead into them. Drill those out loud by covering and recalling, run the scene a few times against recorded cues, and go to bed. Run it cold in the morning, and plan to hold the sides.
- What do you do if you forget your lines?Stay in character and keep the moment alive. Breathe, go back to what your character wants, and say the next thing they would say, even if it is a paraphrase. On stage, your scene partners can help you back on track. In rehearsal, say "line." In an audition, look at your sides or ask to start again. On a self-tape or on set, simply go again.
Auditions
What the words mean, what the room wants, and how to walk in prepared.
- What is a cold read?A cold read is reading a scene out loud, usually at an audition, with little or no time to study it first. Nobody expects it memorized. Casting is watching whether you can make the words sound like a person talking, find what the character wants, and take direction, all while glancing at the page.
- What are sides in acting?Sides are the pages of a script you are given to audition with: one or two scenes, pulled out of the full script, featuring the character you are reading for. On a film or TV set, sides also means the small booklet of that day's scenes handed to cast and crew each morning.
- What is a callback in acting?A callback is a follow-up audition. After the first round, casting invites a shortlist of actors back to read again, usually for the director, producers or writers, who make the final decision. In most cases you bring the same choices that got you called back, plus any notes you were given, and you wear the same thing.
- What is a slate in acting, and how do you slate?A slate is the brief on-camera introduction you give before an audition: usually your name, and sometimes your height, location or agency if casting asks. It lasts a few seconds, is said as yourself, and may include a full-body shot or profile turns. Always follow the brief, because every casting office has its own preferences.
- What is a chemistry read?A chemistry read is an audition where two or more actors read together so the director and producers can see how they play off each other. It usually comes late in casting, for roles whose relationship carries the story: romantic leads, siblings, partners, rivals. Often one actor is already cast and reads with each finalist.
- What does it mean to be pinned, on hold or on avail?All three mean casting is seriously considering you and wants you to keep certain dates free, but you have not booked the job. An avail check asks whether you are available. A hold or pin means you are on the shortlist. First refusal means they get first claim on your dates. Only a confirmed offer is a booking.
- How do you prepare for an audition?Read the breakdown and, if you can get it, the whole script. Break down the sides: who you are, what you want, who you want it from, and where the scene turns. Make clear, specific choices, then learn the lines well enough to look up from the page. Check the logistics the night before, and on the day, play the scene and let the result go.
- What should you wear to an audition?Wear something that suggests the character without being a costume, in solid colors that flatter you, that fits well and lets you move. Avoid logos, busy or tiny patterns, and noisy jewelry. On camera, skip stark white and pick a color that stands apart from your background. For a callback, wear the same thing you wore the first time.
- What is an open call audition?An open call is an audition open to anyone who fits the casting notice, with no agent or appointment required. You turn up at the posted time and place, sign in, and wait to be seen, often alongside dozens or hundreds of other actors. Legitimate open calls never charge you to audition.
- How do you read a casting breakdown?A casting breakdown is the notice casting sends out describing each role in a project and what they are looking for. Read it for the facts (project, role size, age range, union status, pay, dates, location), then for the description, which tells you the character's essence and function in the story. Then check the submission instructions, which you must follow exactly.
- How do you choose an audition monologue?Choose a speech from a published play, for a character you could realistically be cast as now, in which you are talking to someone specific and trying to get something from them. Keep it inside the time limit, commonly one to two minutes. Avoid pieces casting hears constantly, and build a small set of contrasting monologues so you are ready for any call.
- How do you deal with audition nerves?Expect nerves and give them a job. Prepare thoroughly so there is less to worry about, build a short pre-audition routine, and slow your breathing with long, easy exhales. In the room, put your attention on the person you are talking to and what you want from them. Afterward, let the result go. If anxiety is severe or persistent, talk to a professional.
Self-tapes
Framing, light, sound, eyeline and the reader. Everything a tape is judged on.
- How do you make a self-tape?To make a self-tape, read the casting brief first, then film on a phone turned horizontal at eye level, framed from the chest up against a plain wall. Light your face from the front with soft light, record in a quiet room with a real person reading the other lines quietly from beside the lens, slate as asked, pick your best take, trim it and send it exactly as the brief says.
- How long should a self-tape be?A self-tape should be as long as the scene and no longer. Start a beat before your first line, end when the scene lands, and keep the slate to a few seconds. Most audition scenes run one to three minutes. Send one take per scene unless the brief asks for more, and never pad the tape with intros, pauses or extras nobody requested.
- What is the best background and lighting for a self-tape?The best self-tape background is a plain, uncluttered wall or backdrop in a mid-tone gray or soft blue, with you standing a few feet in front of it. The best light is soft and from the front: a window facing you, or a diffused light just beside the camera at face height. Turn off overhead lights, never sit with a bright window behind you, and keep every light the same color.
- Where should you look in a self-tape?In a self-tape you look at your reader, who stands or sits right beside the camera lens at your eye height. That puts your eyeline just off camera, close enough that casting sees both your eyes, without looking into the lens itself. Only look straight down the lens for the slate, or when the brief asks for direct address, as many commercial auditions do.
- How do you get good sound on a self-tape?Good self-tape sound comes from three things: a small, soft room with no echo or background noise, a microphone close to you (the phone a few feet away, or better, a lavalier clipped to you), and a reader who speaks more quietly than you do. Record a test, listen on headphones, and fix problems before you tape, because echo and an overloud reader cannot be fully fixed afterward.
- How do you read for someone's self-tape?To read for someone's self-tape, stand right beside the camera lens at their eye height, read the other character's lines more quietly than the actor, and give real but understated responses. Pick up your cues promptly, stay still, skip accents and big performances, and take direction from the actor. Your job is to give them something true to react to without becoming the focus of the tape.
Acting technique
The major schools in plain English, and the practical questions actors actually ask.
- What is the Meisner technique?The Meisner technique is an approach to acting developed by Sanford Meisner that trains you to stop planning and respond honestly to what your scene partner is actually doing. Its core is the repetition exercise, where two actors repeat a simple observation back and forth until real impulses take over. Meisner described acting as living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
- What is the Stanislavski system?The Stanislavski system is the approach to acting developed by Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre in the early 1900s. It teaches actors to work from a character's circumstances and wants: what has happened, what the character is trying to do, and why. Almost every modern acting technique, including Meisner and the Method, grew out of it or in reaction to it.
- What is method acting?Method acting is the approach taught by Lee Strasberg, mainly at the Actors Studio in New York, in which actors use relaxation, sense memory and memories from their own lives to bring real thought and feeling to a role. It grew out of Stanislavski's early work. Staying in character for months is a popular image of it, and Strasberg's training does not require it.
- How do actors cry on cue?Most actors cry on cue by making the situation real enough that tears come on their own: they build the character's circumstances and stakes in detail, use a personal substitution or a vivid image, and let the breath go where grief takes it. They stop trying to squeeze tears out. On set, menthol tear sticks are a normal backup, and audiences are often moved more by someone fighting tears than by the tears themselves.
- How can you practice acting at home?You can practice acting at home by reading plays and screenplays aloud every day, breaking down scenes on paper, working a monologue, self-taping and watching the playback honestly, and doing simple voice and body exercises. Add observation of real people and analytical watching of performances. Practice alone builds skill, but you still need a scene partner or class to practice listening and responding.
- What is the Michael Chekhov technique?The Michael Chekhov technique is an approach to acting that works through imagination and the body to reach feeling. Its best-known tool is the psychological gesture: a large, simple physical movement that captures what a character wants, which you rehearse fully and then carry inside while you play. It also uses atmospheres, qualities of movement and imaginary centers in the body.
The business
Agents, unions, role sizes, headshots and resumes. How the industry actually works.
- How do you get an acting agent?Get your materials ready first: current headshots, a one-page resume, footage (a short reel or strong self-taped scenes) and ongoing training. Then research agencies with room for your type and submit exactly the way each one asks. Referrals, school showcases and your own bookings get you read faster. A legitimate agent never charges an upfront fee; they earn a commission when you work.
- What is the difference between a talent agent and a manager?An agent finds and negotiates work: they submit you for auditions and close the deals, and in states like California and New York they must be licensed to do it. A manager guides your career, advising on agents, roles, materials and timing, and is usually not licensed as an agent. In the US agents commonly take about 10% and managers often 15%. Most actors need an agent first.
- How do you join SAG-AFTRA?You join SAG-AFTRA by first becoming eligible, then applying and paying the initiation fee and dues. The commonly described routes to eligibility are working a principal role under a SAG-AFTRA contract, working a set number of days as union background (traditionally three), or belonging to an affiliated sister union for at least a year with principal work there. Confirm current rules at sagaftra.org.
- What is the difference between a co-star and a guest star?A co-star is a small TV role, usually a few lines in one or two scenes, shot in a day or two and credited at the end. A guest star is a bigger part, often central to that episode's story, with more days on set and billing near the start. Guest stars are paid on a higher tier, often a fixed rate called top of show.
- What does it mean to be Taft-Hartleyed?Being Taft-Hartleyed means a producer hired you, a non-union performer, for a job under a SAG-AFTRA contract and reported it to the union. It makes you SAG-AFTRA eligible. Under the commonly described rule, you can then work further union jobs for 30 days without joining; after that you become must-join and have to join before your next union job.
- How do you format an acting resume?An acting resume is one page, trimmed to 8x10 inches and attached to the back of your headshot. Your name goes at the top with union status and agent or contact details, then optional stats such as height. Credits follow in three columns (project, role, company or director), grouped by Film, Television and Theater, then Training and Special Skills. Never list your age.
- What makes a good acting headshot?A good acting headshot looks exactly like you on a good day, right now, and shows a person in the middle of a thought. The eyes are sharp and alive, the framing is close (usually chest up), the background stays out of the way, and the clothes and mood suit the roles you are actually cast in. Casting should recognize you the moment you walk in.
- How long should an acting reel be?An acting reel is typically one to two minutes long, and shorter is usually better. Open with your strongest clip, with no montage or long title sequence first. Each clip commonly runs about 15 to 45 seconds and should keep you on screen and speaking. A tight 60-second reel of strong, recent work does more for you than three minutes of everything you have shot.
On stage and on set
The vocabulary of rehearsal rooms, theaters and film sets.
- What do upstage and downstage mean?Upstage is the part of the stage farthest from the audience; downstage is the part closest to it. Stage left and stage right are always given from the actor's point of view, facing the audience, so stage left is the audience's right. Together they divide the stage into nine areas, from upstage right to downstage left.
- What is blocking in theater and film?Blocking is the planned movement and positioning of actors in a scene: where you enter, where you stand, when you cross, sit or exit. In theater the director sets it during rehearsals and the actors write it in their scripts. On a film set it is worked out just before shooting so the camera and lights can be placed around it.
- What is a table read?A table read is a session where the cast sits around a table and reads the entire script aloud, usually before rehearsals or filming begin. Nobody is off book and nobody moves. It lets the writers, director and producers hear the script as a whole, and it gives the actors their first sense of the story, the tone and each other.
- Film set terms every actor should knowFilm sets run on a shared shorthand. The terms an actor hears most are call sheet and call time (when and where you are needed), first team and second team (actors and stand-ins), marks, rolling, speed, action and cut, back to one (return to your starting position), moving on, the Abby Singer (second-to-last shot) and the martini shot (the last shot before wrap).
- What is the difference between an understudy, a swing and a standby?All three are covers, actors ready to replace someone who is out. An understudy performs another role in the show every night and steps up when needed. A standby is not in the show at all and waits offstage to cover one or more leading roles. A swing is also offstage and covers several ensemble tracks, often learning many of them.