A Leap From the Method
An Organic Approach to Acting
by
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The Fifth Focus: Experiencing the Back-Story
Essentially, the back-story tells the history of what has happened to a character before he makes an entrance. Whether the back-story details events in the distant past or in the immediate moments before the actor comes onstage, it’s probably the most important tool the actor has. It literally springs him into action.
A typical example of the sort of details many actors provide when they describe a character’s history might go like this: “I was born in
A girl who plays someone who has been raped has to have been raped in her mind. She has to experience the rape in her fantasy, and I mean in every little detail. The guy who commits murder really has to commit murder in his mind. He has to do all the details of committing the murder. He has to experience the back-story.
For instance, in the opening scene of Broadway Bound, Grandpa enters holding a paper bag. Unbeknownst to the audience, the paper bag contains his soiled bed sheet from his recent nap. As he comes down the stairs, his daughter confronts him. Now if the actor does not experience the back-story in his imagination, he will not be able to fulfill the essence of behavior existing in the following details: Grandpa wakes up and recognizes that he’s soiled his sheet. He feels embarrassment and pain; he feels alone, worries about growing old. He needs to experience all the elements of his back-story before he comes down those stairs and enters the action on stage. When I fantasized those moments immediately before entering the scene, I was automatically able to bring all the details of Grandpa’s behavior into it.
I didn’t have to go through every detail of his seventy-plus years, but it was important to fantasize the things I may have needed in order to spring onto the stage. I needed a full-blown Grandpa in my mind before I made my entrance—that included having previously worked out my relationships to his various family members in rehearsal.
The key to finding this back-story and bringing it to each performance is simple. As the Group Theater co-founder Harold Clurman always said, “Just read the play. Everything is in the play.” Each time you rehearse your words and movements you will make new discoveries—if you’re open to them. Listen to the other actors. If they have suggestions, try to be ego-less in the process. If you are ego-less, you can listen to what everybody has to say and choose the suggestions you find valid. If you’re egocentric and you’re worried about how good you are, a useful suggestion may be interpreted as negative criticism. Take advantage of everything you possibly can in order to develop the role.
The back-story of the text is a very reliable framework upon which to build and refine your performance. While individual actors may have differing reactions to a character’s back-story, over all they tend to be rather consistent, with perhaps slight variations. Let’s do a little experiment. When I’m finished with this little fantasy, we’ll see if your reactions to the back-story are the same as mine.
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About the Book
Allan Rich's new book, A Leap from the Method, is an entertaining must read for anyone in the arts, especially actors." -- Larry King
“The book presents an organic method that is filled with inside information. And, there is an added plus: it’s fun to read.” -- Jack Lemmon
About the Author
Allan Rich is one of the busiest and most recognizable character actors, in
In 2006, Allan was featured in four soon to be released movies: “My Sexiest Year,” with Frankie Muniz, “Rise” with Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis, “Lies & Alibis” with Steve Coogan and Rebecca Romijn, and “The Man in the Chair,” with Christopher Plummer. Other feature film credits include Steven Speilberg’s “Amistad,” “Disclosure” and Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show.” Recent television credits include “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as a holocaust ‘Survivor,’ “Living With Fran,” “NYPD Blue,” and “CSI,”
Allan began his distinguished acting career as a teenager in
Despite his enormous success outside of the entertainment field, Rich re-launched his film career in 1973 playing the D.A. in “Serpico” with Al Pacino. Allan went on to appear in more than 75 television shows, MOW’s and 68 features that include “Frances, “Eating Raoul,” and “Guilty By Suspicion.”
After years of teaching, Allan has developed his own acting technique, which he has put down in his book A Leap From the Method. Some of his more famous students include Sharon Stone, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rene Russo, Donna Dixon, Jack Scalia and Alan Thicke and Larry Miller.