MOOD

In psychology, a mood is an emotional state. In contrast to emotions, feelings, or affects, moods are less specific, less intense and less likely to be provoked or instantiated by a particular stimulus or event. Moods are typically described as having either a positive or negative valence. In other words, people usually talk about being in a good mood or a bad mood.

Mood also differs from temperament or personality traits which are even longer-lasting. Long term disturbances of mood such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder are considered mood disorders. Mood is an internal, subjective state but it often can be inferred from posture and other behaviours. "We can be sent into a mood by an unexpected event, from the happiness of seeing an old friend to the anger of discovering betrayal by a partner. We may also just fall into a mood."

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All the activities we pursue in our daily lives have directions. When you drive on the road there are laws to prevent us from having accidents and when we cook we follow a recipe. For acting, the closest thing to a set of directions for how to proceed is a script. However, complications arise because of the different ways that readers interpret scripts. This means that the primary job of the actor or actress is to analyse a script to uncover the truth about a character so they can accurately portray them on camera.

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Script analysis starts with the basics and gradually adds details. On the first read through, it is important to understand the literal situations and events that affect a character at each point in the story. These facts from the script are the given circumstances and help to determine the actions that the actor and actress will take in performance.

As the script is read, a full list of the facts should be made about the character. Anything that an actor or actress can interpret from a script is incredibly useful later. What do they do for a living? Where do they live? Who is closest to them? If it isn't there in the script, add relevant and creative details and then run it by your Director. 

 

THE BREAKDOWN INTO SCENES AND BEATS

After you have a feel for the character, map out the story into scenes and beats. Good scripts are written as a series of related events where A leads to B and B to C and so on. The practice of making a scene map helps the actor to understand the story sequentially and provides built-in points to change action.

Look for points in the script where the setting changes or the characters on stage change, or time passes. These are common ways that scenes change. Beat changes are smaller shifts within the scenes where the characters may change their action, attitude, or topic of conversation. After identifying the scenes and beats, identify your Characters’ Actions.

 

Ask yourself, “What does my character want to other people in the scene to do?” The answer to that question is your character’s objective. How are you going to accomplish your objective? That’s what is important because that gives you an action to play in each scene.

Usually, characters want other characters to do something, feel something, or understand something. For example, perhaps your character wants someone to get the letters from the post box. How will you get them to go to the mailbox for you? Charm them? Barter with them? Yell at them? The right action is the one that is true to your character and helps you to start identifying your character’s type.

 

STAY OPEN TO NOTES AND CHANGE 

Remember that acting is a collaborative exercise and actors and actresses must also take a director’s opinion into account. Listen to what a director says and incorporate it into your character in an honest way, based on your own analysis of the script. Sometimes your initial analysis won’t be correct and you will have to make adjustments throughout the rehearsal process. But, with a strong foundation for your character, built from a thorough analysis of the script, these changes will be minor and your performance will be natural.​