Acting: Stage and Screen

Most people simply believe that acting is generally the same style no matter the medium. I doubt people recognize the tremendous differences across each medium in terms of acting. In class we discussed the differences between screen acting and stage acting. Thinking about the differences seemed to open my eyes to views I already knew, but had not thought about thoroughly. There are two seperate styles for each form of acting, and these two opposing styles cannot cross between mediums.

In stage acting, the actor has more power over the production as a whole. The entire scene is in the hands of the actor, rather than having a director being able to edit the performance. In film, the actor films short lines of dialogue that can be cut or edited out by the filmmakers. In stage acting, the actor has an empty canvas to work with. The medium doesn't go through any kind of editing process to alter the performance. Actors that start in film may have a hard time adjusting to this. They are used to doing excactly what the director wants and expecting it to be tweaked in some way. This is the most general element that differs between stage and screen acting.

The requirements are also different between each medium. There is definitely a certain style that is required to perform on stage. The actor must be able to project their voice to be heard in front of a large crowd. Film actors do not have to worry about this. They can talk as if they are in a conversation with the other actors in the scene. In film, however, this allows the actor to have more freedom to implement more emotion in every line of dialogue.

Due to the fact that stage actors have to project their voices for a crowd, their body language has to carry a lot of the weight in the performance. Stage actors must be very animated in their movements to convey certain emotions or views belonging to the character. In film, actors must do the same but to a different degree. Since a lot of their performance comes from their line delivery, body language can be more realistic. The main difference is that stage acting is more animated, it's not very true to how people actually move and carry themselves. That is also part of the fun when it comes to stage acting. While film acting requires more realistic movements, stage acting can be more fun and experimental.

In the film "Crash", we were able to see film acting at it's finest. Each actor did a tremendous job of fulfilling stereotypes with layers. In the beginning of the film, each actor seems to portray the stereotypes that come with their race and/or social class. As the film moves forward, we come to realize that every character is three-dimensional. Without great acting, this could not have worked effectively. The acting allowed us to believe that a "bad person" can be a hero, and that a "good person" can be a villian. The realistic presentation of dialogue and body movements from the actors showed film acting at it's best.

In class we learned about the main differences between stage and screen acting. This was very interesting to me, as I possess a great interest in different acting styles. It was also great watching the film "Crash". The film was a perfect representation of the realistic nature of acting found in film.