A lot of what I do is help students move from “making faces” and “doing voices” to using their imagination and their understanding of themselves to use real feelings in their acting. To me that is the essence of what I’ve been calling “deep acting”.
The language comes from the literature on emotional labour, which talks about the difference between making the face (surface acting) and doing whatever it takes to actually feel the feeling (deep acting).
The concept is incredibly relevant to film and television actors.
Surface acting can be useful. Sometimes a commercial or a comedy will require a young actor to instantly “turn on” a feeling for effect or to get a laugh, and it’s good to have access to an expressive face and voice for those moments.
Deep acting, on the other hand, is required for most film and television, where the camera is seeing the actor at very close range and the audience is watching carefully for the small cues in the actor’s face, voice and body language that tell you what the actor is “really” feeling.
Deep acting is much more difficult to do, and requires a complex blend of imagination, self-awareness and creativity. It also tends to be a more meaningful and rewarding experience for both the actor and the audience.
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Michael Bean
Owner+Head Coach, Biz Studio