Thoughts From SAA: 10 August 2026
A Collection Of Ideas To Help Actors From An Actor Who Needed Help...
PART ONE:
THE CONCEPT OF ASSERTIVENESS:
Modern psychology often acknowledges three forms of social interaction within conflict, revolving around the establishment and assertion of power dynamics.
I find the word ‘power’ in relationship, though often very present, can be, semantically at least, a dangerous word. It implies to me that there can be no absolute common ground, no perfect equality between friends or in relationships, something I’d like to think we’ve all established and proven wrong to some degree or at some point.
Anyway, that’s another matter
The three forms of social interaction in conflict resolution are as follows
Aggressive: where A puts their needs/opinion and themselves before B’s needs and opinion
Passive: where A puts B’s needs/opinion, before their own needs/ opinion and themselves.
Assertiveness: Where A holds the needs/opinion and welfare of both parties in equal value.
This is clearly an indicator of character, and can of course be used as such when creating one in our work.
If, however, we remain focused on our qualities as an actor, as we have originally set out to do here, the quality of assertiveness is a vital ingredient in our work and our approach to it.
Assertiveness is a wonderful character trait, of course. It implies empathy for oneself and the other simultaneously. It is the ability to ‘seek to understand and then be understood’ and it is pivotal both in our work in performance and in our relationship with our colleagues- the other actors, director, stage manager, costume designer, gaffer and so on.
And the wonderful thing about assertiveness is that it can take on a myriad of forms, from the gentlest of lions to the most determined of mice. It is an open ended contract we can make with ourselves and it can suit almost any character we play, bar extreme exceptions.
Surely the idea of playing actions and objectives is steering us toward assertiveness. To 'passionately pursue our objectives' and play our choices clearly. To be ‘bold, bloody and resolute’ as a man from Stratford once wrote.
There is the mild mannered assertiveness that can make the gentlest of souls the strongest forces in the room (think Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Anna Sawai)
All the way through the spectrum to the more explosive, powerhouse assertiveness of (Al Pacino, Colman Domingo, Nicholas Cage, Viola Davis and Jennifer Lawrence)
Then you have the wonderful icier/detached forms of assertiveness that we often see in the work of actors such as Alan Rickman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Maggie Smith, Giancarlo Esposito (most notably in Breaking Bad) the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman and Judi Dench.
This could also be referred to as wit. And wit always stems from empathy combined with assertiveness combined with a healthy dose of ambivalence.
It’s not always about being firm or unshakeable or determined even. It is about trusting oneself enough to know that their own opinion is always valid.
Name me one good actor that isn’t, in their own idiosyncratic way, assertive and I’ll show you why you’re wrong (an example of 'aggressive' btw)
Even Rick Moranis’ body of work is assertive, in his own wonderfully neurotic way.
It stems from leadership qualities. And all great actors, somewhere in the mix, possess this ability to lead. Why on earth would we follow them for 120 minutes a sitting otherwise?!
They steer us and guide us through their ‘assertive pursuit’ They assert on the other character/s they are working with a need and want through action and, in doing so, we become emotionally involved in the task at hand.
In order to harness this assertiveness within yourself, especially if you feel it is lacking, you can turn to the old adage of ‘know thyself’. You must be in full understanding of what your core values as a person are. And then you bring them into the work.
And when the case arises, as if often will, when the core value of your characters differs from your own, you must take a step back and find a way to adopt the core values of your character and be assertive about them.
And, of course, to let them go when you leave the work, for the sake of self-care (especially if they are core values that veer to the much darker sides of human nature)
It’s often a good idea to think of yourself as your character’s lawyer. It is your responsibility to stand up for them and speak assertively on their behalf. You don’t then have to agree with their core values, but you must make them your number one priority as long the case is being heard- from ‘action’ through to cut (or Scene One through to curtain call)
When we speak of assertiveness, we must remind ourselves that the other actor you’re speaking to must be attended to. Again, we will play sociopaths and narcissists and many other folk who have little concern for the needs and opinions of others, but it doesn’t give you license to act in a bubble.
We act BECAUSE of the other character, not in spite of them.
So, this grasp of being assertive rather than passivity or aggression as an actor’s sixth sense must remain hovering in the wings even when we’re playing people who seem to be entirely comprised of one or the other.
Assertiveness in the workplace as an actor is also vital. Yes, the director is technically your 'boss', but they are also (the good ones at least) your colleague. You shouldn’t be going into the work endeavouring to simply please or appease them, handing over your autonomy completely. They are waiting to see what YOU do! They are waiting to help you, not give you marks out of ten!
Good directors are doing the same when it comes to assertiveness- they get you to do what’s required and do their best to keep you assured that it was all your idea in the first place!
Do the same!
Listen to them, empathize with the vision and never sacrifice your own in the process. Present it to them on common ground. Collaboratively. Then you will have a glorious and flourishing relationship and you’ll both probably want to do it again sometime once it’s a wrap!
The best actors I’ve worked with go about their business with a sense of gentle authority and a pair of extremely open ears. As we are told in improvisation, ‘accept the offer’! But it never has to be ‘yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir’. Nothing scares a director more than an actor who’s handed them all the 'power'. Because ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ and no director is singularly responsible for the play. It’s a shared enterprise.
With regards to assertiveness, this also brings us to the important subject of OBJECTIVES.
I have many thoughts about this area of acting training, some that may break ‘tradition’.
To be honest, I have found that some teachings of objectives and Stanislavsky’s system have seemed to me to be very prescriptive and limiting. Of course, establishing a character’s principle needs/wants in a scene are vital for us to chart their journey and to follow it as an audience, but I worry that this often encourages a ‘singularity of purpose’ that leaves many actors playing characters that seems strangely incomplete. I cannot truly say that, when I find myself wishing for something and setting about trying to achieve it, that everything else in my life suddenly falls by the wayside. There are exceptions of course, where emergency dictates that all other things go on the back burner for the time being, but very often, the truest, most insightful performances, particularly on film come about when an actor makes their objective a magnet or a beacon to which they are headed, whilst CONTINUING to live their life, rather than the soul reason for their existence. This is where details arise in performance that may have otherwise been overlooked if the actor had decided their one and only intention was to ‘find true love, capture the kingdom and so on ‘.
On stage the work of the great Mark Rylance is case in point. He seems to have his heart set on something, yes, but he doesn’t go about it like a cheetah chases a gazelle. He merely makes it a principal goal amongst others.
What also comes from this and avoids another form of thinking that can breed ‘one note’ performances, is the realization that not every objective needs to be embarked upon by an ego-driven, ‘all or nothing’ kind of ruthless pursuit. Sometimes, it is the one who goes about their objective with a certain dignity, almost to the point of ‘non-attachment’ as the Buddhist’s refer to it, that holds our attention. I don’t always need to see a character ‘desperately’ wanting something in order to believe the story. In fact, sometimes an actor’s decision to make their needs all-consuming breeds the playing of rather self-indulgent ‘greedy’ people, which may of course be required for that character, but often not. Cut your cloth accordingly, of course. It’s pretty clear Richard 3 is fairly single minded in his purpose, but watch for the trap of ‘this is the only thing that matters in the world’ acting that stops us from being open, changeable and exquisite humans.
SAM HAFT
ACTOR-TEACHER-DIRECTOR-WRITER
SYDNEY ACTORS ASSOCIATION
samhaft@hotmail.com
0431 083 722
