Listening and the Art of Acting

Listening (according to Merriam-Webster):

1: to pay attention to sound

2: to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration

3: to be alert to catch an expected sound

“In life we listen to other people. Listen with varying degrees of concentration and attention, right? Actors must learn to listen in a different way.”

— Konstantin Stanislavski

I want to talk about listening. 

At the top is the standard definition of listening. It’s about hearing things. That’s true as far as it goes. But what actors call ‘listening’ involves so much more than what the ears hear.  Actors are trained to stay alert with “thoughtful attention,” using their eyes as well as their ears. They listen with their bodies and with their empathy. I suppose a better word for it could be “Observation,” or “Connection.” But listening sounds like a more personal activity; something less clinical and more immediate, so I'll stick with that. 

There are lots of listeners in this world. Some people walk around declaring themselves to be “good listeners.” Quite often, the people who say this the most know the least about listening. To them, listening is something that they put front and center - it is what's important. It’s about them being good at listening, not necessarily taking in - fully - whom they are listening to. And they are almost certainly not being affected by what they hear in the way we want actors to be.

Therapists listen. But they do it as dispassionately as their humanity will allow. They aren’t affected. They aren’t moved to action. Their job is to get you to hear yourself. 

Musicians listen. Jazz musicians, especially, are working off of each other in real time. They are following each other. Responding. Staying in the moment. Now we are getting closer. 

Actors do that, too. Our training teaches us to put our attention on everything else in the scene except us. Mostly, that means the other people in the scene - what they are saying or doing. But it also involves physical or mental activities we may be engaged in. It means dealing with environments and the whole of the world around us.

Stanislavski spent decades crafting his “System.” The results are chronicled in a great big book, originally split into three books in the US. That one big book, full of strange, little eddies that might branch off into robust (if outdated) discussions of the significance of the letter ‘S’ among other things, is still invaluable. It is the Ur text of modern acting. But, ultimately, it can be distilled into one word: “Action.” Do a thing. Do it for real, with your full attention. That’s it. Or that’s the beginning, at least. A solid foundation to build from. 

Often, the ‘thing’ you are doing - the action you are undertaking - is listening. A major part of my own training was in the Meisner Technique. Sanford Meisner developed his method after being frustrated by the way his fellow Group Theater actors often failed to listen to each other, even in rehearsals. He began to underline this particular aspect of Stanislavski.  To Meisner, doing is the foundation of acting. By extension, listening is the foundation of doing.  “Are you really listening?” as Meisner would ask. 

In Meisner’s work, we begin with a simple series of exercises asking us to pair off and repeat what we hear, based on physical observations of your partner, and do it reflexively, without self-conscious thought.

Sandy Meisner

“You have a green shirt.”

“I have a green shirt.”

“You have a green shirt.”

“Yes, I have a green shirt.”

“Yes, you have a green shirt.”

And so on. The work begins there because it is imperative that you take your own focus off of yourself and respond as your immediate impulses dictate. We are so wrapped up in ourselves. All these thoughts drop in between the lines: Do I look ok? What’s my line? Am I doing this well? That was a stupid line reading! Is my agent in the house? Did I leave the gas on? All of that energy lost on centering the wrong things. Putting you full focus on your partner breaks us of that. Eventually. Once we have begun to change how and where we focus our attention we move on to higher, more complex exercises. 

Stanislavski and Meisner weren't the only ones concerned with listening. Michael Chekhov certainly was. And it was a physically immersive experience for him. The kinds of detailed world-building you see in Stella Adler’s or Uta Hagen’s approach helps us listen to our environments - even if it’s a wholly imaginary place.  

As with nearly everything else in acting, it all starts with breath and relaxation. Tension is your worst enemy. It leads only to non-constructive outcomes, especially where being 'in the moment' - listening - is concerned. So if you really want to listen - if you really want to be fully immersed and responsive - start there. Start with breath. Breathe in now…then go find a yoga or voice class somewhere.  While you are doing that, come join us and we’ll help you with next steps.