Henry Fonda’s polarity is exemplified by his equal effectiveness in portrayals of laughable comedy and emotional depth. Tallulah Bankhead’s dramatic power and comedic punch proclaim her polarity.
There are two reasons an actor must have polarity, or opposites, in his emotional scale, even when playing a role that does not call for obvious contrasts of emotional expression.
Polarity is the basis of dramatic conflict. The skillful use of contrasting extremes in the emotional scale enables an actor to project these extremes with authority while not actually experiencing them himself.
It is not an actor’s function to “feel” per se, but to make his audiences feel that which he wants transmitted to them. He can show anger without being angry.
He can depict love without being in love with his leading lady. He can portray pride without being in love with himself. To clinch the argument, an actor need not die to play a death scene convincingly. By using his well-developed and thoroughly trained poles of feeling, he can play on the emotions of his audiences and make them feel they have seen someone die.
What does balance mean in this context?
By balance I mean the ability to equalize and to compensate. By offsetting one factor against another, an actor establishes equality and achieves symmetry, or balanced form. Through symmetry he gains poise. Balance is a key word to poise for an actor.
Perfect balance between the desire to express and the ability to express contributes to poise. This balance between the desire and the ability to express any given idea or emotion can be achieved by correct knowledge and use of technical tools.
You should know that the late, internationally famed authority, Constantine Stanislavsky, in his book An Actor Prepares, points out the necessity for an unusually well trained and responsive vocal and physical apparatus. The vocal and physical requirements are either suggested or actually dictated, of course, by the mind.
So there you have a restatement of my declaration that acting must be based on three primary elements.
The VOICE, the BODY, and the MIND.
This is an unchangeable fact for you to remember always. Thorough training of voice, body and mind requires work. Start this training by meeting your first problems with enthusiasm and vitality.
What are those first problems?
They’re really quite simple things like how to stand and sit and walk how to exercise your face and eyes.
What has all this to do with acting?
It has a great deal to do with acting. If you’re physical apparatus is flexible, alert and well enough controlled to obey the commands of your mind, your body will be able to do its part in projecting thoughts and emotions with or without dialogue. Basic parts that add up to the sum total of the science underlying the art of acting the technique.
Craftsmanship mechanics know-how is what acting is all about.
