Actor Training: Text, Context, and Subtext
by Gary Randolph

Text

The written script is called the text. For all practical purposes it is set, and every actor who performs that part will perform the same lines. For example, every actor who plays Romeo will say, "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun." But there is more to acting than reciting lines.

Context

An actor must also be aware of the context of the lines. Context means the circumstances in which the text is said. The playwright provides part of the context - what has happened in the play and to the characters so far.

The director provided additional context. For instance, a director might opt to set Romeo and Juliet in a modern inner city instead of old Verona. In that case Romeo might be looking toward Juliet's window up a fire escape with laundry hanging from it instead of an ivy-covered balcony. Those differing physical circumstances would change the physicality of the scene and the actor's delivery.

The 1996 film "Romeo + Juliet" re-contextualized Shakespeare's play as a tale of gang violence in a hip modern suburb. The text did not change, but, for example, "sword" became a brand of gun, changing the context of certain lines.

Subtext

Subtext refers to the thoughts and feelings that motivate a character to voice the text. Subtext is principally the responsibility of the actor with guidance from the director. What is Romeo feeling as he stands beneath Juliet's window? Is he enraptured at being so close to her? Or is he frustrated to be so close and yet so far away? Does his love for Juliet completely overpower his hatred of the Capulets and fear of standing on their property? Or is he nervous about being alone inside the Capulet estate? The decisions an actor makes on those questions will drive his or her performance.

I recently played Ananias in our sketch "You'll See." Ananias is the disciple sent to restore sight to Saul when he first becomes a Christian. One can imagine that Ananias would be jumpy and a little suspicious of Saul, who until now has been a persecutor of the church. But even within the context of jumpy suspicion there were decisions of subtext that needed to be made. After initial comedic suspicion (waving his hands in front of Saul's face to make sure he really is blind), Ananias asks Saul to tell his conversion story. Then Ananias asks Saul what he had been doing in the three days since then.

Saul:
Sitting here. Praying and fasting. I've had a lot of praying to do.

Ananias:
I can imagine. You really backed the wrong horse.

Saul:
Don't I know it. I thought I was zealous for God. Turns out I was zealous against God.

Ananias:
That's got to be embarrassing. (pause) So in this vision, did God say what your ministry would be?

What is Ananias's emotional subtext for these two lines? I first tried sarcasm. Ananias couldn't help but rub it in a little bit that Saul had been wrong to persecute believers. But it became clear that those feelings played as a little mean-spirited and didn't provide sufficient motivation for Ananias to ask the question at the end of the second line.

Switching to a subtext of sympathy for Saul's situation, the sketch began to fall into place. Now Saul's conversion story is helps Ananias to begin to get over his suspicion. Now he has motivation to ask about Saul's ministry. Now the sketch becomes almost a buddy movie, and the audience can identify with both Saul and Ananias as they discover that they have more in common than they thought they did.

Subtext has been compared to an inner dialog, the thoughts that flash through your mind during a conversation - most of which you do not say. You've probably heard your own inner voice saying things like: "Why did I just say that? " or "I wonder if he understands what I'm getting at." or "How long is this conversation going to go on?" or "She likes me. She really likes me!"

The playwright has given you only what the character actually says. What isn't the character saying? Is the character lying or putting a spin on the facts? Is the character trying to impress the other characters? Or mocking them? Or disinterested in them?

The inner dialog is driven by the character's personal history, prejudices and attitudes, the goals the character is trying to achieve, the character's emotional state, the character's perception of the other characters and himself or herself, and more.

Actors who take lines only at face value can miss tremendous subtext. So how do you discover subtext in a scene? It comes from reading through the sketch or play and getting to understand the character. It comes from asking why the character is saying what he or she says in each line? It comes from experimentation with various emotions and streams of inner dialog. It comes during rehearsal in truly being in the moment, listening to the other characters, and re-acting to them more than acting yourself.

Text, Context, and Subtext Exercises

Here are some exercises to get actors to see the power of context and subtext.

One Liners

Take some generic lines, random contexts, and various emotional subtexts. You can use the set below or make up your own. Have volunteer actors think of three numbers between 1 and 6 (or roll dice) and then have them deliver the line for the first number set in the context of the second number and with the emotional subtext of the third number.

Out of Context

Assign actors to groups of two and give each group the same following dialog. Assign each group a different context, using one of the contexts from the One Liners game or something different. Assign each actor a different emotional subtext, using one of the subtexts from the One Liners game or something different. Or have each actor make up his or her own emotional subtext, based on the context.

A: Oh, hello.

B: Are you ready?

A: What about this?

B: I don't know.

A: No time like the present.

B: If you say so.

Copyright (c) 2007, Over The Top Publishing.
Email info@overthetoppublishing.com for permission to publish, broadcast, or redistribute.