How to Write an "Actor Friendly" Screenplay: We Don't Thump Tables, We Get Angry

How to Write an "Actor Friendly" Screenplay: We Don't Thump Tables, We Get Angry

How to Write an "Actor Friendly" Screenplay: We Don't Thump Tables, We Get Angry

Sara Dee
Sara Dee
5 years ago

The question was, ‘What Makes An Actor Friendly Screenplay?' As an actor, that has mentored writers for a lot of my career, this became a perfect opportunity to pour out my main bugbear.

First let’s look at the actors’ perspective . . .

‘What’s My Motivation?’

This is an actor’s primary question and we want to be reassured that the director is also on the same page. A good script can offer that reassurance right from the start.

Actors are taught to go with the flow, be themselves and free-fall into the spontaneous whim of the character they’ve embodied. We allow ourselves to be driven by gut decisions our characters make. We have attained the confidence to let ourselves/character live in the moment. The last thing we need is be told how it should look when we do that.

All we really need is a sense of emotional context so our character can navigate through the challenges and make thoughts and moves spontaneous according to their specific motivational thrust. Believe me, we know what we are doing if we know our characters emotional make up, their values, obstacles and desires. If the script gives us the emotional bubble we live within, and the other characters too - to react against, then we have our world.

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Action Details Not Required

When a script is loaded with every move dictated in the action, from turning around to using a specific hand to pick up a mug, or even raising an eyebrow, you prepare yourself for a hard read and may have to figure out the emotional context hidden in the movements.

Experienced actors hate being dictated to and inexperienced ones may not get a confident grip on what their characters are actually feeling. It takes experience to decode physical actions into emotional objectives. Good scripts simply don’t require this measure of analysis during a read. Here's an example;

"Her shoulders drop, she bows her head and turns away to hide her tears. . ."

That would make me so wooden. What I need is, "Disappointed and hurt she makes every effort to hide her tears. . . ."

That emotional instruction might make my shoulders drop or the sparkle in my eyes go dull. I might hide my tears by turning away or covering my face. Whatever I do ‘in the moment’ depending on the camera closeness too, I'll come from a place of internal emotional motivation rather than just following a list of actions I should perform, as the writer sees it, and try to figure the emotional context on top. Would seasoned actors even follow that strategy? No, of course not, but we may not have a choice and all we read influences and colours our judgement. Think of a lady on a white horse. Now forget her. It’s not that easy. We then have to edit out the distractions hoping the director's concurs as s/he’s read it too! That adds ‘doubt’ and stiffens our natural choices.

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Another example, “She turns and grabs the door handle that slips out of her grasp many times before she manages to open it.”

Okay, but why is my grip ineffectual? Am I panicking, absent-minded or overcome by a drugged-drink earlier in the scene that’s yet to be revealed? There’s no real emotional indicator here. Secondly, I might not need to turn, depending on the blocking i.e. on set I might already be facing the door, so that's redundant, and if I manage to open the door the first time, I don't want to feel guilty for not following the stage directions that closely, "did the director notice, have I got this wrong?" All sorts of thoughts tease me with failure.

So what’s an alternative? "She's in a panic. . ." , reassuring statement, but if the dialogue or story dictates that strongly anyway all I really need to know is: I head for the door and open it, with a note suggesting anxiety makes the door opening problematic e.g.

"She heads for the door. Her anxiety weakens her grip on the handle delaying her further.”

In short, please have confidence the actor will show, organically, the scriptwriter’s intention through their own spontaneously found physicality. Give them emotional context and some room to deliver the intention their way. The actor might struggle towards the door or go swiftly. They might use two hands to open it or one. They might loose their grip because their body has stiffened or weakened. Let them decide what the characters limits and strengths are but please offer an emotional motivation the actor can adapt, in this case, anxiety so they, and the director, can see the interpretation works regardless of ‘how’.

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Action Detail When Required

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's really important to be specific about the action, e.g.

" . . . She takes a seat and, with the coffee cup in her left hand, tips it to look at her watch, spilling the contents into her lap. . . "

This was a comedy scene that then leads to another moment where the boss points out she's wet herself. Here the character MUST sit down to localise the spill and MUST have the coffee cup in her left hand to get the watch viewing and spill to work. That's all fine and necessary.

THINK then, when it's NOT necessary, the same amount of attention is placed on reading the specific stage directions because actors can only assume there's a point to be made by them. Often this is not actually the case and the reading of such specifics becomes laboriously distracting.

Also, if a character has a twitch that has to be made evident, it’s fine to suggest the twitch is there and maybe responsible for the dropping of a key down a drain for example. Once established a tiny hint is all that’s necessary to keep us reminded, e.g.

His hand fumbles embarrassingly into the sweet packet”

Trust the actor to know how to use the twitch to effect, in their way. The director would also be there to make sure the twitch is evident and balanced in the film.

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Action Not Words

Action often tells you something better than dialogue ever can and serves as a 'language' in its own right. Personally I adore action, subconscious visual and sound symbolism storytelling the most, but I look at them all with emotional context not merely as physical necessities. Whatever emotion the action evokes in you as you write is what I want to read.

Look at this example : “She grasps the money with a frown, staring through the window at the now distant car.”

Of course actors take clues from the rest of the story so far, but what if this frown denotes a new sub plot and a hidden agenda? It’s the addition of an internal emotional reference that will inform you what this frown is for, not the physical result of it. How about then,

She grasps the money and (either). . . disappointingly calculates her next move’ or 'with rage in her heart' or 'grief stricken’ . . . she stares through the window . . .”

A frown can say any of these things and could switch the plot in an instant.

Problems With Action Specific Scripts On Set

If detailed actions scenes are a heavy-read, they are even more distracting when on set. Some physical moves are not 'felt' by the actor in the emotional way expected by the writer and some physical moves written can't be executed given the limitations of the shot.

Worse still, some directors 'look' for those specific actions and try to get them out of the actor, believing that's the only type of reaction that will work because they've fallen in love with the idea of it, when in reality, the actor has actually done a great job performing the intention of the writer through their own personal interpretation of the characters emotional state already. Often the influenced director is excused for not ‘getting the shot’ whereas the uncomfortably forced actor is accused of being ‘unable to act.’

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Keeping character choices consistent, for an actor, also gets difficult when the writer’s version is dictating your every move and influencing the director and everyone else on set too. Don't colour the pallet, that's an actor’s job.

I've had a director and script tell me to blink my eyes as I look into the camera. That instruction tells you nothing. If the script had said "Her look is loaded with nonchalant strength," OR the director knew to tell me, "You're all powerful, you don't need this, look straight into the lens and let me see that in your eyes...." either instruction makes me naturally blink my eyes as I turn my head, all the while feeling aloof and commanding. Even if I didn't blink, the power and the feeling of being dispassionate in my reaction would still be shown somehow. That’s my job. There would be no argument or need for supplementing direction if that clear emotional, ‘nonchalant strength, aloof, commanding disposition instruction, had been written in the script.

Better directors get the gist of these script directions and then let the actor do things their way i.e. the most natural and 'real'. Some go to greater lengths and tell their cast to IGNORE all actions written so everyone is ‘free’ to maneuver within their own, more natural parameters and the limitations imposed on set.

Regardless of what’s inferred in the script, the specifics will be drawn out on set. If the camera is set on the actors right then it might be wise for the actor to use their left hand to offer some flowers, with the actor receiving them, taking them with their right, so everyone is 'open' in the shot. We all work for the DoP, the set design, the costumes even. Like directors, screen experienced actors know what’s most effective here and may even offer the flowers from behind the recipient to make a surprise moment more poignant. To have the choice and not have everyone thinking, ‘this is not right’ gives all on set, the freedom to get the emotion across, we ‘all’ want the audience to feel.

How to Write and Actor Friendly Screenplay We Dont Thump Tables We Get Angry

Denouement

So what is the emotion you want the actors to evoke in each scene? Insert that instead of a turn, (shocked, surprised?) a shrug, (disheartened, unsure?) a raised eyebrow (enquiring, unimpressed?) or a fist on the table (angry, painful regret?).

Dialogue is a whole other topic for discussion on this ‘actor friendly scripts’ topic. I’ve had scripts where it really didn’t matter who said what line as there was so little unique characterization in the delivery or syntax of the words. Keep your characters desires in mind in every line, we do, and remember, ‘conflict makes good drama’.

Now you know actors thrive on being impressionable and easily influenced so they can respond quickly and organically, you may realise imposing physical expectations onto us too specifically only leads to a possibility of superficiality or misinformation and hampers the actor to make it, naturally, their own.

A good actor knows the emotional effect, joke or scare comes from everything being so natural and fluid the audience doesn't see it coming. The mechanics, the

prep, the script itself becomes invisible. It takes self-confidence in the actors’ instrument to pull that off well. Please don't trip us up by expecting a tilt of the head, instead tell us the character feels empathy or unsure. Don't make us 'thump the table' if that's not a crucial ‘telling’ plot point, suggest anger instead.

That’s a wrap

This is my idea of an ‘Actor Friendly Script’ one I suggest would also help any reader get more personally involved as well.

Regardless, we are nothing without you, so thank you.

Get engaged
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About the Author

Sara Dee

Sara Dee

Actor, Voice Artist

After studying acting and settling in London, I got ia job in telly as a VT technician. My personality shone through and I was soon told I should be 'in front of the camera'. I decided to make my way in presenting, watched and talked to those working as presenters in the TV Station and clinched my...

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9 Comments on Sara's Article

Excellent advice!  Especially for novelists who want to branch out into screenwriting -- because in a way this is the OPPOSITE of how it works in a novel (because in a novel, action cues determine emotion, whereas in a screenplay it's the other way around!)
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
You're so right Dennis. A novel is such a different skill where you have to paint the picture for the reader in incredible detail. Even the way the prose worksI find informs the story too. I love your simple analogy, action cues determine emotion, and switching that around for screenplays. Perfect!
4 years ago
Alexander Merelo
Actor, Playwright, Screenwriter
Excellent pointers, thank you very much! It's interesting (if not vexing) how, as an actor, you seem to either get a range of choices or just one specific action you'll cling on to for dear life - hence stifling your performance, as you well said. Still, I'd argue that a writer should be as specific as possible (without hampering the flow of his writing), whereas an actor should be able to find specificity even in absence of. 
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
I was lucky with this biog. I could say what I felt given the task was t expose what an actor friendly screenplay would look like.  I agree. I'd hate to have caused more problems than can be solved by this appraisal.
4 years ago
Julio Antonio Toro
Screenwriter, Script Consultant, Filmmaker
Fantastic article Sara. Something to keep in my mind going forward. Thank you for sharing.
4 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Thanks Julio.  Glad it's hitting a positive mark. and thanks for the recent connecing nudge x
4 years ago
I wonder what examples she would use for the shrug, turn, raised eyebrow, and fist.
5 years ago
Julio Antonio Toro
Screenwriter, Script Consultant, Filmmaker
Perfect. And a shining example of why collaboration is essential.
4 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Have I been set a challenge here?   I'll have a go!  If you mean examples of emotive context that could be hidden in the physical reactions here's my shots . . . . A 'non commital' shrug or a 'decisive' shrug or apologetic shrug, would tell me that I was using the shrug instead of speaking the words "whatever" or "don't ask me" or "I'm sorry but what can I do,"  respectively. A shrug, if it serves to be used as a physical option to the spoken word still, I would argue, needs to have that emotional attachment. A 'turn' is appropriate if it serves a plot point, if someone is creeping up from behind perhaps. However, I've seen it used instead of a suggestion of shock, anger, frustration  or embarrasment and often have found the turn itself was not necessary or helpful to do on set. A raised eyebrow,  emotionally it can be used to show annoyance, be quizzically enquiring or could be  an aloof reaction to a point of irony or an observation of inferior intelligence. "She enquired quizzically with a look." "His face,  a picture of annoyance." "damming her inferior intelligence with a look of pained superiority." As for a fist, it could be clenched because of anger or to ease pain or frustration or even regret. It could be clenched in readiness to hit someone too.  Given the options I've offered here, to load a character with physical moves instead of, or without writing the emotional context isn't that helpful as they can often be misleading and open to interpretation. How did I do?  
5 years ago
Amber Engel
Screenwriter
Very helpful as I wrap up my first script and head into the first edit. Thank you.
5 years ago
Amber Engel
Screenwriter
Thanks Sara! The final push is ROUGH, lol
4 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Good luck Amber.
5 years ago
Brendan Thatcher
Crew, Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Thanks for a great, clear article. This will help me improve how I write and direct!
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Thank you Brendan. That's so kind of you. Have an amazing 2021.
5 years ago
Tasha Lewis
Actor, Author, Choreographer, Dancer, Director, Editor, Filmmaker, Marketing/PR, Narrator, Producer, Researcher, Screenwriter, Student, Translator, Voice Actor
Wish I had read this for my first lead table read.  It helps both actor and screenwriter.
5 years ago
Tasha Lewis
Actor, Author, Choreographer, Dancer, Director, Editor, Filmmaker, Marketing/PR, Narrator, Producer, Researcher, Screenwriter, Student, Translator, Voice Actor
Your welcome Sara and thank you for the kind words.  I appreciate them.
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Thank you Tasha.  Gosh you really are a multipotentialite given your list of work options here! I consider myself one too in the creative departments. Thank you for your comment. I am sure you'll go on to do loads more and maybe find this useful for your next table read. 
5 years ago
Geoff Harris
Director, Producer
An interesting view Sara, and one that's not often heard fro the actor's POV.  They do say that writer's would benefit from a few acting classes to get more inside a character's thinking and I would agree with that.  I would just say though,  that a lot of writers don't know about the actor's process, considering that the writer's job is to tell a story, the actor's job is to be the character.  A reasonable view.  And do bear in mind that a lot more people read a script other than the actors.  Finance people, sales people etc need to be able to see the movie in their minds when they read the script.  An in production, the whole creative crew - DOP, Production designer, costume etc., need information about how a scene looks.  As for directors, I would say most would use such descriptions a guide rather than an instruction and decide whether to follow them or otherwise.  I would suggest actors do the same.
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Thanks Aimee, for an actor to be aware of the emotional context, even if the physical response is also attached as part of a 'language' in its own right, is a really important and helpful feature in a script and prevents any form of misinterpretation. I'm sure you've had scripts you've had to 'figure out' as an actress so you'll know what to offer as a screen writer and it'll be a blessing to your comrades! Yes Geoff, you're right, the script is a bible for more than just the actors and directors.  Here though I was offered a chance, thanks to an enquiry, to get the ideal 'actors' script out there. Perhaps I'm too biased as an actor, but regardless, I personally much prefer to read an emotional journey than a physically dictatorial one anyway. Some individuals in this biz are difficult to account for. I find those business people who front the money often don't have much creative insights of their own, that's why they do what they do I guess and rely heavily on script readers and 'previous successes' to dictate what they finance too.  It is a bit of a mine field to be sure.  Only the other day a first cut of a film, a successful independant film director friend of mine was working on, was shown to its financiers and they complained that they would have never backed the film if they'd known a certain, quite violent, scene was going to be shot. It was in the script and quite a pivitol scene!  Had they not read it? Beggers belief but what can you do? Again I agree, good directors do consider scene directions as a guide but I've had so many stories of those that have taken every move written, literally and it's hampered my spontaneity a few times too.  I think it a shame that we don't all have a go at doing each others job so we can get a respectful insight to what's going on and how we are each endeavouring to reach the same goals in our particular skilled way.  thsi article seems to have address this in some way which is pleasing. I'm not, yet, a feature length screenwriter, but with acting, producing, casting and storyboarding achieved I'm eeking my way into directing this year and stepping into those shoes should be familiar but already I find requires a totally different mindset. Good to get your insights and thanks for the comments and for taking the time to read the piece.
5 years ago
Aimee McGuire
Actor, Screenwriter
Thanks for this blog, Sara! As an actress and writer, I often struggle with this balance. I don't want to hold the actors hand every step of the way, but I want to make sure they understand the underlying emotion with the actions. Nice reminder that it's okay to do both! 
5 years ago
This article reminds me of my first 'directing actors class at film school. When I started it was so intimidating to me that it makes me laugh thinking about it now. The fear of being perceived by the actor as trying dictate an emotional result instead of contributing action verbs to their performance was very debilitating. I am starting to think that an actors break down of the script is as important as the directors. I would think that with a lot of choices available to the actor (by understanding the character/script) a more natural performance would be possible. As a writer I want to thank you for the insight, I will add it to my tool box. It will make it easier for me to create characters that have emotional arcs that better serve the scene events and vice versa. I will make sure my stage directions have subtext available, thanks!
5 years ago
Sara Dee
Actor, Voice Artist
Thank you Destiny.  I'm glad the article is revealing in some way.  I learn a lot from writers too and listening to what they have to say makes me feel more tuned in to their use of words and how specific their choice of words are to create character and atmosphere.  Getting into each others heads is really useful.  In film work, certainly here in the UK,  we hardly ever get a chance to rehearse so (speaking as an actor) you just bring your interpretation on to the set having had, if you're lucky, a quick chat with the director. So yes I'd say our breakdown as actors was important .  As we have to do self tapes a lot too we are our own director initially, in a sense, and even if we are sent scripts and are offered a chat with a director, if the script is open to interpretation on any level we might miss out on getting the role if we choose the wrong direction even in one scene! I'm not scared to say I find scripts open to interpretation and can ask directors how they see things. To be honest it's usually writer-directors that I have this problem with. They see it in their heads and often fail to articulate what's actually going on in the emotional thrust of the piece. Good  screenwriters whether they direct or not,  don't leave things to chance so much and it takes a lot of anxiety out of the process.  I absolutely admire great screen writing, it is such a skilled art when it's done well and a joy to work with. Thank you again for reading my article and I'm pleased you found it of value.
5 years ago
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