Acting : Do you really need to read your script? - Speiser/Sturges Acting Studio by Florin Şumălan

Great share, Florin Şumălan! Shannon talks about reading the entire script. I've heard actors say they do that. And they read the scripts multiple times like Shannon mentioned. I think that's smart because it might help an actor understand their character, other characters, and the story better. And the actor might miss things about their character, other characters, or the story during the first read.

"Care enough to commit yourself to excellence", Shannon says. I love this Florin Şumălan and I totally agree with her. My acting teachers always emphasised the importance of this. We have to know the whole in order to know the parts. I wonder what your thoughts are. Do you agree with her or maybe not?

Alexandra Stevens, Maurice Vaughan, I think it's good to give your best. I say I agree with Shannon (I mean, I know few things about acting even maybe I believe I know many...I am still learning, from Shannon acting videos too).

I think too that it's necessary to read the whole script and in a script many things could be related to each other and you could miss important details if you don't know the whole script.

But there could be exceptions, maybe there are still other things to discover about this acting art.

There could be other ways an actor can give a great performance, even if he doesn't know the whole script.

One example can be in this quote (I don't know if I agree with this, but it could be true):

"The more analytical, cerebral actor assumes that he knows the film as it would be, or at any rate having studied the script makes painful efforts to envisage it in its final form. By assuming that he knows how the film has to be, the actor starts to play the 'end product' — that is, his conception of his role; in doing so he is negotiating the very principle of the creation of the cinema image."

https://www.ukpicturesent.com/noble-filmmaker-andrei-tarkovsky-acting-ci...

This is the whole book (Sculpting in Time - Andrei Tarkovsky):

https://monoskop.org/images/d/dd/Tarkovsky_Andrey_Sculpting_in_Time_Refl...

The film actor, page 139.

Florin Şumălan thanks for introducing Tarkovsky who I hadn't heard of in my ignorance. Always fascinating to read another perspective on acting. So much to learn. What i really liked and resonated with was the idea actors should embody authenticity and emotional truth. This is because he believes they are a medium through which the film's spiritual and emotional essence is communicated. What an important role and responsibility we have as actors in this case! Regarding your point, I’d argue that not reading the whole script risks something else: disconnection. Without the full context, how can an actor fully track their emotional journey or serve the bigger story? Maybe the challenge is to know everything—and then let it go. Although of course there are always exceptions. Have you ever just learned your lines and not the whole play?

I agree with everyone else. I always read the entire play/script multiple times. The first time, I just read it. The second time, highlight my lines and make note of anything other characters say about mine. Reading the entire script is the only way to gain insight about your character. Sometimes, there is information about your character in scenes you aren't even in. Even if you are only doing one scene from a play, you still must read the entire play not just the scene. Also, to Alexandra Stevens 's point, if you don't read the entire script how are you going to know the overall arch of your character? A character needs a superobjective. I don't think knowing beforehand what happens to your character changes the way you play that character. Knowing you die for example, has no bearing on what you want overall.

Actors should always read the entire screenplay, especially when they have starring roles. LOL. But when an actor or actress has one line in the script, especially then they should read the entire script, because if they do a line from another story, or if they come up with their own line of dialogue, they could blow the whole movie; they will never be hired again to do any movie in the future. So, yes, always read the entire screenplay, otherwise you might never work again. Of course, if you're the star and you haven't written the screenplay, then by all means do read the screenplay. LOL

I also tend to believe that it's necessary to read the whole script...and if you know your lines, then you have more freedom...but I don't know how things really are...maybe it would be good sometimes to be open to other ideas too...

This seems to me a little bit like those contradictions with few takes and many takes:

If I understood well, some directors say that the first takes are the best (the actor is fresh and things like that and after some takes he starts to get in some kind of routine and the performance is worse).

Other directors say that the actor must be in some way exhausted (and in this way, after many takes he will also will be more relaxed maybe and forget about all the preconceptions he had about the scene and all the other things that stop him from being truthful...in this way his performance would be better) and the directors who have these contradictions are directors who have a lot of experience.

Please say your opinion about this if you wish.

I think that both of these ideas could be true in some way and maybe it depends about other factors too...I don't really know...

Great share, Florin Şumălan! Thanks for sharing this. As someone who believes deeply in storytelling from every angle, I love this reminder that reading the entire script is about so much more than just learning lines, it’s about understanding your character’s place in the story, the emotional arcs, and the context that fuels authentic performance.

Florin Şumălan I could see how after many takes when one is tired one could give a better performance. I remember one rehearsal night when i had been ill during the day and I was tired and my defences were down and i gave a much more raw performance.