Specificity and Booking
A lot of actors are constantly scratching their heads trying to figure out what can make them book the role. It can seem super elusive, impossible even to crack that code, but the answer is actually very, very simple. BE SPECIFIC. In your acting.
Say what?
You’ve probably heard that term before – your acting teacher goes on about it in class, you read it in acting books, you may hear it in interviews with great actors, but the problem is you may not exactly understand what it means.
Specificity in acting means you are very, very CLEAR in what you are doing, in your behavior. If you are trying to romance someone it reads very clearly that you are romancing them. You charm them, warm them, entice them, etc. It is readable in your movement, your behavior. If you are trying to con someone you very clearly trick them, bamboozle them, lure them, etc. You put it into your behavior. Behavior means your intention and the natural movement of your body that results from taking action on that intention.
Specificity also shows in your emotions. If you feel vaguely about the character your partner is playing in the scene – they’re my, um, friend, or business partner, or teacher – that’s not going to be very clear. Which friend/what kind of friend are they? One you adore and trust your life with? Or one that is flakey and never does what they say they will? The specificity in the differences will influence how you play the scene tremendously.
Specificity shows in your thoughts. Yes, you can have thoughts when you act. So many actors are afraid of “being in their heads” when they act – a legit fear because no one wants that – but “having thoughts” (being present) and thinking about how you’re going to play the scene from your meticulously pre-planned out version in your mind (being in your head) are two different things. Acting is about wanting something. If you are thinking about what you want in a scene (something very specific) and constantly checking to see if you are getting it, you will read as a real human being. – not as a bad actor trying to do the scene brilliantly. We will see that specificity it in your thoughts, in your eyes.
There are many other ways you can be specific: in character movement, conditions, tone of voice, accents/dialects, etc.
But WHY is specificity so important? Because that’s how we are in life. We are specific about things. We feel things specifically, we think specific thoughts, our behavior is specific. And acting is all about behaving truthfully (specifically, clearly, like a real human) in an imaginary circumstance (thank you Meisner).
Specificity in your acting will make all the difference in the world. You will book more if you are specific, you will feel more confident if you are specific, you will unlock success for your career if you are specific.
So HOW do you learn to let your natural specificity into your acting?
1. Train in a really good class. One that deals with behavior, script analysis, voice and movement work, scene work. One that has a nurturing environment but still gives you the push to better yourself.
2. Observe great actors and ask yourself what makes them great. Can you see how they are being specific? Do they make you feel something when you watch them?
3. Observe people in life. Watch their behavior. Watch the specificity of their emotions. See how their thoughts are clear. They say Jennifer Lawrence never sat in an acting class but instead did a lot of “people watching”.
I’ve included a clip from last year’s Booking Secrets Workshop we did in which Casting Director Jennifer Buster sums up what specificity is and its booking power. Watch and enjoy: https://youtu.be/m0X2rRYxsm8.
Also, we’re doing another Booking Secrets Workshop with CD Jennifer Buster in early 2023. Stay tuned for more details.