How to help your characters live truthfully in imagined circumstances — with acting instructor, Christopher Halladay

Most of you know, I try to organize something edifying for my writers once a month. (To make sure you don’t miss an opportunity, just sign up for my list-serve below.) Next month, July, I have something a little different lined up—something that I think will prove invaluable to the novel I’m working on right now, and the characters that I’m struggling to evoke. There is a tenet in acting, from acting guru Sanford Meisner: an actor’s job is not to act, but to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. That is exactly what I need my characters to do. So, how do actors get there?

Luckily for me, I know a great acting coach: a faculty member of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Christopher Halladay. In addition to the Academy, Chris has taught acting at Rutgers, Riders, and Montclair State universities, and at the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.

As an actor, he has a long list of credits, both on stage and on film, and maybe you’ve seen him in his multiple appearances on Law & Order: SVU. My personal favorite is his performance in Mr Robot (enjoy this snippet on his reel).

One night semi-recently in a noisy Italian restaurant, I began asking Chris how he teaches his actors to approach character. Among the principles, the general mind-frame, and the exercises I knew he had, I thought I’d find something to help me deepen my own characters, and sharpen their behavior. And in minutes, I was convinced I was onto something. I had to stop the conversation—because I thought you peeps should be there. What a great opportunity to explore what we’re trying to do as writers, just that little bit differently. It’s like looking at your work in a mirror when you’re painting. It immediately shows you things you somehow couldn’t see before.

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If you missed our discussion on the principles of acting and how it can inform the evocation of character when writing, here is the recording. Enjoy, and happy writing!

Shirin