THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TONE AND TACTICS - an example of how to divide up your text

Today I was asked for help in dividing a monologue into tactics. The student felt that the piece was all in the same “Tone”. In fact that is how she divided the monologue up. Into “Tones”.

But tones and tactics are not the same thing. Your tone is an emotional result or mood. There is no action in it. Tone is not something to decide upon before you start acting. That is the vocal equivalent of deciding what face to make. Your tone is the consequence of your efforts to accomplish something. Tactics are your ways of getting what you want.

This student is preparing a monologue from the movie “Anesthesia”. In this scene Sophie, who has attempted suicide, is speaking to her therapist. Here is the text:

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Sophie:
The world has just become…so inhuman. Everyone’s plugged in. Blindingly inarticulate, obsessed with money, their careers - stupidly, arrogantly content. I can’t talk to them. I fight them. I wanna destroy them even. I crave interaction. I crave it. But you just can’t anymore. They pull their devices out for every little thing to reinforce their petty, convenient notions. To decide where they are going to shop what they’re gonna eat, what movies they are gonna watch everything they ingest. Because what is left, oh, my God. Okay. It’s like this is all a game and I haven’t been told what the rules are. Or even worse, if I had I am ill-equipped to follow them. All I can do is provoke. I become spiteful. I’m just as bad as they are. They? I’m, I’m worse. I fucking hate myself for it. I’m, I am so fucking lonely. Why is the world so base? Why is it so insensitive? Why is it so selfish? Why am I? I am not for this world.

———-

The tones she had chosen were, in order: Frustrated , Hopeful, Frustrated, Disappointed, Frustrated, Hopeless, Frustrated, Hopeless

As you can see, there isn’t a lot of variation here. And these are not ways to get something done. They are feelings...not tactics.

I think this may be an issue and confusion many of you have, so I decided to take the time to analyze the script and show you all how to choose tactics. The student did a great job of writing the monologue as a dialogue, so I’ll include that as well. You all need to do this work whenever you have something to act.

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First you need to be clear about your objective. An objective must always be something you want from the person you are speaking to. Since this is not a personal relationship ( Sophie is talking to a therapist), it’s a little harder to make it as direct and intimate as we would like. But we need to try.

So let’s see what we can do. It’s not active enough to just want to express your feelings. There is no action in that. You must want to do something with your words...change the other person.

I think we can assume that she feels the therapist does not understand why she would want to kill herself. They don’t understand that she didn’t have a choice. It’s not her fault. She and the world just don’t fit together. They think she should learn to live in this world. She thinks that’s impossible. So perhaps your objective would be “Get Them To Understand that I Don’t Belong In This World”.

So we start with the conversation leading into the first line. Tactics will be in parentheses.

S: You just don’t understand.

T: Maybe you could try to explain it to me.

S: I don’t belong here.

T: What do you mean?

(Let’s call this the “Blame the world” tactic. It’s not your fault that you don’t want to live. It’s the world’s fault. The world has changed.)

S: The world has just become……so inhuman.

T: Why would you say that?

(This tactic responds by giving examples of the different ways the world has taken the humanity out of people. You give very different descriptions of what people have become. Use these words to paint a picture of how people are different than you. The words “blindly inarticulate” has to do with the loss of communication skills, “obsessed with money and careers” is about greed and materialism, “arrogantly content” is about snobbish contentment. Visit each of these different types of people as you describe them. The words themselves have the qualities they describe)

S: Everyone’s plugged in. Blindingly inarticulate, obsessed with money -their careers...stupidly, arrogantly content.

T: Have you tried making an effort to engage with them?

(Next is the “Give me a Break - That’s Impossible” tactic. or “They bring out the worst in me” Look how they affect me. Fighting is bad. Wanting to destroy them is even worse. )

S: I can’t talk to them. I fight them. I wanna destroy them

T: Well if people are so bad, just avoid them. You don’t need to be with people.

(Which brings you to the “I Can’t Be Alone Either - That’s Too Lonely” tactic)

S: I crave interaction. I crave it. But you just can’t anymore.

T: Why not?

(Let’s call this the “Belittling” tactic. You paint a picture of how silly people are, looking to their phones for conformation of the most trivial things. You go on to list those things. Whenever you have a list of any kind think of how they are different from one another. This is part of the tactic. They are only concerned about the most petty things. There’s nothing left for them to care about)

S: They pull their devices out for every little thing to reinforce their petty, convenient notions.

T: What would you consider petty?

S: To decide where they are going to shop, what they’re gonna eat, what movies they are gonna watch - everything they ingest.

T: You think that is all they care about?

S: What is left, oh, my God.

T: So what about this really bothers you?

(I think I might call this the “Trying to pinpoint the crux of the issue” tactic. )

S: Okay. It’s like this is all a game and I haven’t been told what the rules are.

T: So you haven’t been given the rules. That’s the problem?

S: Or even worse, if I had, I am ill-equipped to follow them. All I can do is provoke.

T: So it’s all their fault.

(The “Admitting - Taking Responsibility” tactic. Or “I Do Bad Stuff Too”. )

S: I become spiteful. I’m just as bad as they are.

T: But you just said they are horrible

( The “I’m Even Worse Than They Are” tactic)

S: They? I’m, I’m worse. I fucking hate myself for it.

T: How does that make you feel?

( The “Confession” tactic...the hardest thing for you to admit)

S: I’m, I am so fucking lonely.

T: Pretty much everyone feels that way.

(The “I Don’t Get It” “Why Does It Need to Be That Way?” tactic. Here comes another list. Differentiate their meanings with your thoughts)

S: Why is the world so base? Why is it so insensitive? Why is it so selfish? Why am I?

T: That’s just the way the world is.

(The “See? That’s Exactly My Point” tactic)

S: I am not for this world.

——-

Look at the tactics in order. Notice how different they all are from one another. There really is so much variation here. Once you know how your character is using the words to get what he or she wants, you can give each tactic all you’ve got. You want as much variation as possible.

The difference between you deciding on a tone like “being happy” is that it is forcing yourself to show something to an audience. If it is part of your character’s strategy to get what they want, it comes from within the desire to accomplish the objective. Whether your character feels happy or not, if she wants to cheer up the other character, she is going to do what ever she can do to make her smile...feel happy. The best tactic for doing this is to be happy herself.

Likewise if she wants someone else to take something seriously, she is going to be as serious as possible even if she is in a great mood. It’s all about getting something from the other person.

And isn’t this exactly what we all do in real life? If you are trying to cheer someone up, what do you do? Don’t you use your own happiness to get them happier? And if you want someone to take something seriously, aren’t you being serious? Its not really about what you are feeling at the time. It’s about what you are trying to DO to the other person. It’s just how it’s done.

The difference between utilizing these different tactics in a scene is that it is not you, the actror, deciding ahead of time to change from one “tone” to another. It is your character who is choosing what to do in order to get what she wants. The result is not an impression you want to give to the audience as an actor. The intended result is attempted by your character who wants to get someone else to change.

I understand there is a fine line between the two but it is an important one. One originates from your own thoughts...the other from your character’s thoughts and intentions. Never allow your own thoughts to enter into your performance. It all comes from your character’s mind and how he or she wants to change the other person.

I hope this will help you all in your next preparation. I think it will make all the difference in your performance.