Listen to part of a lecture in a Film History class.(male professor) In order to really appreciate the early films we’ll be seeing this semester, let’s talk about what was taking place in theater just before 1900.Last week we discussed the classical acting style in 19th-century theater.What are some characteristics of classical acting? Karen?(female student) OK, um, classical theater, you said the actors would use conventional facial expressions and gestures to convey emotions and that they suggest emotions more than, uh, display them.Their voices, uh, they sound, they mimic emotions but don’t really feel them.(professor) OK, great, those were some of the characteristics of classical acting.And then around the turn of the century or so we have another style becoming popular when we talk about actors delivering their lines with, uh, psychological motivation, we’re referring to naturalism.(female student) Naturalism? So it didn’t seem as staged, uh, as contrived as classical performances?(professor) OK, let’s back up. In 1896, there was an important essay written by a Danish director named William Bloch.Bloch was one of the pioneers of naturalist acting in theater.He said the actors, uh, when actors deliver their lines they need to really say each line carefully, intentionally.That’s what’s meant by psychological motivation.OK? Each line had its own life and it deserved attention which meant that the actors would pause after delivering a line to get ready for the next one to deliver it just right.So, in preparing to play a role, they had to analyze each line carefully which required a lot of time, uh, so they could get an image in their mind of how the performance should be.They worked to make each line just right, the right emotion for the character.And the naturalist performance was slow and deliberate.The actor’s goal was to convey a specific intention with every line. Brandon?(male student) So the actors would actually make themselves emotional and have their personal emotions kind of guide their line delivery?(professor) Well, not exactly. The portrayal of emotion was very important in naturalist theater.But Bloch said the actor’s job was to represent the character and this character is someone different from the actor meaning the characters are their own people.And it wouldn’t be fair to have the actor inserting their own personal emotions into the character, uh, yes, Karen?(female student) How did they get the actors to do that, to represent a character?Was there some kind of special way you work with them?(professor) Was there! Uh, let’s see.Before naturalism, it was pretty typical to have about three days of rehearsal to practice for a play before it opened.That was the standard, right? But with naturalist acting, Bloch demanded at least twenty days to prepare.Plus, he talked to all the actors after rehearsals trying to sort of inspire them to really find new motivations for their acting, for their line delivery.So, with the increased number of rehearsals and the time he spent with them after rehearsals, this probably helped the actors adopt a different style from what they’d been used to.Anyway, there’s a film that really demonstrates the contrast I’m talking about.It’s a Danish film called Church and Organ.(male student) By Bloch? (professor) No, it was by a different director, but it starred an actress who was greatly influenced by Bloch though indirectly.Bloch’s wife, Anna, was a very well-known naturalist stage actress.And the actress in the movie saw Anna Bloch as a role model and adopted her approach.So, if you looked at the script of this movie, you’ll see a lot of shifts in the character’s voice and volume.Her lines had directions like almost inaudible, volume up, in despair, I mean, in a couple of minute’s dialogue, this character displayed a whole range of emotions with her voice.The emotions shift abruptly and in between these emotional shifts, the actress paused.She had to change her intention before every line.But the other actor in Church and Organ, he used a classical acting style.Even if his character was being expressive, he used an even, consistent tone.In one scene, he’s angry but instead of yelling and talking faster he just crunches his fist and then relaxes his hand again.His restrained performance in use of gestures to subtly convey meaning, those were all associated with classical acting.