Checking In: Acting and Reacting

You’ve probably heard the old saying that good acting is all about reacting. And it’s not untrue: you are at your best as a performer when you communicate with others in a scene. However, this idea of “reacting not acting” can be anxiety-inducing for some actors. It can feel like just another thing to have to think about—along with memorising lines and blocking and how your character walks and talks. This is why we recommend a technique called “checking in”, which not only enables you to better communicate in a scene, but helps your character achieve their all-important objective.

Checking in is a technique designed to help actors communicate, and plot their way through a scene based on the reactions of their scene partner. To check in, you must constantly read the actor opposite you to see how they’re receiving the information being relayed. This may manifest in their tone of delivery, their blocking and their facial expressions. Sometimes, it is the absence of speech or movement—necessitating a new tactic to get them reacting and responding to your stimulus.

The trick with checking in is to constantly modify your approach in a scene based on what the other actor gives you. If you tell a person a joke and they don’t laugh, you’re likely not to tell them another joke straight away. You certainly wouldn’t tell them the exact same joke, else you’d sound like a serial killer! So why would your acting technique be any different?

Checking In

Checking in is simple: look for the ways in which your scene partner reacts to what you say and do. Based on that information, react back to them accordingly. And finally, repeat this process until one of you achieves your objective and the scene ends.

Sounds simple, right? That’s because it is! But it’s one of those fundamental ideas in acting that actors often skip over. They become too caught up in how they react, rather than the other person. And that’s where the gold is—all the wonderful nuggets of meaning and emotion that your character can, let’s face it, lean on or exploit to get what they want.

Some actors find themselves on autopilot because of the script: “I already know how the scene is going to end, all the dialogue is written down beforehand!” This kind of thinking leaves no room for individual interpretation or tactics.

If your character bursts into a scene full of charm—intending to flirt their way into the scene partner’s heart—they’re going to look fairly ridiculous if the other actor has decided to mock and belittle their every advance.

Such situations call for a speedy rethink and regroup. And not to do so is going to make you look like a bad actor, not them.

Character Relationship

In order to check in properly, you’ll want to spend some time getting to know your scene partner. Who are they to your character? What opinion does your character harbour about them? Consider completing a character relationship map to discover wants, needs and the objective dynamics that exist between the two of you.

Status is an important factor to bear in mind, as the power dynamic between characters speaks volumes as to how they might act/react towards one another.

At all times, keep your goal in the scene in mind. Your objective is the most important thing at any time for an actor. Without it, there is no reason for your character to exist within a given scene, let alone purpose to drive them forward.

While you’re at it, consider the objective of this person opposite you. They’ve shown up with a conflicting goal, and they’re going to come at you just as hard to get what they want.

And remember: while the ‘winner’ of the scene is written by the writer beforehand, and therefore known to you both, neither of your characters knows this. Never play a scene as if you’ve lost.

Look for the Tells

Once you’ve got a handle on your scene partner and objective, it’s time to do the “checking” part of checking in. What are the ‘tells’ of your scene partner? What can you observe that reveals their attitude towards you and what you’re saying or doing?

Sometimes the tells are straightforward. You throw a chair across the stage to get your scene partner’s attention, it’s likely to make them look at you. You tell somebody you betrayed them, you’re likely to see the effects of that play out on their face as they put the pieces together. If your character shoots somebody, you’re very likely to see them fall down bleeding.

Other times, your character has to look for the reaction they’ve gotten. In times of heightened tension and conflict, which encompasses most good drama, people tend to hide their true feelings—because that way lies vulnerability and potential hurt.

When you’re acting, imagine you’re playing poker. Look for the ‘micro’ tells that betray the true feelings of a character that otherwise looks impenetrable. Look into their eyes, look for any hint of facial expression or body language that might hint to how their character is really feeling. When you find it, you can play to their weakness. This is what reveals your path forward through the scene.

React Accordingly

Let’s say you’ve followed our instructions on checking in to the letter: you know your character as well as your scene partner, you understand the objectives and what is at stake. You’ve kicked things off with a bold choice and the other character reveals their feelings towards this with startling clarity.

All of this good work has gone to waste unless you respond, in turn, to this reaction. Now it is your turn to react, and to do so in a way that either exploits the weakness you’ve discovered or tries a different approach.

This is why our tactics (or actions, as we often call them) need to constantly change in a scene. They need to respond to what the scene partner is doing, to how the scene is playing out, otherwise your character is going to look stilted and unresponsive.

If you try to “ask” a character for a favour and they refuse, it’s going to look weaksauce if you simply ask again. (In fact, “ask” is a famously boring action and should be avoided at all costs.) Put a spin on your character’s action and amp things up from “ask” to “beg”. Any change in reaction in them? Nothing? Heartless … try “bargain” instead. Or “flirt”. These are all variations on the theme of “ask”—but they reflect that your character is trying different ways of getting their objective rather than simply spraying and praying.

And if this scene partner gives you nothing, it might be time to pivot entirely to a new line of action. “Threaten”, “intimidate”, “blackmail”, “gaslight”. Get dark. And if you’re lucky, you might just throw the other actor off their intended approach. They’d shown up to confront a pushover, not somebody with some fight in them yet!

Never Trust the Script

Well, it’s probably more accurate to say “never rely on the script”. While the writer has given you all the words in the story world for you to analyse, what is done with them in performance belongs to the actors and, to some degree, the director. Don’t assume you know what a character’s reaction might be because of how the story is written.

For example: if your line is “I’m leaving you.” and your co-star’s response is “Please! Don’t!” then it’s safe to say that you’ve upset your scene partner. You may need to work at calming them down and listening to you before you can achieve your objective of breaking off the relationship.

However, your co-star might hit back at you with sarcasm. Suddenly “Please! Don’t!” requires a little less comforting, and a little more scrambling for some status in the scene. Your opposite number might even choose something juicier: “Please! Don’t!” might be delivered as the start of bargaining, an apology, a warning—even a threat.

Making assumptions on how a script will play out based on its words alone leaves no room for subtext. It also ignores an actor’s ability to interpret dialogue and to make it their own.

Checking In During a Monologue/Soliloquy

One final point before we wrap things up. How do you go about checking in when you’re the only person in a scene? It’s all very well to work with a great scene partner, what happens when it’s just you and an audience?

You need to imagine who you’re speaking to. Visualise them, put them right there in your eyeline and picture them listening to your every word. And once they’re there and they are so real to you that you can count their eyelashes: start checking in.

It’s a piece of advice we give to actors here at StageMilk all the time. A monologue or soliloquy is still a conversation: you just happen to have all the words. What’s happening on the other person’s face? How are they reacting to the things you are saying, either on a micro or macro level? And while we’re asking questions, we’ll throw you this one.

Why is this scene a monologue? What is it, about the things you’re saying, that mean the other person is consciously not speaking or reacting overtly? Sometimes, the thing a character wants more than anything in such a moment is for the scene partner to do anything—say anything at all. Helluva place to start when objective hunting…

Conclusion

So there you have it: our breakdown on all things checking in! However you go about implementing this tool into your own acting process, remember that its primary goal is to keep you present and responsive to what happens within a scene. You don’t need to switch up your tactics simply for the sake of doing so: if you find yourself in a good groove, ride it out as long as it remains effective.

Finally, if anything about this process feels difficult or unnecessary, remember this: checking in is an incredibly human thing to do. We are constantly looking for the effect we’ve had on the people in our lives—good or bad. We check ourselves, we second-guess ourselves and do what we can to mitigate conflict. It’s the glorious balancing act of human interaction.

What actor wouldn’t want to replicate that in their own work?

Good luck!