(I posted an issue like this in the audition forum, but since there is technique involved - I wanted to get some perspective from this side of the issue.)

Is it ever okay to ever yell in anger on stage? I had a bad cold reading experience in which I did that in a moment of anger, not thinking fully about technique but, rather, responding as I would in real life to the situation. The moment lasted a few lines (with a lot of words in all caps and exclamation points) And in retrospect, I feel I made a bad choice. I felt connected to the moment and my partners and that it came from a real place - but, I feel that one moment blew my entire scene.

We're always told as actors to avoid anger and yelling at all costs - but sometimes, real people do yell. People do not always make the best choices that get results. Is it better to be more dynamic on stage? Is the more subdued choice - ie stillness, focus, etc - always more interesting? Or should a character yell once in a while if it feels right in that one moment, as long as its not constant?

Thanks in advance,
Steve

When in doubt, look to the text. Yelling in a monologue is discouraged, a frequent comment from CDs is 'all guys want to show they can be angry and all women want to show they can cry'.

In a cold reading, things are different, and you often don't have time to select your choices in advance so... look to the text. Always read a question as a question, never assume its rhetorical, and if the text is in all caps with exclamation points as you said, yup, he's probably yelling <g>.

Don't beat yourself up, you made a choice and you went with it. Nobody wants to hear a safe read, and a bold decision is more likely to get you a second reading with some direction than a mediocre read that ends with "Thanks, next!"

I think it's a mistake to yell because it means you're angry or to show you’re angry, but there is a time and place.

I think the reason it's discouraged is because people are too quick to go to it. I think it's also more interesting if you don't yell... but as I said, there is a time and place and I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

i agree, yelling is not bad, but it is bad if its used as an indicator to show your mad rather than being mad, people who are mad don't have to yell, but they can.

i think uta hagen or michael caine said something like this: you dont have to fear being too big or too loud as long as its based it truth

if you feel like yelling, yell, if you dont, dont force it. everythin goes back to the text, study, think about it, would this character yell? then go

I auditioned with a monologue once and I yelled to show anger and it didn't work. A lot of times I hear actors in their auditions and they are always yelling.

I've taken some soap classes with soap casting directors and they do try to steer actors away from yelling. They want the anger to be shown without yelling. Your voice can show anger without yelling and it can be a whole lot more effective than yelling.

It's sounds like your anger came from a natural place in the moment. If so, that is what acting is all about in my book. I've seen many people overdo acting whether it's being too sappy or too angry or desperately trying to cry, which takes away from the scene and just makes you feel pity for the actor and then maybe resentful of the casting director who cast the person, but if you are "living and doing truthfully in the moment" - the definition of acting that I was taught, then you did your job. I think part of why you may be feeling so full of self-doubt is that we would be publically or privately shamed in the real world for yelling so we don't. People go around with their emotions pent up, and our society teaches us to be this way and shames us if we act out. So acting in a lot of ways is the opposite - if the moment builds to a point of anger, we let it out instead of shoving it down and giving some polite, phony response or keeping in under control because you are right, if any of us get pushed enough in the real world, we will break past our societal self and be our real self - angry, emotional, whatever - like children are. By the way, they are great to watch for learning the craft because they are very honest, little creatures. And that's why I love acting - for the truth of the moment because the truth is POWERFUL. However, it can feel pretty embarrassing afterwards because our social selves start telling us what society taught us - you're not supposed to yell. Don't beat yourself up - even if it was a bad choice. A bad choice is better than no choice at all.

Dear Steve,

Another word for yelling on stage is "coring out," letting it all go -- yelling, screaming or going over the top without fear.

The operative phrase here is: "Without fear." Fear of possibly looking foolish or making a choice that may not seem inappropriate is antithetical to good acting. Acting is simply reacting, responding naturally to events in the character's environment. Many people have expressed that simply being truthful is essential to organic acting, and it is. That being said, in the cramped confines of a tiny casting director's office, yelling might be ill-advised. In this particular case,"less can definitely be more." The unfortunate CD has to listen to dozens, if not hundreds of actors reading for the same role and have to save their ear drums for more important purposes. In this case it might be wise to have a little consideration and tone down your emotional responses a bit. But on a big, open stage and if it's called for, by all means, go for it!

A word of caution, however. If you opt to "let it all hang out," leave it for the end. It's extremely difficult, if not impossible to elevate the emotional stakes of the scene once you've already "poppped your cork."

quote:

Originally posted by SecondBanana:
When in doubt, look to the text. Yelling in a monologue is discouraged, a frequent comment from CDs is 'all guys want to show they can be angry and all women want to show they can cry'.

I remember when I first started auditioning in Chicago -- sometimes they would have us in a theater where the waiting room was really close to the audition room, so we could hear everyone auditioning (hate that). I would hear so much yelling, from women and men. I remember thinking, "Am I supposed to be doing that? I hope I'm not doing it wrong." LOL. Luckily most of my monologue choices were quirky/subtle comic pieces, so it wasn't really an issue.

As you guys have said, I think if the anger is coming from a real place, that's okay. But a lot of people use volume as an indicator, not realizing that there are other ways to express anger. Sometimes you can be intense and effective without necessarily being loud.

Kind sir,

In a role I have right now, Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejiduce I do yell, or at least more or less raise my voice. But I am angry! Very angry! And it works perfectly for me. I mean I do actually "scare" the people around me (especially the first time I did it!). So maybe it feels fake, but did you try ask someone? An audience member, the director, or fellow cast member? The yelling might actually have been very good!