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The Value of Intention
Intention is one of the most valuable tools in the actors’ arsenal. Without it, any hope for invention and creativity dries up. When we discover a characters intention the set stops being an unfamiliar place, and becomes alive with possibilities. But perhaps the most interesting thing about intention is that discovering the intention of a character is really a result not of how completely you think through intention, but of how thoroughly you use all your other tools. Intention doesn’t stand-alone, you can’t just pull it out of your bag and, “use it”. It is born from the understanding and the experiencing of your characters story, and of their physical world.
The most common mistake the artist makes when it comes to discovering intention is to mistake their characters agenda, for their characters intention. There is a thin line between the two, but stepping over it can mean the difference between the audience feeling like their peeking in on a private moment, or the audience nodding off because the scene plays out by rote. So why don’t we look at the two words … Our modern word intention is based on the Latin intendere, meaning to turn ones attention, or to strain, (in - toward + tendere – to stretch). The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as an aim that guide’s action. Please note that it says nothing about knowing what will result from your efforts, but only that you know what you’re after. The word agenda lifts its ugly head around 1657 based on the Latin agendum, and is defined by American Heritage as a list, or program of things to be done. The actor who has an agenda will be operating from a plan, hitting each point of the plan along the way. That may make the actor feel efficient, like he’s getting things accomplished, but it doesn’t leave much room to discover. The actor who knows his characters intention may not know from beat to beat what he’s about to do, but it’s that very act of searching in the moment that wakes us up and leads us to believe that the characters experience is fresh and real.
We’re not perfect, far from it. There will be moments, no matter how strong your work may be, where you plan something out. You know what you’re going to do next. Sometimes that just happens; you see a moment a certain way and you can’t shake free. Or you have to hit a certain mark because you have to match the master you’ve already shot. How many of you have had the experience of hitting a beat just right in rehearsal. The director loves it and can’t wait to get it on film. But no matter how hard you try doing everything the same, inflection, movement, volume, you just can’t make it work the same again. You’ve just discovered the powerful difference between intention and agenda. Don’t set a standard for yourself that’s inhuman. Allow for the fact that you’ll have an agenda once and a while. And while you’re at it, examine your characters story, get to know the environment they live in, get a feel for some of the objects in the room, make a choice about who you are with and what they mean to you. Do all that, and you just may find that you are clear now on the characters intention. Remember, intention doesn’t stand-alone, it comes from all the other choices you make in your craft, all that work creates an aim that directs action, and you can discover … the value of intention.