What are you trying to do to or with the other person?
Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus, by Marina Caldarone and Maggie Lloyd-Williams.
What the book addresses
A reference vocabulary of active verbs for actioning text. Caldarone and Lloyd-Williams help actors refine what they attempt with another person, rather than supply emotional labels to illustrate.
How to read it
Use the thesaurus to enlarge a playable choice, then test the choice in the scene. A verb is not automatically useful because it is vivid. It needs a target, a reason and room for response. Several verbs can describe neighboring intentions while producing quite different behavior.
An original rehearsal investigation
Take a short exchange and choose an action you can justify from the circumstances. Play it, then choose a meaningfully different action and try again. Ask your partner what attempt they received. Keep the wording of the scene unchanged so the comparison tells you something about the action.
Connections and distinctions
Compare this reference with A Practical Handbook for the Actor and Shurtleff's Audition. All can sharpen action, but their frameworks differ. Script and Character Analysis includes objectives, obstacles and actions; a thesaurus supports that work when it gives you something specific to test rather than an approved answer to memorize.
This is an original JBAS reading guide with an attributed overview and study questions. Read the complete book for the author's developed argument and exercise instructions.
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