If you're looking for an in-depth, insightful discussion of Stanislavsky's Method, forget it. This is not the book for you. There are a number of books by numerous drama teachers and directors that will tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about the art of acting.

Personally, the only person I would recommend such a book to would be an insomniac. I bought a nice, 200-page volume on acting two years ago. I read twenty pages and fell asleep three times. My accounting textbooks in college were a more exciting read that that book!

It has been my experience that acting is taught best by experience, not by reading. However, since this is a book on doing drama as a ministry, a quick lesson on the basics of acting would be appropriate.

At a recent workshop I asked a room full of high school students what's the most important thing to know when you step on stage. The most common answer I heard was "know your lines." That answer is wrong.

The most important thing for an actor to know is not what to say, but why their character says it.Or, to use the great theatrical buzz word of the 20th century, the actor must know his character's motivation.

Remember when I said drama was about conflict? That conflict must be expressed in the performances of the actors. Since drama is a visual, moving art, repeating lines is not enough. The motivations of the characters and the conflict in the story must be expressed in the way the actors speak, move, and interact. It is the emotions and the motivations that makes the drama come to life, not the memorized lines.

In order to do so, the actor must study more than his lines. He must study the entire script. He must know who his character is; what he wants; what he will do to get what he wants; what he feels at each given moment; and how to portray that feeling.

To help the actor discover all he or she must know about a character, it may be helpful to do a "psychological profile" of that character. Using the script and his or her imagination, the actor answers a series of questions about the character. Some typical questions used by college and professional actors include:

1. What is my name?

2. How old am I?

3. Where was I born?

4. What is my ethnic background?

5. Where do I live?

6. What is my occupation?

7. What is my educational background?

8. What is my religious background?

9. What is my marital status?

10. Do I drink or smoke?

11. What are my favorite foods?

12. What is my favorite hobby?

13. What are my political views?

14. What is my favorite TV show?

15. For the guys: Am I a Mary Anne or Ginger kind of guy?

16. For the ladies: Am I a Han or Luke kind of girl?

And so on. You and your actors may add or subtract from this list as you feel the need. There is no set formula for creating a character.

Once you discover who your character is, you may go on to discover that character's goals and motivations within the drama. Again, it may be helpful to ask a series of questions.

1. What is it that my character wants?

2. Why do I want that thing?

3. What characters can I depend on for help? What characters will oppose me?

4. What will I do to get that thing?

5. What do I expect the outcome of my actions to be?

Knowing your character and his or her motivations is the first step in acting. Applying that motivation to your performance can be tricky. At this point, you know how your character is feeling in a certain scene. (Let's say she's angry.) The problem is, you can't simply "be angry."

Anger is an emotion. It is an automatic response by a human being to a troubling situation. You don't have to think, "Okay, this is not good, so I need to be angry." You just become angry. Acting is about acting and doing, not being. Therefore, the actor must know how to be angry.

Here's how. Every emotion has an external expression. Once the actor discovers her character is angry, she must then ask the question, "How do I express anger?" Anger can be expressed in a number of ways: clenched fists, trembling, yelling, pointing fingers. Depending on the situation and the degree to which the character is angry, the actor can determine for herself which of these external actions she will use to portray her anger.

One helpful exercise you might use is "The Emotion Skit." This nonsense scene can be played with any number of emotions. This will allow your actors to explore these emotions and discover what actions they and others use to portray each emotions.

Another tool is the "as if" rule. This is where the actor creates metaphors to help him act according to his motivation at a given moment. If she is shocked, she will act "as if she was just him by a Mack truck." If he's giving comfort, he will want to touch the other performer "as if she were a china doll that will break if held too tight." Make sure to use simple, physical metaphors you can easily relate to with your senses.

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