There are four possible distinct sorts of action. Each and every scene (each and every beat) has to contain at least one of these actions.
Physical
A physical action is action that is visible. A movement. A dance. A swipe. Note: although the previous are all nouns, all actions are verbs. They are ‘doing’ words. Skipping. Jumping. Rolling. Raising one’s eyebrow. Shrugging. Dropping to the ground. Giving a flower. Tossing a hand grenade.
These actions are support to inner actions. They usually are the externalizations of a change within the character.
Intellectual/Mental
These are usually internal actions, recognizable by their effect on the character. They are signs of something changing in the character’s mind. An idea. A thought. A change to a point of view. A realization. A belief system beginning to crumble. An opinion changing. A theory being undermined.
Oftentimes there are visible outward signs that something has changed within the character. They are usually more subtle than physical action and usually take time to show themselves.
Emotional
These internal actions deal with the change within the emotions and are usually very recognizable. They can be quite complex, convoluted, intricate but also amazingly simple. Changing from one emotional state to another is often the grist of a story. From love to hate. From fear to acceptance. From cruelty to kindness.
The bigger and more difficult the change, the longer the story.
Spiritual
I am not a fan of spiritual change, because I believe that the human story that theatre tends to portray can be encompassed by a combination of the above three series of actions. I get wary of large, inescapable, powerful unseen forces acting on individuals. This doesn’t preclude individuals having belief systems that inspire them to action, but I would include that in a mental state going through change. Genres dealing with this can be liturgical works through to plays where the gods have sway over the physical action of a piece, and from playwrights like Lorca through to magic realism which deal with externalized symbolism.
But personal systems aside, a spiritual change is one where a belief system either changes or guides the character towards an end. These are internalized, often recognized by a physical realization of the spirit and a change occurring because of it. Ben Hur sees Jesus and is changed forever.