Making Wise Choices

Someone commented that the trenches are not just in Hollywood and they're right. Sometimes tinseltown gets a little too wrapped around itself and engrossed with tinseltown but the bottomline is that talent has no borders...

Acting is re-acting. An actor can steal a scene without ever opening his or her mouth. Actors are defined by the choices they make. Quick succinct choices are the earmarks of brilliant acting. Even seemingly simple choices such as how an actor takes his or her mark or how they follow directions on set can carry more weight than most actors realize.

How an actor interprets a line is course an important choice. Script interpretation is a matter of digesting the information given in the sides and making choices, not just any choices but gut level choices made in an instant with precision. In the book “Blink” author Malcom Gladwell discusses the need for making gut level choices in an instant and how to make ‘right choices’ in doing so.

Some actors believe in going deep and channeling characters. I once spoke with the Artistic Director of Second City, the famed Chicago Improv institution on that matter. He felt channeling had a purpose in Improv. In Improv especially, some actors push the envelope in the development of characters, as they explore unique speech patterns, accent, posture and facial expressions even changing the way they interpret emotion and what the basis for those interpretations are. Ultimately this usually results in extraordinary entertainment value.

However, actor and author Shirley Maclaine, recently commented on the great Meryl Streep and her channeling characters, which Maclaine feels is unhealthy. What if the entity you are channeling refuses to let go? The question is; does an actor really need to go that far to work? Of course the answer is “no”, as many actors work not because they are brilliant actors or because they can immerse themselves into a character 150% but because they are professional, easy to work with and most importantly make it easy for the Director to get the shot when they’re on the set.

Remember that film is a Director’s medium not an actor’s. Television is a writer’s medium but Theater is an actor’s medium. It’s all about choices and yours better be to serve the Director’s vision if you want to work on screen.