The HELLBENT FOR HOLLYWOOD set is truly heating up these past few days with temps soaring over 100 degrees outside and the latest acting challenges inside creating many a near meltdown for those actors teetering on the precipice, actors before the lens.
The old adage, "You are what you eat", really does have street cred in the acting world. Apart from all those Mickey D's cheeseburgers you're grabbing on the run, an actor's mental diet is an integral part of their training.
Let's say you're doin' Improv. Well you better be dowsin' your brain with cable news or print or even radio. An improviser's mental diet in this case would be to get the news from all sides of the issues. Otherwise how is the actor going to be able to stay on topic and/or play a character on either side of an issue whether they personally agree with the views of their character or not. This also applies to film, television and traditional stage as well. Actors need to be 'thinkers'.
The educational system in this country today is creating a nation of consumers. A successful actor however, should learn to think for themselves because a successful actor must have a sharp mind that is able to exist in the moment yet turn on a dime at the request of the Director. The successful actor must be prepared to digest script changes thrown into the mix at the last moment as the writers make changes in characters or how they interact or even changes in story arc while the actor is on set.
As an actor, if you let your ego manage your career it will manage your career right into the ground. If you let your training and skill handle your business you couldn't have chosen wiser partners. What have you learned so far and more importantly how are you going to use what you've learned to further your career?
ON FIRE
Showing posts with label actor choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label actor choices. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
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.
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.
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