Acting, huh? Ok...

THOUGHTS ON ACTING… by Shawn Telford and others.

Keep it simple. It's only as hard as you make it, so do your homework and find the easiest way to tell the story. Listen, listen, listen, put the performance on the other person, give it away. Above all, be honest, don't "Act" it, find some way to "do" it. Product oriented work will fail you whereas process will not. So find the way....

So. What is acting?

A simple answer from method acting master Lee Strasberg: Acting is realistic behavior in imagined circumstances.

Some ways to proceed and/or guidelines toward good acting:

1 Speak your lines loudly and clearly.

Not only must you talk to the people in the scene but you must also be mindful that the people in the back rows of the theatre must hear you too. If they cannot, or anyone for that matter, they will not come into your worldthe world of the story in which you are functioning. Volume is an undeniable artifice of the theatre. You must be heard.

Speak clearly so that the words can be heard or chose specifically the places when you will throw it away. Clarity is invaluable to the actor. First, you must understand the material and your function within it. Next, you must further that understanding to others beyond yourself includingbut not limited tothe people in the scene.

2 Dont bump into the furniture.

Know where you are onstage, how to move, when to move, where to move and what the movement will mean, even the smallest movement will help you tell the story. Know what it means to not move at all. Know the stage picture you are creating with the movementhow are you shaping the larger aesthetic? How are you affecting the focus of the scene? (To know this you must know where the focus wants to beso, where does the focus want to be?)

3 Know what it means to be the person you are.
(This is intentionally twofold: first partknow thyself; second partknow your character.)

Know thyself. There is a Buddhist proverb that saysparaphrasingif you look at anything long enough you will see the universe in it. In knowing yourself, you will better understand the universe through which you live and operate. This knowledge is the unique gift you bring to the roles you play. In your search to find yourself, you will find both the character and the story. As Socrates says, there is no learning, only remembering. Its already there, inside you.

Know the character. Like you, this person is complex and the process of knowing is really an exploration. So you must continually ask, what does it mean to be this person in these circumstances and have to do and say these things as they are written? Then you must do and say these things realistically and truthfully so that the wants and desires of this person may be fulfilled.


INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOUND THIS SEMESTER

"Remember that acting is ego-less. There is an ancient human mystery to the exercise. Acting is not about the Actor. Participate in that mystery which is greater then the sum of it's parts. A great performance is the one that does not draw attention to itself at the expense of the greater "reality" in the play, does not get in get in the way of the script, of the total experience of the Play. Serve the Text. Try to make everybody else's ideas work first. Don't be afraid. What are they gonna do? Send you to Mazaar-E-Sharif? Become a conduit through which the ideas of the playwright may pass unhindered to those unrehearsed and willing players out front, the ones that got a baby-sitter, drove across town, paid money to get into the room where the lights go out and everyone decides to 'Let's Pretend'. And, when you know you've done a good job, don't be shy in taking your curtain call. Eat when you can and don't get caught Acting."
-DENNIS ARNDT, Actor

“Just let the scene play itself… let the play take you there. Don’t try and act it… be it.”
-RAY GABICA, Actor/Director/Designer

“Get involved, do staged readings, volunteer, audition. You’re not an actor if you’re not acting. And, please, self produce. If you’ve got a story to tell, tell it. Never wait for them to find you because they won’t. Act, write, study, if you’re not doing something, you’re not doing it for a reason, maybe you’re not an actor. Quit telling yourself that you are and get on with your life. Acting isn’t ideas, it’s doing, so go do it. Lastly, there’s no money in this. If money is important to you, think again.”
-SHAWN TELFORD, Actor

“If there's any message to my work, it is ultimately that it's OK to be different, that it's good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color.”
-JOHNNY DEPP, Actor

“Trust yourself. Be patient with yourself. Have faith in yourself... and listen. See where the road takes you. I know this sounds corny, but is truer than you might think. I ride motorcycles and here's why: When you drive somewhere in a car, it is all about getting to the destination--that's where the vacation begins. On a bike, it begins the minute you sit in the saddle, and the getting there becomes the best part of the vacation... Get it? But also, study your ass off. Know your craft. Looks, charisma and natural ability are all great, but they are not skill. Skill is finesse, discipline, craft. No matter what your raw talents are, always develop them further. This will give you dimension and flexibility, and knowledge is truly power. You cannot know where you are or where you are truly going without knowing where you came from. Too many
people come to NYC waiting, expecting for people to see how brilliant they are. I believe in a career, not a moment. Experience truly defines.”
-MARC KUDISCH, Actor


AND WHY DO I LOVE TO SOMETHING A TINY BIT DIFFERENT AT EACH PERFORMANCE… WHETHER IT BE A DIFFERENT INFLECTION, PHRASING, ETC…

IT’S BECAUSE OF THIS:

"I think it's an actor's responsibility to change every time. Not only for himself and the people he's working with, but for the audience. If you just go out and deliver the same dish every time... it's meatloaf again... you'd get bored. I'd get bored."
-Johnny Depp

I AGREE, DON’T YOU?

A delicate blend……

“What I find sometimes that is tricky is if actors are using too much of their own life in a picture, in a scene, they get locked into a particular way to play the scene, and it lacks an immediacy.”
-Tom Cruise

I happen to agree. Obviously, I am not a serial killer; if I were to play a serial killer, I must be able to actually play the role void of my personal morality. If I were to drown in my own personal beliefs, I would be limiting the character; therefore, lacking immediacy. However…

“With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it’s just not acting. It’s lying.”
-Johnny Depp

….I believe that in everything I do there must be a part of me in it. It’s the delicate blend of the two that an actor must struggle to find…