UNIQUE YOU: Who you ARE is more than "Just Be Yourself"

Since my last post I've been thinking a great deal about the actor's origin of creation.  In a number of my previous posts I have made mention of and echoed many similar traditional beliefs that acting starts with you--THE ACTOR -- and I wholeheartedly agree with these beliefs.  Who you are is where it will all begins.  All your past experiences and the depth of YOUR imagination are what will feed the creation of your characters -- Your Who Am Is.  But this is just the beginning NOT the finished product.  I have heard so many acting teachers coach actors to do less "acting" by prompting them to "BE more of you" or "find more of yourself in the role."  This really gets under my skin.  Why is it that acting teachers go straight to "just be yourself" as Maggie the cat or "find yourself" in Hedda to curb Behavioral/Quality acting?  Is this at the core of what the American Method has created?  I will agree that when two actors are just sitting there AS THEMSELVES reciting lines simply without "acting" in the room together it can be a very honest moment -- it CAN be moving.  But what if that style/technique/approach doesn't fulfill the demands of the text in the scene or the overall story?  What then?  Can an actor make an adjustment to who they are as a person?  No, YOU can't.  But CHARACTERS can!

No you are missing the point of What If!  I have to imagine how I would do this if I were in this situation!

You know somewhere along the way I think Stanislavsky's "What IF" has been reduced to a lazy Actor Centered excuse.  Instead of actually using it to discovering a character -- which might take too long, result in going to emotional places that are uncomfortable, or WORSE unbelievable acting -- the modern style is to re-interpret the character's identity to that of the actor's.  Now how "I" react in the imaginary circumstances is based on who "I" have evolved into from my own real life experiences.  As a result the character is no longer in the play...the ACTOR is.  But let's imagine that you are playing Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire.  It's the end of Scene III and you are rehearsing the famous "STELLA" moment.  You decide based on your life experience that you, the actor, really wouldn't over react in circumstances like these because you don't really like conflict in your real life.  You are more level headed about things -- not to mention you can hold your liquor pretty well so you don't believe that if YOU were in these imaginary circumstances you would behave so erratic or emotional.  Besides, this is really YOU and honest to how you would get Stella back downstairs so everyone needs to accept your performance as fulfilled.  REALLY???  This is NOT what the magic IF is about.  An actor CANNOT replace the character with their own actor self.  The What IF is not about how YOU would behave in the given circumstances so much as it is about how the given circumstances might AFFECT you.  Stanley -- in accordance to the story you are in service of -- has been drinking for hours and most likely more than normal -- for starters -- because he is losing money.  His living situation is inconvenienced.  His wife is less compliant/cooperative now that her sister is living with them.  He is threatened some and possibly attracted to his wife's sister -- all of which is creating conflict and disrupting his happy life.  So how YOU, as the actor, might react to the given circumstances is only the beginning.  How YOU might react is what starts to inform your imagination to the sensations of the given circumstances.  You are not imagining what you would do in that situation -- you have to imagine what those circumstances would do to you.  Remember characters rise up out of the given circumstances.

Every one of us has our OWN unique way of reacting in every situation that we encounter in life.  We react the way we do based on our very complex development, perspective, and the values we give everyone and everything in our personal universe.  This is what makes us who we are AND is our greatest asset as a creator.  But TRUTH is not limited to your real life experience which is why "just be yourself" falls short of inspiration.  I think if you are only acting AS yourself in the given circumstances then you are limiting your potential.  And it seems that the accepted belief in this approach is that you, the actor, ARE the epitome of truthfulness and honesty in your everyday existence and we KNOW that isn't true.  Most of the time in "real life" we are too busy trying to be anything but honest with ourselves and others.  We try too hard to get our friends to think we're funny.  We do things we don't believe in to impress our bosses at work.  We smile a little too much to convince our spouse we still adore them.  Real Life is FULL of "fake" moments so how can you trust THAT to be your artistic benchmark?

But what you can trust about BEING YOURSELF is just how UNIQUE that self is!!  There is no one else like you in the entire world.  In the entire HISTORY of the world.  There never has been and there never will be anyone who is like you.  No one who thinks like you.  No one who speaks like you.  No one who has the same imagination as you.  That same complex development, perspective, and values you give everyone and everything in your personal universe has only evolved the way it has ONCE in all of time.  And only ONCE with you.  This is what makes your performance so special and different than anyone else.  No matter if you say the lines with the same reading as another actor -- with the "same" inflection and "same" objective -- the performance will NEVER be the same.  Declan Donnellan has a great perspective on this topic in his book The Actor and the Target as one of his "uncomfortable choices:" Originality or Uniqueness.

"Whenever we try to be original it is evidence that we have lost confidence in our uniqueness.  We may fear our uniqueness might not be there when we need it, or, what is more sinister, we fear that what is different about us may actually be inferior.  Particularly when young, uniformity can be reassuring.  But uniformity is impossible.  Uniformity is only an ideal, always a dangerous one.  But it shouldn't frighten us too much as it has never actually existed.  Like attention or presence, uniqueness is given to us; it has to be accepted and is out of our control.  Like anything else out of our control, we suspect uniqueness simply because it just might let us down.  So we invent an imaginary substitute, a synthetic dummy, which will be our personal creature.  Hello originality, goodbye uniqueness...The more we strive to be original, the more we obliterate our inherent uniqueness.  The more we try to be 'new', the more repetitive and reactionary we become."

For years I wanted to STAND OUT and be original to the point that I was more interested in that than fulfilling my character's wants and needs.  This was once again my ego driving the bus to nowhere.  My acting had no purpose and therefore my choices were self-centered.  I believe there is nothing wrong with a desire to unearth an inspired choice but when you neglect your purpose the result is just you being clever.  Of course at the other end of the spectrum, resting on your uniqueness (just being yourself) instead of doing the rest of the required investigation is only HALF the work and just plain lazy.  Have confidence that your uniqueness will drive you forward in creation.  As your imagination and investigation develops then your uniqueness will shine through in your choices.  The Who Am I/Character WILL be uniquely yours but TRUE to itself. 

I think that teachers train actors to "be themselves" because they do not know how to inspire truth in unfulfilled acting any other way.  I'm sure this started out as a very productive and useful approach.  However, this is not a healthy or constructive way to develop an actor.  It is limiting.  If an actor's boldness is "fake" or "showy" then the issue isn't that they need to be less of the character and more of themselves.  The issue is that their performance is detached from truth.  It is detached from purpose.  It's like hydroplaning in your car.  You know the second the car has left the road -- you are no longer in control and at any moment you could fly into oblivion.  You can feel it in all of your being.  It should be our job to help you discover why you came off the road.  Not tell you to get out an walk.  Not TRICK you into NOT performing by directing you to "just play yourself."  Acting is not a reality show.  The inescapable fact about acting is that you ARE performing.  There is no way around it and you will never be able to convince your brain that you are not -- so you might as well accept it.  So with that in mind my first advice is, DON'T SHOW ME A PERFORMANCE.  PERFORM FOR ME A TRUTH.  Then we can be as bold as we want all day long!



 

Technique Schmechnique!

Really??  Do I need technique to act??  Can't I just show up and say my lines with confidence and believability?  It's not THAT hard!

You know these days it seems like that's all you really need to do--at least for commercials, television, and film roles--those paying gigs that seem to matter, right?  Just BE yourself.  So in recent years I started to wonder.  After all, the only actors sharing their secrets about technique are those famous film and television celebrities...and many of them have no background in training what so ever.  Or if they do -- they have long left it behind because they are paid more to play their own personality.  AND is there anything wrong with that?  Honestly, work IS work!  And to be PAID to show up, say your lines, and not bump into the furniture is GOOD work!

Then the other day I read something that appeared so near the truth it made me sad.  It was one of those blogs about the awful "truths" about acting and why you SHOULDN'T pursue a career.  One of the blog's points said "Most roles have nothing to do with acting."  Well THIS really got my gears turning.  Most roles have nothing to do with acting?  Could that be true?  If so then maybe years of study and technique ISN'T that important.  So...I started to think about what I've seen and heard about modern trends in acting.  I thought about the stories I've heard on the many different ways actors work.  I thought about the horrors I've read about all the different tactics directors use to manipulate actors into giving that perfect performance.  I thought about typecasting and how typically casting is based entirely on your physical appearance--and even at times the essence of your personality/who YOU are as a person in real life.  I started to think about how more and more film actors are encouraged to ad lib dialogue and how other actors have the confidence to approach writers/directors with "I don't think I would say this" complaints.  I started to really consider the "method" way of acting and all the short cuts I've railed against and wondered if it at all matters -- IF the end result is to achieve a truthful moment.  Why waste years training if the only goal is to nail it in ONE take!  IS a schizophrenic approach to becoming the character all THAT destructive if it means you will become a successful actor recognized in the industry?  I mean, every career requires sacrifice--occupational hazards, right??

SIDEBAR: Check out this amazing interview with David Cronenberg.  It is no surprise that actors thrive and deliver stellar performances in his pictures.  He clearly has a great respect for actors and how we work.  As opposed to the horrific directing techniques (mentioned) that are apparently TAUGHT to film directors all the time!  David Cronenberg on Directing: 'Get Good Actors and Let Them Be Good'

I think the thing is, if you are not that SERIOUS about acting...if it isn't a true passion of yours and you just want a shot at fame...and I know I've said something to this effect before but...go ahead and forget technique.  Give the fast track a try.  You could very well make it on your looks and confident/natural abilities in front of a camera.  In fact!  I have a theory that many of the younger generation -- who've grown up with video cameras recording their every move from birth on -- have a leg up over the older generation.  It makes sense right?  The camera is not a foreign voyeur.  The camera is a natural companion.  It documents "real" life and you can be "real" in front of it, right?  Or better yet the sensation of performing or being observed has developed into a NATURAL sensation.  But even if all of these things do fall into place for you...and I hope they do...that ALONE will only carry you so far.  Eventually you will want more.  You will become bored with portraying yourself...or worse yourself, YOUR PERSONA will become the only character you CAN play.  You will long to play ANYTHING different.  Not to mention the fact that you will reach the limits of your emotional boundaries...at least the ones you are comfortable sharing...and then in order to go deeper that will require you to alter the events of your realities to inspire true emotion.  And that always gets messy.  Enter method.  Welcome to crazytown.  Not to mention that longevity is KEY in this business and the mob tires of the same thing after a while.  If you are only after fame then range is the only thing that can save you once you are yesterday's news.  You will have to re-invent yourself or prove that you are not just a pretty face.  Then you find yourself asking our original question...do I REALLY need technique? What do you think now?

But what about the person who is passionately devoted to acting?  The person who feels that it is their calling and they can do nothing else in life.  The person who believes in storytelling and creating.  The person who believes that acting is an art.  The person who devotedly finds ways to build their life around those beliefs.  For myself, and this company, I believe that technique is part of the draw and pleasure of acting.  It is the satisfying challenge.  It is what makes acting art.  It is what gives structure and definition to the act of creation.  So if we foolishly concede that most roles have nothing to do with acting -- then where is the joy of our career?  Where is the creation?

So at this point I think we have to return to a place of faith.  I admit, I CAN see where this blogger would say what they said but I still think he is wrong.  I actively choose to BELIEVE he is wrong.  Acting is more than the job.  Acting is more than the role.  It's true, you will go out for many auditions and be asked to do things that you THINK have NOTHING to do with your training.  I've thought that myself.  That's ego.  And in the end those thoughts didn't serve me and they won't serve you.  EVERY acting event is an opportunity for technique.  Every foolish, abstract, disconnected, simple, every day task that you AS AN ACTOR are asked to perform IS an opportunity for technique.  An opportunity to play a character.  An opportunity to take on a new WHO AM I.  Some tasks may appear to be merely an extension of you the actor but do not fall into the lazy trap of thinking that you are "just playing yourself."  You are still "performing" for the benefit of someone else.  No matter what the task is a shift in your reality occurs.  A shift in your awareness.  So ACTING takes place in EVERY role.  And here is the BOTTOM LINE: The moment you cross the threshold of reality into imagination and creativity is the moment you cease to be you--"the actor" and in that moment technique becomes your navigator. 

Is every role Lady Macbeth or Richard III?  Not at all!  Austin Pendleton uses a perfect image to describe "new" actors.  He says we are all like little puppies with tongues flapping...so excited to lick everything up or in the actor's case ACT everything up!  "Oh I'm ready to cry!!  Let me CRY!!  Oh I can be crazy.  Let me be CRAZY!!  Oh I can be angry.  Watch me...I'm MAD angry!!"  Then somewhere along the way our ego bullies in and gets involved.  It starts to define WHICH roles deserve technique and which roles we can phone in or just play "our self."  WHICH roles are acting and which roles are not worth our time.  Well that is sad.  I do not dispute that we ALL crave challenges in our work.  Just like every profession we want to excel and be pushed outside of our professional boundaries.  We want to impress our superiors and be praised for a job well done.  Sure it is only natural and human to want approval but every job, or role, deserves quality attention and execution.  And an actor's JOB is to do this with EVERY character that they pursue.  Even if it is one line on a commercial.  Or standing at a sink washing dishes and being asked to pick up the dish soap and flash your pearly whites.  Or as a town person in a crowd.  An Actor's PRIDE should be at the core of his/her artistic reputation -- NOT in just his/her most POPULAR roles performed.

And after saying this it brings up a key point.  Do we judge quality by the degree of effort required to create?  I mean wouldn't it be amazing to play King Lear with the same ease of selling tooth paste?  The thing is it SHOULD be!  Now don't get me wrong because the physical and emotional demands of King Lear are LEAGUES beyond the physical and emotional demands of a personal hygiene commercial BUT the techniques are the same.  Each role requires different degrees of technical depth but without that you are simply coasting on your personality.  You will never cross into creation.  Then it isn't the ROLE that requires true acting...you have made the CHOICE not to act.

Don't make that choice!

As I have mentioned before, I believe in Transformational Acting.  Going TO the character and not the other way around.  You cannot do this without technique.  You cannot DISCOVER a character without technique.  If you try to bring a character to you then you will always find yourself wrestling with the story, role, AND yourself to make everything work.  And it won't!  I guarantee you will wear yourself out and STILL never discover a true character.  Why not?  Because the truth is you aren't really looking to discover anything--you already found it -- IN yourself and now you just have to alter the character to fit your measurements.  This doesn't work.  You will never feel satisfied.  You will never feel fulfilled.  You will never feel like it fits and by the time it does you will only see your own reflection instead of the character.  When you bring a character to you then you are a SAFE artist and safe is never inspired.  There is no GROWTH in safe.  There is no creation in safe.  Creation takes RISK!

If you still don't believe me look at it this way...Technique helps you take the fearless journey of character discovery.  It supports you along your way and lights your path!  I agree with the safe folks, walking down a dark road to unfamiliar territory IS terrifying.  OF COURSE you want to bring whatever is out there BACK to you instead of going out to get it!  But that is not how it works.  You have to go out and find it.  You have to be courageous!  You have to believe that technique is your security, your faith, and your rescue.  Every SKILL is developed on a technical framework.  Sports, strategy, music, surgery, dance, fighting, painting, sculpting, design, carpentry...what have you...the list goes on and on but the one thing they all have in common is none of them are successfully without technique.  Acting is no different.  And the best thing about technique is that the more you master it the easier and more naturally your skills will perform on their own.  Eventually you are no longer THINKING about technique you are simply DOING. This is why technique will never let you down.  This is why technique is your truth! 

THIS is why every actor NEEDS technique.  Really.

Earle Gister - LIKE A LASER

One of the greatest joys of being an actor is getting to know and be influenced by the people I've been fortune to cross paths with.  I guess that can be said about any path in life.  Still I have met some wonderful folks over the years.  Many great artists who have burned their memories on my heart so they are always with me. 

I'm lucky to say a few have been amazing mentors--teachers who have shaped and forever change my life.  One in particular is Earle Gister.

Earle was Chair of the Acting program when I was at Yale.  I've mentioned him in previous posts but this one is dedicated to him.  Earle passed away on Sunday, January 22nd.  While the news of his passing is sad I can't help but think of the thousands of talented actors that he was able to influence with his insight, wisdom, and passion.  He's personal passion was Chekhov and there he was a master.  Of course, his genius was not limited to Russian Realism.  His passion for acting and the actor transcended all periods and genres.  For me, before I met Earle, acting was something that I just did by the seat of my pants.  I had strong instincts but no way to control them.  No way to understand them.  No way to broaden my abilities.  Earle gave me the confidence and the tools to be fearless of material.  He helped me to DEFINE my aesthetics.  He helped me to discover HOW to achieve them.  Acting takes great discipline.  Anyone can wing it and have moments of success with their instincts.  But GREAT acting is achieved with work, play, creation, joy, artistry, passion, perspective, courage, and commitment.  Earle made me excited and honored to be an actor.  So to honor his memory I've gone through my notes from his class and selected a few gems.    

9-7-1996: Earle's first class was an introduction to the craft as he sees it.  He explained the need for it and the reason we do it.  TO HAVE FUN!  Like children at play without any fears or serious contemplation of why we play what we play.  We just play.

Characters are characters not human beings.  No complexity.  Functional.  Functional in the play.  A semblance of human beings.

Transformational Acting - changing the self to the Who Am I

Action = How I want to make you feel

Find the NEED to be there--the need to be with each character

Don't play obstacles

Vulnerability -- The reason for playing action

Threading -- Tie yourself to the objective and it will pull you through the play

Play the action until you must change it

Sources are outside of us--never language--others, furniture, surroundings

It's got to cost you something for it to mean something

Focus on the characters in the scene not the actors

Acting cannot occur when self judgment is present

Positives -- play them, negatives deny energy

Something we create not something that we live--it is an artifact

You are the artist.  You are empowered.  You are responsible for your choices.

The actor is in service of the playwright

Don't generalize.  Get specific.

Don't just KNOW the facts (the Given Circumstances) personalize them

Action is the character.  They are defined by WHAT they do.

If you walk out of rehearsal feeling depressed or beat up then you are not doing your job--HAVE FUN!!!

Don't write diaries about your Who Am I

Don't be a character at the mercy of the actor's attitudes

Behavior Acting - Playing attitudes of behavior...don't act the character's feelings

Interaction is the key to discovery

Characters can't hear--Actors hear

Take time--Beginnings are important

Focus on the DOING not the WHY of the doing

Point of focus is the objective not the obstacle

Play an action on every line

Do!  Don't show!

Behavior is no good unless it is organic!

Exercise Room not Performance Room

Recognition - find problem
Definition - Define problem
Solution - solve problem

The want pulls us not the language...we do not act the language we recreate an experience

The only way to judge your work is to focus on your partner

How you talk to yourself is enormously important!!

If you are vague or uncertain the work will also be vague and uncertain

Five minutes of imagination every day!

Objective must be doable

Hearing is a byproduct of want.

Trust the action!

Go into an audition with your choices!

Be Bold!!

Don't ask psychological questions.  Stick to simple questions...what I like, what I don't like.

Do one thing completely and simply

Imagination personalises action

Reflect AFTER your work not during

A character can do two things 1) Do it and do it some more 2) Do it and pay for it.

Trust your work.  Trust your partner.

Don't play subtext...exist in it.

Like a laser!!

Never be afraid of the material.  Exercises everything.  Confront; go to the places you don't want to go.

"We shall find peace.  We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.  We shall see all the evils of this life, all our own suffering, vanish in the flood of mercy which will fill the whole world.  And then our life will be calm and gentle, sweet as a caress." -Uncle Vanya

Thank you for your passion and inspiration!

Earle Gister

(1934-2012)

Cleaning House -- Artistic Doubt!

This past weekend I was doing some cleaning.  Mostly PURGING.  Attempting to take back the apartment and cure my Hording Stage-One phase!  In the process, I came across a dusty box with, amongst other things, this famous quote typed out on a small piece of paper.  It was crusty with bits of tape on the edges.  And I remembered that I once had it displayed on my monitor at work for inspiration.  So I thought THIS must be shared on the AP!  Maybe you've read it or heard it before BUT it never hurts to hear inspiring words over and over again.  And these are worth the second look!

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique...

And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium: and will be lost. The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly--to keep the channel open.  You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.  You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.

Keep the channel open.

No artist is pleased.  There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others."

--Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille / De Mille

I was thinking back and trying to remember how I discovered this quote.  Sadly, I couldn't!  My first thoughts were to a truly inspiring mentor of mine from grad school who was always offering up wise words from Martha Graham so I want to think I heard it from him--but honestly, I believe I was probably sitting at my computer screen, while phones rang all around me, down in the dumps thinking something dramatic like -- HOW can I still call myself an artist when I answer phones for a living?  How can I keep inspired when all my energy is dedicated to student loan payments, and rent, and credit card bills?  How can I continue to believe in who I think I am?  How can I preserve my identity?  Doubt has a funny way of creeping into our lives at every turn, doesn't it?

Since I just had this quote on a scrap of paper I wanted to know more about it and --"Thank you Google"-- I found more.  As the story goes Martha's words of inspiration were to Agnes de Mille.  De Mille believed that her scale of artistic values had become untrustworthy based on staggering success from what she thought was mediocre work.  In her words she "had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be."  While Martha Graham is speaking directly to De Mille's lack faith and judgment her words carry far beyond their conversation.  We all lose faith at some point or another.  Faith in our abilities.  Faith in our purpose.  Faith in who we are.  And that's OK.  Sometimes you have to stop to catch your breath before you can carry on.  Sometime you need someone to remind you everything is going to be ok.  And sometimes you need someone to kick you in the rear and tell you to suck it up!  But what inspires me most about Ms. Graham's words are how they break it down so simply...just KEEP THE CHANNEL OPEN. 

There are plenty of people out there to judge your abilities and define your success FOR you...DON'T listen to them.  Take what you need to learn and grow--take what is helpful but don't take to heart anything that closes or BLOCKS that channel!! 

As we all know--or if you are new to acting and art you will discover--your career and art can have many highs and lows.  But honestly LIVING has many highs and lows...SO it's really just all part of the gig!  The joy is in the DOING.  Keep DOING.  Keep PRODUCING.  Keep the channel open!  And have faith in the blessed unrest that keeps you marching and makes you more alive than others!

Fast Food Acting...The American Tradition

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

It's a new year and I, like many folks, are thinking toward the future.  What will 2012 offer?  It is also a time for resolutions and setting new goals--"I want to save more money, I want to be a nicer person, I want to give more to charity, I want to lose weight, or I want to get out of debt."  We give ourselves all kinds of inspiring challenges with the hopes to better ourselves. 

I've been thinking about what I want to change.  I like to start small.  One thing at a time.  You know attainable goals.  Like, I'm going to donate any clothes I haven't touched in a year to the Salvation Army.  Or instead of "losing weight" I'm going to go to the gym at least once more a week.  Or in 2012 it's time to cut fast food out of my diet.  And you know I love me some fast food.  Are you kidding???  McDonald french fries?  Wendy's double stack?  KFC!?!?!  To tell the truth I've been cutting back for years but let's be honest--even if it may not the best thing in the world for you--it taste AWESOME!!  Of course an hour after eating it I have the sensation of ten pounds of gravel in my gut and my will to live is replaced with sloth and ambivalence--but it's worth it because it tastes so great, right??

That got me thinking.  Fast food is actually a HUGE American philosophy for life!!  Isn't it?  It's all about quick and efficient "nourishment" so we can get more done in our day to day lives.  We don't even have to get out of our cars!  We don't have to spend our valuable time in the kitchen cooking or preparing our food.  We don't have to spend too much wasted time communing with others over a meal.  Someone else does the work for us.  It's fast, it's addictively tasty, and we're gone!  But we don't just do this with food--we do this in so many areas of our lives.  We are ALL about short cuts at every turn.  We want to get every where we're going faster and quicker.  We want to jump to the head of our careers before we've even put in the work that makes us CREDIBLE at our jobs!  Why?  Because we are ALL entitled and if we can find a short cut then we take it--folks lie and say to themselves, "I can learn what I don't know when I get there"--right?!?  So if there is so much FAST FOOD in our everyday life then it makes sense that in our artistic life there must be Fast Food Acting as well!

When you are developing your technique you are always experimenting with new avenues into the work.  Acting teachers are always looking for ways to get actors out of their heads and out of their own way so that truth can happen.  This takes all sorts of shapes--"Don't try to act, Just speak louder, Speak faster, Let's paraphrase, Now whisper the lines!"  Then there is the calculated coaching (God forbid sometimes berating) from the side lines to frustrate the actor into not ACTING but BEING so that--once again--TRUTHFULNESS happens.  But to what end?  Who's truthfulness?

I recently witnessed a teacher coaching an actor with some of these techniques and I was very disturbed. (And for those keeping score it wasn't Mr. Pendleton) This teacher was trying to shake things up and get the actor out of his head.  Which makes perfect sense--we all get bogged down in our "ideas" of how it should be played.  Or we get insecure and are distracted and as a result become in-active.  And I have NO problem with using an exercise to push an actor through a block so they can be inspired...BUT! What bugged me and what I would like to have seen after the exercise was completed was the APPLICATION!  Sure it shakes things up.  It gets you out of your head and we can all get behind this but then what?  My curiosity needed to be fed so I asked him why he suggested an exercise to trick the actor instead of talking about the events in the character’s life or the given circumstances or -- I DON'T KNOW, THE CHARACTER'S NEED-- to create the same response?  And he actually said “well the tricks, as you call them, are faster.”  Then he went on to explain that by doing the exercise the actor is no longer thinking about "acting" but actually getting out of the way so that the actor's "true" behavior can come out of their own self.  As a result there is no acting but true behavior.  Well challenge accepted--because I have to disagree!

Now before you all say WAIT A MINUTE!!!  Let me clarify that I do not disagree that some kind of true behavior can be the result of these exercises.  If pushed an actor will stop "acting" and engage in true behavior because what is existing between the actor and the teacher IS a real experience grounded in real life actions.  If you watch it and think "Wow that was so amazing and natural!"  Well of course it is because the actor, NOT the character, is reacting to the actions of the teacher within the REAL TIME of the class.  I'm sorry but anyone can squeeze an actor hard enough to produce juice--but at the end of the day all you are left with is mangled fruit.


And don't get me wrong--LET ME SAY AGAIN--exercises are good!  It is good to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and safe places.  And many actors miss out because they don't like experimenting with new exercises.  They make them feel uncomfortable.  Or maybe they experience something new and interesting but don’t know what to do with it.  So when an actor experiences a break through how does it tie back into the character and the story?  After an exercise like this--what will an actor discover for the character?  THIS is what I'm interested in!  So if there is a new sensation then how does it feel?  Can you identify it?  Or does it just feel "good" because it's NEW? Or what if the exercise unlocks inspiration that is more than just nuance and moves you in the appropriate direction, which many times it does, then HOW do you find your way BACK to that sensation for each performance?  Just speak louder?  Just speak faster?  That’s like moving stage right because the director said to and not because the Character NEEDS to…EVERYTHING needs purpose behind it.  Otherwise, the trick/exercise is just a one off.  Or worse is something that can lose its effect and then you find yourself looking for new tricks every performance to trigger your truth. 

Obviously this is a class and what happens in the studio is not the same as in production but the end game IS for production.  We do not only train for personal breakthroughs...we train to be better story tellers.  So you may not always FEEL something in production and honestly it is more about what the AUDIENCE feels than what you do as an actor.  As I mentioned before Acting is something we CREATE not something that we live.  We do not act the experience.  We act the action and through the DOING of the action the audience HAS the experience.  But as actors we crave the honesty of sensation.  We crave TRUTH.  It has to feel sincere in our soul!  We somehow believe that if we don't "FEEL" it then the audience can't either.  Well that just isn't true!  However, if we don't BELIEVE in the purpose of our actions then the audience most certainly WILL NOT have an experience.  An actor has to KNOW what it is they are after and KNOW how to get there.  As an actor you have to discover your character's purpose to the function to the story.  Some may say this is over intellectualizing or more like working from the outside in but I believe that in acting everything MUST HAVE purpose!  You can always tell when something is without purpose.  An actor looks lost or like he/she is hydroplaning across the story…just skimming on the surface of their performance.  The actor shows up and the character takes a holiday--floating in an actor limbo.  But when when an actor is all over that Character NEED then BAM!!  Crazy good acting happens!  TRUTH happens!!


Sometimes I think the American thing is more about "I need to know WHY I have "X" purpose" v. "I have a need to FULFILL "X" purpose!"

And of course as I have been working on this post--and challenging this teacher's methods--I came across a quote from Stanislavsky to shake all my thoughts up...

"Tempo-rhythm helps actors to live their roles truly when they don't know anything about psycho-technique.  This is an important discovery.  And if it is so, then we learn that the correct tempo-rhythm of the play or the role, by itself, subconsciously, almost mechanically may arouse actors' feelings and thus the true living of a part.  Tempo-rhythm acts directly upon our feelings.  Isn't that an important gain for our psycho-technique?" -Vakhtangov Directs, Ruben Simonov

This presented an interesting revelation.  As I mentioned above certain exercises can yield truthful results--even if they ARE truthful from the actor in the given circumstances of the class and relationship/actions of the teacher--these are still truthful results.  The exercise links the physical or tempo-rhythm of action to an emotional/behavioral experience that can help the actor discover a truthful experience on stage.  But I think it is important to point out that this discovery is associated with actors who do not have a background in technique.  The discovery of Performance Truth and Sincerity of Emotion is essential for an actor to be able to identify.  Therefore exercises such as these are incredibly useful in aiding with that identification.  They enhance awareness and get the actor in touch with what Performance Truth feels like in the body.  Sometimes by simply jacking up the intensity (tempo-rhythm) an actor can then really LAND on top of their purpose and make a huge discovery.  But again, I urge that the discovery MUST be linked to the NEEDS and TASKS of the character.

I cannot express enough that I am not challenging the use of experimenting with acting exercises to push actors.  Exercises are HOW we learn!  Each actor has different challenges within their training journey so a variety of exercises are needed to facilitate each students needs.  But roughing up and breaking actors down so that they produce "true" behavior and emotions is not helpful.  I believe it shifts the focus away from the character's truth and makes the performance more about what the actor is feeling.  And if I'm honest, I don’t approve of exercises/tricks without direct application because I feel it treats actors as dumb “emotional” animals--who exist to be malleable truth zombies within performance.  I think actors can get there on their own with imagination, Character needs, and tasks.  Tricks and short cuts are the fast food of our art.  Too many young actors are in such a hurry they don't give their characters the undivided attention they deserve.  The attention to discover who they are and what they need.

So in 2012 say no to Fast Food Acting...to Fast Food Art!  It may seem like a good idea...it may taste great at the time but in the long run it will leave you slow and sluggish.  You will be artistically out of shape and weighed down with bad habits.

Remember it only takes a little more effort to make healthy choices.

All That Attention

I've been thinking alot about attention, focus, energy, and the deep acting connection you can experience with your scene partners.  The other week I was rehearsing with a fellow actor some scene work for a class.  We were rehearsing in a small studio space and it was just the two of us working with no director.  We were working on a scene from The Night of the Iguana.  I was very pleased after one run through because I felt such a strong sensation of feelings from an intense actor connection between the two of us.  I felt my emotions tingling and it was like waking up from a dream and feeling certain that the dream was real.  In fact, the sensation was so "life like" that it resembled a true life experience that I might share with an intimate person in my real private life.  This is of course a truly fulfilling moment for an actor.  It is the type of sensation we strive so hard to fulfill over and over again.  But sometimes it can also be a frightening sensation.  That intense connection can sneak up and surprise you--sometimes even KICK YOU OUT of the moment because you aren't prepared for it.  Or possibly aren't vulnerable and open to receive such an emotional connection.  As I mentioned in my post There is Action and then there is ACTION, I believe THAT sensation is the energy that we exchange in real life.  It is the unspoken--but VERY defined--intent for HOW we want a person to FEEL.  Earle Gister would say, "It's like a LASER!"  And recently when I was thinking about this connection I couldn't help but compare this sensation to the image in the Harry Potter films when Harry and Voldemort lock magic with their wands! I think in real life most of us are not even aware of it--at least certainly not consciously--and if we ARE then we are socially HARDENED so as not to appear vulnerable to such things.  But it exists!  It IS the invisible connection we share with the world.  It's no different in acting.  But at this rehearsal something seemed incredibly POTENT and it got me thinking...what was going on in me as an actor to heighten this experience?  Was it something that I was doing or was it something else?

A few days later the answer came to me fairly quickly.  Of course, WITH the answer came more questions and experiences to ponder.  The answer came to me after we presented our scene in class.  I still felt a strong sense of fulfillment with the work just as I had in rehearsal.  However, the sensation of connection seemed less intense and somewhat distracted.  Why?  Well it was obvious at this point...in class we had an AUDIENCE.  When we were rehearsing there was no director--no outside eye--no audience to benefit from our performance and no communication beyond the two actors sharing the sensation in the room.  Now what we experienced in rehearsal would seem the coveted sensation for all actors, right?  To be so committed to your objectives that the world and all your worries just fall away leaving you with nothing but a truthful and deep connection to your character and your partners on stage?  But then to what greater purpose would that heightened actor connection in rehearsal serve?  I'll be the first to admit that I am as driven as anyone to fulfill that level of focus and the heightened connection--that drives away the outside world--whenever I take on a role BUT is our lust for pure "PUBLIC SOLITUDE" clouding our purpose to communicate?  Some might argue the only way to achieve a truthful acting experience is for actors to be so focused within the imaginary circumstances that they forget about the audience.  Then as a result the audience will experience a reaction just by being a witness to the event.  Well it's true, an audience will walk out of the theatre with an experience one way or another but isn't the energy (or awareness) that we direct indirectly TO the audience what allows the audience permission to experience and feel PART OF the event?  Or is that just a "trick" to help actor's cope with stage fright?

But I'm getting ahead of myself...back to that heightened actor connection.  In most cases our work ALWAYS takes place in the presence of others but as we are the origin of our creation let's start with those moments by ourselves.  Here we go...you at home in your room going over your lines and your role.  You are doing extensive invisible work through your imagination.  The character is taking shape and choices are presenting themselves through the inspiration of your imagination.  You are feeling excited about your exploration and look forward to the possibilities they will create in rehearsal.  Jump forward to a rehearsal with just your scene partner.  Now you have a new source of inspiration.  Your attention moves outside of yourself and your inner images.  You have a living obstacle to wrestle with.  Before you know it, the connection is strengthened from trust and familiarity.  Then with very little effort your character's emotional life is brimming with activity.  Your Truth of Performance is rivaling even reality.  The sensation is just as you imagined it would be or COULD be.  You think, "NOW it's ready to be seen."  Jump to rehearsal with your director--something happens--you can't focus because your awareness has widened.  Your attention is split between your responsibilities to your character and your desire to please your director.  After working the scene over and over again your focus shifts back to your character's tasks and making the adjustments from direction.  Now that awareness for the director begins to fade...but not entirely.  Why not?  If they had left the room and were watching from a two way mirror would you still feel their presence?  Even if we HATED them and could care less what they think...could we remove our awareness of their watching eyes?  Still your focus tightens on your character's needs and slowly you return to some semblance of that isolated moment of heightened connection.  Jump to presenting to a larger audience.  Your awareness widens more.  You feel over whelmed.  You place your performance in their hands and you struggle to keep your focus on the tasks you worked so hard to fulfill in rehearsals.  That sensation of heightened connection seems MILES away and no matter how hard you concentrate you can't seem to fulfill it!  I'm exaggerating--at least I hope--a worst case scenario to point out just how powerful a hold an actor's awareness can have over his/her technique.  Acting in a room with ONE other actor is a HUGE difference than with even one person, say a director, and an even bigger difference with an "audience!"  Which is why I wonder if it is even possible for an actor to "forget" about the audience at all!  I'm fascinated with WHAT it is in our attention or psychological makeup that recognizes and adjusts to this information.  Can you really EVER create the sensation of two people alone in a room without an audience?  If you could then would it even BE the same effect and would an audience benefit the same way?  OR is the same heightened connection actually taking place but somehow our attention has added a separate layer of awareness which makes it impossible to "recognise" the same sensation of connection?  How massive is an actor's attention and capacity for awareness? 

SIDEBAR: Isn't it also ironic that self awareness is so important to an actor's early development--especially with regards to our Actor/Self--but later it can be one of our greatest downfalls?

I came across a passage in Vakhtangov Directs that was inspiring with regards to this topic.  Rubin Simonov references Stanislavsky and then elaborates.

"In the book Building a Character, Stanislavsky wrote, "The singularity of our scenic communion consists of the fact that communion must take place simultaneously with the partner and the audience.  (With the partner directly and deliberately; with the audience indirectly through the partner.)  It is remarkable that with the first and the second the communion is reciprocal all through the play."

When an actor says, "I was so completely engrossed in my part that I forgot I was on stage.  I was not aware of the audience," he lies.  An actor never forgets that he is on the stage.  He makes pause in order not to break the audience's attention, he is perfectly aware of a cough or any other sound on the other side of the foot lights, he is always grateful to the audience for its attention, and he plays his role much better, is more inspired, when there is a dead silence--the sign that the audience is completely involved.  The audience, in its turn, also takes part in the performance: applauding during the performance, expressing its enthusiasm for the actor, letting him/her feel from the darkness of the auditorium that it is living with him/her all the peripetia of the play.  There is nothing wrong in such a communion between the actor and the audience.  On the contrary, when there is a close contact between the two, stimulating and exhilarating art is born."

WHAT a wonderful and positive view of our experience!!  I have felt those moments of dead silence were you HOLD the audience--almost as if you are looking straight in their eyes and telling them a close and personal secret...it certainly doesn't happen all the time...but fulfilling those moments is what the art is all about.  It is why we keep coming back.  These moments of JOY and pleasure on stage inspire me to search for ways to empower each of us throughout the overall experience--to change the fears and insecurities of an actor's awareness to that of artistic strength and purpose.  I truly believe that the acting experience is a constantly shifting experience on MULTIPLE levels of awareness.  An actor is always moving between his/her Character and his/her Self.  Moving between their fellow actors and the audience.  Sometimes simultaneously!  The skill is to move gracefully between the levels.  Just as bold characters are fulfilled through focus and purpose so are performances as a whole.  If EVERYTHING your character says and does is for the purpose of fulfilling their tasks and needs then it makes sense that every moment you are on the stage as an actor is for the purpose of communion with the audience.  Right?  It is an OPPORTUNITY and a moment to share a GIFT.  There is something freeing when you remind yourself this.  Suddenly the audience is not critical eyes of judgment but peers eager for a conversation.  YOU are making the CHOICE to PLAY/COMMUNE with them and as a result your awareness of the audience will drive your Actor/Self NEED to communicate.  This need to commune should out weigh your fears.  Now your Character's needs can take center stage BECAUSE fulfilling those indirectly fulfills your communication with the audience.

I started this post talking about that intense actor connection that we share with our fellow actors and reflecting on its truthfulness and its ability to be sustained during performance.  Like Simonov, I do not think it is humanly possible for an actor to remove his/her awareness of the audience.  Nor do I think they should attempt to.  I do not think that technique should be used to TRICK actors into being less-aware either.  Your technique is there to strengthen your abilities to fulfill your purpose as an actor--TO COMMUNICATE!  I believe that when that heightened connection I spoke of is experienced in a room with no audience to benefit--then it is without purpose.  It certainly isn't wasted because it fills us with a sensation of truth within our characters that will continue to grow.  However, if that ACTOR CONNECTION doesn't translate to an audience then it is selfishly only to the actor's benefit.  But as mentioned above when actors give selflessly to their fellow actors AND the audience stimulating and exhilarating art is born!

The Motion of Emotion

This fall I decided to take a scene study class.  It was some years since my last class so I wanted to find one that would be a creative outlet and also serve as an opportunity to grow as a teacher by collecting additional research and material for my own techniques.  I was fortunate enough to be accepted in Austin Pendleton's class at HB Studios.  First off, Austin is an amazing teacher.  He has a great gift for encouragement.  From a teacher's point of view his inspiration lies in his uncanny ability to constantly lift his students up instead of tearing them down.  He nurtures and encourages each actor's existing individual technique so they can grow with confidence. There is always good work and there is always room for improvement--which is always a GREAT place for an actor to be.  Then the other night Austin had to leave class early so we had a substitute.


SIDEBAR: I can feel the expectation for the "substitute bashing" to begin but that is not my intent.  Obviously there is that natural suspicion for someone new--someone who hasn't earned your trust.  I know I have a tendency to bring  those feelings with me and I expect my students at first to feel the same way about me--but just because you have a SUB doesn't mean there isn't something to learn.  And for the record THIS sub held his own.  He too was encouraging and offered useful feedback.  More importantly he made a great point that as actors--and teachers--we find ourselves dealing with different ways of talking about the same thing.  The vocabulary that one teacher or director uses can be very different than what we are accustom to.  So in acting, learning to filter feedback through your own vocabulary is a great skill to develop when constructing your technique.  Then  you can  adapt to any given situation you find yourself in whether in class or production.  I like to call it...you guessed it...TRANSLATION.  Seems simple enough but sometimes we get so stuck in our own view that we can't HEAR what is being said because the vocabulary we have grown to trust is hardwired to our process.


So back to the last hour of class--our substitute was giving feed back to an actress and he suggested something that is a very popular approach for fulfilling a difficult emotional performance.  Without going into the details of the scene I'll just say this...the character's objective and event of the scene was to convince her lover to stay with her because what they shared was far truer and more passionate than anything he could ever experience with his wife.  In the feedback the actress was asked if she had ever personally experienced a relationship with the same kind of desire and passion as her character.  She answered that she had and was actually currently IN that relationship.  SO it was then suggested to her that she use that personal experience to imbue her scene partner with the image of her current lover to inspire deeper desire and passion within her character and her performance. 


SECOND SIDEBAR: You know, I should say here that each actor has their own way into the work.  There is no definitive technique for every actor.  We all subscribe to a similar school of thought--which is usually a hybrid of MANY techniques.  The bottom line is that the actor must discover the character's truth and be capable of discovering it over and over again each night and every performance.  However, I believe there are healthy and unhealthy ways to do this.  I want to encourage the healthy way.


I'm sure that by challenging this feedback (and practice) I'll be stepping into IT but here goes.  I believe that this type of personalization in the work is risky and potentially dangerous.  I think it encourages bad habits and faulty short cuts.  And I think it is the line in the sand for many acting techniques.  For as long as I can remember studying acting, I have been exposed to techniques that love to blur the lines between the actor's personal emotional experience and the character's emotional experience.  From my earliest memories in high school of "sense memory" exercises to mime opening a trunk and pull out an object that is dear and sentimental to provoke an emotional response--to Meisner repetition that focused exclusively on my own personal emotional experience and "truthful" responses in front of an audience (even if it WAS just a class)--to technique classes in Chicago that boiled down to actors going up in class so they could either have a personal emotional break through or confess their attractions for fellow actors in order to make out because after all that was REAL.  We have all experienced these classes for better or for worse because at the end of the day we are all after the same result--SINCERITY OF EMOTION.


Stanislavsky addresses this early in his work.  And rightly so.  Understanding and recreating truthful emotions is one of an actor's greatest fears and challenges.  Probably because we are more concerned with the IDEA of how an emotion is supposed to be experienced--based on our OWN feelings of experiencing them in real life.  But how many of us TRULY KNOW what we are feeling in the heat of an emotional experience?  Very few of us I hope!  We should be too busy emoting to notice!  I doubt any of us are THAT self aware to dissect our own emotional experience in real time.  And if we could wouldn't that alter the experience so that we are no longer living our OWN life truthfully?  Thus resulting in a "performance" of emotions?  BUT I'm getting off topic...in acting a character's emotional life is always based somewhere in the actor's memory of sensations.  Which is unavoidable because we are the medium of our creation.  I believe that is why Stanislavsky called upon the subconscious here because of the "second hand account" that memory plays in our technique.  Memory of EVERYTHING is subjective to the viewer right?  Therefore, in our minds we build concepts of emotions and behavior based on our memories of our own experiences and our observations of others.  Then sadly most of the time the lazy actor just "pulls out" those concepts when their characters call for them.  Most of the time we are mislead to thinking that good acting is based on recreating our own emotional experiences--as we remember it--and then passing them off as our character's.  As a result we focus on the emotion and the behavior of that emotion as the benchmark for success--this will ALWAYS slam you into a creative dead end.  But time is short and results are what's important so the short cut of personal memories is pushed front and center.  It is believed that by digging up a personal emotional memory you can trigger "sincerity of emotion."  As a result this will FEEL exactly like you remember it which MUST be truth because it yielded a successful and believable performance.  But WHO'S truth?  Not to mention that trigger will fade and lose its emotional potency and you will be forced to dig up another memory.  Then every time you "refresh" your memory you move farther and farther away from what is going on with your character and deeper into your own emotional experiences.

In real life emotions are a complex mysterious part of the human experience.  In acting they shouldn't be.  As such, I believe that emotions are a side effect of action--fueled by a healthy imagination of the character's life and the given circumstances.  Stanislavsky puts it...

"Sincerity of emotions, feelings that seem true in given circumstances--that is what we ask of a dramatist."

And Meisner calls it...

"Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances."

These are the great mantra's of the modern day actor but I want to take a look at Stanislavsky's just a bit closer.  He calls "sincerity of emotion" the "the living human emotions, feelings which the actor himself has experienced."  This is very personal to the actor right?  But then he says "feelings that seem true" and explains it as "by true seeming we refer not to actual feelings themselves but to something akin to them, to emotions reproduced indirectly, under the prompting of true inner feelings." 

So what are these TRUE INNER FEELINGS if not your own emotional memories?

AGAIN!  I do not argue that a huge part of the acting experience is drawing inspiration from your real life experiences and your personal perspective.  I believe that who you are...your real life complex emotional mysteries...or as Stanislavsky put it, your subconscious is what True Inner Feelings are.  They are with us all the time and as I mentioned in my post on the actor's Sensory Storehouse, we have been collecting these true inner feelings all our life.  So I believe we already know all the sensations within the range of human emotions.  We KNOW what love feels like.  We KNOW what grief feels like.  We KNOW jealousy and rage.  The only thing a specific personal emotional memory is useful for is to associate the "unknown" sensation--or connecting the dots from sensation to experience--but the details are of no use to our character.  If we are playing a character who has lost a child and we have never gone through that ordeal in real life then it is not necessary to drag up a memory of what it felt like when our childhood pet or grandparent died in order to trigger a sincerity of emotion.  The focus shouldn't be on the emotion of loss or sadness.  Those are qualities and as a result you will end up playing the quality instead of the truth.  We all KNOW what it feels like to lose something.  The scale of that feeling is relative.  What is more important is what generates feelings and why.  What's the value of that loss?  Who are you without what you lost?  Who were you with it?  How does it affect your everyday life?  All your emotions are sitting on the shelves of your Sensory Storehouse like every other personal memory.  They are there waiting and ready.  Stanislavsky believed that you needed to coax your emotions to the surface with your imagination.  He was dead on!  I too believe that your imagination is the key.  By directing your focus on imagining specific detailed given circumstances then you will begin to create values for your character.  Then, just as with real life, your character's emotions will be effected truthfully and organically
by the actions of the story.

I recently read a very provocative statement in the book Stanislavsky's Protege: Eugene Vakhtangov by Ruben Simonov.  He speaks directly about the actor's emotions on stage .  Vakhtangov states "there are only two 'alive' feelings on stage: I feel good if I live creative, sincerely, well, those repeated feelings; or, I feel bad if I live them insincerely and badly."  When I read this it clarified everything I've always felt about an actor's life on stage or in action.  The separation of actor and character must always exist...and I believe that it is impossible for that separation NOT to exist.  This is the healthy way to approach acting.  Your true inner feelings--who you ARE--is what you bring to the role.  You offer your imagination and your well of life experience to the character.  It doesn't matter if that well is shallow or deep because with sensitivity, imagination, and clear purpose nature will take over. 

I'll end with this.  A week ago I was watching Inception for a second time.  In a scene with Cobb and Ariadne the dialogue struck a chord with me and while it was about dreams, I think the parallels to creativity and acting are unavoidable.  Take a look.

Cobb pauses, thinking.  Remembering.

INSERT CUT: Mal, hair blowing, turns to Cobb smiling, laughing. 

He smiles back.  They are on the same bridge.

COBB

I know this bridge.  This place is real-
(serious)
You didn't imagine it, you remembered it...

ARIADNE

(nods)
I cross it every day on my way to college.

COBB

Never recreate places from your memory.  Always imagine new places.

ARIADNE

You have to draw from what you know-

COBB

(tense)
Use pieces-a streetlamp, phone booths, a type of brick-not whole areas.

ARIADNE

Why not?

COBB

Because building dreams out of your own memories is the surest way to lose your grip on what's real and what's a dream.

 - Inception, by Christopher Nolan