I have always compared acting to sports, and on many levels. From a discipline which requires practice I believe you must work on your art on a DAILY basis. Observe and journal, work on a monologue, take a class, WORK on plays or short films, write...EVERYDAY. When your head finally rests on your pillow and you have enough energy left to think, remember for each day you leave your art, your art will leave you for three times the amount of time. Practice, work, practice, watch great films, listen to music which inspires you (that counts), just like a gymnast practices for the Olympics. Have you seen those documentaries when they show the kids waking up at 4AM for 4 years for a few minutes of greatness. Believe me, becoming a great actor is no different.
Now for the audience part, and only those who have watched and enjoyed any championship game of any sport will relate to this. Your performance must have the audience rooting for you. You can be the villain and they are rooting for the hero, in essence rooting for you to fail. It must have the energy of a three pointer at the buzzer or goal or touchdown with no time left on the clock, or in my case, a birdie needed to win the US Open. You the actor, must be aware of this process and your character needs to fight for this objective. This is not self serving or calling focus or upstaging, as that is the most deplorable style of actor, but of exposing your "self" to the fact that you want to win at all costs. How many Monday morning conversations do we have, something like this,"ah, their heart wasn't in the game...", or "they didn't want it enough.." etc. The audience must see ALL OR NOTHING from your character, which is ultimately you.
I love to do an exercise where two actors try to outdo each other inventing a silly game (be a kid, remember how we were able to come up with games on the spot?) with clear rules on how to win. Your fellow actors will be the spectators. Part of the purpose of the exercise is to create the game on the spot and then going for it until we have a clear winner.
Example:
The first to count from 0 to one million wins... Go...
The first to hypnotize the other wins...Go...
The first to make the other laugh wins...Go (remember that in history class - this one is great to break thespian egos)...Go..
Now for the audience part, and only those who have watched and enjoyed any championship game of any sport will relate to this. Your performance must have the audience rooting for you. You can be the villain and they are rooting for the hero, in essence rooting for you to fail. It must have the energy of a three pointer at the buzzer or goal or touchdown with no time left on the clock, or in my case, a birdie needed to win the US Open. You the actor, must be aware of this process and your character needs to fight for this objective. This is not self serving or calling focus or upstaging, as that is the most deplorable style of actor, but of exposing your "self" to the fact that you want to win at all costs. How many Monday morning conversations do we have, something like this,"ah, their heart wasn't in the game...", or "they didn't want it enough.." etc. The audience must see ALL OR NOTHING from your character, which is ultimately you.
I love to do an exercise where two actors try to outdo each other inventing a silly game (be a kid, remember how we were able to come up with games on the spot?) with clear rules on how to win. Your fellow actors will be the spectators. Part of the purpose of the exercise is to create the game on the spot and then going for it until we have a clear winner.
Example:
The first to count from 0 to one million wins... Go...
The first to hypnotize the other wins...Go...
The first to make the other laugh wins...Go (remember that in history class - this one is great to break thespian egos)...Go..
No comments:
Post a Comment