Actor Practice

I'm going to start my blog here, until I find a way to get it somewhere else, though now that this whole COVID thing is actually happening for almost a year, maybe this is also the year that I get ActorPractice to actually do it's thing.

A year in preview is a sort of weird way to make myself look at the year as what I have already accomplished. I'm going to be going at this from a couple different ways. Some from actual concrete accomplishments, things you can point to, like writing everyday, to feelings in general. After all, most of us picture that accomplishing our goals will give us a better feeling day to day, so that's kinda the point anyway, right?

This past year, I -

• Finished One Book/Screenplay
• Wrote a pilot episode
• Felt good about getting up every day
• Was better and more clear about my days
• Made some sweet $$
• Had a sexy time or two
• Felt good when I went to bed every day
• Got in a good practice, each day

I'm going to start with that, with the understanding that stuff may change from time to time, and I reserve the right to come back and edit the list.

There we go, Day 1, though actually starting on the 3rd day of the year. Now, to that story. 😉

The mundane can be the most magical.

Sometimes, the reason you get the part isn't necessarily because you did the performance "better," but because you had something that connected. Something that may have been so mundane that everyone else missed it.

It can be something so natural that it's something you wouldn't even think to add if you were in the moment.

Something like finishing a line with an unwritten "babe" when talking to your lover, or a little smirk like you're in on the joke with your scene partner, or even taking an extra second to look at your fork before digging into your steak.

These are all things that we do in life. They're so real that we miss them. The trick is to add them in without feeling like your adding them in, to make them come from the moment, from the heart.

Afterall, all of our acting could use a little more heart 🙂

We've all heard the mantras. "Practice makes perfect," and maybe even the newer one "Practice makes permanent."

While these both are really great examples of how we should approach our craft (& life in general), that is, with purpose and focus, it glazes over a key point that not many realize.

That point is that you're practicing already.

What's your daily practice?

Seriously, think about what it is that you're doing every day. You can go from simple things like brushing our teeth, to more involved things like writing your pages every day, or maybe even doing your sides from ActorPractice everyday ;). There are also a lot of rather mindless, more habit like things that you do every day, like checking Facebook/Instram, or culling over todays best tweets.

Some of this is moving you forward in your journey to a more complete person and specifically a better actor. Some of it is necessary (keep gingivitis away!), some of it is choice, and some of it is literally not only wasting time, but wasting your practice.

The thing is, you're practicing a LOT of things already. The fact that you can't focus on your scene without "looking up something real quick" on your phone is proof of this. The ability to maintain focus is paramount as an actor. There will be times, on set especially, when you're called in to do a scene, perhaps even an emotional one, and suddenly they have to change a lense. It takes longer than expected to get it from the truck, and now you're "out of it." Why? You don't have a solid practice of how to get back in there, and get it done.

What has your practice been? What are you used to?

All those distractions that your having that you see as harmless, actually aren't. They are practices that have taken over a portion of your life, and whether you realize it or not, they're going to take up your professional preparation if you're not careful!

Seen through this lense, what are the things that you're practicing already? For "good" or "bad?"

There's a great post over at The Guardian about actors and directors and the crazy relationships that can ensue.

It seems that there are more than a few directors that like or feel that they get better performances out of an actor if they are made to suffer for it. If it's made really, really hard to get through.

I think that some of this is due to the actor having a really really in depth story to tell. As in they are very personally invested in the material, because it borderline traumatizing them. Many actors, especially starting out, don't do the required due diligence to a part to make it either simply believable or make sense logically in the scene.

What are your thoughts on the great suffering of actors? do tell!

Remember how you felt the first time you showed up in LA, NYC, Chicago, London...where ever?

Remember the excitement of that place? How you felt that anything was possible and you kind of "arrived?"

Keep that feeling alive for yourself. Whatever you need to do to get that. People love that excitement and want to be involved in it.

Noone wants to be around a jaded poopy pants (unless, of course, the part calls for that), so keep that energy of possibility alive!

Also, can you use that old awesome feeling in your acting? When you walk into a room, can it be the FIRST time you've even read for that part, seen that casting director, or even had the chance to do what you love?  I betcha could! If you focused just a little bit, I bet you could embed that in your acting, and people would wonder what that little something about you was. Many times, it's not as much what you're doing as how you're feeling 🙂

(Not really an acting post per se, but a good one for the ramping up after the end of summer;)

What real lifke experiences are happening in your life that you can apply immediately to your reading?

Are you rushed?

Angry?

Super happy?

Use the the material to totally take that feeling and crank it up to 11. That's where the magic is going to start to happen.

Just wanted to shout out and let you all know that the email service that I use is acting weird, I'm trying to figure it out, but it may mean an interuption in the sides for a week or so...I'm working in it...and I'll double send stuff once it gets up and running again.

How important is it to make eye contact with your partner?

Sometimes, not as important as you think.

Watch this vid, but especially starting at about the 1:45 mark.

You'd never know watching the film, it's that frikkin' smooth. And they're that good.

What looks natural to the camera, and what looks natural to you the actor may be two entirely different things. And you still have to make it work. It's what they're paying you for.

I'm not saying you're acting all by yourself up there. You're not. You've got to respond to your partner(s), the scene, the weather, and a whole host of other things that the character would logically be amidst of.

Sometimes though, it's as much, of not more about "the shot" than it is about you.

Jan 1, 2012, commercial
Jan 01, 2012 theatrical