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Sound
esoteric? Think about it. There's nothing you can do that won't be
revealed when a camera is on you. Why do you think documentaries are so
powerful? They strip people naked because they are living, being
themselves, playing their parts with a depth of conviction, going after
what they need and reflecting who they are.
What we're interested in is drama, make-believe and
how to convey the humanity of the script and the character with such a
depth of truth through the lens that the film or TV viewer is knocked
off his or her seat, having been moved by what the microscope has shown
them of life or a reflection of him or herself.
Speech, voice, movement, dialects, text, audition
techniques...all the tools the actor needs to succeed on film. The
tools. Very technical. Very necessary. And yet...
...every moment in front of the camera lens
requires, above all, the actor's soul. That uniquely individual soul
that will move an audience in so many ways to uncover the human truths,
failings, triumphs and sense of wonder.
Yes, the Method, Stanislovski, Meisner and the rest
target, and rightly so, the individual's inner life as the fount from
which the human condition in all its glory flows. But as a professional
actor, director, screenwriter and teacher of many years experience in
the real world, I have come to believe that many times, the "inner
work" required of the aspiring or experienced actor is not focused
where it should be.
The "uniquely individual soul" is, for
me, the true basis of acting. But what does that really mean? Think of
all the performances on film you've seen that have just killed you. What
do they have in common?
1-
A depth of truth.
2-
A feeling of awe and admiration of the actor or actors
performing.
3-
A sinking feeling of inadequacy in you that says,
"God, I could never do that".
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But why do we feel that way? Because it scares us
that someone could be so vulnerable as to bare their soul in such a
profound way, to allow, no, to invite the lens to come in and
eavesdrop on something so personal, so raw.
Isn't that what all actors want? To go so deep into
ourselves, to reveal our inner beauty or brutality or sensitivity? And
who do we respond to in films? Those actors who are the unique ones, the
ones who believe in, trust, revel in and lovingly share their uniqueness
with the rest of us.
But those feelings of uniqueness were, for the most
part, covered up, scared out of us. We needed to adapt and adjust to the
realities of the world so we created belief systems to
protect ourselves, to cover our fears, to satisfy the demands of others
that we conform and fit in. Sadly, these belief systems are part of us
in our work as well.
The actor, at any stage of his or her career, needs
to go back and work to rediscover those initial instincts he had as a
child, his true feelings about himself and the world and let them shine
through, not only in his daily life but in the work as well.
All the technique in the world won't make you
better, only more facile. The personal work is everything, how you make
yourself available to yourself, how you take joy in and therefore revel
in your uniqueness and your ability to be vulnerable enough to be
present in the very moment time after time. Take a risk.
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