Stella Adler
I have a friend who actually studied with Stella Adler. Listening to his stories got me to check out her book and look for videos on YouTube. I found the book quite helpful and fun to read. Watching the videos is quite an experience. If you haven’t looked into her work here are a couple of videos to introduce you to her:
She was an amazing actress and a passionate teacher. I am not entirely sure I envy my friend his time with her, but I am very grateful that her work lives on.
B. Newhart, Psychologist
I was introduced to this video at a workshop called “Acting Success Now”. The workshop is a wonderful three day event that is filled with tools and techniques for getting out of you head and out of your own way. Many ways to help you achieve the very to the point advice Bob gives his client in this video.
“Going There” in Class?
The other day in class an interesting question came up, one of my classmates didn’t really allow himself to experience the emotion durning a sense memory exercise. It showed in that there wasn’t anything there for his partner to read. In the discussion afterwards he told us that he didn’t go into his feelings because he knows that he can “go there” for auditions but didn’t want to experience the pain during class.
Patrick listened to him and expressed his understanding about not wanting to experience negative emotions (interestingly, while the majority of our class did choose a negative emotional moment, it was not required and my classmate could have legitimately chosen a happy/positive moment to go to). Patrick talked about the way emotions can overwhelm us and be hard to let go of once we have brought them up and how it feels better and more comfortable not to go there. He then gently suggested that we should all try the exercises at least once in class. Class being a place for learning and trying new things.
It was interesting to observe the discussion. As soon as my classmate said “I know that I can go there for auditions so I didn’t see any reason to go there now” part of me started screaming (in my head): NO NO NO!!! YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG! YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE IN CLASS OR YOU WON’T ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO GO THERE IN THE AUDITION. (Some of my inner voices are pretty dramatic). A more diplomatic (sane) portion of me suggested I pay attention to how Patrick handled this seeing as me yelling at my classmate wasn’t likely to help anyone.
It was great to watch how Patrick listened to and validated what my classmate was saying before eventually working around to saying that class was a place to try things, test them out to figure out which ones work for you. I don’t know how my classmate felt after the exchange, but I know that I would have felt fine had I been in his place. Which increases my sense that this class is a safe place to be trying new things. To be stretching myself. A safe place to learn.
I believe that practicing going into your emotions in class is vital to developing a strong craft. There are many tools and exercises to help actors access their emotions and to let go of them when they are no longer needed. Everyone has their preferences, what works for them, but the only way to find out if something works is to try it. And the only way to develop skill with a tool (get good at it) is to practice. I also know that yelling “YOU’RE WRONG” at people rarely helps them understand your point of view. I am glad I held my tongue and listened. I hope my classmates got as much as I did out of all this.
A Day in the Life of a PA
This post is a post to tell you that I am not going to post today. I was asked to fill in as a PA for a film shoot today (a student film, nothing fancy, but definitely learning/informative). I got everything together for it, except I forgot to get a post prepped for today. I don’t have anything that is ready to post. This is currently a flaw in my posting strategy. I will be working on it. Meanwhile I am up at a very early hour preparing for a very full day. I expect that today will yield some interesting tale to share. Until then!
On Tuesday night I attended a free Q&A session with Casting Director Deborah Barylski sponsored by The New York Film Academy. It was a lovely session and very informative. Many excellent questions, here are the highlights.
Q. Is a background in theater important?
A. Short answer: no. Longer answer: Theater is not necessary, but you have to have/study craft. Studying film and theater can only help.
Q. Do you ever hire non-union actors?
A. No. You have to be in the union to work on a union project. Yes, there is the TAFT-HARTLEY option, but it is expensive (for the producers) and they will only use it as a last resort. Options:
- Become SAG eligible via extra work – you receive vouchers for your extra work. I believe you only get a voucher if you are a featured extra (you have a speaking line) and you have to have three of them to be SAG eligible (I will double check this).
- Get in to AFTRA. This can be done by laying out the cash (currently $1600) or getting a job on an AFTRA shoot and letting them take the fees out of your paycheck (I hear they can spread this over three paychecks). Once you’re in AFTRA they can TAFT-HARTLEY you without having to pay any fines.
- Book a SAG commercial because it’s much easier to use the TAFT-HARTLEY option for commercials.
- Be 17 or younger. The first hire of minor does not incur fines.
- Have an unusual and very specific (hard to find) combination of qualities & skills. Find a production that is looking for exactly that combination.
Q. What bad habits do you see in actors at auditions?
A. She started with some don’ts, and then gave some excellent tips:
- Don’t apologize for anything!
- Don’t do anything you have to apologize for.
- Prepare (prepare, prepare)
- Make choices!
- Always prepare at least two ways to do the scene you are given.
- Do your homework. Know who you are going to be meeting and know what they’ve done.
- Leave the audition room once you are done (they can’t talk about you until you are out of the room) but don’t leave the waiting room until they call in the next person (they may decide upon discussion that they want to see something else from you).
And for any foreign nationals reading this:
Q. Do you hire foreign nationals without a work visa.
A. Short: No. Longer: The paperwork takes time and frequently productions don’t have that kind of time. She told a story about a hire she did of a Canadian that they barely got the paperwork through in time for. So, if you’re a foreign national get that paperwork going. Not having it will hurt you.
The Creative Habit
I am reading (wrote “radding” – some typos need to be shared) The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. An excellent read with lots of good exercises I am playing with. She talks about ritual as the foundation of a creative life. I’ve been thinking about this concept a lot, it’s one I am bringing into my daily life. I will be speaking more to this topic soon. Right now I would like to leave you with Twyla Tharp’s words:
After so many years, I’ve learned that being creative is a full-time job with it’s own daily patterns. That’s why writers, for example, like to establish routines for themselves. The most productive ones get started early in the morning, when the world is quiet, the phones aren’t ringing, and their minds are rested, alert, and not yet polluted by other people’s words. They might set a goal for themselves – write fifteen hundred words, or stay at their desk until noon-but the real secret is that they do this every day. In other words, they are disciplined. Over time, as the daily routines become second nature, discipline morphs into habit.
Acting Class Update – On Camera
Yesterday was my third day of acting class (would have been the fourth but there was this thing my teacher did relating to the Golden Globes…) and it was the first day we did on camera work. Still loving class and really glad to be on camera…
But oh the faces I made. It was pretty funny. I am happy to say that I was able to just focus on my scene partner and I didn’t hate the sound of my recorded voice (didn’t love it, but yay for not hating it! Apparently, I’m doing alright in my vocal development). It was a good start, but clearly I have plenty of room for improvement.
I went almost first – my scene partner (who was a lot of fun to work with – likes to find the humor in scene) went first, and then me. It was nice to go first because I didn’t have any time to let nerves build up. I have noticed that I tend to feel it in my stomach when I’m watching my classmates do their improvs/scenes and waiting to do mine. It’s not bad, but it was nice to be more relaxed and fully in the moment of watching my classmates work. For now, I’ll just go with the flow and keep paying attention to what my body does. I think that with more work the nerves won’t build do much, but it may be that I am better off getting up first when possible.
We had been given a little time to practice the scene with our partner before getting in front of the camera, so by the time I got up there I basically had the scene memorized. Still, I found that the first time through I really wanted to rely on that script in my hand. It’s funny how getting in front of the camera/an audience/our teacher changes things. So let’s get down to it, here are the major feedback points I am working on:
- Slow down. Take your time and let the lines affect you.
- Use the script (if you need to), but take your time. Look at your partner while they are speaking. Look at your script for your line, come back up. Then say your line.
- Open your mouth!! (this is big for me. I’ve gotten this feedback at least once in each class – I think it has to do with an inclination to repress/hold back certain emotions. The good news is that I am getting better).
- Internalize. Internalize. Internalize!
- Relax. Deep breaths. Relax your body. Relax your face. Relax
Also, stop with the funny faces already! Actually no one said that to me. But I sure made some funny faces. So, I laugh and I learn. One of the nicest moments in class is when Patrick (our teacher) told me that I take direction well! Awesome compliment!! I mean, I try to. But hearing it was a nice validation.
It was great to watch my classmates, interesting to see their choices and their commitments. One of them really committed to the mother in the hospital given from the script and it was clear that her stakes were really high. I am going to work on that kind of commitment myself.
And now I’m going to set up my camera and practice!
Scripts, sides and breakdowns
I’ve spent the past couple of hours convincing my printer that it can print in a respectable manner. Much progress has been made. I no longer have to abuse my roommate’s printer to print sides and the like. She has generously printed things for me, but it will be better now that I can print these things for myself. Besides, now I won’t be encouraging her printer’s ink drinking problem.
So, what will I be using my new found printer prowess for? At the moment, mostly for printing scripts, sides, and breakdowns (which is more or less me saying the same thing with three different words). Oh, and monologues (that’s different, right? (;). But why do you care? I thought I would share where I’m getting my scripts (etc etc).
Monologues
Colin’s movie monologue page. A good selection of monologues from movies, be sure to check out the links page – I’m working my way through it as I have time.
Sides
The Actor’s Key. A site that runs casting director workshops. The sides you’ll find here are for use at their workshops, some of them are for specific CDs. This is where I got my House scene.
Scripts
Simply Scripts. Scripts of all sorts, linked from other sites.
Twiz TV. Television scripts. They make it easy to download a specific episode or an entire season.
Saving my money for The Acting Buffet
Lesly Kahn’s The Acting Buffet comes to me highly recommended. I don’t have the money for it right now, but from reading the description I want to take it as soon as I can.
In other news, I had a lovely visit with my cousin this weekend. I am looking into getting some extra work and thinking a lot about how to make this site more fun and useful.
Adding Skills – Accents and Dialects
I’ve been thinking about ways to add to my skill set and accents seems like a pretty obvious way to do so. So I ran a couple of searches and found some fabulous resources.
This first is a video specifically for people who do voice over work. It talks about the importance of developing accents for the current voice over market. It also gives some tips for how to go about developing those accents:
These next two resources are both websites with extensive databases of audio clips. The first is a bit more scientific. The clips feature the same carefully selected paragraph which contains “practically all of the sounds of English”. Many of the accents have a phonetic spelling out of the audio on the page with the clip. It’s a treasure trove. Check out the Speech Accent Archive.
This second site is less scientific, but it’s also a little more fun. The standard paragraph that gets read is not so specifically chosen, but it is followed by a couple of minutes of the subject talking about some experiences in their life. It’s more personal and free from. This site was put together by a theatre professor for the purpose of studying accents. Take a look at the International Dialects of English Archive.
I am going to start with a British accent and possibly a German one. I’ll let you know how it goes.
