"Once the Casting is Done, the Art Belongs to the Actor."
-Robert Altman-
WHAT IS ACTING?
This is a question I ask each new acting student at the beginning of class. I get every type of answer one can imagine; from "Being someone else", Playing a character," to "Being real". So far no one yet has gotten it right. I ask them next;
"WHAT IS A NOVEL?"
After a few hints they eventually say; "A story?" Then I ask; "If a novel is a story, then what is a stage play?" They hesitatingly answer; "A story."
"WHAT IS A SCREEN PLAY?"
They answer; "A story." And what is a commercial? They answer; "A mini story." "If all these things are stories, then who is telling the story?" "The actor?" "Wrong." "The writer?" "Wrong." "The characters?" "Bingo". The story is told by the characters and since we, as actors, are portraying (acting as, not like) the characters, could we not say that acting is storytelling? The look that comes over their faces when they figure out what acting really is, is classic, it should be photographed. (I'll do that one day)
ACTING IS STORYTELLING:
Is, always has been and always will be. That bears repeating: ACTING IS STORYTELLING; is, always has been and always will be.
THE DEFINITION:
When actors realize what acting really is and what it's all about, I can see the light come on in their eyes at the simplicity of it. Acting is Storytelling. Storytelling is the oldest form of communication/education/healing in the history of mankind, dating back to the "storyteller" (the shaman) around the campfires of prehistoric or primitive villages. The stories painted or drawn on the walls of caves in petroglyphs, on animal skins and in the oral tradition, were man's first form of education, communication, entertainment and healing, far predating the written word.
THE "ORAL TRADITION":
The Twelve Tribes of Israel used the "oral tradition" for centuries in passing down the parables of the Creation and Noah's Flood. It was not until King Solomon decreed that these stories be written down, that we had any records from which much of the "Old Testament" was taken. We, as actors, have a responsibility to carry on this tradition, yes, in fact, mankind has a "need" for "storytellers" that is almost as great as his need for love.
HOW DO YOU TELL THE STORY?
The actor must first know the story; in fact, under The Millennium System©, knowing the story is the New Age Actor's first responsibility. [Notice I did not say "plot"; there is a great difference between story and plot.] He must know each event down to the tiniest detail in proper sequence (all stories have a sequence of events; one thing happenend first, one thing happened second, etc.). He then must create his character. Stories are told by and through the characters by visualization and by coloring the events with emotions.
"ACTING WITHOUT EMOTIONS IS LIKE AN EAGLE WITHOUT WINGS."
AN ART FORM:
Acting, (Storytelling) as an art form, is evolving and freeing itself from the dogmas, rituals, routines and authorities of the past. Stanislaviski's Method, Meisner's Technique, Chekhov's Approach and the other psycho-intellectual forms of acting have become antiquated, limiting, cumbersome, ponderous, clumsy, stiff, dangerous to the actor, confusing, basically ineffectual and stifling to creativity. (Other than these problems, the old methods are probably all right.)
OLD METHODS:
In these old methods, (which were based on audience tastes and preferences at the time; theater has always been an extension of a culture's attempt at self analysis) things were done according to formula, the "guideposts", or "gote sheet" (gag... puke), even to the archaic planning of gestures or movements and the choreographing of emotions. Choreographing of actions, gestures and/or emotions (choices), to me, is like painting a picture "by the numbers", it is not "creating" and playing the moment. I was originally trained in the "Method", in college, but soon abandoned it for Meisner and eventually trying or experimenting with most of the other so-called psyco-intellectual forms that evolved from the "Method" in my thirty year career (so far) as a professional actor; I like to say, "been there, done that, got the 'T' shirt and now I wash my horse with it."
PATTERNS of EXPRESSION:
Today, the actor or creative artist, must work out his own uninhibited patterns of expression, get out of his head, create his character, play and stay in the moment. He should never negate or resist an impulse of the character; all lines (or the emotional content thereof) of dialogue will cause the character to (a) stand still; (b) move back; or (c) move toward. The movements (toward or back) may be half an inch or half a mile; even if it is infinitesimal, especially on film, it is a byproduct of listening and responding to the other character's dialogue/action or your own character's. "Listening is the single most important thing an actor can do during a performance." - (Meryl Streep) "Don't listen to the words, listen to the person." - (Jack Lemmon)
DIRECTORS:
Directors are learning (at least some are) that they get better performances "when they set actors free, to give them openendedness (freedom to explore); create a space, or perimeter, where actors feel empowered and have room to let go and enjoy letting their creative juices flow." (James Cameron) Every major actor I know or seen interviewed, has stated that they preferred a director who understands the acting process and allows them the freedom to create. A Director should tell the actor what he wants from the character, supply the vision, not how to do it. He is not there to give acting lessons; film making can cost twenty thousand dollars an hour and up (way up), he does not have the time. "I don't look for a puppet or someone to recite the lines when I cast, I look for actors who can bring something special to the story, hopefully something no one has thought of yet. I look for creativity." - (Ron Howard) The professional actor must commit his creative responsibility to the story and to the character.
CREATING CHARACTERS:
The actor, after learning and knowing the story, starts to create his character beginning with the given circumstances as supplied by the writer, inserting his own given circumstances, (visible physical characteristics he cannot change; height, weight, race, etc.; notice I did not say "gender", we have men playing women and women playing men, makeup does wonders) then creating a comprehensive BACK STORY of the character. Second only to knowing the story, the BACK STORY is the most important responsibility of the actor. Repeating: the BACK STORY is the second most important responsibility of the actor. With it, he creates a character that is anyone but himself, it is always a fantasy character from a creative imagination that is based on someone else. You can shape your character to anything your imagination can deliver. "A man isn't an actor until he commands a technique which enables him to get an impression across into the heart of an audience without reference or relation to his own individuality. The better the actor, the more completely is he able to eliminate the personal equation." John Barrymore - On the flip side; the poorer the actor, the more he must rely on his own personality (personal equation) in his attempt to tell the story.
PREPARATION:
The most important steps in acting lie in preparation. IN PREPARATION. It is the key to good acting; learning the story, researching and creating the character and lastly, learning the dialogue. All of these things must be done before you can even approach the stage or set. The actor cannot begin to "eliminate the personal equation" in the absence of preparation. There can be no creation in the absence of preparation. There can be no true performance.... in the absence of preparation.
