My friend and go-to director/collaborator Ron once gave me this fantastic advice after a rehearsal in which I was pushing, “acting”, trying to do too much…
“You don’t have to land a 747 on every line. Sometimes a line is just a line.”
He’s right. If it’s good writing, we in the audience will feel it. Don’t worry. You can just say the line (with a specific intention, of course).
If you feel something while delivering the line tonight, that’s cool. It’s a bonus.
But it’s certainly not a requirement. So please don’t lock in or obligate yourself to that emotional result.
“Hamlet likely marks the first time that Stanislavski put together several key concepts of the “system.” Having already realized that a script could be divided into bits and that characters had a supertask, a sverkhzadacha, he next realized that each character’s bit had its own zadacha: a little step taken, often unsuccessfully, toward the character’s ultimate goal. Zadacha means both “task” and “problem.” It is a thing that a character needs that is important enough to demand actions. Those actions are then generally phrased as infinitive verbs (“ I want to _____”). To take a mundane example, if your problem is that you are thirsty, then your action might be to get a glass of water. Zadachi were not psychological to Stanislavski. They were the immediate actions that needed to be accomplished to move the character closer to their goal.” -excerpt from the book, “The Method” by Isaac Butler
Regardless of your feelings about “The Method”, we can thank Stanislavski for his discovery that action leads to feelings. Not the other way around. You can read more about it and the whole history of method acting in Isaac Butler’s wonderful book “The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act” (Vs. Book Club on Tuesday Night, November 15th! Anyone interested in joining, email me or leave a comment with your email address and I’ll reach out.)
Whether it be acting or life, the order should be: decide, do, feel.
Far too many of us wait to feel before we decide. Which is why so little gets done.
“There is one river of truth, which receives tributaries from every side.“ -Clement Of Alexandria
“There’s no disappointment in memory, and one’s exaggerations are always on the good side.“ -George Eliot, novel Daniel Deronda
I know the truth lies in between The first and the fortieth drink -Tori Amos, song “Concertina”
“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
If you choose to receive feedback on your art, it’s important to first have your own inner citadel. Your own inner scorecard. A ridiculously high standard of excellence. That way you can remain open to criticism that makes your art better. And remain unaffected, yet appreciative, of other’s praise.
Also remember that it probably didn’t good as well you hoped. Or as bad as you feared. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
“Our job is to make manifest the story, to be it. In a sense, the theatre is such a big star itself, bigger than any Shakespearean actor I could hire, that we should take the opportunity to fill it with voice and verse and movement, not interpretation.” -Mark Rylance
Great parts make great actors. Not the other way around.
If you wanna be great, find the great parts and play them.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
How much time did you spend today making art?
If you’re like most of us, struggling to balance family, work, other priorities and obligations, there will be many days when the answer to this question is zero or very little.
Don’t fret. Don’t get depressed.
Resolve to make some art tomorrow. It can be as simple as reading a monologue out loud to yourself. Or taking a photo. Or filming a sunset. Or writing one page of a journal or story or poem. Whatever. Even if it’s five minutes, do it. And then do it again the next day and the day after that. Don’t break the streak. Pretty soon five minutes will turn to ten to twenty to thirty to sixty and next thing you know, whole hours go by when you’re in flow and making art.
The other thing is…even in your daily obligations, see how much art you can bring to those. You don’t have to do “artistic things” to be artistic. Recall our inspiring definition of art: doing something that might not work for the benefit of others.
Under that definition you can make art all day long, right?
And I listen for the voice inside my head Nothin’, I’ll do this one myself -“State Of Love And Trust”, song by Pearl Jam
“Who will help me bake the bread?” “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the pig. “Not I,” said the cow. “Well then, I will bake the bread myself.” And she did just that! She mixed the flour with salt and yeast to make the dough. After the dough rose, she put it in the oven to bake…When the bread was done, she asked, “Who will help me eat the bread?” “I will”, said the dog. “I will”, said the pig. “I will”, said the cow.” -excerpt from the fable, The Little Red Hen, by Mary Mapes Dodge
There are times, especially at the outset, when no one sees it the way you see it. When no one understands your vision or shares your belief. When you feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire repeatedly asking, practically begging, “Who’s Coming With Me?” and getting no response. (Until Dorothy Boyd courageously saves him from a complete shutout.)
For those times, let’s face it, it’s on you. You’re gonna have to go first. Take it entirely on your shoulders. Do it yourself. Be your own proof of concept.
Eventually people will come on board. They’ll join in on your worthwhile mission. Don’t have an ego about it. If they’re talented and can and want to help, allow them to. Who cares if you had to go first? Whatever makes the project the best it can possibly be.
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