THE
UNIQUE
ACTOR
It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. In film the camera lens magnifies that window revealing to all the world a character’s unique quality, which is really the actor’s unique quality… your unique quality.
The “uniquely individual soul” is the true basis of acting. Think of all the actors whose performances you’ve seen on film that have left you speechless. What do they have in common?
- A depth of truth.
- The courage to bring a character to life revealing their uniqueness as human beings and as artists that inspire feelings of awe and admiration in you.
- Their work and artistry compels you as a fellow actor to say, “I want to do that! I’ve always wanted to do that! Maybe I can do that!”
Isn’t that what all actors want? Isn’t that why you became an actor? To reveal your inner beauty through a character to an audience, to knock their socks off, to leave them unable to shake the depth of feelings you have aroused in them whether through laughter or tears?
Every moment in front of the camera lens requires, above all, truth. At “The Actor on Film (TAOF)”, we urge you, the actor, to find the truth, your truth, to be able to go to the next level and not only book one or two jobs but to have that staying power every actor wants…a career!
For you to be the best actor you can be, to strive to always grow as an artist, you need to take risks, enormous risks, to allow for your wonderful uniqueness as a human being to come through the character so that the casting director, the director (never forget the editor!) and ultimately the audience will be transported into your unique world, to not know exactly what is going to happen next. Predictability is death for an actor.
Why then, is this class called the actor “on film”? The intimacy of film requires that extra risk, that vulnerability, that same courage as those whose work you admire to reveal your inner truth as it relates to character. Film acting is a continuous rehearsal, a continual spontaneous exploration of a character in a scene ALL WHILE THE CAMERA IS ROLLING! What a gift!
What we do at TAOF is challenge you, through scene work and exercises, to celebrate your uniqueness in a safe, supportive environment.
We teach you that most times what you think a scene is, how it should be played with all those pre-planned choices is not necessarily the scene at all! You don’t know how the scene is played until you actually get in the arena, face the other actor and within the circumstances and needs of the scene give up control, live in the moment and let things fly. The scene will then reveal itself and almost always be more interesting than you can ever have imagined.
Remember, there are no mistakes, There is no right or wrong. There is only the search for the truth, your truth as revealed through the character.
A writer who doesn’t write isn’t a writer, a painter who doesn’t paint isn’t a painter and an actor who doesn’t act isn’t an actor. Acting is like any muscle. It needs to be exercised to stay toned and strong. Therefore, the work we do at TAOF is the ongoing exercise of the vulnerability muscle, the truth muscle and the spontaneity muscle.
Remember, probably 80-90% of the work you will ever do as an actor will be on film, television and commercials. Shouldn’t you be ready?