This will now become my actor's journal up until my first performance in early June.
I will do at least one thing a day that I feel will strengthen my relationship with the character I am playing. I will then write on here the what I did that day to help build my character. Whether it be creating back story, emotional depth, mannerisms, style of walk, style of talk, facial expressions, voice control and accent, hair style, body language; characteristics different from my own. The goal is to create a distinct character away from myself because I feel the hardest thing to play is a character most like yourself. This is because, I feel, extremely critical of myself when I see "me" on camera. When I played Captain Beatty and watch it back now I do not see me. I see the character because I created a different style of walk, changed my voice, looked at the world from a different perspective (the jet black sunglasses) and created an entirely separate and distinctive character away from myself.
My character falls deeply in love with a young French woman in World War II Europe and is then forced to leave her. So to strengthen my inner character, as of right now, I have made myself listen to James Blunt's Goodbye My Lover twenty times... IN A ROW.
Maybe I'm taking this whole "method acting" thing too far, but I don't think so. At least not yet anyways...
It'll be too far when I reach the point where I come up with the idea to make a time machine and travel back to WWII Europe to fall in love with a French woman just so I can then purposely leave her.
Wait a minute! That doesn't sound like a half bad idea!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
the script, the "system," the character, the research, the legends, the speeches, and the unknown
Today I got the script for my first role as an actor. I did not read it right away. I let it sit for a little, let it develop and age.
I read up on Stanislavski before I got the script and what he said about his "system." He talked about it having to be the right conditions when an actor should first read the script, because it is those first impressions that stick with the actor and help build the character and that relationship is so fragile.
After reading the script I thought about the life of my character. Where he was before the events in the play, what he has done, seen, felt, been a part of, where he was coming from and where he may go next.
The character I play is an Ex G.I. so I read up on the day to day life of an American soldier in World War II. I thought about the burdens he has had to face. What it would feel like to get a weekend pass in Paris. I'm watching and listening to old movies and video clips of the forties and fifties to see how people talked, walked, and acted. I put classic World War II dramas into my instant Netflix queue to watch, like From Here to Eternity. I looked at Marlon Brando in early screen tests to see how he talked and carried himself. I looked at James Dean's essence and passion he brought to his performances. Paul Newman's charm and personality he brought with him everywhere he went. I did this because when I read the part that's who I saw in it. The character is a young soldier, but he is an EX G.I., not just a G.I. It is something about the EX part that conveys something different about the character, and I haven't quite figured it out yet. I'm still feeling out where I want the character to go.
Then somehow during all of this I got caught up watching over an hour of youtube clips of Oscar acceptance speeches. I am starting to realize just how hard a successful career in acting is to accomplish.
I do not know if I will ever be able to reach the point in my life where I think I am good enough to do this.
I read up on Stanislavski before I got the script and what he said about his "system." He talked about it having to be the right conditions when an actor should first read the script, because it is those first impressions that stick with the actor and help build the character and that relationship is so fragile.
After reading the script I thought about the life of my character. Where he was before the events in the play, what he has done, seen, felt, been a part of, where he was coming from and where he may go next.
The character I play is an Ex G.I. so I read up on the day to day life of an American soldier in World War II. I thought about the burdens he has had to face. What it would feel like to get a weekend pass in Paris. I'm watching and listening to old movies and video clips of the forties and fifties to see how people talked, walked, and acted. I put classic World War II dramas into my instant Netflix queue to watch, like From Here to Eternity. I looked at Marlon Brando in early screen tests to see how he talked and carried himself. I looked at James Dean's essence and passion he brought to his performances. Paul Newman's charm and personality he brought with him everywhere he went. I did this because when I read the part that's who I saw in it. The character is a young soldier, but he is an EX G.I., not just a G.I. It is something about the EX part that conveys something different about the character, and I haven't quite figured it out yet. I'm still feeling out where I want the character to go.
Then somehow during all of this I got caught up watching over an hour of youtube clips of Oscar acceptance speeches. I am starting to realize just how hard a successful career in acting is to accomplish.
I do not know if I will ever be able to reach the point in my life where I think I am good enough to do this.
"DAMN! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!"
Marty
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Doc... are you telling me it's 8:25?
Dr. Emmett Brown
Precisely.
Marty
DAMN! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Doc... are you telling me it's 8:25?
Dr. Emmett Brown
Precisely.
Marty
DAMN! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!
Marty hangs up the phone, grabs his skateboard and runs out, as Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love" begins to play.
That was my morning today. Well not the on the phone with Doc part, OR the part about hanging up the phone and skating to school with "The Power of Love" playing in the background. But the late for school part did happen.
That was my morning today. Well not the on the phone with Doc part, OR the part about hanging up the phone and skating to school with "The Power of Love" playing in the background. But the late for school part did happen.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
sign me up
I guess I was wrong. I got a my first role as an actor after all.
All I know right now is now is that the one act play is called Can Can, it was written by Laura Linney's dad, it has a lot of monologues, and the name of my role is Ex G.I.
So I'm guessing I play an Ex G.I.
The next thing to do is read a little bit about what Stanislavski has to say about acting, since I studied about seven hours into the wee morning for my theatre midterm and got to know a little more about him and his taught acting methods. I'll read how to prepare for a role and make my preformance real. It may only be a small role in a one act play but I'm treating it as an a leading role in an Oscar contending movie. That's how serious I'm taking this.
Then I guess the next thing to do since I'm going to be a method actor is to go sign up for the military. Hey, I have to play an EX G.I. so how can I do that if I've never actually served in the military? Oh, wait that's called acting. Maybe I'll just go train with the ROTC on campus, that will probably be just a little bit safer too.
All I know right now is now is that the one act play is called Can Can, it was written by Laura Linney's dad, it has a lot of monologues, and the name of my role is Ex G.I.
So I'm guessing I play an Ex G.I.
The next thing to do is read a little bit about what Stanislavski has to say about acting, since I studied about seven hours into the wee morning for my theatre midterm and got to know a little more about him and his taught acting methods. I'll read how to prepare for a role and make my preformance real. It may only be a small role in a one act play but I'm treating it as an a leading role in an Oscar contending movie. That's how serious I'm taking this.
Then I guess the next thing to do since I'm going to be a method actor is to go sign up for the military. Hey, I have to play an EX G.I. so how can I do that if I've never actually served in the military? Oh, wait that's called acting. Maybe I'll just go train with the ROTC on campus, that will probably be just a little bit safer too.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
not the one step forward I needed, but the step forward that will take me farther
It doesn't look like this is going to be the one.
I haven't heard back from the director from yesterday yet and I was supposed to hear back around six if I got a role and it's just a tad bit past that time. One failure will not stop me though. Sure I am little bummed out and upset right now. But I know that I did not do my best in either audition, and the fact that I got a callback in the first place was a big surprise. My thought for not doing my best with my ability is because:
1) It was my first audition EVER on Friday and I was a little nervous.
2) For the monologue I did not know anything about the character because the directors gave zero background information making it impossible to have the slightest clue to knowing what they wanted.
3) For the callback I was reading a scene with a girl I had just met, but not knowing her did not matter because from reading the entire scene and her character, I attributed characteristics and feelings toward her from other girls in my life. It was the fact that I was playing a mid-twenties to early thirties married man with a kid on the way and who my character did not care about and only wanted to be back with his ex who was the woman that my "co-star" was playing in the scene. SIDE NOTE: A man that does that is a douche bag and something I could never do. I gave the best I could for that character which is the only thing an actor can do, BUT as stated earlier I did not give my best because that is not a character I would choose to play. That was the character the director saw me as and I can find no reason why she would see me as that.
4) I feel if I was given a character, or was able to choose a character, that was more in my age range and I could have related to (than a 30 year old man, who wants to cheat on his pregnant wife), I KNOW I would have been able to do better. I am 19 years old. I can only imagine the psychology of a character that age and who acts that way. I have no real experience with that. I had no time to research this role and find information to incorporate into my performance.
But I still felt I did a decent job, at least compared to the other two males I saw who preformed for the same role AND if it counts for anything I felt like I had the best chemistry with the girl reading for the role.
But this is not the end of things. No, it is not. One setback is not reason enough to quit. From this experience, over just two days, I have done and learned a lot.
1) I ACTUALLY auditioned for a role for the first time.
2) I was putting myself out there to be judged by nineteen strangers. Which was BIG, because I already have the insecurities of an actor, that I am sure of.
3) It has now become something else to put into my screenplay.
4) I have some of the greatest friends a person can ask for, because they were there for my right now.
5) I got a callback, so that means I must have at least something.
I can leave you with a long list of the actors who have had setbacks and made it but I will not. Instead I will conclude this long post with something a super man once said.
I haven't heard back from the director from yesterday yet and I was supposed to hear back around six if I got a role and it's just a tad bit past that time. One failure will not stop me though. Sure I am little bummed out and upset right now. But I know that I did not do my best in either audition, and the fact that I got a callback in the first place was a big surprise. My thought for not doing my best with my ability is because:
1) It was my first audition EVER on Friday and I was a little nervous.
2) For the monologue I did not know anything about the character because the directors gave zero background information making it impossible to have the slightest clue to knowing what they wanted.
3) For the callback I was reading a scene with a girl I had just met, but not knowing her did not matter because from reading the entire scene and her character, I attributed characteristics and feelings toward her from other girls in my life. It was the fact that I was playing a mid-twenties to early thirties married man with a kid on the way and who my character did not care about and only wanted to be back with his ex who was the woman that my "co-star" was playing in the scene. SIDE NOTE: A man that does that is a douche bag and something I could never do. I gave the best I could for that character which is the only thing an actor can do, BUT as stated earlier I did not give my best because that is not a character I would choose to play. That was the character the director saw me as and I can find no reason why she would see me as that.
4) I feel if I was given a character, or was able to choose a character, that was more in my age range and I could have related to (than a 30 year old man, who wants to cheat on his pregnant wife), I KNOW I would have been able to do better. I am 19 years old. I can only imagine the psychology of a character that age and who acts that way. I have no real experience with that. I had no time to research this role and find information to incorporate into my performance.
But I still felt I did a decent job, at least compared to the other two males I saw who preformed for the same role AND if it counts for anything I felt like I had the best chemistry with the girl reading for the role.
But this is not the end of things. No, it is not. One setback is not reason enough to quit. From this experience, over just two days, I have done and learned a lot.
1) I ACTUALLY auditioned for a role for the first time.
2) I was putting myself out there to be judged by nineteen strangers. Which was BIG, because I already have the insecurities of an actor, that I am sure of.
3) It has now become something else to put into my screenplay.
4) I have some of the greatest friends a person can ask for, because they were there for my right now.
5) I got a callback, so that means I must have at least something.
I can leave you with a long list of the actors who have had setbacks and made it but I will not. Instead I will conclude this long post with something a super man once said.
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable." - Christopher Reeve
"I'm here for the acting audition"
I have now said that above line, and it felt really really good to say. I will not go into much more because it's really late and I need sleep AND I'm still waiting to see if I got a role and don't want to jinx anything (that's a lot of ands). I'm really superstitious (if you can't remember from the spilt pepper post). Yesterday before my first audition (the monologue) I dropped a penny outside my door and it landed tails up. So... 1) I couldn't pick it up, and 2) I had to move it with my foot out of my doorway so that I wouldn't have to step over it. Yeah, THAT superstitious.
In other news...
Family reunion in Pittsburgh this summer which would be amazing to go to, since I don't really know any of my family from back there.
I also got asked today if I was Dr. Seuss (because I tend to rhyme words a lot). You know who you are that asked me this but I doubt you read this :). I WISH I was Dr. Seuss! If I can one day become half the writer that he was, it will be a pretty nice life. Mr. Theodor Geisel you are awesome! (that's the good doctor's real name in case you didn't know).
Back to acting, the original focus of this post. I find out tomorrow if my progression will take one step closer to my future or if there is still more work to be done and much more to be won.
In other news...
Family reunion in Pittsburgh this summer which would be amazing to go to, since I don't really know any of my family from back there.
I also got asked today if I was Dr. Seuss (because I tend to rhyme words a lot). You know who you are that asked me this but I doubt you read this :). I WISH I was Dr. Seuss! If I can one day become half the writer that he was, it will be a pretty nice life. Mr. Theodor Geisel you are awesome! (that's the good doctor's real name in case you didn't know).
Back to acting, the original focus of this post. I find out tomorrow if my progression will take one step closer to my future or if there is still more work to be done and much more to be won.
Friday, May 1, 2009
the new new new revised re-revised revised plan
I wanted to post this before midnight to tie for the most posts I've done in one month with 21, (no my life is not THAT boring that this would have been the highlight of my day), but In-n-Out prevented that.
Oh well!
Here's a brief summary of the last post in which I introduced a new plan of action:
Tomorrow audition for roles in the directing classes' one act plays, and get a role. Then preform in the play in the theatre classroom at the end of the year.
Get the job I just applied for tonight as Video Editor.
Audition for Smile and Nod either Fall 2009 quarter or Winter '09 and get selected as a new member.
While on with Smile and Nod, preform in a show at the Spanos Theatre (the next step after performing in the theatre classroom).
Minor in Theatre or Psych or both.
Audition for a role in a play that will be performed in the Performing Arts Center (the highest standard for theatre on campus and the natural step after performing in Spanos), and get a role.
Get another role for a PAC play.
Stick with the Business Administration major and concentrate in marketing.
Continue to write as much as I can. Finish the first draft of at least one screenplay by the end of this summer 2009.
Continue to read plays, screenplays, writing books, and acting books to learn and teach myself as much as I can.
Graduate with a Business degree concentrated in marketing with minors in Theatre and Psychology, having performed in multiple plays, performed for Smile and Nod, written a final draft of at least one or multiple screenplays or plays, worked as Video Editor, and this should not be it. There should be more.
Then if I choose to pursue higher eduation in acting after graduation, look more into MFA programs in acting in either California or New York.
Work as an actor in films and continue in theatre in either Los Angeles or New York.
Audtion for roles in films and land some solid performances in recognized films.
Shop my screenplays around and sell one with me in the lead role. Then get it made.
Continue to act, write, and one day direct through a long successful career in film.
That is the ultimate goal.
Oh well!
Here's a brief summary of the last post in which I introduced a new plan of action:
Tomorrow audition for roles in the directing classes' one act plays, and get a role. Then preform in the play in the theatre classroom at the end of the year.
Get the job I just applied for tonight as Video Editor.
Audition for Smile and Nod either Fall 2009 quarter or Winter '09 and get selected as a new member.
While on with Smile and Nod, preform in a show at the Spanos Theatre (the next step after performing in the theatre classroom).
Minor in Theatre or Psych or both.
Audition for a role in a play that will be performed in the Performing Arts Center (the highest standard for theatre on campus and the natural step after performing in Spanos), and get a role.
Get another role for a PAC play.
Stick with the Business Administration major and concentrate in marketing.
Continue to write as much as I can. Finish the first draft of at least one screenplay by the end of this summer 2009.
Continue to read plays, screenplays, writing books, and acting books to learn and teach myself as much as I can.
Graduate with a Business degree concentrated in marketing with minors in Theatre and Psychology, having performed in multiple plays, performed for Smile and Nod, written a final draft of at least one or multiple screenplays or plays, worked as Video Editor, and this should not be it. There should be more.
Then if I choose to pursue higher eduation in acting after graduation, look more into MFA programs in acting in either California or New York.
Work as an actor in films and continue in theatre in either Los Angeles or New York.
Audtion for roles in films and land some solid performances in recognized films.
Shop my screenplays around and sell one with me in the lead role. Then get it made.
Continue to act, write, and one day direct through a long successful career in film.
That is the ultimate goal.
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