Should I join a theatre company?

If you are interested in performing mainly in the theatre, then the obvious answer is “Yes.” It is much easier to find out about auditions if you are already hanging around a theatre, not to mention that some theatres (especially those with companies), do most of their casting from within their company.

I've been a member of several theatre companies and they were some of the most creative times in my life. In fact, if I wasn't so busy right now, I would go join one tomorrow. You may have to try a couple, but if you end up in a good company, you will have a fantastic learning experience.

What if your interests are mainly film and television? The answer is – you should still consider joining a company. First, you will get valuable experience by doing plays or sketch shows, or anything else they put on. Almost any kind of performing will make you a better actor.

And there's another potential benefit to being in a company. You will meet and work with actors, writers, and directors - some of who will go on to work in films and television. Many people who work together in the film business first meet while members of a theatre company. If you're dependable and have some talent, you can make a lot of friends, some of whom may be friends for life – even if you never actually work together in the future.

Finally, if you have any desire to do some writing, or just want to try your hand at it, many theatres do sketch shows where the cast will often write some or all of the material. This will give you a chance to write and perform your own material, and that experience is priceless.

Be sure and drop me an email if you have a question.

Cheers,

Michael

What is the difference between emotional recall & sense memory?

Sometimes these two phrases are used to mean the same thing, but there are differences between them.

Emotional recall is a primary tool that is taught at some acting schools and is especially associated with The Actor's Studio. It basically means that the actor recalls a past event in his or her life, gets in touch with the emotion associated with that event, and then transfers that emotion to the character he is playing in a particular scene.

The good (for some actors) is that they are using a real emotion rather than something they are making up. The bad is that it can take the actor's focus out of the scene he is playing in order for him to recall the real experience and the emotion attached to it. Another negative is that the actor may have to relive traumatic moments from his past and do it over and over. The effects of doing this may stay with the actor for awhile after he is finished for the day, or after the project is over.

Another problem with depending on emotional recall is that the actor may not have experienced the kind of emotional event that is required to get the correct emotion for the scene. Strasberg, who was the main proponent of emotional recall at the Actor's Studio, felt that everyone had those emotions somewhere inside, if only they would open themselves up to access them.

With sense memory we use our senses to explore something, then reuse them for a scene or activity in a performance. For example, suppose I need to react to the taste of alcohol in a scene, but of course we aren't using real booze. 

I might taste the liquor in my real life while really using my senses while tasting it. What does it smell like as I bring it to my lips? What does that first sip taste like? Maybe it's bitter and it burns the tip of my tongue. Then I feel its warmth as it goes down my throat and into my stomach. Now I can recall those senses as I sip a fake shot of liquor (often it's something like tea, which can be different colors to look like different kinds of liquor).

We can practice sense memory and strengthen it. Try this – take an orange, close your eyes and smell it and feel the texture. Then slowly peel it and really notice the difference as the peel comes off and the smell gets stronger. Feel the damp spray as you separate the slices. Finally taste it and notice the different textures that are part of the slice – the rough part of the skin, as well as the smooth part, how tart or sweet it is. The acidity of the juice. Use every sense to explore the orange. Now do this with other objects – anything you can use your senses on will work.

When you've finished exploring an object, put it aside and recreate the same awareness of those senses in your mind. 

Then take another object and transfer that sensual experience onto the new object. Example: after you finished with the orange, take a ball (tennis ball, baseball, anything like that, and pretend that it's an orange. Now, drawing on the experience you had with a real orange, get those same feelings with the ball – as if it is an orange.

In this way, when we have to take a drink of tea, that is supposed to be liquor, we can react honestly as if it's actually liquor.

If you have any questions about this, drop me a note.

Cheers,

Michael

A lazy day, a tip, and a list of acting books

Hello fellow actors! I've gotta be honest with you - today I'm just feeling kind of lazy. I've been working on a new book, auditioning, and dealing with various bureaucracies. (I have to get my passport renewed among other things.)

Hey - that's a good tip for today - always have a valid passport. Wouldn't it just make you scream if you got booked on something (a commercial or a film) and didn't have a passport and couldn't take the gig? And it takes a while to get one (not to mention a hundred bucks).

Okay, anyway, back to my excuse for the "list" nature of this post - the fact that I'm feeling lazy. And that I've got a bunch of lines to learn for an upcoming audition.

I'm going to give you my personal list of acting books that you might want to check out. I know - it's kind of a long list, but you don't have to read them all in a week (or month or even a year), but if you are wondering what kind of class might be best for you these books will help teach you about the different techniques that the famous teachers developed.

One of the books in particular - "THE GREAT ACTING TEACHERS and Their Methods" by Richard Brestoff - is a good overview of all the major techniques. You might start with that one and if you find a technique that interests you, then you could read one of the books that is devoted to that method.

However, remember that you can't learn how to really use any method by simply reading about it. If you find a method that seems like it might work for you, then you'll want to get into a class that teaches it, and practice.

Let me know if you've read any of these, and if they helped you, or if you're studying one of the methods and having success with it, or struggling to understand it.

Next week we're going to talk about several well-known acting tools and what they can (or can't) do for you.

Cheers,

Michael

My suggested reading list for actors

SANFORD MEISNER ON ACTING - Sanford Meisner & Dennis Longwell

RESPECT FOR ACTING - Uta Hagen

IMPROVISATION FOR THE THEATRE - Viola Spolin

NO ACTING PLEASE - Eric Morris & Joan Hotchkis

AN ACTOR PREPARES - Constantin Stanislavski

CREATING A ROLE - Constantin Stanislavski

BUILDING A CHARACTER - Constantin Stanislavski

THE TECHNIQUE OF ACTING - Stella Adler

LESSONS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ACTOR - Michael Chekhov

TO THE ACTOR (ON THE TECHNIQUE OF ACTING) - Michael Chekhov

ADVICE TO THE PLAYERS - Robert Lewis

SETTING FREE THE ACTOR - Ann Brebner

ACTING IN COMMERCIALS - Joan See

AUDITION - Michael Shurtleff

HOW TO AUDITION - Gordon Hunt

WORD OF MOUTH - Susan Blu, Molly Ann Mullin, & Cynthia Songé

MY BREATH IN ART - Beatrice Manley

ACTING PROFESSIONALLY - Robert Cohen

THE PLAYING IS THE THING - Anita Jesse

THE GREAT ACTING TEACHERS and Their Methods - Richard Brestoff

PLAYING SHAKESPEARE - John Barton

THE ACTOR'S GUIDE TO AUDITIONING - Michael D. Nye

A few other books of interest to actors

ON ACTING - Laurence Olivier

ACTING IN FILM - Michael Caine

THE COMEDY BIBLE - Judy Carter

IMPROV COMEDY - Andy Goldberg

PROMOTING YOUR ACTING CAREER - Glenn Alterman

THE CONFIDENCE COURSE - Walter Anderson

A LIFE - Elia Kazan

TOWARDS A POOR THEATER - Jerzy Grotowski

THE TELEPROMPTER MANUAL - Laurie Brown

How many classes should I take?

Hi to all my fellow actors

A few days ago I received an interesting question from Alexander.

Dear Michael,

There are so many places offering weekly acting classes, would I be best going to as many of these as possible or just one a week?



Hi Alexander,

I'll give you the short answer first. You should probably attend no more than two classes a week. It takes a little time to fully process what we learn in a (good) class, and do a bit of work on it on our own. That also means, if possible, the classes shouldn't be back-to-back (leave a couple of days in-between).

Now, I'll go into a little more detail on the whole "class" subject.

Many classes offer a chance to audit them before signing up. You should check those out and get a feel for whether the teacher is going to inspire and move you forward.

A worthwhile class is all about the teacher. A good teacher needs to be caring and supportive, but also able to push you without being abusive. If you see any signs of abusive behavior on the part of a teacher, get the hell out of there! Unfortunately, there are some teachers who, either because they are frustrated actors, or are control freaks, get abusive.

But guess what? You also don't want a teacher who is too nice! A teacher who tells every actor that they are great or that their scene, or improv, was excellent is usually just someone who wants as may students as possible in class in order to make his or her living from the money the actors pay for the class. Or else he doesn't know anything, so compliments are all he's got to give. His students stay because some people just want to hear that they're "great" and don't care about growing as an actor.

I had a teacher like that for a short time - even when I knew my improv scene sucked, he would say "Great! That was great!" You can imagine that I didn't learn anything from him, and certainly didn't grow as a performer. I left after a few weeks.

When a teacher knows what he's doing, he will know when to be supportive with encouraging words, and when we need a push in order to grow.

Finally, as to what classes to look into. I am a huge advocate of having one of the classes be an improv class. I won't go into all the reasons why in this post, because I wrote a post recently on the importance of improv - see my post for February 28th, 2014, "Should I learn improvisation?" But if you are taking a couple of classes a week, one should definitely be an improv class - doesn't matter that much if it's a comedy or dramatic improv class.

If you are a beginning actor, you should stay away from "How to Audition" or "Book a Job in Six Weeks!" type of classes. I would even advise not starting with a scene study class, but to get in a class that covers the fundamentals first.


Cheers,

Michael