Advice to the Advancing Acting Student

At the end of the day, acting is doing. It’s doing, it’s not talking about doing (as the academics and some directors think) and it’s not pretending to do (as others have been known to posit). It’s real doing. Meisner said ‘the foundation of acting is the reality of doing’. Once you see an actor take that on board, there is a change in them which is often remarkable. They stop living in a semi-daylight state of pretend and they begin to commit to action. This is a transformation more captivating than any ‘character’ actor could perform. Looking at acting as doing is a healthy way to approach acting, psychologically it does not ask you to interfere with your emotions, it accepts them as part and parcel of you, and who you are, and what you bring with you. It does not ask you to stop being you in order to become someone else. It does not insist that you stop being yourself in order to pretend to be someone else, nor delude yourself into a state of otherness.

Acting that involves doing is highly watchable – how often do I see a show on television or stage where the actors really aren’t doing anything.

One of the keys to good acting is listening. Not pretending to listen – usually accompanied by an indicative little nod to prove/fake that you are listening, but REALLY listening. Once you engage in the task of really listening and watching your scene partners, you give up some of the control that you feel you must keep over yourself and the scene, and things start to happen by themselves. Your spontaneous humanity and your creativity come together and strive to help you – without even trying. Invent Nothing, Deny Nothing, Accept Everything – Mamet says.

Remember that which we do consistently (DO – consistently) becomes our technique. Whether this is good or bad, whether it works or not. You must strive to listen all the time you are on stage, even when you have lines, or especially when you have lines. You must still be tuned in to your partner, even when you are busy DOING.

In repetition, you must remain relaxed and not strain yourself looking for something to say. You must learn to trust yourself that what happens, when it happens, will make itself apparent enough for you to see/hear it. And if something occurs, it is part of the game, everything that happens during the game IS THE GAME. Just like everything that happens on stage or on camera IS your performance, you can’t hide from it, and in those moments, those wee special moments, you will see the magic of the actor. Not where you seek for it, but when it finds you.