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Every actor and director must develop their own techniques. I have
always appropriated mine from a variety of sources, and it is ever changing.
Adhering to certain guidelines will enrich your craft and provide a
generative contribution to your endeavors, yet I am always amazed at how few
performers or directors utilize these guidelines.
1. Remember
those that went before you. Read and study the great performance
traditions in both America and around the world. Read the brief
overview
The History of Acting.
If
you are not familiar with its contents, use it as a springboard to begin
your study. Start by exploring the Resource
section of this site. If you are not familiar with the names of
Michael Checkhov, Uta Hagen, Meyerhold, Stanislavski, Grotowski, or Augusto
Boal --admit that you may not know as much as you think you do. Always
begin your learning from the masters and the diverse cultural traditions of
the world. To do otherwise is to pretend you have nothing to learn.
2. Ask yourself why
you wish to act or direct. Be honest. It does not matter if you
are doing professional, community or commercial work. One kind of
acting is pure ego and adds little to the world. All other kinds will
lead you to a deeper understanding of yourself and life.
3. Awaken and expand
yourself and refuse to live in a box. Quality theatre requires opening
up the senses, the mind, and the heart. Exercise and extend the field
of your psychology so that there is more of you. Travel if you can,
eat ethnic foods, listen to music from other traditions, change your habits,
learn something you would never consider is 'you' (like needlework if you
are a football player, or wrestling if you are a petite 2nd grade school
teacher), and exercise your personal and collective memory so that the past,
present and future become mere wrinkles in time.
4. If there are no
quality or viable places to practice your craft, create them. Perform
alone. Somewhere. Anywhere. Find some other form of
're-creation' so that you still honor the process of art. Fight the
entropy and cynicism that can devour you when you are in a community that
does not seem to value your art. Refuse to stop learning. Refuse
to become mediocre. Know that your periods of absence will not last
forever and keep yourself prepared for the new opportunities that will some
day arise. Rain will eventually fall in the desert.
5. Trust yourself.
Trust that your vulnerabilities are your greatest strengths. Be clear
about your intentions and trust in the process. Trust. You
cannot fail, you can only have experiences to learn from. Movement is
all that matters. Mother Theresa reminds us that "in the end, it is
only about you and God", in whatever form that means to you. In art,
to remain stagnant is the only cardinal sin. Theatre should remain
your sacred play. |