Acting is like going to pieces without falling
The first year of a london drama school is often about deconstructing the potential artist. You tend not to get praise and only hear negative feedback and are often not allowed to perform to an audience!
The net effect of this is to get the potential artist to dig down into themselves and make the change. The change is an abandonment of the cliché of what you think acting is and an acceptance of the purity of ‘objective’ acting and ‘character acting’ and your own imagination incarnated.
The first year of the profession after training is the same. Small parts, with little recognition. No help and no guidance. For the attention seeker acting can be very bad news! The only shield you have is your self-motivation and creativity. You must:
Do your voice warm ups every day
Do your physical warm up before rehearsals
Action and research your text? Read Read Read!
Apply the System
Explore your text and character?
Do not wait to be told because, you never will be!
It is vital that you find the impulse to act from yourself.
That you act for the character and the text, not for praise
You ask me then what is the point of a teacher? The teacher points out the techniques you should use, to clear away bad acting and create the new. The teacher gives you the excises you must develop. Constructs the path and waits for you to be ready for the next stage. The teachers job is to guide you. To guide you to the self-training. You are the instrument, you know the truth about how you act. Your job is then to employ that on a daily basis.
You must find the creativity in yourself and the application of technique must be your choice and your choice alone. Do not seek the praise of the teacher or the director. (you probably will not accept it anyway) Seek the approval of your fellow actors the audience and yourself. Never wait for direction but offer what you have to rehearsals. The director is a painter, they need something to paint with!
This is a very tough profession with some dodgy teaching in it. Real actors make themselves. A real course gives you real skills and the space and freedom to find this. Always fall back on technique always do it because you have a passion for it, not to please teacher, parents or partners. If you do not know how well or bad you are doing ask us but we will say, why do you feel you are not doing well?
Imposed strictness is for the lazy and unimaginative. Self-discipline is the sign of the true artist. And at HE it is also the criteria for a distinction.
Ask yourself what is it that stops you being the actor you want to be?
What one thing is it?
AND what is it you can do about it? Then do and do and do.
Do you not think that finding that out must be your top most goal?
If it is your voice? Work on it every day, if your lack of expression and range, explore the System until it works for you.
This is the point you should be at the end of year one. Year two is the breakthrough.
Two actors go to the same drama school and have the same experience, only one makes it. Why? Was the training not the same?
Was it luck or the ability to stand up and seek and find? I know which one it is and so do you.
Follow the objective to the given circumstance
And if you produce fantastic work, created by you and you turn to me and say ‘I have learned nothing from you’.
I will pause with amazement but be happy for you. Because you are on your way.
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