How Well Do You Know Your Character?

You are given a script.  Your character is close to your height and weight and is your sex.  That is why you were chosen.  Now it is up to you to make choices to define and understand your character.  You find out that the role you are playing is that of a professor of mathematics.  He or she is living in New Jersey and is currently working at Princeton University, middle aged, have a wife and three children. Your hair is brown, eyes are blue.  The character drives a Saab.

The facts are known but these are just statistics.  Does the professor cheat on his wife?  Any phobias?  Does he love one child more than the other two?

These questions can go on and on as you pick apart the script looking for clues.  These questions carry with them deeper questions.  For example, why does he cheat on his wife?  Why is the professor afraid of using erasers on the chalkboard and prefers to have a damp washcloth handy instead?

Our job as an actor is to find and ACCEPT our characters flaws and idiosyncrasies, then play them out truthfully.  Not to judge them.  Judging them only defuses and debilitates the role.   The only rule that we as actors should follow is if that role causes us to go against our morality or principles.  If we allow that to happen for any reason, we lose touch of who we are.

David Wayne

Focus on Acting?

Danny Kaye  once said, “If a person gives 100% they should expect 100% in return.”  He believed this with his heart.  It is that sort of decision and drive that directs us toward a specific goal.  Acting is like finding that special someone. This business is hard enough to just accept anything! 

The Key is to embrace the industry as a whole while maintaining our dream or goal in a very detailed and specific manner.  If our goal is to work in musical theatre, our focus should be on singing and dance classes.  If film is the main stay of your creative existence then perhaps a Meisner or Stanislavsky  workshop, or acting for the camera class would be best.  Acting is a constant arena of learning and experiencing.  George C. Scott  said, “This acting thing, I think I am starting to get it.”  George was in his 80’s. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     David Wayne

Networking or Connecting..its all the same!

Actors and others in the industry must communicate in order to generate work!   People have been doing since Biblical times!  The basic purpose is to tell others about what you do. 

In this 21st century we use the computer or internet to connect with other actors and directors.   Check out Stanfords Who’s Who by clicking below.  It is filled with good advice!

Actors Click here!                 

                                                                                                                  David Wayne

A very good performance indeed!

Alot of work goes into scenes.  By working and re-working a scene we as actors can shed our mannerisms and inhibitions that so often ruin an otherwise great performance!  A good teacher is a valuable find.  Click the video below and you will see an actor who is really working. 

 A Very Good Performance!                                                                                     David Wayne

The Shawshank Redemption!

The Shawshank Redemption is a classic movie. The direction was once in a life time acheivement according to Frank Darabont.  “It’s hard to make a Shawshank everytime you make a movie.  If it were easy everyone would be making one!”

The movie made it’s debut in 1994.  It stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Gil Bellows  and many other talented actors. The movies archetypal exposition or point of view,  is expressed through the entire movie as “the struggle and triumph of the human spirit!  

The movie was based on the short novel,  “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” written by Stephen King.  It is a short story from a larger book called, “Different Seasons.”  The settings or film language that Director Frank Darabont chose communicates simply and effectively from the drab dark tones fo the prison walls, the quiet serenity of Maine and the breath taking splendor of the beach scene in the Virgin Islands! 

Bob Gunton  Played the role of  the self righteous warden, Samuel Norton.  Bob has the same raw talent of veteran actor Anthony Hopkins.  After serving in the Vietnam war from 1969 to 1971, Bob spent the majority of his career in theatre.  In 1989  he landed the starring role of  Benjamin Barker in Sweeney Todd!   Bob has done many other fine films since Shawshank, although everyone remembers him for the cruel warden Norton. 

When Andy finally ecsapes from Shawshank he finds himself going through the sewer drain pipe.  It is 500 yards of  human waste, similar to the 19 years he had to live through in the form of rape and brutality.   His travels through the pipe can be compared to the journey from the womb.  He is struggling and fighting his way to freedom and new birth. 

The roles that an  actor, director, producer, cinematographer, writer or location manager  are very exacting.  Decisions for lighting, camera angles, background and other choices are what create a classic or a flop. 

For more indepth analysis of The Shawshank Redemption please visit:  Analysis / Shawshank

                                                                                                                                                                                      David Wayne

Click here for a review on Shawshank!!

What sort of Actor are you?

Who you are inside will largely determine what sort of actor or actress you will become.  There are specific questions that must be asked in order to discover your acting type. For example, what sort of things do you enjoy doing?  Extreme sports such as hang gliding, motor cross, flying an airplane or jumping out of one are the makings of an action hero.  Some actors enjoy culture such as museums, opera or theater.  These interests could fit character roles such as professors, lawyers, artists or doctors.

What you look like or your physical type also will have a profound effect on your acting career.  Directors in film and theater are always looking for different types. There are as many types of actors as there are people in the world.  Models are usually between 5’10” and 6 foot.  Character actors can range from short and rotund to tall and skinny.  It is imperative that an actor knows who they are and what physical type is best for them.  Our acting and physical types change over time.

Relationships alter our lives and our acting.  Marriage, parenthood, divorce, deaths, education and other choices cause the actor to grow and expand his or her choice of roles.   We should remain sensitive to these changes so we may represent ourselves in the best light possible.   Knowing our type makes the job of an agent and casting director that much easier!

Vulnerability is one of the most valuable tools an actor can possess.  This comes through education in the classroom and our life experiences.  The Meisner technique and the Stanislavski method are two types of acting that will challenge the actor.  Many actors of the past have relied on these techniques to hone and perfect their craft.

Actors such as Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Bridges, Joann Woodward and Grace Kelly studied at The Actor’s Playhouse in New York where Sanford Meisner established his classes.

The Stanislavski Method has sharpened the talents of other actors as well.  Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro immersed themselves in this type of acting.

Uta Hagen, one of the most gifted teachers on the technical craft of acting wrote:

“Theoretically, the actor ought to be more sound in mind and body than other people, since he learns to understand the psychological problems of human beings when putting his own passions, his loves, fears, and rages to work in the service of the characters he plays.  He will learn to face himself, to hide nothing from himself – and to do so takes an insatiable curiosity about the human condition.”

David Wayne

My Lines! My Lines! I can remember my lines!

It’s opening night, you are the lead player. The scene is for you to walk out and confront your wife.  A dectective has just phoned and said that she has  been going out with another man. Your character feeling betrayed and is simply furious! Walking out on stage with a determined stride you utter those key words that will send the play in a different direction!  But…what were those words again?”                                     David Wayne

Relax. It’s not the end of the world!  The website below will help you! 

”  MEMORIZATION FOR ACTORS.”