Archive for December, 2008
Do Not Go To Acting School by Robert Bruce
This is one of my favourite poems, read it and enjoy. Happy New Year!
I spent thousands of dollars
attending a supposedly
prestigious conservatory
learning a craft
that can only be learned in one place
On a stage
in front of a paying audience
In return for the horrific debt
that now rests on me
and my loving wife
I was given the high privilege
of spending three years
acting like an actor
in small classrooms
before other paying players
in a small town on the
outskirts of Hollywood
Needless to say
my time in this institution
did not
work the wonders
for my tender career
that I had hoped for
I understand that
my failure to become
an international superstar
is completely my own
but looking back
I realize
that I could have
failed much more
on the cheap
And without their help
Ten Warning Signs About Your Acting Teacher
When you’re looking for a new acting teacher, how do you know that they’re the real thing? Can you tell a credible acting coach from a fraud or a high school English teacher with a passion for drama? Here are 10 warning signs that your potential acting teacher may not be all they’re cracked up to be:
ONE: Credibility – If your acting teacher has no traceable history, the chances are they’re not a bona fide acting teacher. So what would make the acting teacher credible? Formal qualifications would help of course, plus professional experience but most importantly that they trained at credible theatre institutions, in the UK that usually means an acting conservatory or drama school, and not usually a university.
TWO: Guarantees – A good acting teacher will never make you any guarantees about fame, fortune and your future. They may whole-heartedly believe in what they teach you, they be sure that their way works, but the moment they start making promises and guarantees, engage your common sense.
THREE: References – If asked, your potential acting teacher should be able to supply you with a dozen names of students that would be only too happy to provide a reference. Furthermore, a great acting teacher will be able to provide testimonials from people who actively work in the acting business. If they’re the real deal, your acting teacher should be drowning in positive testimonials.
FOUR: Impractical - If you sign up for a couple of classes and you have a strange sensation that what you’re being asked to do is ridiculous, perhaps it is. Ask your acting coach to explain. If they give a good explanation, give it another month. If they don’t…. scram.
FIVE: Google Test – Use Google to search for the acting teacher and read the results. You’ll be able to find out about your acting tutor instantly.
SIX: Online Acting Lessons - Believe it or not, some acting coaches are offering online classes. Actor training requires a connection between teacher and student, and I don’t mean a broadband connection.
SEVEN: Big Money – If you’re signing up to a class, you should expect to pay upfront by cheque, PayPal or some other payment method. However, if your common sense tells you it’s a huge fee for what you’re getting, maybe reconsider.
EIGHT: Mail Bomb – You sign up to their website newsletter and receive a never-ending campaign of emails designed to move you to sign up to one of their very expensive courses. A few emails is one thing, a systematic mail campaign is another. If they’re liberal with the word ‘FREE’ start using the delete button liberally!
NINE: Off the Topic – Once you sign up for a class, you notice that the acting class is a discussion rather than a practical class. Obviously, there should be some discussion of relevant matters, but the bad acting teacher will be happy to talk about anything rather than teach you.
TEN: Living Room Studio – Many private acting teachers use their home, but if they seem to teach all of their acting classes from their crusty, untidy living room. You may want to get out of there!
Mark Westbrook is an acting coach and acting classes in Glasgow, Scotland and across the UK and Europe.
Acting Books
I own a lot of books on acting, as you might imagine. I bought a couple of acting books over the holidays, one that I always meant to buy and one relatively new one. I’m not going to assist the authors with their sales by talking specifically about them, because that’s not the aim of this blog post.
I’ve read hundreds of books on acting but since reading True and False, I can’t help it, but I find most of them full of shit. I’ve tried to put it differently, but that’s what I mean. These two new books are no exception, they are deeply disappointing. Why are they disappointing? Because they cannot help you act, not in a million years.
Now to be fair, all of these books carry a warning, they say ‘you cannot learn to act from a book’. They’re absolutely true and they should also say ‘you cannot learn to act from a book – so don’t buy this book’.
My problem is that having read all those books, I truly believe that most of the advice found in these books isn’t particularly helpful. It sounds good, it may even have merit, but I just… find it impractical. Don’t misunderstand me, by impractical, I don’t mean that it’s theory, instead I mean that it is not capable of being put to use. And this I suppose is my main point – whatever the contents of the book, most of it is not capable of being put to use for the betterment of actors. This is where most of these books become problematic. The craft of acting is learned in the body of the actor, a book is an interesting commentary, but it’s advice is often impractical to the point of frustration. And so the reader feels idiotic.
So am I saying that all acting books are awful? No, I’m not. Some are very, very good. Am I willing to tell you what they are, yes, I am willing to tell you which books on acting are really worth buying because I believe they are absolutely not full of shit.
A Practical Handbook for the Actor – Melissa Bruder
True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor – David Mamet
Actions: – The Actors’ Thesaurus – Maria Caldarone & Maggie Lloyd-Williams
The Monologue Audition – Karen Kohlhaas
The Actors’ Art and Craft – William Esper
Yes, the link is clickable, yes, I’ll make 3 pence off something that you buy, but at least the book will help you, and that’s got to be worth more than 3p.
What Parents Should Know About ‘Becoming an Actor’
Quite often, the parents of would-be actor ask me a number of questions about acting and the acting profession. I’ve reproduced the questions that they ask here and formulated considered replies.
Should my son or daughter become an actor?
No. There are too many actors already.
Are you serious?
Yes.
So you think people shouldn’t become actors?
No, I want to discourage as many as possible, and if they still want it. Good for them.
How do I know if my child is good enough?
This isn’t your call. Support them in going to auditions, help them get some audition preparation training and if they get in, you’ve got your answer. If they still want to try again, support them, but tell them they still have to support themselves financially during that period. It’s important to instil financial self-sufficiency.
Isn’t It Impossible to Get a Job?
Yes, it’ s very difficult but plenty of people do it for a living. If they’re good enough to get into an accredited acting school, they’re good enough to earn a living at it.
Is it sensible then to send my child to university, so they can get a proper degree first?
A proper university degree never helped a single actor to act. University degrees in drama are a way of hedging your bets and so, they are practically useless. If you want to be a plumber, go to plumbing school. These days most acting schools offer degrees, they’re worth as much as toilet paper because no one cares if an actor has a degree, and they just want to know if they can act. But then again, personally, I feel the same way about a degree in English Literature.
Well, what about they go to a very good drama course and do a combined degree?
Bit of an accountant, bit of a carpenter. Would you employ them? I wouldn’t even let them wax my car. Bit of a writer, bit of a bricklayer? No thank you. Bit of an actor, bit of an economist/psychologist/chemist? - Even worse. Combined courses aren’t what you think, they are not combining the subjects, it means studying less of two things.
Isn’t it best to have something to fall back on?
No, it’s sensible to have a fall back, but it isn’t best. Why? Because necessity is the Mother of Invention. If the necessity is there, they will have to make acting work, if there’s another option, it will be easier to fall back. You should get a fall back such as teaching, only if you can’t commit to actually becoming an actor.
What is the one thing that an actor needs to succeed?
Well, one of these two things. Either tenacity – the indomitable desire to get what they want without giving up. OR resilience, the ability to have sand constantly kicked in their faces and still get up and get on with it. I’d go with resilience personally. That’s what I like to see in actors. On the other hand, I don’t kick sand in their faces in my acting classes; it’s a personal quality they must learn for themselves.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach in Scotland.
10 Top Tips for an Actor’s Head Shot
ONE: More and more actors are having their head shot done in colour. Don’t. It may have become ‘en vogue’, but it still doesn’t have the blank
canvas effect that black and white shots offers you. Remember, the casting director must be able to read what they want to see on your face.
TWO: Leave the exposed flesh for the glamour models; never show cleavage, ripped abs and biceps etc on your head shot. It’s all in the name – Head Shot. A simple shot of your head, from the shoulders up is just fine. No exposed skin please!
THREE: Your head shot is your sales tool as an actor. It has to look professional, but it needs to stand out. The only legitimate way to do this is to have your personality come out of the picture. The only way to do this is to HAVE a personality.
FOUR: I once set up an audition with a great looking guy, early Thirties, blonde hair, from his head shot, he was perfect for the role. The problem is, when he arrived, his head shot was fifteen years out of date. And no, it didn’t help him get a foot in the door, I was just mad at him for wasting my time.
FIVE: When you come to choose what clothes to wear for your actor’s head shot, choose something very simple. No patterns, no stripes, just a simple black top, t-shirt, jumper or blouse. Help the casting panel see you as the character.
SIX: Absolutely no jewellery, so remove the earrings, tongue ring, nose ring and any other types of jewellery that might be on display in the head shot.
SEVEN: To smile or not to smile? Is that the question? Don’t be an idiot. The professional photographer take lots of shots of you, take some smiling, some not smiling and then make your own choice.
EIGHT: Do not make love to the camera. Yes, you’re trying to sell yourself, but too many actors try to make their head shots unnecessarily ‘expressive’. Please don’t. Let your head shot be a picture of you.
NINE: Your budget is essential. Remember you’re going to be using this to open doors with people you’ve never met. A crappy head shot will look crappy, they won’t be won over by your good looks. Work out what you can afford to spend, get the best head shots that you can afford from a reputable photographer that other quality actors use and make sure that their reprint rates are affordable, because you’re going to be sending a lot of head shots out.
TEN: This shouldn’t really be last, but… get a good photographer. It’s essential. They’ll know how to get your personality out in the photograph, even if you don’t.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach based in Glasgow, Scotland.
King Lear
I don’t know if you’re aware but the first recorded performance of William Shakespeare’s King Lear was held on 26th December 1606.
The Death of a Playwright
Personally gutted that the finest British playwright Harold Pinter died on Christmas Eve. His contribution to World Drama is undeniable. He stopped writing for the theatre a few years ago, but he changed the way that writers think about using language, pauses and silences. Very sad. It’s very sad.
5 Reasons Why I’m an Acting Coach and NOT an Acting Teacher
Acting is a craft, like all roles in the theatre; it requires a period of apprenticeship to learn it. Whether this is learned in the classroom, or through the practice of theatre making, it is learned entirely through doing. There is no theory of acting, only practice.
ONE: ACTING IS BEST LEARNED LIKE A SPORT
The later great improvisation expert Viola Spolin used to teach through side coaching, an especially important skill for those attempting to assist actors to learn to improvise. Just like in sports, if the acting coach needs to stop the actors every time they need to suggest something, then the scene will never happen. It’s like the sports coach who needs to stop the entire game in order to give their team instructions.
TWO: ACTING TEACHERS ARE CHARLATANS
I don’t believe in acting teachers and their acting classes, most are fraudulent and the greatest problem is that they don’t even realise it. Very few have a practicable technique of acting to teach in their acting classes, and so they essentially con their students with lots of what I call ‘fake work’. These are fun, creative exercises and games that deeply engage but leave the acting student wondering how they could ever apply that work to the process of acting.
Poor acting teachers cannot articulate their technique and when they do, they use impractical language and intangible techniques that bamboozle and frustrate the student. A coach offers solid practicable advice on which the acting student can make an immediate step towards progress and advancement in their craft.
THREE: ACTING IS ABOUT DOING
Acting is something that can be learned, but I’m not sure it can be taught. I believe as Sanford Meisner did that ‘acting is living truthfully under the imaginary circumstances of the play’. If so, acting is natural for everyone, we’re all doing it daily. The only part that needs coaching is the connection to the imaginary circumstances of the play, and that’s simply a matter of being coached in an approach that effectively connects you to the play.
FOUR: ACTING CLASSES
When people are learning to act, they need to be coached whilst they are working. If you need to stop them every time you want to make a suggestion, they’ll have to work hard to get back to where they were before they can implement the suggestion. By that time, the moment is lost. The acting classes that I coach generally use this form of coaching, but people find it very difficult to give up on their desire to stop and listen to ‘teacher’ every time I need to make a brief suggestion.
FIVE: BACK TO SPORT
Coaches mainly deal with the practicalities of physical sports. This is my view of acting and acting classes. An acting coach should deal with the training of an actor like they deal with the training of an athlete. The actor is an aesthetic athlete. Acting classes should be highly practical, very physical sessions; acting is a physical craft, the craft of physical action.
If you’d like to attend acting classes in Glasgow or find out more about getting an acting coach, why not speak Mark. › Continue reading
10 Things Actors Should Know…
If my experience of being an acting coach for many years has taught me anything, it’s these ten things:
1. The Business isn’t Fair
Most of you don’t need to be told this, but we all need to learn it. Things happen in the acting profession that aren’t fair. Dumb, talentless people get cast all the time. The director that loved your audition doesn’t call. You’re not what they’re looking for. The critics hated you. You didn’t get into the Drama School you believe you were destined for. The project fell through, your scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Swallow it and move on.
2. There’s Always Someone Better Than You (Even You)
Even at the height of your fame in the acting business, there’s someone out there who is better than you. You will meet actors that are far more talented, better looking and luckier than you. You can’t do anything about that, so leave it behind and stop whining. But you will also find actors that are harder working, better trained and better prepared. That was a choice they made. You can make that choice too.
3. The Director is usually an Idiot
This is hard for me to say, I’m a trained and practicing director too. But most directors are idiots. Not even most, I’ve used the word usually. But I’ll tell you why. I think they don’t understand acting, not one bit, I think actors don’t understand acting either, but that’s not the topic here. Directors generally don’t know how to prepare a script for directing, they have an intellectual understanding of the play, or they have a highly complex view of the play, but they have no idea how to communicate that to an actor. You will spend your career interpreting what they say into something useful that you can do. The good ones, the non-idiots, will help you with this. The bad ones, well… you’re on your own.
4. The Playwright’s Words are Law
The writer writes the the script, you learn it and perform it. That’s your job. You think you could write a better script? Maybe you could! But that’s not your job right now. Instead, perform the playwright’s script, as it is written and then go home and write your better one. And then look across the table or the rehearsal room at the actors who know they can do it better than you, and become a better actor for it. I don’t care how bad you think the play is, you have to make it work, it’s your job. Construction workers may hate the architect’s plans, but they don’t start trying to adjust the structure as they build it.
5. Be Prepared
There are 1000 reasons why you didn’t prepare properly for the audition, didn’t arrive on time, didn’t learn your lines yet. The casting director, the agent and the director couldn’t care less for any of them. Prepare, prepare thoroughly, and if you can’t, if you like to wing it, give up now, you’re no use to yourself as an actor or the acting profession.
6. Those that Give Up Never Make It
People give up acting as a career because it’s hard. These are the people that never make it. They talk of having stability and money and all the stuff they later come to loathe, because they wanted to act. It’s simple. Don’t give up and you’ll become the actor that you want to be, give up and you never will.
7. There is No Perfect Audition Monologue
You will search, but you will not find it until you’re already performing the monologue and grow to love it. Pick something your age and gender and something from the last 30 years. The rest is just hard graft. Listen to me talk about Finding a Good Monologue.
8. Actors Don’t Articulate Well About Acting
I confess I love reading the biographies of actors. I love to hear their stories, but I also love to read them struggle to articulate about acting. I’m not being cruel, I’m just fascinated that the very best actors have such a level of unconscious competence and they are so incredibly competent that they have no idea how they’re doing it.
9. 90% of Actor Training is Nonsense
I’m not saying this to be controversial, but I have the belief that most actor training is useless, it creates ‘fake work’, something that feels like creative work but wouldn’t help you act the scene in a million years. So, pay attention to the 10%.
10. You Need to Get Out of your own Way
You are your own worst enemy as an actor most of the time. From the voice in your head, to your laziness, your failure to properly prepare and many many other examples of getting in your own way, particular on stage. Make it simple, make it truthful, take a breath, and from now on, get out of your own way.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach based in Glasgow, Scotland. To read more about his approach to acting, visit his acting website.
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