Mark Westbrook
Glasgow Acting Coach spills the beans…
Hi
Some of you are asking about recommending acting coaches in other cities. Sorry guys, I’m afraid unless they’ve taught me, I’m unwilling to put my reputation on the line.
But since so many of you ask the questions, I’m going to talk to you about what qualities I think a good acting coach should have -
That way you can work to differentiate the frauds and charlatans from those dedicated to helping you achieve your acting goals.
- A good acting coach understands acting on an conscious level, that means they can abstract themselves for the process of acting in order to break it down and teach it.
- A good acting coach is well qualified, this means a mixture of experience and expertise, formal qualifications, are helpful, but you don’t need a talent to get them.
- A good acting coach is not upset by a difficult question that you ask, they want to help you at every stage of your journey, including during your confusion.
- A good acting coach is passionate, knowledgeable and wants to share it with you.
- A good acting coach talks sense and when you don’t understand, endeavours to help you.
- A good acting coach has time for you, after class, before class, by email.
- A good acting coach doesn’t lump all their students in together.
- A good acting coach never shouts at you for getting it wrong.
- A good acting coach never uses the verb ‘TO BULLY’ in order to teach you something.
- A good acting coach knows everyone’s name.
- A good acting coach can DO all the things they ask YOU to DO.
- A good acting coach only asks YOU to do THINGS that they are WILLING to DO.
- A good acting coach uses praise sparingly, but constructive criticism frequently.
- A good acting coach knows people in the business.
- A good acting coach is not just an actor trying to make a bit of extra cash.
- A good acting coach is not your friend, they are your mentor, your tutor, your drill sergeant and sometimes your worst nightmare, but they always respect you.
- A good acting coach never makes fun at your expense.
- A good acting coach is available when you need them.
- A good acting coach has planned your journey with you.
- A good acting coach wants to know what YOU want to achieve and plans the steps and helps you to get there.
- A good acting coach never wastes your time.
- A good acting coach has great stories but never uses them to big themselves up.
- A good acting coach is approachable.
- A good acting coach isn’t just in it for the money.
- A good acting coach doesn’t let their ego be the most important thing in the room.
- A good acting coach treats you like you’re the most important person.
- A good acting coach demonstrates all the good qualities of character that any good, respectable human being should be proud to embody.
- A good acting coach can REALLY kick ass.
- Okay, maybe not that last one.
Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009
What Actors Can Learn from 50 Cent
Well, I suppose you weren’t expecting that title. I guess I’m not the kind of guy that most people would associate with rap music. But I’ve recently been listening to an audio book by Robert Greene (author of The 48 Laws of Power) and 50 Cent (yes, THAT Fiddy Cent). They co-wrote a book together called The 50th Law and I’m enjoying it very much. While I’m listening to it, I keep having moments of inspiration and thought that you could learn along with me.
So what can actors learn from Fiddy Cent? Fiddy Cent grew up on the tough streets of South Queens, he learned to be fearless, this fearlessness is the basis of his personal philosophy and guides him in all that he does. Here’s what we can learn from Mr Cent.
ONE: Fear is a prison, it holds you captive and prevents you from doing what you want. The more fears you have, the more obstacles to getting what you want. What are your fears? How can you remove them?
TWO: Fear is primal, it is inherent in all of us. It is strongly connected to our survival instinct. But as the number of threats to our actual safety decreased, we’ve allowed smaller, more insidious anxieties to take their place. The trouble is, that they are no longer useful to us in this way. If you can’t let go of your fears, these fear change your perspective on the world and your life within it. You approach life from the perspective of fear.
THREE: The odds of failure and the fear that accompanies those odds are always present. Self belief and action can overcome even the most powerful odds.
FOUR: Be Patient, but don’t let patience lead to stasis built on fear. Patiently wait, and take action as the moment arises.
FIVE: Rejection is a strong primal fear. We all have it and yet as actors, we must confront it constantly. Accept it’s place in the scheme of things and move on.
SIX: Place yourself in the situations that cause anxiety and the fear of rejection, quickly those situations will lose their power over you.
SEVEN: Without a Plan B, without a safety net, you are compelled to take action and go after your target. When you have something to fall back on, you act with the knowledge of safety, you avoid trouble and you look for opportunities to return to that safety, rather than throwing yourself into the game.
EIGHT: ‘The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own—what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.” – 50 Cent.
NINE: We have little control over our circumstances, mainly we just react. We struggle to maintain equilibrium but we have little control. But we can our way of thinking about these circumstances, and if we can do this, we can change our circumstances.
TEN: Bold action backed up by real confidence will be your secret power source. When people are confronted by real confidence, they either back down or follow. When someone expresses real confidence, people cannot help but admire it.
ELEVEN: Don’t be afraid of change. Be fluid. Go with the flow. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING is an opportunity.
TWELVE: Our days are numbered, it could all end tomorrow. What did you do today to propel you towards your target?
THIRTEEN: Ingratiation is weakness. No one respects it.
FOURTEEN: Refuse to avoid confrontation with your fears or those determined to get in your way.
FIFTEEN: Your fears exaggerate themselves. When you confront them, you will overcome them as you see them in perspective.
To You, The Best!Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009
Skill and talent and the balls to arrive at your own conclusions…
Most of the good things about theatre that I learned, I learned from David Mamet. Most of the bad things I learned for myself through my own mistakes. I fell into every trap, self-laid and other. Becoming good at something requires the conviction that you will not give up until you’ve done a thing. If you don’t have that conviction, sooner or later, you get soft, you look for something secure and safe, and soon.. oh soon, you’re no longer doing the thing any more.
If you’re a working actor, you know the feeling, you occasionally get the desire for something more secure. You feel a little shame that you can’t always put bread on the table. But you know that you can’t do anything else half as well as acting and you couldn’t give it up if you tried. Because some of us are simple designer and engineered to be humanity’s storytellers, to express things for the community, you find us in all cultures throughout time, we are a necessary evil. We are neglected, we are poorly paid, we are occasionally funded and we are visciously protective of any position that we attain.
If you desire to be a working actor, you have all of this to look forward to in the future. But you can do it. The trouble is that safety and security will beckon you at every stage on your journey. Shouldn’t you just give up? Go on, give up and.. go teach high school or something, it’s certainly easier. It’s more difficult to stand in, take the pain, put up with the rejection and face the wind and keep going, keep going until you get where you want to be. Too many falter at this stage, when they reach what Seth Godin calls the ‘Dip’. That time when your resolve weakens and the other thing looks easier than the doing the difficult thing.
If you are training as an actor, taking classes, or you’re thinking of becoming an actor, be sure that this is going to be a rough crossing. At no stage will it be glamorous, even when it’s glamorous. At every stage, it’s going to be difficult, but it’s also going to be wonderful. But at the moment when you leave school, when you’re out there on your own, when you have educated your body and mind, it just requires the will, the guts or as the taekwondoists call it, indomitable spirit.
As David Mamet says in American Buffalo, you need “Skill and talent and the balls to arrive at your own conclusions”.
To You, The Best!Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009
Tips for Working on Developing New Writing for Actors
If you’re lucky enough to be in the position where you are helping a writer to develop a piece of new writing, you are fortunate to be part of a creative process. The creation of a piece of new writing is often a very lonely process, so the writer is used to being alone, adding actors and a director can be both thrilling and scary, but it’s an important step in bringing the script to performance.
As a writer, director and acting coach, I’ve often found myself working with a lot of new writers. I’d like to offer some help for the actor going in to one of these situations, because it is important that you glean the most from it, but it’s a nightmare of personal politics if you mess it up. So, here’s some tips:
1) It’s not your play. You have no ownership, you may be committing ideas, the writer may filter them, but you do not have any, nor are you entitled to any form of possession. Technically, under the law, it’s very difficult to prove your input, you do not own it, it’s not yours.
2) Don’t expect anything. You may have been involved in the entire writing process, but that doesn’t mean you will be cast.
3) You don’t have to apologise for having an opinion. If you start every piece of feedback with a defense of the playwright’s feelings, sooner or later they will think you are a patronising moron. Say what you think and feel, and stay on subject, otherwise your ramblings will soon be discounted.
4) The writer needs you. But they need you to embody what they’ve written. All your feedback and comments must serve the play. They aren’t looking for your stunning characterisation, although there’s no harm if one emerges. You are there to serve the writer and their play. Nothing less or more.
5) If you think you’re a better writer than the writer, tough, you weren’t cast in that role. Write your own play.
6) If the script is weak, it isn’t your job to fix it, but the help the writer.
7) The tone of the development period will be set very much by the director and the writer, it’s your job to listen up and to follow that tone.
When you get to the stage where the writer is happy with the scene, stick to the script, your improvisations are over. It’s not your time to be creative, even if you think you have a better idea. Be glad you have a paid gig, and walk away.
9) Don’t be afraid if you don’t understand something, if you don’t, chances are that others won’t too. Speak Up!
10) Be honest, but temper your honesty with compassion and sensitivity. If writers critiqued actors performances in the way I’ve seen some actors going to work on a writer’s script, the actor would leave in tears.
11) When you are given a script to read, do the courtesy of reading it through in one go. Don’t do it whilst doing something else, watching television, in between takes or as you help your girlfriend with her anatomy homework. Nothing could be more disrespectful of the writer and their work. Again, if the writer treated your performance in the same way, you would be upset.
12) The correct way to reply to this question: Have you read my play yet? Is either YES or NO. The following are words I’ve heard:
- Not All of It
- I started it
- Some of it, yes
- I’m about half way through
- I’ve started it several times, but…
- Erm…. your…. play?
This is disrespect. Yes or NO. Anything else is an indication of your lack of respect for the writer and their work, in other words, your excuse, no matter how valid, will sound weak. Yes or NO.
Of course, depending on the relationship, all these tips may be void BUT, please be aware, even if the writer is your best friend, writers have very thin skin usually at this stage of development. Choose your words wisely.
Happy Script Development!
Mark Westbrook
Mark Westbrook is an acting coach, based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Guest Blog on Comedy Acting with Ian Watt
Today’s blog is a Guest Blog on Comedy Acting, written by our Guest Blogger Mr Ian Watt.
I noticed the subject of corpsing was raised in Mark’s blog recently. The practical solution was for the actor to focus on their essential action and it got me thinking about other banana skins which can trip up an actor in the serious matter of comedy acting.
• Playing the lines for laughs
Laughter is a powerfully seductive sound of to a performer. It both comforts and confirms – the audience likes you! Its addictive quality, however, can tempt the actor to play the lines or action for laughs. They then find they’ve stepped beyond the imaginary circumstances of the play and turned it into a sketch show destroying the focus on the narrative or “story”.
My own experiences as a Stand Up comedian taught me to look audience members in the eye and that it was often very useful to carry a big stick! Comedians make direct contact with the audience; if and when the laughs come they can enjoy them with them. The comedian’s sole aim is to rack up the laugh count and squeeze as many as they can from their material. The actor should match their performance with the author’s intent and the overall context of the story.
An audience comment after a play I performed in recently was “It was good because the actors didn’t laugh at the same time as the audience.”
• Anticipation and signalling
Especially on long runs, the actor runs the risk of “showing” the audience something funny is about to happen. The actor knows what is coming next, anticipates the joke and the riotous laughter to follow. The audience picks up on the signal and the potentially side-splitting moment the writer has crafted is reduced in the process. Comedy is devious. It often depends on surprise and misleading the audience.
• Ignoring the audience reaction
Another common pratfall for the actor is to disregard the audience’s laughter. This can result in important lines being drowned out. The actor has to pause the thought and action until the audience is ready to continue. Laughter can break the actor’s concentration of being in the moment.
• Summary
Mark’s solution to the corpsing problem is probably the best advice to take with you on stage – focus on the other actor and concentrate on achieving your essential action. Finally, a Polish director once commented to me “Fucking stand up comedians!” Yes – comedy is a funny thing.
Ian Watt is an experienced actor, comedian, teacher and designer. He appeared in Mark Westbrook’s production of The Emotional Life of Furniture at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. He also attends Mark’s Acting Classes in Practical Aesthetics and Monologue Preparation.
The Stoics, Practical Aesthetics and the Actor…
Practical Aesthetics is highly influenced by the philosophies of Joseph Campbell, William James and the Stoical Philosophy Epictetus. On joining the Atlantic Theater Company’s Acting School, one is instructed, much as they themselves were, to read Epictetus’ Enchiridion, which means HandBook (An Internet Version is Here). It is part of an Ancient Philosophical School called Stoicism. It is undoubted that Mamet, Practical Aesthetics and the Atlantic Theater Company and its members have become strongly influenced by The Stoics. Mamet often mentions them in his plays and their ideas strongly influenced Practical Aesthetics.
In a recent chat with SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T WANT HIS NAME HERE, he told me he didn’t want to be guided by a 3000 year old Greek Philosophy,even my good friend Mark Coleman insists that since Aristotle (another Stoic) existed PRE psychology, it’s not possible to base an acting technique on ancient philosophy. I guess I would reply to Mark that you could make the same suggestion of Shakespeare too. Yet, his advice in Hamlet’s ‘Advice to the Players’ is some of the best ever offered to actors. Still pre-psychology, yet full of wisdom. Prior to the discovery of psychology as an art (it ain’t a science, you can’t SEE the mind) psychology still existed, we just didn’t have a label on it. To NAME DELETED I say, I understand why you’d want a contemporary American philosophy for a contemporary American lifestyle, but I want a working philosophy for a British lifestyle, and I don’t really care where the influence comes from.
I cannot help find the Stoicism of Epictetus incredibly important and practicable today. Epictetus was a slave in the Roman Empire, he was so admired for his intelligence by his master, that he was given his freedom. That’s some intellect. You can read the Enchiridion for free online, although it’s a little impenetrable, that’s why I suggest a wonderful book called ‘A Manual of Living’, it is a a modern interpretation of the Enchiridion by Sharon Lebell.
When I woke this morning, I received some irritating news, in fact, I knew it last night, but today was a confirmation, and I opened the book and read these words:
QUIETLY ACCEPT EVENTS AS THEY OCCUR
Don’t demand that events happen as you wish them to. Accept events as they actually happen. That way peace is possible.
p22 A Manual for Living – Sharon Lebell/Epictetus
Then as I flicked through the book, I saw this too:
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A GOOD REASON
As you think, so you become. Avoid superstitiously invested events with power or meanings they don’t have. Keep your Head. Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions, manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren’t there. Assume that everything that happens to you, does so, for some good.
p32 A Manual for Living – Sharon Lebell/Epictetus
So I offer you some honest advice, you can read the Enchiridion for free online, although it’s a little impenetrable, but I suggest this tiny little book, a wonderful book called ‘A Manual of Living’, it is a a modern interpretation of the Enchiridion by Sharon Lebell and I ask you to consider this little book, available for less than a few pounds. I’m not selling it, I’m just saying, in this little book you will find advice that can pragmatically help you with the following and more:
- Coping with NOT getting the Part
- Jealousy of OTHER actors success
- Bad Press/Reviews
- Not Knowing How to Achieve Your Acting Goals
- Focusing on What’s within your Control in an Audition Process
- Working with and not against your Impulses
- Standing Up for Yourself in a Disrespectful Industry
- Become less stressed and more relaxed at home or on the job
Of course, this book isn’t a book designed for actors, so you’ll have to read between the lines, but in its few little pages, A Manual for Living will surprise you with the relevance of the inspiration it provides. It’s small enough to fit into your trousers or coat pocket, it’s advice will provide you with a lifetime of insight as an actor, and as an individual.
I say with all sincerity and honesty, it is a remarkable little book, a guidebook, a handbook, a manual for looking at life. I’m a pretty no-bullshit guy, and this impresses the heck out of me.
Best Wishes
Mark Westbrook
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting trainer and coach based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Image by JDFalk
Apologies
Apologies, the site has been up and down all day and it was impossible to write anything.
I’m due to write an article on ‘Corpsing’ for my new friend Mahmoud Osman, a good topic, and I will, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.
We have an article on the ‘This is Me’ Monologue coming up on Saturday and I promised I would write about constructing an ‘Actor’s Biog’ too, so you’ll have that to look forward to!
Apologies again, this was outwith my control, and as any good Stoic would say, what’s outwith my control, isn’t within my power.
Best Wishes
Mark Westbrook
Acting Coach Scotland
What’s the difference between Actor Training and Actor Coaching?
So, what’s the difference between actor training and actor coaching? It’s rather simple. Actor training is teaching/training people in the basic skills of being an actor. It’s how someone goes from ‘civilian’ to ‘actor’. It employs the basic skills of observation, repetition, performance technique and script and scene analysis. Anyone can engage in actor training, although not everyone has what it takes to become a professional actor.
NOW, before people get upset and say I’m contradicting what I’ve said previously and what I wrote about Robert Bella in my previous post, I’m not talking about talent. Many people say that they WANT to become an actor, many people say it, but what is required is not words, it is deeds. When you take the necessary actions, the steps to become an actor, you will become an actor, regardless of your natural gifts. If you talk about it, you will still be working in Tescos.
Actor coaching is what happens when an already experienced or trained actor is dissatisfied with their current career position. It is also when someone with experience or training wishes to prepare for an important audition or role. For more about how actor coaching should work, please read my previous blog on the topic.
Actor training is learning the ropes, actor coaching is vocational progression, or professional development – whatever you want to call it.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach, writer and director based in Glasgow, Scotland. He runs Acting Coach Scotland, an actor training and coaching business.
Acting Books: True and False
I love books. I have about £10,000 worth of them. I’m starting my own library. I love acting books, or I should say that I loved acting books. That’s until I read David Mamet’s True and False in 1998. I first read it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was livid. It made me so mad, the stuff he said, it contradicted everything I’d ever learned about acting, he insulted my hero Stanislavski and suggested that acting wasn’t the complex inner emotional tripe I’d thought it was. I put the book away for the summer, heretic!
When I came back from the Festival, I drove everyone mad. I kept my girlfriend up one night arguing and arguing that an actor doesn’t need belief. (An argument I’ve had on this blog recently too!) I didn’t really know what I was talking about but as my career in the theatre progressed from actor to director, director to lecturer, lecturer to acting coach, it made more and more sense.
On the way, I stopped off in New York and trained in the approach Mamet was suggesting. It made more and more sense, it created more and more tangible results and without the tedious wank that I’d been subjected to as a drama student for many years.
Since then I haven’t been able to enjoy many books on acting. The trouble is that I read something and it no longer sounds like practicable advice, it sounds like nonsense, it sounds like somewhere along the way someone went wrong, and yes horror of horrors, I think that person was Stanislavski, my hero still. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be lauded, I’m still a huge fan and have huge respect for his work BUT, I think he took a wrong turn. For me, Practical Aesthetics puts acting back on the right track.
I used to love acting books, but now I feel like I’ve had my eyes opened. I’ve been blessed and cursed at the same time.
Mark Westbrook is an acting coach based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Practical Aesthetics Guide Part 3
Script Analysis
A vast amount of blood, sweat and tears is produced when a writer creates a good script. Every word on the page or even lack of them, are there for a reason. It’s the actor’s job to read, absorb and analyse the scenes written and formulate ideas, observations and decisions on how to act upon that information.
In Practical Aesthetics, scene analysis follows simple, flexible and effective steps. You are encouraged to define:
What the character is literally doing
This is as simple as it sounds; identify what the character is actually doing in the scene, without judgement or metaphor. This might be as plain as having a job interview with a prospective employer, buying some flowers from a shopkeeper or a couple talking about troubles in their relationship. Knowing this gives you the anchor for the scene, and requires no clever interpretation – it’s the base level of what the audience sees.
The Wants
Having established what the character is literally doing, you then move on to defining what they actually want over the period of the scene. However, it’s important for ‘the want’ to be based on the other person in the scene. And so, it becomes about wanting something from the other. With the last of the above literal situations, an example might be the girlfriend wants the boyfriend to swallow his pride.
The Essential Action
From there, the actor takes that information and formulates it into what Practical Aesthetics describes as an ‘essential action’. Again, as was mentioned earlier, the actor is focusing what they do to the other person. Therefore, encapsulating the entirety of the scene, the essential action should be expressed in the form of ‘getting something from someone’. If we use the couple again, her essential action might be to ‘get a loved one to take a chance’.
The choice of essential actions can be vast, but the Practical Aesthetics approach dictates than an essential action is only valid when it meets all of nine criteria set out:
1) It must be in line with the playwright’s intentions
2) It must not be an errand
3) It must have a cap
4) It mustn’t be emotionally or physically manipulative
5) It mustn’t predetermine an emotional state
6) It must have its test in the other person
7) It must be specific
It must be physically capable of being done
9) It must be fun
It’s not important to explain these here, but it is important to know that this checklist forces the actors to get to the crux of what they want to achieve, and gives them focus and a sense of purpose in the scene.
The beauty of Practical Aesthetics is that none of these guidelines prescribe a method of achieving your essential action. Yet it does help you formulate a huge array of potential tactics you might use to get there. This brings up the following questions:
Q. Which tactics do you use in the scene?
A. Whichever one seems to work.
Q. How do you know if your tactics work?
A. Look for the evidence in the other actor!
Q. What if the other person in the scene is creating obstacles and refusing to bend?
A. Use a different one and try again – make it impossible for them not to be affected.
Remember, your scene partner has identified their wants and essential actions and potential tactics to affect you too. Thus, the game is on; let the playing begin.
The ‘As-If’
In rehearsal, the Practical Aesthetics Actor will take the essential action and personalise it to mean something to them. So if the essential action is to ‘get a loved one to take a chance’, they might say it’s ‘as if I was convincing my brother to get over his ex, and ask out the girl next door’. The key is, it must mean something important to you, and it must be plausible enough for you to invest your energy in it.
This gives the actor the basis for trying out different tactics with a scene partner using improvisation, without initially concerning themselves with the actual text of the play.
The object of this exercise is for the different tactics to become habitual, and the actual text of the scene can be introduced later, now those tactical muscles have been flexed.
A good actor is an intrepid explorer of scenes, and a Practical Aesthetics Acting Class gives you the map and the compass. The beauty of it is, how you interpret them, and how you choose to get to your treasure is up to you, and there’s never only one journey.
With all the above preparation, analysis and practice put in, the Practical Aesthetics actor can embark on any given performance with the confidence of knowing what they are setting out to achieve, and the freedom and flexibility to act and react to what is actually happening in that specific and unique moment in time, with whoever is on stage with them.
Practical Aesthetics avoids the trap of the Method Actor; self absorption and self analysis. By taking the attention away from you and onto the other, you truly become liberated to act and live in the moment. You’re no longer trapped inside your head; no two performances will ever be identical, and the magic of storytelling casts its spell on the audience.
That’s what makes Practical Aesthetics so wonderful an approach; like an athlete you have done everything you need to prepare for the race, and are skilled enough to let your instincts take over once the starting gun has fired.
Like an athlete though, the Practical Aesthetics actor has to work and train hard. The approach is not complex, it’s not mystical, and it doesn’t require psychological introspection. Its capacity to help you grow as an actor is limited only by your courage of determination, commitment and application.
As any good Practical Aesthetics teacher will tell you, great acting skills are about hard work and application – it’s not a question of simply ‘talent’ or being ‘gifted’. A Practical Aesthetics Acting Class give the acting student the tools and techniques required to gather information from the script, apply some key criteria that means something to them, and carry out specific actions in a scene with a free-flowing, un-rehearsed manner.
In summary then, Practical Aesthetics Acting Classes equip the actor with practicable tools designed that give the actor freedom of choice over what ‘to do’ rather than worrying about how ‘to be’.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach, visit his Acting Coach website for more indepth articles, class times and information.
Acting Coach Scotland asked to write for Drama Student Magazine
Mark Westbrook has been asked to write some guest articles for The Drama Student, a new magazine. Mark is already a columnist for a freelancer magazine, but this will be writing about a topic much closer to his heart, acting. The first article, published in April 2009’s edition will focus on an Acting Masterclass that Mark Westbrook will be giving for actors for a prestigious Scottish organisation.
Mark is currently working on his eBook – The Manual of Common Sense – to be notified when it is released, go to www.actingcoachscotland.co.uk and sign up for our newsletter.
Stanislavski and Strasberg get confused…
Hello All
Recently, I’ve been accused of getting Strasberg and Stanislavski confused with each other. That puts me in good company because that’s often a volley of shot aimed and fired at Mamet in his condemnation of Strasberg. I don’t believe that I confuse the two; I have a strong grasp of the main elements of Stanislavski’s ‘system’ and Lee Strasberg’s ‘Method’ and where they differ from each other. My criticism of Strasberg is not the same as my criticism of Stanislavski, and when I refer to the Method, I’m talking about what Strasberg created from his understanding of Stanislavski and not what Stanislavski endeavoured to create over the many years of experimentation in his life.
However, if it is true that Strasberg and Stanislavski are often confused with each other, my research has indicated to me one reason why people may indeed confuse them.
Some of the blame, I’m afraid lies with Lee Strasberg and a lecture that he gave on acting before his death. I’d like to reproduce some of that lecture here to assist the debate or add fuel to the fire:
Here are two extracts from Strasberg’s speech:
“It’s not an American version, it is the truest form of what Stanislavski tried to achieve and never achieved, as he himself admits…”
“In my book it will be clear that I believe that we are the true representatives of what Stanislavski endeavoured to do all of his life’.
In the same lecture, he mentions Stanislavski’s ‘last’ book ‘An Actor Prepares’. If Strasberg’s understanding of Stanislavski derives entirely from this book, he is basing his work on early Stanislavski and unfortunately missing out on the later work that was published. Of course, we all should know that ‘An Actor Prepares’ was only the first part of the trio of books, the ABC of Acting that Stanislavski produced and that were published after his death, the latest one being published much, much later in the Sixties in America, meaning that by that time Strasberg had taken Stanislavski’s early work and extended that work in exclusion from Stanislavski’s later work on method of physical actions.
Strasberg visited Moscow while Stanislavski was still alive. He chose not to visit Stanislavski. Why would someone who felt that he held the true mantle of the Master, avoid meeting his truest source of inspiration?
These are questions, alas we have no answers.
Best Wishes
Mark
Top Ten Tips for Cold Reading: (Auditions – Not Psychics)
Top Ten Tips for Cold Reading: (Auditions – Not Psychics)
Thanks Ethan for your request for some tips on cold reading, hope this helps you and everybody else!
ONE: TRAIN FOR IT
More and more auditions involve cold readings of monologues or dialogues.
It’s something you’re going to spend a lot of time doing. For that reason, you need to prepare for it. But what preparation can you do? You can cold read a ton of things at home, pick up anything and practice cold reading it, the tv guide, a novel, a play, the bible, it doesn’t matter, just practice picking up things and reading them outloud.
TWO: SLOW DOWN
People tend to garble when they’re nervous, they speak really really fast and it damages their audition because no one can understand them. Whilst the panel will expect you to be nervous, speaking too quickly will kill your articulation.
THREE: RAPID ANALYSIS
Make an analysis of the scene as quickly as you can. What does the character want the other character to do as a result of hearing your words? If you can answer even this question, you will give yourself a tone for the scene based on context. If you have time to work out an Essential Action for your character in the scene, such as ‘To bring someone down a peg or two’ or ‘To get someone to crown me Queen’, or ‘To get what I deserve’ – you’ll have something strong to act in your scene, not just the words.
FOUR: WARM UP
If you can, do a quick warm up before you start (obviously not in view of the panel). So before they bring you in, have a good stretch, do some spinal rolls, have a few good deep breaths through your mouth to slow down your heart beat and make yourself more comfortable. Warm your mouth up with a couple of tongue twisters to prevent yourself from getting tongue-tied in the audition.
FIVE: LEARN TO READ SENTENCES NOT WORDS
One of the keys to cold reading is the ability to take in a sentence at a glance, and then while you are acting that line, you scan ahead to see the next line. This is not easy, so practice it as part of your regular cold reading practice. Speak one line, scan ahead to the next.
SIX: LINE LEARNING?
I’ve heard some people advise cold readers to try to learn the script quickly. NONSENSE, you’re going to end up confused, stuck half in memory, half trying to act in the moment. Don’t even think about it – unless they give you a couple of hours!
SEVEN: READ
Spend your time that you have with the script reading it over and over, don’t work out how you’re going to say the lines, just read it over and over until you’re comfortable with it, until you just have a feel for it and the words are easy with you. This will help you live in the moment when the audition comes.
EIGHT: RESEARCH
If you know what show they are doing, read the play in advance. Most scripts are available through Amazon, Alibris or the Drama Bookshop in New York. While they might not have you read from the script, you will be prepared if you they do!
NINE: PLEASANT IN AND OUT
Walk in with a big natural smile, and say hello if they are looking at you. Again, when they’re done with you, regardless of how you felt you’ve done, just give a big lovely smile and say ‘thanks’ or ‘thank you very much’. Being lovely is something to cultivate, there are too many prima donnas still.
TEN: LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY
You’re going to be nervous and cold reading auditions are fairly fraught experiences. So remember to listen carefully to any instructions that you get before or during the audition. Listen to the director carefully and speak clearly yourself.
Mark Westbrook is a professional acting coach based in Glasgow and Dublin.
The Brave
Hello, this is Mark. Today, I read a book called The Dip by Seth Godin. I found some valuable advice in it for actors about deciding whether to keep going or to just quit and become a teacher or something. I’ve added it below, please think it through, it’s as applicable to acting as it is to business, which is Godin’s field:
“The brave thing to do is to tough it out and end up on the other side. The mature thing to do is not even start out on a business venture if you know you’ll probably not make it through the dip. And the stupid thing to do is to start, give it your best shot, waste a lot of time and money, and then quit in the middle of the dip.“ Seth Godin – The Dip
The ‘dip’ is that period when things get tough, when you’re enthusiasm runs out, when it’s no longer fun. People never when the goal is in sight.
-Mark-
Selecting Monologues for Audition
Many people I work with and teach struggle to find good audition monologues. To hear my opinion on finding ‘good audition monologues’, visit my YouTube page and watch/listen to my clip about choosing. However, I wanted to give a more direct response and help people to find excellent monologues. Here is my best advice.
1) I spent an afternoon recently pouring through my play collection. I pulled out about half a dozen great monologues. What did I learn from that? It takes time, patience and effort to choose an excellent monologue.
2) Monologues on the internet are usually rubbish. Yes, there’s a couple that I offer on my website, because I know many actors are too lazy to go and buy a play in order to read a monologue. Those actors that won’t buy a play, are those actors that won’t read a play, and those actors that don’t read plays and generally those actors that don’t read plays, haven’t made a two-feet commitment to being an actor. Reading the play is how you become aware of excellent monologues because you understand what makes them excellent. When you try to just pluck monologues out of the pages of plays, you can’t expect to know why a monologue is good, and that means you’re selecting based on what? You like the words? The topic? The theme? Read plays. They’re full of excellent monologues.
3) There isn’t a magic monologue that suits you. Find one that you find intriguing, interesting or that speaks to you. Since there are no magic monologues, no monologue will wink its sparkling eye at you, you have to find it.
4) Getting Plays: Go and sit in the library (RSAMD Library is excellent if you live in Scotland), pop in, and collect up some plays and have a read. Spend an afternoon there. If you aren’t willing to spend some time selecting an excellent monologue, why bother at all? The other choice is go to a lovely bookshop like Waterstones or Borders, take a big pile of plays, go to their cafe, order a drink, sit and read through some plays until you find something that you like. Then toss the pile of books back and buy the one with the good monologue in it.
5) Never write your own.
6) Don’t do a poem. Don’t do a novel. Meet the requirements of the audition instructions. Don’t try to be clever.
7) Choose something that has a definite beginning, middle and end. The character goes on a journey. This is a much better way to show off your skills.
8 Don’t do harrowing material. Rape, abuse and all that, leave it for the soap operas and the news.
9) Choose something within your ‘playing age’ – if you’re 20, then consider 18-25, if you’re 18, consider 16-22. Of course, this is just a suggestion. But no 19 year olds trying to play 40 year olds, no one casts that way anymore.
10) Choose plays from the last 20 years for contemporary. Social manners have changed. You will feel awkward with the language. For a classical monologue, make sure you understand every word that you intend to speak.
Top Monologue Mistakes and Solutions
By Karen Kohlhaas
Article from www.monologueaudition.com
This article was revised in August 2006
1. Not having the lines memorized well enough!
Believe it or not, this is the single biggest problem that most actors have in the
audition room. The auditors of a recent EPA (Equity Principal Audition), told me
that they could tell that the majority of actors, even subtly, were still trying to
remember their lines. Therefore they were not fully acting their monologues. I
completely disagree with the theory that not quite having the lines will keep an
actor ìfresh.î Would a serious musician in a competition dream of not quite
knowing the piece? If any of an actorís energy is going into remembering the line,
that energy is not at his disposal to truly act the piece. Solution: Be like Anthony
Hopkins, who runs his lines 200 times before shooting a scene. I think most
people agree that his efforts are worth it. Maybe your number isnít 200 ñ but find
out what your number is ñ how much rehearsal do you need to have the
monologue memorized so you can bring all of yourself to playing it?
2. Having no staging choices
This is second, if not equal to, not having lines. An auditor of another EPA said
that none of the actors who came in during a whole day of auditions had made
specific physical choices for their monologues. Instead, they just acted the piece
and left the movement up to chance. Would anyone dream of sending a cast on
stage on opening night with no staging, just hoping that the actorsí acting instincts
would take care of everything? An auditioning actor is under just as much
pressure. Solution: Having clear, fun staging will instantly improve your
monologues and make you less nervous. Think carefully about what you want
your monologue to look like from the outside, and give yourself a few concrete
moves to help you tell the story. P.S.: Working in a chair is not a solution to having
no staging! You need to make physical choices in the chair as well, so that your
piece doesnít have low energy/physical sameness all the way through.
3. Looking at the floor
Many actors look on the floor before, during and/or after their monologues. Unless
it is for a specifically staged moment that actually refers to something on the floor
in the plot, looking at the floor during the piece can look like you lost your line and
it almost always drops the energy of your performance. Looking at the floor after
the piece can look like you are ashamed or unsure. Solution: Look up! I do
suggest dropping your eyes only (not your head) for a brief 3-second countdown
into the piece at the very beginning, but otherwise, let the auditors see your eyes
as much as possible. This will involve them in the piece and keep them with you.
4. Hating the material
You are the producer, director, actor and designer of your monologues, and every
monologue audition gives you an opportunity to run with this incredible artistic
freedom. If you, like many actors, hate your monologues, itís time to get some
new ones and get excited about how you are going to present them. Auditors can
tell when you are not excited about your pieces, and if youíre not excited, why
should they be? Do you like watching a cast that is not excited about performing
the play? Your monologues have the potential to be expressions of why you want
to act in the first place; celebrations of your favorite writers, and also thrilling
experiments and challenges. Solution: Do whatever you need to do to find
material you love (read more, do some thinking about what writing excites you the
most) and get to work. See Why you should have 20 monologues and other
articles on this website for ideas about finding material.
5. Acting to (looking at) the auditors
When we interviewed 7 industry professionals for The Monologue Audition Video,
all but one said they hate it when actors directly to them, or otherwise ëuseí them
during the piece. Most actors seem to know not to do this, but it still happens.
Solution: Find a place to focus that best creates the illusion that you are talking to
someone just behind them. (You can adapt this focus if necessary to create the
illusion that you are speaking to more than one person, a group, yourself, God,
etc.). Practice working off of your own instincts and sense of truth, as you act the
monologue to that focus choice (with someone watching, this is essential).
Practice with a friend until you are sure your focus looks the way you want it to.
6. Acting in a 3/4 view to the auditors
A lot of actors do this, and it makes no sense. They end up acting their piece for
the corner! Solution: Always give those watching you the fullest experience of
your performance (they want to audition you, not your profile). Practice with a
friend ñ watch each other and compare notes ñ until youíre sure of the auditorsí
view of you.
7. Standing too close to the auditors
Acting too close to the auditors can make them extremely uncomfortable (as you
would be if a stranger got too close to you!) I have recently been hearing of
auditions that actually put markers down on the floor, and ask actors not to cross
them. An actor who gets too close is an actor who is showing that he is unaware
of, or doesnít care about, the audienceís experience. Each audition room is
different, and each room will require different choices. What is too close in one
room wonít necessarily be too close in a smaller or differently shaped room. You
donít want to be too far from the auditors either; that can feel like you are ëlurkingí
in the background or like thereís no one on stage. Solution: Learning how to find
the best spot for your performance is part of your showmanship. Practice, ideally
with a friend, walking into different rooms and identifying the best acting area. Put
that acting area behind the place that would start to be too close to the auditors,
and practice performing your piece so that you never cross that line. Practice until
you can define the area instantly and habitually as you walk in.
8. Having an unsupported voice and/or mumbling
Both having an unsupported voice and mumbling are marks of an amateur.
Regardless of whether your audition is for theater, TV or film, your commitment to
a supported voice and clear speech demonstrates how committed you are to the
characterís point of view, and your audienceís experience. It is also an indication
of how versatile you could be as an actor. Solution: work on your voice and
speech! For recommendations in New York and Los Angeles, see Great NYC/LA
teachers and classes. My favorite Mamet quote about voice is ìVoice work is the
easiest, cheapest way to happiness as an actor.î Look to your favorite actors and
I think you will find them vocally committed and articulate, no matter the role or the
style.
9. Paraphrasing and/or removing the writerís punctuation
For serious theater auditions itís absolutely essential that the lines are said as
written, and as punctuated ñ even if you think you have a better idea.
Paraphrasing is often accepted in tv or film work, but I still suggest paying
attention to the way a line was written ñ if you commit to it you may find out
something essential about the character. If you paraphrase in a theater audition
you are showing that you may not honor the writing when you rehearse a play.
Playwriting is next door to poetry: meter, rhythm, and emphasis are all factors,
and how a line sounds is often as important as what it literally means. Writers
cringe when actors donít pay attention to their carefully worked out lines, rhythm
and punctuation. The playwright Jerome Hairston says, ìWhen an actor
paraphrases, that means he doesnít understand the line. Once he understands
the line, heíll know that it canít be said any other way.î Solution: When preparing
an audition, embrace the way each line was written, and practice until the
language is part of you.
10. Playing the emotion
The great Shakespearean director, scholar and teacher John Barton talks about
how the monologues and soliloquies in Shakespeare are not about displaying
emotion, but about handling the emotion. I think this is true of all monologues.
The character is usually delivering a monologue in an attempt to do something
about what is going on at the present time (even if itís only to figure it out; even if
itís to say he has no idea what to do, but he knows he needs to do something!).
That means it is a given that the monologue is already coming from a state of
great emotion, and that the emotion does not need to be emphasized. Just as in
life, you usually want to avoid people who are trying to get something from you
with great hysteria, rage, self-pity, or excessive giddiness, so auditors might react
to actors who are only playing into the emotion of the situation. Yes you do want
to play the importance of finding the solution, but that is very different than having
an emotional fit, which will always take you away from the solution. Solution:
Create order. Play the importance of what the character is trying to do, to
accomplish, to get from the other character(s). Define the objective as specifically
as possible, treat it as something you can actually achieve; put the full force of
your personality behind the objective, and not only will an emotional commitment
naturally be there, but your auditors will see you as the hero ñ acting while under
great stress, rather than as the victim who only complains about it.
11. Fidgeting
We all have fidgets ñ mannerisms we do unconsciously. Monologue work tends
to put your fidgets under the magnifying glass because you are the only thing
happening in the room. Fidgets can include: shifting weight from side to side;
beating out the rhythm of the lines with arms or head; thrusting the head and also
upper body forward so that alignment is pulled off and the voice suffers; fussy
and/or repetitive hand gestures; blinking. Fidgeting is distracting and instantly
takes the audience out of the piece. Fidgeting can be worked on however, and I
have seen some incredibly fidgety actors transform themselves into focused,
purposeful, riveting performers by working patiently with their fidgeting habits.
Solution: Know that every body movement ìreadsî ñ is apparent ñ to your
auditors, and that every movement needs to be either a choice or a full
expression of a spontaneous impulse (if it is less than full it becomes a fidget).
Having purposeful, fidget-free staging for a monologue helps immensely. Work
with movement and acting teachers, work with partners, to ground yourself and
practice both stillness AND the full discharge of your movement impulses. For
those who can stand it: have a partner videotape you from a side view while you
act your monologue fully. When you watch it, watch it without the sound, and you
will quickly see your fidgets, and when you are using your body purposefully and
powerfully.
12. Having a neutral (or unpleasant) hello/thankyou
Do you have a specific attitude or philosophy that you regularly practice when
representing yourself and your work to people? Most successful business people
do. If you are neutralizing your non-performing interactions in the room, you are
likely to look like you are not happy to be there. If you were hiring someone for a
position of great responsibility, would you hire someone who looked unhappy?
Your interactions in the room are how you show the auditors what you are like
under pressure, and what kind of attitude they can expect of you in a production.
Solution: With enough practice, anyone can become an expert at making a
warm, professional entrance, introduction, thank you, and exit. Think about what
attitude you would most like to show in the audition room, and cultivate this
attitude until it is habitual. It is completely possible to appear grounded, excited
about your work, and happy to meet the people in the room, regardless of the
atmosphere, or your nerves, if you choose your attitude consciously and practice
it enough.
Karen Kohlhaas is a New York based theater director, a founding member of the Atlantic
Theater Company, and a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School. She teaches
private monologue classes in New York and internationally, is the author of ìThe
Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors,î and is the director/writer/producer of
THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION VIDEO, a 120-minute instructional dvd for actors or
anyone who wants to present themselves well, available on her website
www.monologueaudition.com.
Copyright 2006 by Karen Kohlhaas
Individuals have permission to duplicate or distribute this article if done so in its entirety.
How to Love Auditioning
This article originally appeared in Backstage magazine’s May 3-9 2007 issue.
How to Love Auditioning
by Karen Kohlhaas
Anyone who watches auditions regularly will tell you: 10 percent or less—some even say one percent—of the actors they see look like they’re having a good time. Surprised? They’ll also say that the actors who seem to truly enjoy auditioning are more likely to be considered and cast. So, let’s recognize what an audition really is: a job interview. If you were interviewing applicants for a position of great responsibility, would you be inclined to hire those who looked unhappy? Would you hire the applicants who looked most desperate to get the job? Or would you be drawn to those who seemed the most happy with themselves and enthusiastic about possibly being hired? I think actors often look unhappy (this includes looking serious, somber, grim, and totally miserable) because they’re treating auditions as ordeals they must endure in the hope of getting hired to do some real creative work. I believe the only way to change this is to treat the audition process itself as a creative project, with skills and habits you can learn and get better at.
Define what’s in your control and what isn’t, and forget about what isn’t.
Show business is insane and unfair—always has been, always will be. Here’s an exercise: make a two-column list, with one side labeled “Can Control” and one labeled “Can’t Control.” Write down everything you can think of that has to do with auditioning on each column. Then circle everything on the “Control” side you regularly do, and circle everything on the “Can’t Control” side that you regularly worry about or otherwise lose energy to. Any surprises? Your goal is to recycle the energy you spend on the “Can’t Control” side onto the “Control” side. Doing this exercise from time to time, and taking constructive action based on your results, can positively transform your audition experiences.
Have a solid, measurable craft.
This may seem obvious, but do you have an acting technique that works for you? Do you have a concrete way to tackle a script? Is your voice in shape? Is your body trained and at your service? Do you know what roles you want to be going out for? Do you have an idea of how others, such as casting directors, see you? Do you have an ever-evolving list of your most favorite plays, films, directors, and companies? Do you practice regularly? Do you practice auditioning ? The more you work on the various skills of your craft, the more you will enjoy exercising those skills. You’ll be more likely to see auditions as opportunities to share your creativity and to perform, and as a result you’ll have a better time in the audition room.
Be a gracious host at your audition.
It may be their audition room, but it’s your audition. Are you welcoming people to your performance? Or are you gritting your teeth and bracing yourself? Are you treating casting directors as valued colleagues, or more like the firing squad? Are you hurling yourself through the door or are you walking in and pleasantly taking stage? Are you smiling or are you grimacing? Are you warmly thanking them or are you running out of the room? I teach a whole class on this skill, but here’s the bottom line: If you habitually host your auditions positively and graciously, you are more likely to have a better time yourself.
Never make one audition mean everything.
I once told a friend of mine, who was up for the role of her dreams, that I wanted her to be in a production I was directing if she didn’t get the part. Later she told me that knowing that made her relax in the final callback—then she did, in fact, get the role of her dreams. Obviously you can’t guarantee that there’s another role waiting for you whenever you audition, but you can plan your life so that you are excited about what you have going on while you’re auditioning. That can mean classes you’re taking, trips or events you’re planning, or creating your own projects. The most attractive thing in the audition room is an actor who looks like he or she has somewhere interesting to go next. That kind of actor gives off an air of “you’d better grab me while you can,” not “please give me this part—it’s the only thing in my life.”
De-romanticize show business.
Michael Mastro, currently performing on Broadway in Mamma Mia! , is also a wonderful audition coach and speaker. When he tells the story of landing his first job in a Broadway play (as an understudy in Terrence McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion! ), he very eloquently describes how part of him grieved for the loss of the romantic longing he’d had since childhood to be on Broadway—because it was finally happening! And it happened because he worked his butt off in the audition process to get the job. When he got it, he had to redefine himself as no longer being “the person who romantically longs,” but a person who is a working actor and a businessman. He advises actors that giving up some of the romance of show business can make you happier when you’re auditioning because you’ll be treating auditioning and acting more like real and important things you are responsible for, instead of a not-quite-real, random, “someday” kind of lottery. (P.S. He is however, still head over heels in love with acting.)
Learn and enjoy the steps of the dance.
A first audition is like a first coffee date: “Hello, how are you? Here’s how this part hits me—a taste of what I could be like in this role.” The problem is too many actors show up for this first date with an engagement ring—they put way too much pressure on themselves (and on their auditors) for the first audition to go “perfectly” instead of recognizing each step of the audition dance. Instead of trying to deliver a perfect performance, let your first audition be a sample of the sensibility you would bring to the role, and possibly the kind receptivity you would have to direction and feedback. Then, if they happen, let each subsequent callback build on your first audition by digging a little deeper into your work, and getting a bit more detailed. As nerve-wracking as it can be, you will give better auditions and have more fun if you focus specifically on each stage of the audition process rather than fret over the whole or the outcome.
Get fascinated with the details.
Are you more focused in the morning? What should you do to be your best at a 3 p.m. audition? What colors look best on you? Do you have clothes and shoes you look and feel great in? Do you need to eat protein before an audition? Should you avoid sugar? How can you be hydrated but not have to run to the bathroom right before you go in the room? Systematically identifying and practicing details that make you your best is in your control. It’ll pay off in increased energy, concentration, and enjoyment.
Talk to yourself productively.
You have three possible ways to talk to yourself after an audition: positively, neutrally, or negatively. I actually recommend talking to yourself neutrally. If you feel terrible after an audition, it will be harder to force yourself to be positive, but you’ll be more likely to manage a neutral assessment that can actually give you some valuable information. Write down what happened as objectively as you can. What worked? What could have worked better? What do you want to focus on for next time? Take what you learned and move on. Then you’ll have clear goals to act on for the next time. Once you make this a habit, it will be much easier to muster a positive attitude at the audition and afterward, because you’ll be working on your own side.
Recognize success.
The wonderful actor Peter Maloney recently spoke to the students at the Atlantic Acting School . He said, “If they don’t cast me, I want it to be their fault, not mine.” As a teacher, I love hearing when former students get jobs, but perhaps the kind of email or call I love even more is when an actor says: “I just had a great audition. I was fully prepared. I took care of everything. I was at ease coming in the room. I read or did my monologue and had fun working in the moment. And I made a point of giving them a sincere thank you and making confident exit. I had so much fun, and I’m glad I went regardless of whether I am called back or cast.” That is someone I know who has fallen in love with the auditioning process, and who is enjoying their success right now.
* * * * *
Karen Kohlhaas is a New York based theater director, a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School . She teaches private monologue classes in New York and internationally, is the author of “The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors,” and is the director/writer/producer of THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION VIDEO, a 120-minute instructional dvd for actors or anyone who wants to present themselves well, available on her website www.monologueaudition.com.
Copyright 2006 by Karen Kohlhaas
Individuals have permission to duplicate or distribute this article if done so in its entirety.
100 Tips on Acting – Part 10 – The Final Part of the Series
This is the final part of my 100 Tips on Acting, I hope you enjoyed it, please send me some comments.
91)REFUSE TO GIVE UP – it’s the only way you’re going to make it.
92)SPEAK UP They want to hear you at the back
93)REFUSE TO GIVE UP - giving up is the only way you won’t make it.
94)THERE ARE NO GRADES IN THE REAL WORLD
95)LISTEN TO ADVICE But you do not have to take it
96)REFUSE TO GIVE UP - And you will make it.
97)THIS IS A REAL JOB - Don’t let anyone tell you any different.
98) DON’T LET THE BASTARDS GRIND YOU DOWN (Mama Westbrook)
99)DO NOT BE LATE - It’d discourteous.
100) ‘I’LL TRY’ IS PREPARING TO FAIL (David Mamet) – Don’t try anything. Trying is preparing yourself for the option to fail. Do your best.
100 Tips on Acting – Part 9
Ten more things to ponder on acting.
81)BE SKEPTICAL - There’s too much bullshit in this profession
82)THERE IS NO MAGIC
83)TALENT IS AS CHEAP AS TABLE SALT
84)IN THE END, IT’S JUST A JOB
85)IN THE END, IT’S JUST A SHOW
86)WHAT’S IN YOUR CONTROL? Forget about the things that are not
87)SOMETIMES YOU’RE THE WINDSHIELD, SOMETIMES YOUR THE BUG
88)THOSE WHO REFUSE TO ACCEPT DEFEAT WILL HAVE A CAREER
89)PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHO YOU ARE (Sometimes when you do a good job)
90)PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE (Mainly when you do a bad job)
Learn more from Mark’s articles on his website Acting Coach Scotland.
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