Monday 5 May 2014

Acting is doing........did you hear me?!



The foundation of acting is the reality of doing is one of Sanford Meisner's most famous quotes about acting. Simply put, acting is really doing.  And I believe the fundamental skill an actor (and everyone for that matter) needs is the ability to REALLY LISTEN. It is the key to authentic and moving performance. It is crucial to intimate connection. It is essential to being present.


(side note: in my journey as an actor-in-training I worked with lots of people - drama student at the National Theatre Drama School; American acting processes with Jo Canning, Joan Scheckel, Lucy Freeman and Vikki Blanche; film and TV skills with VCA and Swinbourne; comedy with Liz Sadler and Impro Melbourne; voice with Stephen Costan; filmmaking with Dov Simmons ...... and the list goes on and on! I think I was lucky to find an acting process - the Meisner Technique - that met my inner instincts. It is an incredibly practical process that gave me an amazing set of tools. So yes - you will hear me refer to my personal experience often. However my intention is not to diminish any other approaches to performing and creating.  Nor is the intention of this blog to be an homage to Sanford Meisner. I believe it does not really matter what you have or haven't been trained in.  What matters is your ability to get on and do your job).


When you really listen acting is simple. When you really listen you use your whole body - not just your ears. Meisner says "listen with your gut not you head."  When you really listen the words - your lines - will do you.  When you really listen the words you hear will do you.  When you really listen you can do what the director asks of you - not what you think they said. When you really listen you become open and available to the moment.  And that's when magic can happen.

What others say about listening:
Listening is not merely hearing. Listening is reacting. Listening is being affected by what you hear. Listening is active - Michael Shurtleff 
Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery - Joyce Brothers 
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. - Ralph Nichols 
An actor’s a guy who if you ain’t talkin’ about him, ain’t listening - Marlon Brando 
You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time - M. Scott Peck 
Man's inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively - Carl Rogers 
Everything in writing begins with language. Language begins with listening - Jeanette Winterson 
Listening moves us closer, it helps us become more whole, more healthy, more holy. Not listening creates fragmentation, and fragmentation is the root of all suffering - Margaret J  Wheatley


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