2 E's & 3I's of Acting

Recently we have addressed several practical and very necessary professional subjects, such as paying to be heard, the use of postcards, memorizing, and scams in all their varieties.
Each of you can determine which article–hopefully at least one, has most helped you personally. But if I were forced to choose, just generally, which was the most important topic for every actor it would be “Energy.” Without energy–especially in the voice (not energy slithering out under the guise of waving arms and wagging heads)–without energy, the very foundation of all acting is missing. You can define every acting term, dissect every text like a master, have every word memorized in its proper place as written by the play/screenwriter, know and embrace every acting “technique,” but without energy the role is a lifeless, boring, passive, instant cure for insomnia.Our voice and eyes and face must have energy or there is only a recitation of memorized words. Add to “Energy,” the other E word: “Ear.” Two vital E’s: Ear and Energy. Add the three I’s after those E’s and you have EEIII. Looks like an  ancient primitive cry of joy! (Or my vocal response to bad acting!)Three I’s? Intelligence, Imagination, Intuition.Ear + Energy + the Three I’s produce great theatre and are essential and basic foundations for good acting.

E1 = EAR
Learn to listen to people speaking, to actors acting, and listen especially to the ends of sentences and to the “music” of the line. The most difficult part of sounding real is the end of a sentence. It cannot be taught in writing. It is something you must train your ear to listen to carefully. But watch out for the dying fall when you hit the end of each sentence.

E2 = ENERGY
Energy: Go back, reread the article on energy and make it part of your credo for acting.Every cell in your body has to be engaged actively while keeping as still as possible (unless movement is called for). All those unconscious wiggly-wags are distracting. Keep the audience riveted with your “still energy.” Yes, yes, yesI know “still” is an odd adjective in front of energy. Think David Caruso in his current show and you see “still energy.”

I1 = INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence, strictly in relation to acting? My advice is to read. Especially poetry. There are several poems that justmight change the way you see the world. Might. But they are guaranteed to change the way you act–“act” as in being an actor, not “act” as in “behavior.”You also must use the intelligence to read the text carefully in order to know the story line, the facts of what happens, the place of your character in relationship to moving the story along, the idea of what the play is revealing about human nature, or just to “get” the humorand wit if it is a comedy. The best use of an actor’s intelligence is to learn to read carefully, analytically, and critically.You have to know what the words mean and what the phrases are saying or you’re merely “mouthing the lines” as Hamlet says. I cannot tell you how many times since I started coaching I have asked a student what a word in a line meant and the response has been an embarrassed, sheepish “I don’t know.” Use your intelligence.A subdivision of Intelligence–and the place where the line blurs between intelligence and imagination–is “curiosity.”  First ask a question and then set out to find the answer because you are “curious” about the play, the playwright, and your role. Google is a good place to start. If you want to know more about a play, look it up on the Internet to see what reviewers have said about it. If new, then Googlethe playwright to see what else he has written.Be curious. Ask questions and then set about to find the answer yourself. Curiosity means to keep asking “why.”

I2 = IMAGINATION
First let’s categorically assert that imagination does not consist of pretending to be a character. Pretending to bea character is just that–pretending. And second let’s categorically assert that imagination is not simply diving into your own psyche.Imagination begins with a pictorial response to a word, that is, allowing that word to draw a mental picture. “Allowing” is the clue. Allow the “what if’s” to occur. Allow the mind to wander. Allow possibilities. Allow the imagination to have freedom to create. Allow words to make, to create, to evoke pictures. If the word evokes memories, SEE the memory as a picture. Do not try to relive the memory. Let the words do the work. Let the words arouse the imagination. Allow yourself to respond tothe pictures that the words elicit.No, of course all words do not draw pictures! What is a picture for “the” or “an”? But if you have a line that goes, “I thought I would die of embarrassment” look at all the possible readings. Who is making the statement? Whatembarrassment is the character referring to? Would the cause of the embarrassment make every human being embarrassed? What does the line reveal about the speaker other than the embarrassment? These questions rightly belong in the arena of the Intelligence. So where does “Imagination” enter?Look at the word “embarrassment” in the sentence quoted above. Allow the imagination to see pictures of embarrassment: your own embarrassment, anyone–strangers, friends–you have seen when they were embarrassed. See what the eyes look like, the mouth, the skin when you see embarrassment. You do NOT have to feel the embarrassment. You have to allow the word to recall pictures of embarrassment. You have to allow the imagination to create a picture of embarrassment.In that line (“I thought I would die of embarrassment”) let the imagination respond to each separate word. Emphasize first the word “I,” Then “thought.” Then “die.” And last “embarrassment.” Listen to how each different emphasis affects the meaning of the sentence. What I have just described in this paragraph is the joining of imagination to verbal technique. If this is strange and newto you — wonderful! You have a whole new world of possibilities in line delivery being opened up.

FINAL TIP ABOUT IMAGINATION
A response to words greatly involves the imagination. Spend time with language. Let the sound of the word, thenumerous meanings of the word, the pictures that the word evokes, the implications, and yes, your memories of the object that the word elicits — let these all come to the surface of your consciousness. This brings emotion intothe word as you, the actor, deliver that word. Thus the imagination–not recalled feelings raised into acting the feelings–the imagination creates the spoken line, along with its companions: ear, energy, intelligence and intuition.

I3: INTUITION
So as usual we leave till last the most difficult to tackle: Intuition.
Maybe it’s because I am not sure intuition, our third “I” word, can be taught. I’m not even sure you can say much about it. I know it exists. I know I trust it completely. I know we all have it by the gallon. I also know we deny it vehemently–consciously or unconsciously it doesn’t matter–we deny it. I know it has to be nurtured. Iknow that if you deny it long enough it will curl up in a corner and refuse to budge!So what is it? I don’t know. It is just another one of those “is-ness” things we have mentioned before. When working with a student on a line reading, he will try out variations and I will say, “There, that’s it. That’s the one to keep.” “How do you know?” questions the actor. Answer “I just know.” That’s intuition.You see it’s not like reading a poem because in that area I’ve had training by the buckets, have learned how to “read.” But how does one learn how to “intuit”? A thought flits past. We dismiss it. That thought may be intuition. It may indeed be a knowing, an inner being response, a message from the universal unconscious. (I think that’s Jung’s phrase.)I keep returning to the notion that intuition is just a knowing. Children have intuition. Cats have intuition. In mycourting days, I trusted my cat’s intuition about my male friends more than my own. When the then current cat met the man who later would be my husband for 37 years,the then current cat walked away from me, tail in air, wound himself around Mr. Kulerman’s legs and said, “Daddy!” He knew. He knew better than his mistress. Intuition.Maybe it works like this: Imagination creates. Intuition knows. Intelligence analyzes. Or maybe none of those.Sorry to be so obscure about “intuition.” You have it. We all have it. And one day, if you allow it, it will help you as an actor–perhaps help more than ear, energy, intelligenceor imagination. Just love it and cherish it and nurture it and never deny it.Remember that “EEIII” can be a cry of joy or a cry of torture. Language and our response to it–ah. It is my deepest conviction that language is our most valuable invention or discovery–far surpassing the wheel–or even the door knob! Language is the very foundation of the dramatic arts. Love it and use it imaginatively. The rewards are greater than you can “imagine”!

Keeping the Casting Director Awake…

“Novelty recognition is a hard-wired survival tool all humans share. Our brains are trained to look for something brilliant and new, something that stands out.”Dr. A. K. Pradeep

They’re only human, you know? Casting Directors. They sit there all day watching people like you give it there all (or not) and looking for the one or two that really stand out. But like any other human being, they do get bored, they lose interest, they have finite stores of attention even when they are happy to be there and looking for the next big star of a major commercial, they are only human, and they can and will switch off if they aren’t given a reason to stay switched onto your performance. There is something that we can do about that, it’s very simple but it’s also very overlooked. We can use something called Novelty Recognition against them (not in a nasty way, they’ll like it if you do it right) and it will help you make a killer impact.

Bombard the brain with new things. Sound simple?And yet most monologues that I see delivered without some help or coaching do the very opposite. This is how most monologues are delivered: Right, I am a serious actor, take a moment, right, start strong, have I found a state that approximates the emotion that the character might be feeling? Yes. I sound angry good, now I have to maintain that anger for the rest of the monologue, show them angry, I am angry, show them how angry I am, and I'll finish BIG with loads of anger, and come out of the ‘zone’ quickly and look a bit sheepish about what I have just done – like a dog that pee’d on the rug. Watch a dozen monologues and sadly 90% of them will roughly have that shape. And that’s not how you get their attention or keep it. You need to intrigue their brains into staying interested, into engaging. And that takes novelty. That means your monologue or scene needs be filled with attention grabbing variety that asks the brain to not only stay awake, but also pay serious attention. You need to make bold choices that trigger the novelty recognition.
This is the Casting Director’s brain during the above monologue:“Oh she’s taking a minute, that’s good. She should. Right! She’s off… Great, she’s started! That’s very believable! Right. She’s angry cool. She’s angry. Yep. She’s angry. Uh huh. She’s… Did I pay the electric bill?”Your monologue or scene should be broken down into chunks that can each introduce novelty. A change. A change in pace, in energy, in intensity. A change in pitch, or volume, a moment of silence – something linked to the journey of the character through the piece. Through novelty, we stimulate the brain. Through consistency, we send it to sleep. The choice is yours, but this one little trick, understanding the brain’s need for novelty may just land you your next big job.

Tips for Beginners Who Are SERIOUS about acting

Arrive Early- there is no reward other than gaining a good habit. This good habit however will be appreciated by all teachers, directors, producers, choreographers, and musical directors that you ever meet. Learn it early in your career. Nothing demonstrates your lack of respect for these people like being late.

Always Be Prepared– Come prepared, bring your script, bring pen/pencil and note pad, the excuses you make always sound like poor excuses, even if they are genuine reasons. Be prepared.

It's not a DREAM- It's not a dream you have to become an actor, you're beyond dreams now. Dreams are intangible and cannot be touched, therefore they cannot be achieved. So, stop thinking of it as a dream, and see it as your target, your goal in the near future. Then work out the steps to get there and start taking them. Many small baby steps make one big giant step.

It's Easier to Give Up than get Better– this is highly challenging environment and profession and at times, you may be challenged to the point of wanting to give up. Those who give up can never succeed. Those who refuse to give up can defeat the odds. Those who give up, will harp on in life about how they could have been an actor. When someone gives up on becoming an actor after the first few rejections, they didn’t want it. If you don’t get into drama school on your first attempt, and you decide to go off and do something safe, well, again, you didn’t want it.

Learn to Listen To Criticism: No one and I mean NO ONE wants to hear criticism. We just want to hear how good we were, of course. HOWEVER, the only way to progress is to listen very carefully to the feedback and criticism and respond to it positively by putting it into action. If someone says that you need to organize yourself better, that's what you need to do. If you trust the people offering criticism, then trust the criticism, they only have one goal, to maximize your chance of improving. Don't you want that too?

Casting Isn’t Fair- Whether you like it or not, you may never play a lead role in your life, you may also never own a Ferrari, date a rockstar or sleep with a supermodel. Life ain't fair, get over it and get on with making the most of the opportunities that you do get, rather than dwelling on what you don't.

Work out what's in your control – The Stoical philosopher Epictetus teaches to seek out what is in out control and what isn't. Graft as hard as you can to change the things that you can control, forget the things you can't. Don’t waste your time on the things out with your control, but be sure to honour those things you can control.

Overcoming Stage Fear

Here’s a note from a reader, which elicited today’s subject:“The audition process can be HECK! …My biggest hurdle? FEAR. Yikes! I’m guessing and hoping that more and more auditions will help tame that monster. Do you have any tips for me?”Fear is the deadliest of all performing traps. Let’s hold a mirror up to the monster called “stage fright.”A word of comfort—or warning: Do not think fear is restricted to those who perform before a live audience. An experienced actress I know booked a very small role (really only a couple ofshort lines) on a national TV show, and yet she fumbled and stumbled over the short speech, requiring numerous extra takes for a simple scene with only 6 or 7 words.Why the stumble? The scene was with the star (who she said was very nice to her) but our actress became so anxious or overwhelmed that her fear interfered with her memory. This was before TV cameras. Not a theatre full of people! Fear is a creepy crawly critter who invades all media.There are lots of ways to challenge the monster. Here are a few:Ask yourself: “What am I afraid of?” Failure? Forgetting lines? All audiences? Only specific audiences? Rejection? Not being good enough? Pinpoint the areas. Be honest.If the entire process of auditioning/performing is paralyzing, I strongly urge you to put it into perspective.What does that mean? It means this: Are you and your loved ones healthy? Do you have food, clothing, shelter? THESE ARE THE BASICS. Once these are taken care of, then please realize that some stage fright is part of the territory of performing, thateveryone experiences it in varying degrees from a wondrous electric bolt of energy to an incapacitating self-destructive paralysis. But understand this and understand it in bold print: Performing/auditioning is not a matter of life or death! Put it in proper perspective.Do not let fear control your behavior. It’s acting or singing or dancing – not brain surgery. No lives depend on it. No governments topple because of it. Hold onto reality whenever stage fright crawls into terror. Put performing and auditioning in their proper perspective. It ain’t life and death!Speaking strictly personally, I experience very little performance jitters most of the time–maybe because I delayedacting for so many years and the sheer JOY of it slays the fear dragon. I love the small electricity of energy that occurs just before performance (whether on film or on stage). I am proud to have finally silenced the voices that said, “You can’t do this at your age!”There is nothing to compare with the thrill of opening that audition door and knowing I am setting off to battle. Or the heady delight of hearing, “And—-ACTION” and knowing the camera is on ME. Maybe the jousting knights of old felt that way. Since the entire battle is with myself, how can I lose? I AMIN CHARGE OF ME.So maybe that’s part of the answer—JOY. Let the JOY of performance zap the fear of performance. Why would anyone go into acting if they didn’t want to be seen or heard? That’s real masochism! So delight in being seen and heard, rather than fear it.I am not a psychologist but would like to recommend a valuable book I bought in London: Dr. David Roland’sThe Confident Performer. There are several other books specifically addressing the subject of performance fright. Skim them in the bookstore and buy the one that seems best for you.What else to do about this monster? We go back to PREPARATION. Memorize the words to the ridiculous point! “Of course I know this line. It has 10 words in it. I have memorized several plays.” Those words are dangerous! Whether 10 or 10,000, all words, every line must be memorized and then re-memorized and then memorized again and again and again. Any line glitch can tumble anyone into the pit of fear. Only knowing the lines as if you wrote them can rescue you.I once worked with a national star, who was a lovely person and first rate actor. In the middle of a scene where only he and I were supposed to be on stage, here trots on another actor who unfortunately had a hearing problem and was too proud to wear a hearing aid. He misheard what was being said on stage and popped in too soon. The mistaken entry startled the star, frightened him into a tailspin of memory lapse.How could this be avoided? People ARE going to drop lines, exit or enter in the wrong place, a phone doesn’t ring, lights go awry. And you are hurtled into terror UNLESS YOU KNOW YOUR LINES beyond “normal” knowing of lines.I did a small scene in a national TV show with one of the stars who would improv constantly. My JOB quickly became not acting. My JOB turned into trying to keep hold of the lines I wassupposed to deliver! I personally couldn’t ad-lib. I had to stick to the script. It would have been an impossible nightmare if I hadn’t known my lines PERFECTLY. As it was, just getting those lines out right, in spite of all the improv, became a challenge. Ultimately it was fun, mostly as a challenge to see if I could NOT allow the star to throw me into a tailspin! Without all that obsessive preparation to hold on to, that scene would have been a minefield.So read the lines over and over and over and say them aloud about 50 times and write them down. If you have been blocked,once you get home walk through your blocking as you say the lines. Fear of forgetting lines is one of the greatest causes of performance fear. Over preparation of lines—another way to combat fear.However, for every suggestion there is an exception! I read of a major actor who had done the same show for three years on Broadway and yet the few days before opening out of town he suffered terrible anxiety and stage fright. Go figure!Another weapon that falls under the PREPARATION umbrella is FOCUS. Force all thoughts on the job at hand. It takes energyand will to focus. But realize that it also takes energy and will to create fear. No one handed you a “fear pill.” You created it yourself. So take a FOCUS pill instead.An actor told me of a play she was in with a man who memorized all his lines before anyone else. He was “off book” all through rehearsal. Unfortunately, from opening night to closing night because of fear he constantly forgot lines, jumpedahead, or just stood there, not giving cues. His fear affected everyone on stage. My first reaction on hearing about this was:“Stop being such a selfish, self-indulgent baby and start thinking about your fellow cast members.” NOT FAIR. Fear is deadly. And selfish.Another thing that helps hold the monster at bay is very easy: TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY. Sleep, breathing exercises, yoga, and my own favorite: orange juice. Orange juice? I drink it before and during performance and take a last sip just before entering the audition arena. WHY?Orange juice helps maintain blood sugar level which is affectedby stress. A drop in blood sugar often increases anxiety. Candyfloods the system too fast. Go the orange juice route. Also havesome protein about an hour before an audition. Avoid caffeine. “Mens sana in corpore sano” – A sound mind in a sound body.“Be a better actor” via 3rd year high school Latin!More: Stick on those headphones and listen to some music youlove. Or run your lines over and over so that you cannot think about being afraid. Or exercise a bit. I have seen actors stretched out on the floor like snow angels, breathing and trying to relax before performance.One question that finally must be asked: Why choose to perform if the fear is overwhelming? Yes indeed, it should diminish with more and more exposure to auditioning and performing. But what if it doesn’t?If the fear interferes with your ability to perform well, then either seek professional help—a therapist who specializes in performance anxiety—or rethink your professional goals. Instead of performing there is directing, assisting, stage managing, camera work, costumes, props, designing—all the great backbones of our profession. These vital jobs do not giverise to the same fears that the performer faces.And now for the strongest weapon against fear.My deepest belief is that if you are passionate about acting, that same passion will insist, will demand that you perform. And that insistence, that demand, will slay the fear dragon. Let that passion to perform be greater than destructive fear. Being a performer is NOT EASY. It requires a demanding drive which ultimately conquers a faint heart or self-destruction.So don your PREPARATION armor, stay FOCUSED, gulp down the ORANGE JUICE, mount the steed named JOY and gallop off to confront and conquer the monster of fear. And remember, it is a battle that can be won.

“WHAT DRAWS PEOPLE TO BECOME ACTORS?”

I’ve asked several people this question over the years. They fib. But here are some of the replies, followed by my own observations.

1. “I thought it would be fun.”
TIP:  Fun? Let’s see. Work all day, beg for time off to run out and sign up for an open call. Or instead, get up at six AM and stand in a line outside the Equity building in every kind of weather.
TIP:  Fun? Tech and dress night that goes on until one AM. A long subway trip home. Up at seven to be to work at eight. In the theatre at seven. Curtain at eight. Hours and hours and hours of rehearsal. There are twelve people in the opening night audience.
TIP: Fun? Four months of open calls nearly every day and not one callback. The air is heavy with depression, rejection, doubt,loneliness. Suddenly a small house and a family in Nebraska sound like Eden.
TIP: Fun? After an audition, being told by the director you are better than the “star name” they cast, but golly gee you know the business! Gotta fill those seats! Subtext: You’re a nobody. “How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog.” This is one mini example why I’ve pushed for actors to read poetry. Nobody sums up being a nobody better than Emily Dickinson.
TIP:  Fun? You have the female lead in a 35 minute short film, opposite a huge name actor who won’t even speak to you because you are not also a “name.” [“I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”]
TIP: Fun? Five years later you still have the scar on your arm from the nail some indifferent carpenter did not hammer in properly and you, rushing off stage, slashed your arm on it. Then the wardrobe mistress blasts loose language you never heard even in triple XXX rated because you got blood on the costume. Excuse me!Endless examples. If you’re in it for “fun,” go dance on the rim of Etna or Vesuvius when they next sizzle. Now that’s fun!

Reason # 2 “I thought I’d give it a try.
”TIP: Don’t bother. Fire eating would be easier. Try it.

Reason # 3. “I was in a play in high school and it is a good memory.
”TIP: Don’t ruin a perfectly lovely memory by going professional.

Reason # 4. “I just have to. It’s like breathing. It’s something I have to do.”
TIP: Oops. Hope he’s talented. His answer is impeccable.With the possible exception of number 4, it is my own opinion that 15 minutes in the sun is what lures people into acting.TIP: You want sun? Go to Phoenix.And it is that same drive for recognition and praise that draws us all, regardless of how noble our professed protestations for wanting to act. The person who doesn’t have that drive for recognition and praise won’t work his tail off trying to get auditions and trying to get roles. So my bravos to those who truthfully say, “Yeah, I’m all for fame and glory. I want recognition. I want to be famous.” Then let the drive for fame also be the drive that gets you auditions and bowls over the directors and producers.But also love acting, and honor the profession, and want to be the best actor you can be.Acting, every word and every eyebrow twitch, is a challenge. Let that also be a reason to become an actor. Because acting, especially on stage,  is one of the toughest jobs in all of the arts. Challenge doesn’t begin to describe what it means to make an audience forget you and mix you up with character you are playing. I remember once auditioning with the Duchessof York’s curse to her despicable son, Richard III. Although shelater cast me, the director’s first response was, “I wouldn’t wantto cross you!” That was not me. Those were Shakespeare’s words. Not mine. The only son I have is the brother of Pepper the Diva cat.Shakespeare’s words were a challenge. The director’s response, of course I remember. It wasn’t intended as a compliment. Erase that. Mostly what I remember was the Herculean struggle with those words.

“WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE GO INTO ACTING?”

Lunatics, manic depressives, people with too much ego, people with too little ego. People with so much talent it’s scary. People with so little talent it’s scary. And just about everyone else in between. The ideal candidate–so “I repeat myself” as Walt Whitman yawped–embodies the following: ear, energy, intelligence, imagination, and intuition. His character traits: determination, drive, refusal to be beaten, resilience, pride, awareness of self and others. Join all those traits and you have a potential actor–or saint!
As for me, I prefer not to ask about the actor but about the art of acting. What he is like as a person, what his qualifications are may make for coffee conversation. But the art of acting andhow to sound real and sound interesting–ah, there’s the rub–and the value.But this I do firmly affirm–the deeper you drink from the well ofsympathy and understanding, the greater the possibility of becoming a great actor. Maybe.

Top 10 tips for actors

1. Understand the Industry
Before you enter it, become an expert on the acting and entertainment industry. Read twenty books on the business of acting, talk to dozens of actors and meet with as many people in the industry as possible (directors, producers, agents, editors,grips, stage managers, etc.). Pick their brains. Take notes. Send thank you cards. Interview a working actor with a career you’d like to one day have. Ask them to share their roadmap with you. Study it. With this knowledge you’ll have fewer surprises and disappointments down the road.

2. Manage Your Expectations
Remember that your chances of becoming a star are extremely small. You may be able to make a living after years of training and hard work, but 99.99% of all actors are unknown and unburdened with paparazzi and plenitude. If your goal is to win an Oscar, you will most likely find disappointment. However, if your goal is simply to act, fascinating audiences with your ability to bring characters to life, working among a community of fellow artists, then there is little to stop you. All you need is a bit of talent, and a huge helping of persistence, flexibility,and hard work.

3. Get Training
Study at a university with a good drama program. In addition to acting, take courses in literature, psychology, history and philosophy. A broad liberal arts background will provide you with more tools and a broader palette from which to paint your portraits. Never stop training. Take a few classes every year to address your weaknesses (auditioning, camera work, stage combat) or to improve skills that will increase your stamina, awareness, or psychological well-being (yoga, aikido, dance are all good bets).

4. Get Awesome Headshots
Headshots are your primary means of getting work – don’t rush or skimp on them. That doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune; it's more important to find a photographer who can bring out your best qualities. Great headshot photographers will take time to get to know you,identify your type, and give you lots of options. Job-winning headshots are bursting with personality.

5. Get practice
Don't wait for the perfect role or the big gig: get out and act. The most successful actors I know are continuously searching for and working on various projects. In addition to improving your abilities, working consistently keeps you on directors’ and agents’ radar and increases the number of people you’ll meet. And work leads to more work. Finally, don’t be afraid to take on projects that aren’t perfectly interesting or which don’t pay well (or at all). Especially in the beginning of your career, you’re better off acting than not. Remember that you can learn something from every acting experience,no matter how dismal.

6. Network
As in all industries, personal connections play an important role in progress. Agents and directors work with those actors that they know, like, and trust. So make sure people know you, and earn their respect. You can accomplish this by always being professional and positive. Many people don’t like the idea of “networking” because it feels impersonal and false. Think of it as building a community of people who can support you in your aspirations. And you can support them. The more advocates you have out there, they more work you’ll be offered.

7. Be Positive
People like to be around those with a positive outlook. So don’t be grumpy, especially on set or backstage. Don’t bring personal problems to your job. Not only will the project be more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone involved, but you’ll almost certainly do better work. And nothing helps get recommendations down the road than being remembered as a person who was a joy to work with.

8. Never Stop Learning
Great actors are insatiably curious. They are full of wonder at the world and the people who inhabit it. They ask questions, they listen, they read, they watch plays and films and great television. And even more important, they watch themselves. In all these activities, they take notes and reflect, constantly honing their craft.

9. Know Your Type
It’s natural to want to try new characters and normal to fear being typecast. However, especially in the beginning of your career, it is important to know your type. It will determine the feel of your headshot and the roles you initially aim for. It’s best to get advice from an experienced actor or casting agent as to what your type could be. I’ve heard of actors who asked strangers on the street: “What job do you think I do?” That can give you an objective idea of what your look is (heartthrob, funny guy, young dad).Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t break free from your type, just that you understand your place in the market. You should also realize that while most stars are quite attractive, there are actually many more acting jobs for average or even quirky looking people.
10. Know Success
When You Have it if you work for five years at becoming an actor, one day you may wake up to find that you’re consistently acting. A student film here, a “downtown” play there. A commercial every now and then (you were called in at the last moment because someone remembered you from that student film), and maybe a one-woman show at your corner club. You’re doing work that you love, you’re doing what you do best,and you're part of a community. You’re a successful actor. Don’t fall into the trap of feeling like a failure because you don't make millions or aren’t in constant demand for big city tours. Appreciate the fact that you are doing what you love. Very few people can claim that.

Good to GREAT!!!

Unfortunately the word “great” has become so trivialized from careless overuse that it’s lost all its energy. However, to me it still means splendid, awe-inspiring, and beyond talent and into genius. Therefore moving into “great acting” is the equivalent of climbing Everest–difficult, but it can be done.

While clearing out paleolithic e-mail I unearthed this note. Six years later, the content is still intriguing, an attempt to define something we may only sense:

“Something wonderful happened in my audition. Remember you said you felt I was holding myself back? Something snapped and I couldn’t stuff myself back in the box if I wanted to. It feels great.”

Fast forward six years to this month. “Bob,” an adult newcomer to acting, is reviewing his monologue with me. “I know I can do better. I just can’t seem to let go,” he says.

Bob’s “letting go” equals the 1999 e-mail reference to “holding back.” When asked what he would do differently if he “let go,” Bob’s answer showed profound self-awareness: “I’d quit thinking about myself. In the middle of my monologue I started thinking, ‘What I am doing here? Do I really think I can be an actor? Am I crazy?'”

What is “Holding Back”? Or its opposite “Letting Go”?

How many times have we said, “That didn’t feel quite right”? Perhaps “not quite right” was the result of holding back.

It’s difficult to describe what holding back feels like–maybe like a cocoon separating you the actor from total you the actor. Or perhaps it feels like a self-imposed barrier separating adequate, OK, competent from mesmerizing, volcanic, meteoric. In simple terms, perhaps it is an awareness that you can give more in a line or even in the entire role.

How do you know if you have more to give? The inner being, the performing self knows. If you ask yourself the question, “Am I holding back,” the answer will most likely be “Yes, indeed.” The question is the answer!

If you say, “I know I can do better,” you are right. The actor himself recognizes his own holding back. Trust your intuition. In this area do not rely on friends’ and family’s ego stroking. Rely on the still voice of your internal talent, which is demanding to be loosened from your self-imposed limitations.

Why Do We Hold Back?

There are numerous reasons why we do not let go, why we are stuck in good and cannot move into great.

One of the main causes is precisely what Bob described. We lack focus. We allow the mind to doubt, question, and wander while in the middle of saying a line. Acting requires focus and focus requires discipline and discipline, ironically, is the beginning of letting go.

Holding back has many other causes: fear, lack of imagination, lack of respect for acting as an art, laziness, cowardice, not knowing that there is such a thing as “letting go,” willingness to “settle” for good or mediocre or competent or embarrassing rather than demand the totality of your talent. Lack of pride. Willing to be so-so rather than the best. Dilettantism.

Examples of Those Who Never Held Back

In order to let go, you have to know that letting go exists. Perhaps you need to see someone who did not hold back. I was lucky to have seen the greatest example at age 17.

Maria Callas, a controversial opera singer, was once the most famous singer in the world, scorned or adored, but never ignored! Her daring theatrics while singing sent shivers up your spine. She performed way out there at the edge. She dared and occasionally fell on her face.

As a voice student I heard her in Lucia di Lammermoor. Lucia (Callas) descends the wide curving staircase in her blood-splattered white gown, clutching the knife she used to kill her bridegroom. Callas gets to the final high E flat of Lucia’s famous “Mad Scene,” the one note the audience has waited for the entire evening. The cadenza ends. The E flat looms. Callas goes for it.

Her voice cracks.

Some of the audience boos. La Diva Callas steps to the edge of the stage, flays the audience with a look of utter scorn, repeats Lucia’s final cadenza and blasts out an E Flat that toppled buildings in Nevada. That was my introduction to the alpha and omega of not holding back. What was behind that rescued E Flat? PRIDE. COURAGE.

Remember the hypnotism of those old-time traveling preachers who could turn sensible people into hollering praise-the-Lord converts? Those preachers–charlatans or angels–did not hold back. Neither did Louis Armstrong going for that top note, Van Gogh swirling in a madness of color, Tina Turner strutting energy, Janis Joplin’s ironic gutsy raspy self. Letting go is controlled uncontrol. These are masters.

Steps in Letting Go

First comes courageous self-examination of your potential. A director may order louder, faster. But loud/soft-fast/slow relate to variety, not to letting go.

Variety, in all its variations, is a technique. Letting go is an attitude.

Next comes the courage to want to give more. We must dare to go from OK to better and then after better must come the courage to make the Grand Canyon leap into “best.” Having embraced the need to let go, next comes a grocery list of basics:

(1) have a polished technique,
(2) intelligently and imaginatively explore the script, remembering the powerful word “variety”
(3) diligently over-memorize the lines,
(4) discover a “competent” (believable) delivery that does not sound actory.
(5) search for every possible line reading and opt for the most interesting delivery, given the context of the scene.
(6) over-prepare and tune yourself up into a bundle of energy.
(7) insist that you have the right to be great but that right is not given–it is earned.

A major step in letting go involves Bob’s need to “focus.” He logically asked, “So what do I focus on, myself? The character?” No, no and another no. Focus on the words. If you focus solely on the words you are speaking and the pictures they create then it is impossible to start questioning your ability!

In other articles we have written about not focusing on character or on your own feelings. That focus perpetuates the self-doubts. Focus on the words. The words do the emotional work for you. They bring up remembered pictures and pictures bring up the emotions, leaving you focused not on you but on the words and pictures. My sports fan husband says it is called “in the zone.”

The final step in letting go requires common sense. Just go for broke. What is there to lose? If you are over the top, your coach or your director will pull you back. “Go for it” creates another way to break out of the self-created cocoon.

Before you perform or audition, picture something full of energy and light. My own favorite is the brightest star in the heavens: Sirius. Some actors envision a comet or meteor, some a sun spot, some the July 4th fireworks–whatever says “energy” to you.

A HUGE CAVEAT:
Letting go does not mean self-indulgent, uncontrolled, chaotic solipsism. In time, your intuition (or your director) will find a balance between giving all and going nuts.

The Reason to Let Go
Letting go is what performing is about. Being a “great actor” is not merely the thrill of being in the spotlight or on camera or the applause or the recognition or even the money. It is about the joy of being totally alive during performance.

There are two lines from a Yeats’ poem that come closest to describing-if not defining-my point:

O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?

The dancer and the dance, the actor and the role. Try it. But only after all the preparation, the analysis, the studying, the experimentation, the control, the technique–all of these things, plus the still silent center — these are part of you as an actor. They are all necessary in order to let go and be a great actor. Not good. Great.

- See more at: http://actortips.com/tips-on-going-from-good-acting-to-great/#sthash.ufB7otPO.dpuf