There are 55 posts filed in Acting (this is page 3 of 6).
Fourth Meisner class
Another tough one. I’m beginning to think that I probably just got in over my head. I’m trying to learn as much as possible, but it’s very difficult and not very gratifying. I’m having a tough time consistently achieve the level of emotion that seems necessary to really participate. Also, we’re moving very fast and I’m having trouble soaking it all in.
In all, it’s been a good experience so far, but not an enjoyable one.
Third Meisner class
I’m totally exhausted. Problem is I was exhausted before the class tonight. I was flat all night and everyone knew it. The good news? I get to do it all over again tomorrow night! … Super.
This stuff is just plain tough. I constantly feel like I’m trying to build a house out of toothpicks and I can’t seem to do any part of it right. I can’t seem to get out of my head and overcome my own inhibitions.
I think, when this course is over, I’ll be a lot more comfortable with working off a script. I think the next course offered is a scene study course; I expect I’ll be more comfortable with scripted scenes after this course.
Anyway, it’s been tough and I can only hope that I’m learning in spite of myself and how I feel. If I was to judge, I’d say I’m just spinning my wheels in this class. But, an acting coach has told me repeatedly not to judge myself and to do the best work I can do. I’ll have to go back tomorrow night with the mindset that I’ll do the best work I can and continue to learn.
Friday, I have an audition for Noon Preview. I’ve been working through my monologue for a while and I feel pretty comfortable with it. I’ll be curious to see how it goes.
Second Meisner class
This one, while more emotionally and physically draining, was much better overall and I feel like I made a lot of progress from Monday to today. Monday, we started with the repetition exercise and we’ve since been adding levels to the same exercise. As I understand it, this is really the core of Meisner and I expect we’ll be doing it throughout the course.
Tonight, we were to bring in something to ‘do’ that fulfilled three criteria: It had to have personal significance, had to be done under tight time constraints and it had to be difficult. I brought in my guitar and tried to re-string it. It was right on for difficulty, but the time constraint and personal significance had to be embellished. Basically, I ended up trying to restring my guitar while my girlfriend broke up with me and the lead singer of a band yelled at me–the roadie–to get his guitar ready ASAP.
Anyway, I felt a lot more comfortable tonight and I was surprised by the spectrum of emotions I experienced. In general, I’m pretty even keeled, so busting through several emotions in a short period of time was really exhausting for me.
Anyway, hopefully I’ll sleep better tonight than I did on Monday.
First Meisner class
I had my first of eight two-hour classes tonight. My first reaction is a feeling of serious inferiority and inadequacy; my second reaction is that I learned a lot and this is going to be a very productive month.
My first reaction was due to, I think, the instructor’s style–very candid, blunt and sometimes abrasive–and the fact that two of the four people in the class have studied acting and Meisner before. It was stressful and very humbling for me and I hope I can really step it up on Wednesday.
My second reaction came in hindsight as I drove home. I realized that, although it was really difficult and I felt inferior, I learned a lot and came out of my shell some. My biggest problem is not that my mind won’t keep up, but that my body won’t do what my mind knows it should. I often spend too much time analyzing and not enough time reacting; but that’s what this class is all about. “Getting out of your head” is a phrase I heard several times tonight. I also heard “Being real in imaginary circumstances” several times.
Ironically, a huge part of the class seems to be reading and reacting to people. I normally do this very well, but in the class setting, I was thinking too much and overanalyzing to the point where I wasn’t trusting my reads and everything to stay flat. Mostly, I think it’s a self-confidence thing. In situations where I feel outgunned, I often fall back on thinking to bail me out. That doesn’t work with this stuff, so I have to dispose of a long used crutch.
All in all, it’s going to be a difficult four weeks because I don’t think I’ll ever be at the level of the other three in the class (at least not before the course is up). So I feel pretty ignorant, naive and slow. That being said, I guess it’s not really how I do in relation to the others in the class, but how I do in relation to how I was before the class began.
One other side effect of the class: I’m freakin’ tired. I haven’t been this tired in a while. I’m going to sleep.
Laptop
I finally got one. Dell was having a big fat sale today, so I took advantage. It’ll be a couple weeks before I have it, but I’ve been waiting to buy one for about 3 years, so what’s a couple more weeks? Anyway, it’ll be good for traveling, playin’ poker on the couch, yuppy-ing it up at Starbucks and ‘going wireless’.
Busy time comin’ in November
Things I could/will be doing in November:
I guess it doesn’t look like much ‘on paper’, but I’m gonna’ be busy next month. I’m pretty excited about it because I haven’t been doing much since my coach split for L.A. I’ve enjoyed my time off, but I’m ready to get back to progress.
Back to school
Looks like I’ll be starting a short course studying the Meisner technique starting next Monday. I’m excited about it and a bit nervous, but not nearly as nervous as I was when I took my first class a couple years ago or when I started taking private lessons earlier this year.
Anyway, I’ll probably post what I’m learning about there once the class begins. That is all.
Old egos die hard
For a long time, I’ve had this thing about not going to movies alone. A few weeks ago, I started thinking about that and asking myself why I had such a problem with that. Well, I discovered it was basically an ego thing: I was too cool to go to a movie by myself because that was lame and that’s what lamos do.
Obviously, this line of thinking is totally ridiculous and smacks of insecurity. I realized I had invented a stigma associated with lone movie-goers. Not only was that silly, but the irony is that it seems a person needs to be more secure in himself to go to a movie alone. So, tonight I went to see Garden State again.
It’s still a good movie and I was really impressed by Natalie Portman this time around. Her character just seems so genuine, it’s impossible not to believe her.
The bizarre world of choosing headshots
My proofs have been online since Monday night and I’ve been agonizing over finding the perfect shots ever since. I think I’ve got it down to three, but I just can’t seem to commit. Fortunately, my acting coach has given me a lot of input as to what is good for the Dallas market.
The funny thing about headshots is that ‘civilians’, as my coach calls them, usually don’t pick shots that are actually good for use as headshots and they all pick differently from each other. I got input from several of my friends and only 1 of about 6 chose even a single headshot that my coach recommended.
Job hunting in SoCal
I’ve submitted my resume to a company in Southern California. I guess I’m starting to make strides toward eventually moving out there. I’m a little nervous, but I’m also excited about being closer to where I want to be. I don’t know how promising this opportunity is, but I’ve been told a few times that there are jobs available for people with “my background”, so I’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m in kind of a tough spot because my lease is up here in February, but I have to sign a new one by December. I would like to be in L.A. mid-year next year, so that means either going month-to-month or signing another year-long lease. Either way I’m gambling, and I don’t like that.
Workin’ the website again
I’ve asked my buddy to consider building up my website, so I can start using it to ‘advertise’. I’m thinking I’ll probably break it into three sections: weblog, engineering and acting. That way, everything will be central, but distinctly separate. I’ll use it as a place to post my resumes, headshots and thoughts. Seems like good use of a webpage.
Of course, this all depends on my web-designer buddy, who’s a big fat slacker. I’m trying to guilt him into doing it.
Florida: Days 9 through 11
Well, my last few days in Florida were relaxing, but fun. On Friday, we went out to Newberry for a baby-back-ribs fix and then watched Miami beat FSU again. Obviously, I take great pleasure in seeing the ‘Noles beaten again and it was even better that FSU could’ve iced the game with a late fieldgoal if only it hadn’t been blocked. Before the game, I predicted they’d go for something new and different since “wide left” and “wide right” were becoming sort of cliche. They didn’t disappoint.
Saturday, I went to the first Gator football game of the year and it was a route, just as everyone expected. I actually left near the end of the third quarter because we’d already been there about four hours thanks to a rain delay. We ended up winning 49-10 and, although we didn’t look perfect, all of the problems I saw can definitely be corrected by some well used practice time this week. I can’t wait for the Tennessee game on Saturday night.
Sunday, I went to church and then packed up and started heading home. A couple of my friends in Gainesville took me to Starke (half-way between Gainesville and Jacksonville) to eat lunch at Sonny’s and then they passed me off to another friend who got me the rest of the way to the airport. My flight home was uneventful (my favorite adjective for describing plane rides) and I got in about 9:30 last night. Since then, I’ve been laying around feeling absolutely exhausted and trying to get some things done around my apartment.
I’m really surprised how tired I am and I hope I’m ready for work tomorrow. I just realized that, before my 11 day trip, I worked 16 of 17 days consecutively and the last 4 days before I left were jammed with shopping and last minute preparation. Basically, I’ve been going for 3 weeks straight and I’m looking forward to doing nothing this week.
Acting trudging along
Since my coach left for LA and I’ve been out of town, I haven’t been working nearly as hard on my acting as I would like to be. I’ve been doing a little reading, but I haven’t been practicing, training or signing up for showcases and such as I should be. I feel like a real slacker. I guess the good news is that in three weeks I’m headed to L.A. for five days and part of that time will be spent getting my stuff together for acting. I’ll be getting headshots, meeting with my coach and hopefully doing a little networking. I really need to turn up the heat and get serious and I’m starting to feel a sense of urgency. Mostly, I feel I should always be moving forward and I haven’t been doing that lately (at least not at a pace I’d like).
Inside the Actor’s Studio: Harrison Ford
I’ve seen many episodes of this show, but Harrison Ford’s interview is up at the top of the list as far as content and honesty. I have learned little things from others’ interviews, but it seemed like almost everything he had to say was something I could use as I pursue acting as a career. Ultimately, I think the thing that floored me most was his humility, a characteristic not often demonstrated by actors and others in ‘the business’.
This one’s under ‘Keep until I delete’ on my TiVo.
Things are about to change
I got a call from my acting coach tonight and, apparently, he’s heading out to L.A. for the next three months. I didn’t get all the details, but it’s obvious that my weekly lesson will be sporadic at best and non-existent at worst. In all, I think it’s great news because I’m convinced he’ll be very successful in that market and I’m excited to see where this move will take his career.
Of course, I’ve already started thinking about what this means for me and my preparation (always lookin’ out for good ol’ #1, I guess), but I really have no idea what’s gonna’ happen. Fortunately, I know I’ll be keeping in touch with my coach and he’ll be able to help guide me and keep me moving in the right direction. I feel like this is a good time for this transition because we had gotten to a point where I felt I was understanding the fundamentals and things were about to shift anyway. We were beginning to talk about getting an agent and starting to actually work in the business rather than only learning about it. Though I’m sure this will be difficult, I know this is probably the best time for me to make this particular transition.
The thing that scares me most is my fear of the unknown. When I’m trying new things (like, say, performing a monologue in front of a bunch of strangers or shopping my headshot and resume around to local agencies), I often allow my fear to slow me down and force me to procrastinate. I don’t know why I allow this to happen because, almost inevitably, I try whatever this new thing is and I succeed without much hardship. I am confident this will be similar (I have to be confident or I’ll be eaten alive by this business), but I hope I can bypass the fear-and-procrastination phase of this new thing.
Mostly, I just have to realize that I’ve been well prepared for this market and I simply have to ante up and play. I know what I need to do and, especially after my last lesson (for a while) on Thursday, I’ll have a time-line for the next few months. Somehow, I have to run headlong into this new phase and just continue moving forward. Time is very precious right now and I can’t afford to waste any.
One other very positive thing about my coach going to L.A. is that I feel like he’ll be able to give me very specific information on the market and the business out there right now, real time. I still plan on moving out there (probably within a year) and it’ll be great to have someone who’s gone ahead of me to tell me what to expect and help me avoid pitfalls and silly mistakes. Though such an abrupt and unexpected transition makes me nervous, I can’t help but think this must be a blessing in disguise. The more I think about it, the more this seems like a very positive thing. And, coming from a dude who ain’t exactly the consummate optimist, that’s pretty comforting.
