The following list contains some useful advice for actors, at any stage in their development as thespians. I hope it’s helpful! If it's not - make up your own rules.
1. If you're a real actor then you will act, you will take action, and you won’t worry about where you do it, or who sees you doing it.
2. Be seen. Unmask yourself, your soul, your very being. This is what acting is! YOU BARE YOUR SOUL! Let the audience see the real you, warts and all. This may seem intimidating at first, but it is necessary for an actor to bare it all in their performances.
3. Be willing to die up on the stage, in front of the camera, in the interactive experience! What does that mean? Exactly that. Be willing to die for what your character wants, for what the piece is communicating. Be willing to fight tooth and nail to achieve what your character wants. *A note for all you method actors out there….don’t die up on stage, but play like your life depends on it.
4. Take a look at the world around you. Try to look at humanity in all it’s rich, beautiful colors because that is your primary source material. You will use it to paint the canvas… the very base of your craft, and mold it into a piece of art.
5. Be a perfectionist in depicting the human condition, become a craftsperson build your craft!
6. Never call yourself an artist, that is for others to say and judge.
7. Don’t waste your money or your parent's money on acting school. Instead, read books written by masters, only take classes you can audit, speak to students about the classes they’re taking. Be inquisitive it's your craft! The best experience and knowledge you can gain is by performing in front of an audience.
8. If you're going to study, be well-versed. Study clown, the classics, movement, and avant-garde. Study the method and discover your own. Study around the world if you can. Try Asia, Europe, and South America. Make your schooling as exciting as the act of playing.
Photo Credit: Asya Gorovits
9. Master the art of auditioning by auditioning!
10. Never “wing” an audition! You will make a horrible first impression that might take you years to recover from. Show them that you care about your craft.
11. Never lose your sense of play. If you’re not like a kid in a sand box, diving deep into your role, then why are you doing it?
12. Be genuinely grateful for the audience feedback you receive because they took the time to see you, and maybe your performance moved them. However, keep in mind that in most cases donot really know the breadth and depth of what it means to be an artist.
13. Look for acknowledgment ONLY from your peers. From the directors, your fellow performers, and eventually from yourself. It will take years to be able to discern a good performance from a great one, but if you're steadfast you will learn. Be patient. It takes about 20 years to become an actor.
14. If others call themselves actors NEVER judge them or mock them, be compassionate even if you think they're not real actors or they never will be. This is not your place, focus on YOUR art. Go into the rehearsal room and make yourself the actor you dream of being.
15. When it comes to rehearsals, be the first one there, and the last one out!
16. Play hard or don’t play at all! The minute you start to complain about this or that… being too cold, too hot, too uncomfortable...you are not playing, you're whining. Know that your collaborators will think you're a whiner, and nobody likes a whiner!
17. Be patient. The reality of the path you’ve taken is that finding roles can be difficult. At the beginning of your career, you will most likely work with young people like yourself who have no resources, who need to create “magic” from the nothing. So man up! If you're a woman, woman up! Be tough or get out of line and let the real actors step forth!
18. There are no rules, so make up your own!
Live in Theater will be giving aspiring and current actors the opportunity to attend acting workshops January 20th and 27th! Each session will be a three hour "Interactive Training Workshop for Actors", where you'll learn from some of the best performers in interactive and immersive theater. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates! For more information on our Workshops, click here.
If you have any questions for me, leave a comment below!