Tools the actor needs

There is a saying: “writers write… musician’s practice, dancer’s dance” whether or not he or she is working. The instrument must be kept in shape. You must keep your instrument in shape. What do you need to practice? What is fundamental to your success? Just what things do you need to do on a consistent basis to hone and maintain your craft as an actor?

Tools Needed by the Actor

• learning lines
• following direction
• being punctual
• being easy to work with
• knowing the instrument (your body)
• being in control of the instrument (your body)
• keeping the instrument (your body) mobile
• keeping the instrument (your body) healthy
• keeping the instrument (your body) ready
• knowing how to go to make believe
• being able to sustain make believe
• knowing the power of energy
• knowing how energy is used to become Talent
• realizing Talent is a place
• understanding the emotional levels of the body
• understanding how to ‘play’ the emotional levels of body
• knowing how to interpret the director’s needs for the character
• knowing what the collaborative process is
• integrating the entire collaborative process into the efforts

and,

• knowing how to blend the total creative concept to achieve an ensemble effect.

If it sounds like a tall order, it is. But you can accomplish all of this by daily exercise. You will find that your acting ability and confidence level will increase dramatically from month to month. First you must deal with your level of self respect. How do you operate? Many actors spend time lamenting not having an acting job. They sometimes pursue an acting job that they’re not qualified or experienced enough to do. This apparent lack of respect for the job responsibilities could be a lack of self respect.

What buttons turn on your emotional responses? What takes you away from having control of your Best You? The answers to these questions are keys to understanding the actor’s job. They are also keys to developing and translating a character into the character’s reality. Make believe is the character’s reality and is, unlike our own, without fear.
Changing Motivational Awareness

I once offered a course titled: “I Want to Be a Star and I Want to Know How Long It Will Take Me to Get There”. The essence of the course was one’s motivation for fame and fortune. It may sound cynical and selfish to imply that all actors are motivated for fame and fortune, but I believe it is the truth. There are actors who advocate that they just want to make a steady living. I believe they’re setting themselves up for a no win circumstance because that indicates a lack of self respect. Why would anyone pursue an acting career unless he or she thought the ultimate goal would be fame and fortune? If you’re pursuing a career where success equals fame and fortune you need to be aware of your motivating factors.

Do you believe that you deserve the spoils of your efforts? Do you believe that your life is worth fame and fortune? Do you believe that you can achieve great things? If you don’t you may be cutting off the divine flow that leads to inspiration. The performing arts are built on the willingness to sacrifice time and energy to achieve marketable skills. Marketable skills can be elevated to a level of talent. Many actors fail to understand that talent is a process. Understanding the Process of Talent will help you focus. Anything you focus on can become part of your process for working. One of the blocks to this process of maintaining your talents are the conversations that go on in your head. These conversations indicate who is in control of your Life Energy.