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Tips For Actors: Understanding the Industry

oxbowseo — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:14:16 +0000

You probably wouldn’t go to a foreign country without a map, or at least something to help guide you to your destination. The same applies to anyone starting out with acting courses and hoping to carve a career path in acting.

Think of acting as a kind of foreign land. You’ve seen it on TV and in brochures but of course the reality isn’t quite the same. Residents of that land (established actors) know that even reading the guide books doesn’t give you anywhere near all the inside info you need.

In your acting courses you’ll soon learn about the different roles that people play in the industry and how and where you can slot into the structures. That’s part of the battle, because acting is not the easiest arena to succeed in.

The longer you spend creating your acting career, the more you’ll discover – including the unwritten rules. You’ll learn a lot as you become a part of an acting community, even if you’re only on the margins. You’ll probably get some hands-on experience of the terrain of the theatre even if you only have a part-time job manning the box office, for example.

Members of all professions indulge in ‘shop talk’. If people are talking about something, maybe you need to know about it. You never know when snippets of information about the workings of the industry will come in handy. From casual conversations you can pick up tips to help avoid the pitfalls as well as identify the opportunities for you as an actor.

I keep mentioning ‘the industry’ but it’s not a solid or unchanging thing. Keeping tabs on developments is always worthwhile. Fashions and social currents shift. Think of burlesque, which sank in the thirties and came back as humorous theatre sixty years later. Think of the openings for actors that new technologies have created.

Being an actor is more than about honing your dramatic skills. If you don’t know the lie of the land you can make mistakes and miss opportunities. You can’t start exploring too early either. You can start checking out this new world you plan to live in even if you’re a first year student at one of the acting schools.

All careers need some planning, even if there’s no guarantee that your well-laid plans will come to fruition. Getting to know the world of acting extends well beyond your acting courses, but if you’re dedicated it will be a journey of discovery rather than a chore.

Do Your Parents Affect Your Acting Ability?

oxbowseo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:39:56 +0000

The simple answer is yes, they do.

Every one of us has what psychologists call conditioning. Conditioning is the effect that our culture, environment, the people in our lives and our life experiences have on us.

No two people are alike and the way we perceive the world is different. For example, if two people see a car crash, each will experience it in a different way. Why? Well, one may seen the accident from a slightly different angle, one may be physically fitter than the other, which affects their sensorial perception of the incident, one may have experienced a car crash themselves, one may have lost a friend in a car crash and so on. All these different elements mean that each individual will perceive things differently.

So, how does all this tie into your acting training, and what is your parents’ role in shaping your acting ability?

Well, our parents pass on their fundamental beliefs, many of which you will have consciously or unconsciously adopted.

This affects your acting ability.

Let me give you an example. Say someone has to play a scene in an acting class where they cry. If the actor has grown up in an environment where parents have said that he or she shouldn’t cry, or no one in the family ever cried, it will be harder for that actor to suddenly cry on cue for acting purposes.

Now, this is not to say that actors cannot change this, because they can. They just need to be aware of their conditioning and how it is affecting their acting. Actors can then use particular exercises developed when they attend acting courses to address the issue.

Here is another example of conditioning. When Sharon Stone walks into a room do you think casting directors have any trouble seeing her in the sexy diva-type role? No, of course not. Why? Her natural conditioning supports this type of character. However, if she were to play Mother Theresa then she would need to address her natural conditioning and change it for the audition.

You just have to be aware of your conditioning and any limitations it has placed on your acting ability. Then you can start to address them. In some cases your conditioning will be extremely helpful and will help you play a role better…something you can thank your parents for.

50 Different Ways To Play A Character

oxbowseo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:39:11 +0000

One of the most common mistakes I see actors make at is assuming that there is only one way to play a character or a scene. What you may not know is that there are at least 49 other ways that the character and scene could be done.

Let me demonstrate this for you.

If you have a group of 10 actors on an acting course and you ask them to read the same part, each one will be different. There may be commonalities but, because each individual is unique, they will bring their own take on the character.

Of course this is unconscious and driven by the conditioning of the actor.

Great actors are very conscious of this and are constantly looking for the variety of ways a character or scene can be played.

Marlon Brando was a master at this. He used Method Acting and attended method acting classes at The Actors Studio in New York.

Each time he did a film take he would often change what he did in the scene and play with it to see what the possibilities were.

It’s best to have an inquisitive mind as an actor. You should constantly be asking the question – why?

I was speaking with my sister the other day; she has a 2 year old son called Luke. She told me his current favourite word is ‘why?’. Often he will ask ‘why?’ ten times in a row to get the information he needs.

We could all do with a touch of this child-like inquisitiveness. You will discover a lot more than just how to develop your logical train of thought.

Another great quality kids have, that allows them to explore many possibilities, is their ability to play without fear.

Kid’s don’t worry what others may think of them. They just want to play and get what they need. And boy, when they need something, they go after it 100%, finding it in many different ways.

This is something all actors need to develop during their acting training. They have to go after what the character needs in a creative, inventive and fearless way.

We can learn a lot from the little people.

Why a B.A. In Acting Could Spell Disaster In Your Acting Career

oxbowseo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:38:16 +0000

I often get asked, ‘Is it important to have a degree in acting?’.

My answer is ‘definitely not’. In fact, it can be a hindrance.

Acting is not an academic subject. Sure, you need to analyse a script logically, but you don’t need a Ph.D. in acting to be able to do that. More importantly, you have to be able to take impulses and actions.

In my experience, too much thinking is a killer in creating good acting.

Over-analysing and academic approaches don’t sit well in the professional acting environment. Acting is a practical activity. Acting training requires constant ‘doing’. It requires you to take action…to act.

Often students take the degree route so that at the end of it they can say they have a degree. Why? Well, it’s really an ego thing. It sounds good to say you have a degree but, trust me, it won’t count for anything in the audition room.

Casting directors and agents couldn’t care less if you have a first in acting. What they want is to see is the goods in the audition room. If you have spent years with your head in a book instead of in practical acting courses then it will show.

The current situation in the UK is that many drama schools and acting schools are aligning themselves with universities to ensure student intake and funding from the universities. If it’s an academic course then the government will throw grants at people.

Because of this, I predict that the quality of actors emerging over the coming years will reduce. With more focus being put on academic study, the craft will suffer.

The other reason I hear people give for doing a degree in acting is that it is a safety net. If the acting doesn’t work out then you have a degree to fall back on.

This can be a counter-productive thought process. Having the ‘net’ in place can subconsciously give people a reason to fail. In fact, the ‘net’ unconsciously becomes the plan, because the belief that you can actually make it was never deep enough in the first place. Hence the reason for having a plan B from the outset.

At this point I would like to tell you about the Mongolian army in the 14th century. They were a force to be reckoned with and never lost a battle. The reason? They created conditions which, if they lost, would have devastating effects. When they went to battle they took their wives and children to the battlefield. If they lost the battle, they lost everything. The result was they never lost. They didn’t have a net. It was all or nothing.

Now, I cannot say what is right for you, but what I can tell you is that having a plan B can work against you.

My preference is to build your acting ability to an exceptional level and teach you the business of acting so that you succeed first time round.

When you are looking at this choice – between a degree or practical acting – you have to ask yourself what you really want. If you want to be an actor, then nothing beats acting courses that focus on the practical application.

Does Having A Regional Accent Help Or Hinder Your Acting Career?

oxbowseo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:37:07 +0000

Coming from Scotland I have had my fair share of discussions over this subject and my view, which is shared by many a casting director, is that accents are cool. Your accent is very much a part of you. It’s part of your identity and so it should be embraced.

The days are gone when every actor had to speak in RP (Received Pronunciation – similar to how a newsreader talks) to get a job. Casting people need regional accents because many dramas require them.

I remember constantly being told to lose my Scottish accent when I was at drama school in london. Which I learned to do.

However, I got the shock of my life when I started working in the profession. My main selling point became my Scottish accent. Admittedly ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Braveheart’ had just been released, which caused a big change in how Scottish actors were perceived.

It also marked a change for people with regional accents all over the UK.

Now, I am not saying that you should only use your own accent. I think you should be able to adopt another accent if the part demands it and when you are practising scenes during your acting courses, this is a good way to test yourself.

The main thing to remember is that when you change accents it’s for a creative purpose, not just because you think the industry wants you speaking the Queen’s English.

I like accents because they are also part of our history in the UK. RP is a social accent and therefore has no real history behind it.

The thing that really tickles me is how Shakespeare is spoken in RP by much of the acting establishment. But in Shakespeare’s day RP didn’t exist and you were much more likely to hear his words spoken in a London accent or another regional tone.

It seems that we have come full circle since those days.

Remain flexible is my advice during your drama school and acting training. Keep the individuality of your own accent but have the ability to change should it be necessary.

Acting: Is It Art or Craft?

oxbowseo — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:32:22 +0000

You’re an actor – or on your way to becoming one. Do you think of yourself as an artist? Or do you regard acting as a craft? The difference between arts and crafts has been hotly debated for a very long time, especially in the visual arts. What does the distinction mean in the world of acting?

The difference between art and craft is partly a product of recent times and is often tied to modern aesthetic judgements. If you like it a lot it’s art. If you want to put it down, call it craft. Alternatively, you might think of the amateur actor as a craftsman and the professional, who has had acting training, as more of an artist. Some might even argue that the art of a dramatic work lies mainly in the writing and direction, and that actors are largely craftspeople who deliver the artistic product. But there are other ways you can see it.

A useful way of distinguishing art and craft is to think of craft as something that potentially anyone can learn. It’s that component of your capacity as an actor that is developed through teaching, by learning methods and techniques (at drama school and in acting training) and honing those techniques in practice. Artistry is harder to pin down, but typically refers to that indefinable quality that exceptionally skilled or gifted people possess. It’s what Robert De Niro or Cate Blanchett have in spades and a lot of other actors don’t possess to the same degree. No doubt that is what you aspire to in your acting career.

There are other ways of looking at the art : craft distinction as well. You can think of the art of acting as a question of individual style. Someone who not only masters a technique but also makes it his or her own might be regarded as an artist rather than a craftsperson. Art is what happens when it you have mastered your craft and are able to add something that is uniquely yours. Each of your performances is larger than the sum of its parts and we can call the difference ‘artistry’.

Wherever you stand in this endlessly arguable debate, most people agree that there is no art without craft. In your acting career, you would probably rather be seen as an artist than a master craftsperson. The thing to remember when you start out in acting is that everyone begins in the same place: learning the craft and the ‘tricks of the trade’. For almost all successful actors, this begins in the classroom or actor’s studio.

From this perspective, acting lessons deal in the craft of acting. It doesn’t follow, however, that your acting training doesn’t also concern acting as an art. Without a doubt, some of the artistry we admire in the performances of celebrated actors is also learned. It’s just harder to label. Acting training will also help you recognise what artistry looks like – even if you can’t pin it down. Perhaps another way of seeing the artist is as someone who, perhaps subconsciously, sees, understands and internalises that which cannot be taught.

Your acting lessons are about learning the nuts and bolts of the job. But drama classes are also a key environment for developing the ability to appreciate quality. That will help you, as an actor, to fine-tune your own performances, extend your scope and up your game. In this and other ways the art v. craft distinction breaks down. Method acting is a technique that is taught in academies and actor’s studios. It is also one that is associated with many of the actors we regard as great artists. That probably isn’t just coincidence, and the art and craft of acting can be tough to separate.

As an aspiring or novice actor you can set aside thorny questions and academic debates about acting as an art if you wish. Answers will surely take shape as you learn the craft that is always the foundation stone of all good acting.

Are you not getting cast for major film roles?

oxbowseo — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:13:06 +0000

Getting cast for a major film role takes a combination of talent, business know-how, persistence and the right mental attitude. Actually, you might be surprised to learn that your mental attitude is at least 50% of the winning mixture.

You don’t get many drama schools or acting schools teaching you that (apart from mine of course at Brian Timoney Acting) but it is true.

How do I know it’s true?

If we look at any field of endeavor where people succeed, there is always a specific mental approach to achieving success.

They tend to be persistent. They will continue until they have achieved what they set out to achieve no matter what obstacles they encounter on the way.

They have self-belief. They truly believe in their heart of hearts that they can achieve their acting goals.

They also tend to be people you want to hang out with. They have an optimistic and positive outlook. Who wants to hang out with negative, pessimistic people? Well, if you happen to be like that yourself, then that could be your crowd. But beware, this generally also tends to also be an unsuccessful crowd due to their negative beliefs.

Many successful actors have demonstrated these traits. Harrison Ford was once told by a big movie producer during an audition that he would never make it as an actor… the producer later ate his words.

During my acting courses, I make sure that we cover this area. The art of acting is crucial, but so is the business side of acting, which requires the traits that I have mentioned.

If you are not achieving the acting success you would like, you need to look at yourself and how the world around you is reacting to you. You may be surprised that perhaps the biggest obstacle to being cast in a major movie is YOU!

But the good news is that you can change your outlook and approach. It’s learnable and do-able.

Oh, and one last thought. Never blame anyone else for not getting the break. It’s not the industry’s fault, it’s not another actor’s fault or your parents fault. The results are down to you.

That’s another trait of successful actors. They take responsibility.

But what is responsibility? Well, it’s your ability to respond. Response-ability.

Take charge and control, and believe you can achieve your acting goals.

How can method acting improve my performance?

oxbowseo — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:09:28 +0000

If you have ever been on an acting course and you have felt self-conscious and self-aware, then don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Many actors experience this. It’s called Stage Fright. There are varying degrees, but in essence, that is what it is.

What you may not know is that there is a technique that was developed 60 years ago to eradicate the actor of these fears before performance. It’s called The Method.
The way that this is achieved is through special relaxation techniques and concentration on specific life events.

When an actor experiences stage fright, his mind is focused on not messing up. He/ she wants to get it right. The irony is that if you are focused on this, then you’re not focused on the characters’ needs and wants, and this causes the actor to freeze up.

During a Method Acting Training, the actor is taught how to fully relax during acting classes on technique, and then shown how to focus and concentrate on activities and events that distract the mind from personal fear of failure.

This is one way that Method Acting can improve your performance, but there are many others.

If you need to create ‘emotion on demand’ then The Method is invaluable.

Picture the scene…

You’re on the set of Casualty or ER, and the Director wants you to burst into tears, as your wife/ husband/ boyfriend/ girlfriend has just popped their clogs on the operating table.

He wants you to burst into tears in about 2.5 minutes once the lights and cameras and sound are in position.

The question is, can you do it? You should be able to do it. Directors want and need actors who can do it.

The Method Actor can do this at will, on demand, time after time. During their acting training, they develop a tool called Emotional Memory which produces the emotion they want.

I could go on, as there are dozens of tools and techniques used by the Method Actor to produce real, in-depth, gritty believable performances consistently.
The question is, what kind of actor do you want to be?

Develop your acting potential through use of emotions

oxbowseo — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:24:38 +0000

Most people assume that actors use their emotions. Not so. Many actors come from the ‘faking it’ school of acting. In many UK Drama Schools and Acting Schools, they actually hold acting classes and acting lessons on how to fake crying and laughing.

The technique used by many of the drama schools involves the actor using their diaphragm (the area below your stomach) to fake crying and laughing. You basically pull the diaphragm in and out rapidly to stimulate your solar plexus to hopefully produce the desired result. It is also assumed that because the two emotions come from a similar physical area, the same approach can work for both.

There is another method acting school of thought.

In Method Acting, the actor is required to stimulate, for REAL, the appropriate emotion within themselves for the scene. The human being is a complex instrument and is capable of creating emotion at will – no need for faking.

The way that this is achieved is through the senses. We experience the world through our senses. We see things, we hear things, we touch, we smell and taste things. This is how emotion can be recreated.

For example, have you ever heard a song from your past that reminded you of someone or a particular moment, and started to feel emotional? Or, have you ever been really hungry, and started to salivate when thinking about your favourite meal? This is what Method Actors call ‘sense memory’.

Method Actors have acting classes and acting lessons on how to use their own memories in conjunction with their senses to recreate emotion, which they then fuse with the imaginary character and events they are portraying.

This is extremely effective for the actor in their actor training. It also allows a more interesting journey through their acting training. The actor works through a series of predefined exercises, and builds up a bank of memories which are then used when required.

In much the same way that a plumber or joiner selects the correct tool for a particular job, the Method Actor selects the appropriate memories for a particular scene.

Acting courses should be designed to empower the actor, and give them a way of working that is both creative and progressional. For the Method Actor, the more they experience in life, the more they have to bring to their acting. It is a continual process of improvement for the actor, and all actors should continually experiment in acting classes and acting courses.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

Great acting is about emotional intelligence

oxbowseo — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:49:51 +0000

Creating great acting has always required the actor to be highly emotionally aware. Not just regarding their characters, but of themselves as individuals.

In the early 1900s there was an amazing actress called Eleonora Duse, who was arguably one of the greatest actresses that ever lived. When she was interviewed regarding her acting, she said that one of the reasons her acting continued to grow and get better was due to her ability to use her own experiences within her acting. Instead of seeing her personal life issues as distractions, she saw them as potential inspiration.

To this day, many actors struggle with this concept within their actor training. Many acting classes and acting courses tend to veer away from this area, as it is felt that it is very psychological.

This is an interesting standpoint for an industry that is built on revealing the psychology and lives of characters. Surely this requires the actor to delve into the emotional states within themselves to recreate those states for a character? This was what Duse did to create her outstanding body of work.

There is an actor training that does focus on emotional recreation – Method Acting.

Method Acting lessons focus on allowing the actor to get in touch with themselves to recreate emotion, consistently. Its foundations were borne out of Behavioural Psychology, where it was established that humans react to sensorial stimulus.

During Method Acting courses, the actor spends a lot of time reliving personal memories from their past in conjunction with their senses. For example, to recreate joy, they may work on a memory where they experienced extreme joy – and relive that event by recollecting the sounds, sights, tastes, smells and feel of the event. During acting classes, the actor carries out these acting exercises to recreate the correct emotional content, as emotion in itself can only be recreated through the senses.

In the UK, Brian Timoney Actors’ Studio is the only UK acting school or drama school in London to solely focus on this approach. The acting course is focused on recreating real, in depth, believable acting of the highest standard.

Brian Timoney recently said “It’s important for the actor to be emotionally aware. My approach to acting training is to get the actor to get in touch with this side of themselves to build their ability to express themselves without fear.”

Best wishes

Brian Timoney