Brian Timoney ActingMethod Acting Classes London | Brian Timoney Actors Studio

Empathy and Why Actors Need Some

oxbowseo — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:16:06 +0000

Empathy is a human quality that people define in lots of different ways. A simple definition is that it is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s the ability to understand how others are feeling and why they behave in the ways that they do. That’s pretty much what you will be called upon to do as an actor.

Some people seem to be more naturally empathetic than others. Women score higher on empathy tests than men and it can be something that increases with age and maturity. Does that mean that older women have the edge in acting? Or that young actors have a built-in disadvantage?

The answer is clearly ‘No’. In fact, some psychopaths are hugely skilled in tuning in to other people’s feelings, but use this ability to manipulate others. Obviously most actors aren’t psychopaths, although you could say the actor’s role is to emotionally manipulate the audience – just in a good way.

You won’t have empathy instruction in your acting courses, but it is still relevant to you as an actor, in two principal areas. First, it helps you to understand the characters you are called upon to play: their dilemmas, emotions, personality and motivation. Second, it is relevant to how you, as an actor, relate to your audience.

Being an actor is about creating dramatic personae that are not like you. But research shows that it’s easier to empathise with people who are like us. How hard then is it to play a serial killer, as Charlize Theron did in ‘Monster’?

The thing about empathy is that it doesn’t mean endorsing another person’s standpoint or behaviour. Rather it’s a ‘what if?’ scenario, that draws upon your imagination. Without a doubt, acting courses in london can help you to develop that imagination and the creativity that you will need as an actor.

You may have read about method actors who immerse themselves in a part, even off set, almost trying to become another person. This is a popular myth. Empathy is about feeling for another person without losing one’s sense of self. That would be fatal for most actors’ performances.

Rather, acting courses in The Method will help you to bridge the gap between you and your character. Affective memory, a key concept in method acting, is very similar to empathy. It’s about finding common ground that will give your performance emotional depth and tone.

Character Creation and the Method

oxbowseo — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:31:02 +0000

The process of working on characters – believable, flesh-and-blood characters – comes early, way before you step into a role. You, the actor, will prove crucial in rounding out the screenwriter’s and director’s vision. Great actors bring themselves and an emotional understanding of the role that either makes or breaks a part.

Few actors in film have been as successful as those trained in The Method. Why? Because from the point of view of directors, screenwriters, and the audience, method acting works because it delivers the characteristics promised by a character.

One of the screenwriter’s first steps is to write a character biography. This comes after the initial inspiration taken from the real cast of characters in the writer’s lives. By taking one trait from one person and another from someone else, a real person takes shape in their mind.

For instance, they’ll take Aunt Martha’s jealousy of younger beauties and combine it with Mum’s need to wipe off surfaces all day long even when there’s no sign of dirt anywhere. This establishes, for the writer, someone who is insecure, aging, and trying to hold onto a sense of control. In remembering Aunt Martha, the writer smells her icky-sweet perfume, and sees her crusty makeup’s mark on napkins and cups. These details provoke emotions (pity and disgust perhaps) in the writer. Method acting classes aims for a similar result, using the actor’s own emotional memories.

When the director “takes the helm” of a script, the characters take another test of believability. Directors have their own references for a role. Perhaps it’s a male friend who goes on drinking binges in response to his wife’s cheating. The director remembers his yellow fingertips from smoking cigarettes and his shaky manner. As a real person, this friend is totally believable. Solid acting training gives you just the kind of honesty that will convince the director that you’ve turned into this guy. (For the time being, of course!)

Everyone has life experiences with real people in it. It’s up to good acting schools and method acting in particular to point the way to how you can pass those “truth” tests with amazing results.

An actor bring a character out, from inside, using emotional intelligence. For the writer and director (not to mention producers and crew), the process stays trapped in their heads. An actor trained in method acting goes on a natural process of bringing personal emotional memories to serve the character’s needs.

How well the actor does this is key. It’s a lot to live up to, I know. But it’s also one challenge method acting training is equipped to meet. As the leading provider of method acting classes in London, I can help you get there.

When you get there, you’ll feel it. The director sits back, setting the script aside. All that matters now is you, the character, in action. That’s powerful. And there’s no faking it. Aunt Martha won’t go for it.

Internal vs. External Acting – Stimulation vs. Simulation

oxbowseo — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:24:41 +0000

First off, let’s start by examining the meaning of internal, external, stimulation, and simulation. It may seem obvious enough, but these four concepts are central in evaluating good acting from mediocre acting or worse, much worse… Though it may also seem obvious that good acting, like great beauty, has to come from inside to make the external shine, we’ve all seen bad acting enough to know that not all acting training is on the same page.

Basically, internal means from the inside. External means from the outside. Stimulation means an act that encourages a given response. Simulation means an act that imitates the appearance of a given response.

Now, let’s look at these concepts more closely to see how they apply to acting and acting methods.

The external is all about surfaces. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – the external is a given and a necessity for the actor. An actor showing up for a casting call, for example, automatically brings their external, visible selves. Strangers on the street are seen externally for the most part. It’ll take some kind of stimulation – an accident, a tantrum, a fight – to make the internal come out. Method acting aims for stimulating the internal to come out also.

With external acting, what you get is voice inflections, mannerisms, sad/happy faces, presence if the actor is charismatic enough, and other tools of projection. Don’t get me wrong – all these things are important for an actor. But not at the expense of the internal, the emotional truth from within. The external craft is there to support the internal characterization. They are not intended to cover up for – ‘simulate’ – something real. All good drama schools and acting classes know this.

By internal, we may think of the inside as opposed to the outside of a book. The outside is the cover, right? Usually it is an illustrative surface that covers the content. Take that analogy a little further and you get an act that ‘covers’ for something that may or may not be there.

Great acting is about tapping into internal resources, which we all have, and using it to the fullest. Acting from inside leads to believable characters simply because the emotions are real. That shows – how could it not? Humans are very good at spotting emotional truth – they can be fooled, but only when they allow themselves to be.

The most moving performances, the ones that really touch you, involve actors who bring themselves – their emotions, their experiences, their physicality – to the role.

Method acting stimulates the process by insisting on truthfulness from every angle.

Simulation in acting is a sham, a pretense, a shortcut that will only lead to mediocre performances at best. Stimulation, on the other hand, comes with hard work and years of great acting lessons to perfect. The approach of method acting classes turns out to be one of the most, if not the most, successful approaches for insisting on internally-driven acting brought to the outside. (Marlon Brandon, Harvey Keitel, Denzel Washington, Ellyn Burstyn, Al Pacino, Sean Penn – the list goes on and on – were trained in The Method.)

When it comes to solid method acting classes in London, I am renowned for providing top level instruction. By stimulating your inner tools, not simulating them.

How To Become An Actor

oxbowseo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Becoming an actor isn’t as easy as it may seem. In today’s celebrity crazy media, it may seem like anyone can become an actor and that you don’t need to do much to become one. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here is the thing. It’s easy to become a mediocre or a bad actor, but to become an excellent actor takes time, commitment and perseverance.

All the top actors you may care to mention studied acting and studied it in detail. They all attended acting courses and acting classes, usually for some years.

Let me ask you a question. If you were going to become an accountant, would you try to do a set of company accounts before you learned accounting. No, of course not, and acting is no different.

It’s a skill that has to be learned.

The good news is that it is a skill, and therefore there is a process that can be followed to achieve a high level of ability.

The acting approach that I specialise in teaching is Method Acting.

Method Acting is used by all the top actors you may care to mention, and is the most successful acting technique in the world.

All the top actors have learned this technique to take their acting skills to a top professional level. Not just to achieve ‘ok’ or ‘alright’ acting, but exceptional acting.

Have a look at Senn Penn’s work. Good or brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

How about Al Pacino. Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

Daniel Day-Lewis? Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

I could go on, because there is a very, very long list of outstanding actors who went to Method Acting Schools and Method Acting Coaches.

Al Pacino still takes method acting lessons with a method acting teacher.

The message here is that if you are serious about becoming a truly outstanding actor, you need to learn the best technique. Then once you’re brilliant artistically, you need to get good at the business of acting and that’s a whole other discussion.

The first step is to start learning The Method.

What is method acting?

oxbowseo — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:12:26 +0000

As a method acting coach, I am often asked this question. The thing is, there has been so much reported on the technique, that it can be hard for the untrained eye to understand what the approach is all about.

Many years ago I was discussing this with my old mentor who described it as ‘the reality of truth brought into performance’.

Nice quote, but how on earth is this achieved?

Well, in the main, the actor has to do a challenging acting training which involves acting courses focused on bringing the authentic ‘you’ into your work.

Many people think that Method Acting is all about being ‘natural’. This isn’t quite true. It’s all about being ‘real’. Ellen Burstyn, co-president of the Actors Studio in New York, described the difference between being ‘natural’ and being ‘real’ as the same as being ‘asleep’ and being ‘awake’ respectively.

When aspiring actors go to drama school or acting school in the UK, they are predominately taught a technical approach, an approach that is focused on representing the truth rather than recreating it for real.

The Method is about recreating the reality of real life as accurately as possible. It is about capturing humanity in its fullest, most expressive form and turning it into a piece of theatre or a film.

The Method also takes no prisoners. It’s not the easiest of techniques, but then again, most things in life that are worth having don’t come easy. They generally require hard work, but the rewards are there for those who are willing to commit themselves.

Method acting classes bring together the inner emotions and experiences of characters together with the external elements. By ‘external’ I mean, predominately, how the character walks and talks.

Some say that The Method is an emotion-only technique, but that’s untrue. This sort of opinion is usually propagated by people untrained in the technique who form their own opinion based on limited knowledge.

The Method covers all the acting bases and is about creating full and varied characters which are grounded in reality.

If you are someone who is obsessed with acting excellence, then there is only one technique to consider.. and that’s Method Acting.

Want a Career in Acting?

oxbowseo — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:36:46 +0000

The number one obstacle to having a career in acting is usually YOU!

A hard pill to swallow, but generally true.

But it’s not your fault. You may be influenced by those around you, telling you to concentrate on a proper job, informing you that actors never get work and reminding you that you don’t even know if you have any talent.
If you want a career in acting, DON’T LISTEN TO THEM!

No one would ever do anything in life if it depended on the opinions of others, especially those with no experience in the field.

There is nothing more soul destroying than an unfulfilled goal. So, if you want a career in acting, you need to take some massive action.

First, get some acting lessons. Take some acting classes and acting courses so that you can understand where your ability is. Then you may well want to apply to an acting school or a drama school to gain professional acting training.

There are many Drama Schools in London to choose from. London tends to be the hub of actor training in the UK, although there are some Drama Schools in the major UK cities.

After you have trained, you will want to venture into the big bad world of show business.

Here, you will need to master the ‘business of acting’.

You must think of yourself as a product, and market yourself as one. Understand your unique selling points, and then contact a large list of potential buyers of your product – in this instance, they’re called Casting Directors and Agents. Show your product off. Get your buyers to see your work, so they feel comfortable with their purchase.

Then once you have a foothold in the marketplace, things get a bit easier. It’s just like starting a new business – getting it off the ground requires time, energy and investment.

But your first stop is your acting training and getting involved in good quality acting courses.

Check out my acting courses at www.briantimoneyacting.co.uk/acting-courses which is my acting school, providing high quality acting courses in London.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

Summer Acting Courses for Those Seeking to Become Professional Actors

oxbowseo — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:32:27 +0000

It’s summer again in London, when many potential acting students turn their attention to summer acting courses.

The problem is there are so many of them that it’s difficult to know the good from the bad.

A good starting point is to look at the acting technique the Acting School or Drama School focuses on.

Many Drama School and Acting School acting courses focus on a mixture of different approaches, which, on the face of it, you would think is a good thing. However, whilst you get a broad exposure to different techniques, it doesn’t give you a defined process. You end up knowing a little about a lot of techniques rather than mastering any.

I favour acting courses and acting classes that impart a definite process to get your acting to a top level.

Throughout this summer, I will be holding 3 Day Boot Camps on the world’s most successful acting process – Method Acting.

Method Acting is used by many of the world’s top actors and produces real, in-depth and highly believable acting.

Why mess around with other techniques when, quite clearly, The Method is the undisputed heavyweight of actor training?

If it’s good enough for Al Pacino, it’s good enough for me.

I would describe my 3 Day Introduction to Method Acting Boot Camp as an inspiring and life changing event. If you don’t believe me, you can listen to the video comments of my past students at www.briantimoneyacting.co.uk/introduction-to-method-acting

My forte is taking people’s current ability and taking it to a top level. The first step in the process is understanding where your ability is, and how you can develop your inner talent. Most acting courses focus on the actor saying the lines effectively and not bumping into the furniture. That is all too easy, and certainly not enough to develop your talent to a top professional level.

The next step after my Boot Camp is my part time One Year Ultimate Acting Programme. This is the ‘mother’ of all acting courses, which includes comprehensive and challenging method acting training, an LA Boot Camp with world class teachers, a Casting Director and an Agent visit, and an exclusive end of year career launch at The Groucho Club, Soho, London – where Casting Directors and Agents will see your work.

If you want a sizzling and inspiring summer this year, come to my Boot Camp. You will find full details at: www.briantimoneyacting.co.uk/introduction-to-method-acting

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

Who do the stars use for method acting training?

oxbowseo — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:30:16 +0000

A little known fact is that many top Hollywood actors still take acting classes and acting courses. It may seem hard to believe that someone like Al Pacino is still taking acting lessons, but it’s true. Many of these actors work with personal acting coaches to perfect their technique, in the same way that athletes work with coaches to perfect their technique.

The majority of top creative Hollywood actors work with acting teachers who are Actors Studio members. The Actors Studio, New York, is the home of Method Acting. The current co-presidents are Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and Ellen Burstyn. This gives you an idea of the standard of acting striven for at the studio.

Method Acting produces an extremely high level of acting. Over 75% of Best Actor Oscars since the year 2000 have gone to Method Actors. More recently, Forest Whitaker in 2007, Daniel Day-Lewis in 2008 and this year, Sean Penn. Their acting training is Method Acting.

Method Acting was born in the US, and many British actors have been rumoured to have taken up the technique, including Anthony Hopkins and Peter O’Toole.

Brian Timoney is the UK’s Leading Method Acting Coach and Method Acting Expert. He has appeared in the UK media, including the BBC; teaching TV soap stars Method Acting techniques. Brian has also been featured in The Metro, The Sunday Express and The Stage.

Brian believes that taking up Method Acting can benefit the UK acting scene enormously.

He says “Many Drama Schools, particularly London Drama Schools, have an aversion to the technique because it has an emotional focus. In Drama Schools, they basically teach you how to fake emotions rather than recreate them for real. This effectively short-changes the actor and the audience, which is why my actors’ studio specialises in Method Acting. It’s a proven technique used by the best actors in the world, and it’s all about NOT faking your performance.’’

Whether UK Drama Schools will follow Timoney’s lead is yet to be seen. Brian holds drama classes and drama courses in Central London, which are open to beginners who are serious about training at a professional level.

There is certainly much credence to the Method Acting approach. It’s hard to argue with the results it produces – just look at the performances of the many, many leading actors that use it.

Acting training, in general, is a complex area, with many requirements placed upon the actor. Actors have to deal with emotional content and external characterisation to produce high calibre work. In short, there is no easy answer, but hard work, lots of acting classes and courses (many of them Method Acting classes and courses) and a healthy diligent approach to acting is needed to achieve the desired results.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

Acting Training for beginners – London

oxbowseo — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:42:42 +0000

Knowing where to start with your acting training can be difficult. There are so many Drama Schools and Acting Schools in London, with a multitude of acting courses to choose from.

An actors’ studio specialises in actor training for beginners who are serious about entering the profession.

One of the main barriers to taking the leap into professional acting is a lack of confidence and not knowing whether you are any good or not.

This is a hard question to answer at the beginning. You have to view actor training in the same way as you would any other job. How would you know if you are any good at being an accountant until you have studied the subject?

Most beginners have a desire and aptitude for acting, and that’s enough to start with. If you take the correct drama course, you can begin to develop your raw ability to a professional standard.

Right from the start it’s important to consider your acting training and what kind of acting approach you would like to study. A typical Drama School or Acting School tends to give you a pick’n’mix approach. They teach you a little bit of different techniques, and then you have to cobble together a mixture of everything.

The problem with this approach is that it leads you to being a ‘jack of all trades and master of none’. In my experience, it’s sensible to look at what the most successful actors do to achieve a high standard of acting.

With a little research on the subject, you will discover that many leading actors, particularly in the US, use Method Acting classes. One of the reasons they use it is because it achieves an exceptionally high standard of acting consistently.

It is important to teach this approach – Method Acting – to people who have little or no acting experience. There are acting classes and acting courses that focus in depth on Method Acting, to allow you to improve your acting ability to an exceptional standard, from day one.

Some acting lessons are split between acting technique and practical application within scenes. It is important to find a Method Acting class that is fundamental in training your talent, and are not about merely saying lines effectively and repeating them the same way each time.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney