This time lets go back to even older times still ine the “modern acting” era but before the 1920’s, keep reminding yourself that one-liners hold in them a natural truth or better yet a true observation, but they are truisms, also some might repeat, this is because we might find them in different teachers, why am I repeating them? Well because they deserve repeating, oh and remember to play the game of always locating the opposite — polarity, its fun!
“Your dramatic development is nipped in the bud if you do not develop a sensitive response to the character.”
Stop bringing on stage your actor’s problems and start looking at what the character has to deal with, acting is problem solving, THE CHARACTER’S PROBLEM WE SOLVE NOT OURS!
“If you analyze “ifs, ands, and buts”, you can’t be creative, you can’t be spontaneous.”
Too much analysis will lead to paralysis, on that note analysis has a place in our work, fix your timing and your priorities.
“Unless you develop as men and women, you cannot develop as artists.”
Do I need to spell that for you? Stop being babies, the actor has a rhinoceros skin and the heart of a baby, grow up, develop…and might I add…dress nicely and with taste.
“Do not let your intelligence degenerate to the place where you join the great army of the average actor.”
Orson Welles said in the book “My lunches with Orson” that the best actors he ever met were stupid, he said that, but Orson on the other hand was a great actor and a freaking genius, so what did he mean? He meant that actors must be intellectual and intelligent when they need it, and raw and physical when they are on stage, learn to switch off and on your brain.
“Your whole motive must be that of genuinely acquiring, of genuinely improving, of discovering your weaknesses and turning them into strengths.”
…discovering weaknesses and turning them into strengths…so what are your weaknesses?
“The student needs a genuinely receptive mind.”
You must learn to listen off and on stage, all the same, stop looking at your freaking phones all the time.
“It is only the bad things in artists that we can imitate. The great things are not subject to imitation, for they come from the heart.”
Be inspired by others, steal from the greats, but don’t imitate, you are you, they are who they are, steal and make it yours, we want to see you.
“There is nothing that will hinder and hamper you so much at this stage of the game as to allow a feeling of satisfaction with your work or yourself to enter your mind.”
Be satisfied that you did the best you could, strive for the best, but don’t be satisfied with your work, there is always a place to improve, but always remember the enemy of good is better, and the enemy of better is perfect, be careful not to let perfectionism block you, there is no such thing as perfect, not even in nature.
“A performance is merely an incident in your development, a means of showing up your weaknesses in order to remedy them, merely an experience to give you the “feel” of an audience.”
TRY to get up in class, ON STAGE, as much as you can, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP.
“Forced pressure in preparation causes undue nervousness. What you put into your work you will draw out.”
A CULTURE OF CALM…A SENSE OF EASE, Chekhov said : an actor must burn INSIDE, with OUTER ease.
“Never go through a rehearsal mechanically. Always use your creative faculties.”
Don’t walk through a rehearsal, be creative, what are you waiting for? Put down phone and coffee and create!
“Ending a sentence mentally before you do vocally is distinctly bad.”
It is self explanatory but ending your thinking before you end your speech is UNNATURAL! Follow nature not an artifice.
“There is no limit to the art of acting. You need the understanding of all human nature, the sense of beauty of the artist and poet, the sense of rhythm of the dancer and musician, the mentality of a philosopher and scientist. It is the universal art.”
YOU ARE DOING THE ULTIMATE JOB…DO YOU GET IT?…THIS IS THE ULTIMATE ART FORM, ADORE IT, LOVE IT, GIVE YOUR LIFE TO IT NO MATTER IF YOU WORK IN THE INDUSTRY OR NOT.
“Every great artist must be a great man or great woman.”
DON’T BE ASSHOLES PEOPLE, LET THE OTHER BE THAT… ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM, BEAUTY, NOBILITY, HIGHER VALUES, GRATEFULNESS, HUMBLENESS, HUMOR! BE NOBLE!
“You must make the best use of your time and opportunities in order to make progress.”
DON’T PROCRASTINATE ! DO YOUR SCALES EVERYDAY, WORK ON SOMETHING EVERYDAY
“It is your business to build up your physical health so that the magnetism of health may radiate in your work.”
Workout, eat well, sleep well. Repeat !!!!
“A “smart alec” is always an “actor”, never an artist.”
A smart Alec is an old expression meaning a smart ass (exipnakias) learn when to talk and WHEN TO KEEP QUIET.
“You cannot win an audience by untruth.”
NO COMMENT
“Unless you are using your creative faculties, you are not making progress.”
DON’T BE MECHANICAL
“There is a great difference between being a conscientious worker and a keenly intelligent student.”
DON’T BE A FOLLOWER BE A STUDENT, DON’T BE JUST A WORKER BE AN ARTIST!
“You do not Jive with your characters enough. You must live with them, study their attitude towards the various other characters in the play, their habit of thinking and living.”
BE OBSESSIVE !
“The only freedom that is real freedom comes from knowledge.”
I would add and practice, practice, practice.
“The great lesson: to eliminate self; to serve gloriously, freely and gladly.”
I will have everyone in S.A.M tattoo this…not a bad idea!
“Use your brain not as your brain, but as “A” brain, then your brain is useable.”
Use your brain as THE brain of the character.
“Take the high points in a scene and dwell on the accumulation that leads up to them, that makes them possible.”
Also eyes in the past…what got me here?, what happened ? ACCUMULATE
“You must take your text and study it.”
Assign, Accumulate…
“Don’t be a talker; be a doer.”
Don’t tell me what you want to do on stage, try it out, do it, FAIL!
“The fellow who underrates himself is as innately conceited as the one who overrates himself, for he is using the same amount of self-thought.”
STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP, AND STOP FUCKING BRAGGING! BOT ARE USELESS CONDITIONS!
“Get up and play yourself, using another personality’s lines and you are nobody.”
It is not about you…it’s about the character.
“You can’t do two things at once with your brain; it’s hopeless, idiotic.”
Two head’s = A MONSTER!
“Don’t let yourself be a fool and just pronounce words. Mean something.”
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE WORDS! AND YET AND YET AND YET EVERYTHING IS IN THE WORDS!
“Stay in the scene. Don’t drop out after each speech. Pick up ~ the current of the scene.”
Don’t speak in turn, don’t wait for cues, don’t become an actor after you’ve delivered a line, stay in the character’s problem, solve it…
“Be men and women conversing, not idiots pronouncing words.”
It is not about reciting verses or lines it is about solving problems.
“You are silly, idiotic amateurs if you think you can be one person one minute and another the next.”
We can see when you are the actor and when the character, we can also see if your character is not consistent , don’t play two characters, be ONE SINGULAR human being!
“Yield. Give in.”
Toss everything, empty, surrender let it happen!
“Cause and effect handle themselves.”
Acting is reacting…everything is a reaction, I read in an old Russian physiology book from the 60’s that without external stimuli we wouldn’t even be able to have a thought, think about it!
“Response, response, response!”
Hm mm, timing, not a bad thing to master especially for comedy!
“Never anticipate.”
Remember what vulnerability is? I mean everyone in Hollywood talks about it, but nobody explains it…NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO, OR WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.!
“The emotion will handle itself if you just give in.”
GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY, DO NOT STEP ON THE BREAKS AND DON’T STEP ON THE GAS PEDDLE
“Continue and increase a theme until something happens to change it.”
By theme in the 20’s they meant action-emotion- and thinking. Remember what Meisner use to say about emotional preparation, it is for the first moment until something changes it…so keep it up, letting it happen until something changes it.
“If you just use ordinary intelligence things will handle themselves.”
Be a human being…don’t do tricks.
“Never use physical effort.”
Don’t strive!
“Serve your work. Don’t make it serve you. What do you count anyway in comparison with your work?”
NO COMMENT
“The worst fault an actor can have is doing a thing and listening to himself do it. It ruins more actors than any other bad habit.”
You know what the paradox is, right? If it does happen, give into it 100%…or focus on something external, even a nose.
“Use your brain normally. You can’t do anything without a relaxed brain.”
I love this… relax your Brain…ah only in the 1919’s you get such quotes people, such a beauty RELAX YOUR BRAIN!
“Let the character run things, don’t dictate to it.”
GET OUT OF THE WAY!
“Never break illusion.”
YOU DO REMEMBER THAT THIS IS IN THE TEN RULES ON OUR PAGE RIGHT?…NEVER EVER BREAK ILLUSION…NEVER, I CAN FORGIVE MANY THINGS, BUT IF YOU BREAK ILLUSION…UGH!
“The secret of the whole thing is this: Yield to the character and let it take control of affairs.”
NATURE WILL TAKE CARE OF NATURE.
“Oh converse!! Don’t act!!”
P-R-O-B-L-E-M S-O-L-V-I-N-G
“Relax to it.”
TAKE YOUR TIME
“Don’t bring in subject matter that the character wouldn’t. She’s not thinking about stage business or mechanics. The thought of them is death to the character.”
NO COMMENT
“Above all, do not direct your character.”
NO COMMENT
“Your manuscript is a gold mine of information. Dig into it.”
EYES IN THE PAST
“Never fail to make the transition from self to character.”
two meters behind the door, two meters after your exit!
“Human beings are interesting, not cues and stage business.”
NO COMMENT
“Don’t think out and plan, obey. Don’t abuse your intelligence that way. Yield, obey your character.”
NO COMMENT
“So long as your mind is on acting instead of the thoughts of the character, you make no progress.”
NO COMMENT
“Deal in cause and effect only. Don’t anticipate.”
IT IS SIMPLE PHYSICS.
“Rattling off lines and thinking of your next speech is not conversing.”
RESPOND—REACT
“Being interested in your own work, in your personal progress is the greatest obstacle to progress.”
WAS I GOOD?
I WANT TO BE GOOD, HOW DID I DO?
These are bad questions…ask about the character.
“Your brain no longer belongs to you when you are creating. It is the character’s. You have no right to it.”
Read this twice and it might give you an erection!
“Obey your impulses.”
No comment
“It is as bad to think of yourself in regard to your work as it is – to think of one’s personal appearance while creating.”
We’ve all been sinners, we’ve all done this …we must all repent. Let’s start now!
“It is better to be crude by overdoing than to be negative. Obey your impulses at any cost. Don’t fear mistakes. Be fearless! Yield! Obey!”
ALWAYS IN CHARACTER AND ALWAYS IN CIRCUMSTANCES! He is not talking about anarchy
“Language is thoughts — not words.”
NO COMMENT
“You’ll never improve as long as you try.”
“Don’t think about making a correction, the character is not thinking about that.”
NO COMMENT
“We don’t memorize when we study. We absorb.”
SO DEMIDOVIAN
“You must understand the motive of the character, what the character is trying to do. Then do it in the most charming, womanly manner possible.”
1919’s charm and manliness were part of their cultural given…and yet and yet and yet…I believe we are missing both of these element in 2024…such a shame really!
“You must have freedom from thoughts of self.”
True…
“Only when your body is free and naturally relaxed can the brain function normally, and only when the brain functions normally can good work be done.”
No comment.
“Don’t change your mental condition, your mood, until something happens to change it.”
No comment
“Nature is your great school.”
No comment
“Don’t stiffen the body. Always relax. Stiffness comes from nervousness and effort. When you feel yourself stiffening, just relax all over at once. Don’t stiffen the brain. Your brain must always be as relaxed as the fingers of a pianist.”
Self explanatory.
“You can feel your deepest emotion without moving a muscle.”
Self explanatory
“Breathe naturally.”
Self explanatory
“Don’t make a mental anxiety a physical one.”
If you don’t let it get to the body, it will be released from the brain also.
“So long as you try you fail. Only when you stop trying will you succeed.”
ZEN!
“Understand your character, get the basic events, then yield and submit.”
No comment
“Don’t wait for cues. Be a human being conversing.”
No comment.
“Don’t think of acting, think of living.”
No comment
“You are much nicer as a woman than as an actor. Why do you make your character so unpleasant? Never get cross unless you are playing a silly child. Let emotions be beautifully expressed. Never let ugliness creep in unless it has to.”
I love how beauty and charm was part of that era, I believe aesthetically he is absolutely right…
“Don’t blur your canvas with too many details.”
Don’t try to put to much in, don’t try to do everything, all at once, use one tool at a time, YOU CAN’T HAVE TWO EMOTIONS AT THE SAME TIME, YOU CAN HAVE ONE AFTER THE OTHER BUT NOT TWO AT THE SAME TIME!
“Your eyes are the windows of your soul. Keep your head up and your eyes open, don’t pull down the shades so the audience can’t look in.”
FORM!
“The first step in acting is to be a good listener, a sensitive listener. If you are in character, you are thinking of what the other person is saying to you, not of your next line. If you concentrate on this you ward off – selfconsciousness.”
I love how this teacher from 1905 is not giving his actors tricks like activities, the activity is the listening itself!
with love and peace
KF
