Hidden Chambers....
"Stay true in the dark and humble in the spotlight"~Harold B. Lee
This week I did not go to the theater for my usual movie night because, quite simply, there were no movies I was overly interested in watching. I thought of watching another one that I'd seen already, but found none that I thought I'd want to spend more money to watch again. Which made me step back and think 'what does make a person want to spend hard earned money to go lose themselves to the cinemas a second or third time'?"
Part of that was answered when we started doing a deeper dive into Stanislavski's teachings, and it deals with authenticity. The group spent some time on the notion that an actor is "the priest of beauty and truth." Although some useful insights were provided into the meaning of what that may have meant, I had to read the quote in the context that Stanislavski wrote it to draw my own inference into what he wanted us to glean.
Before that phrase and after, he goes into a detailed explanation on how some "actors and actresses love stage and art as fish love water.' When taken in context, the reader/apprentice can infer that he had a peculiar dislike for people who did theater and acting strictly for financial gain, vain conceit, or superficial desires. That gets to the heart, in my observation, to the true measure of a successful artist.
From countless hours spent on set, as most people involved in film can attest to the hurry-up-and-wait nature of film/television projects, I've had a front row seat to exactly what Stanislavski wants to get across. Everyone is brought to the set for one reason or another, and usually it is in those hours-long conversations backstage or "off set" that you get a glimpse into motivations. I've only ever met ONE person that came right out and said: "I'm going to be a huge movie star, with my name up in lights, and have my own large trailer!!" To be completely honest, it was off-putting and as Stanislavski said "superficial people are enslaved by the temptations of the stage." Why is that important?
Whether it is on stage or in a film/tv show, you'd be amazed how easily that comes across to the audience, which in turn dilutes the intended stimulus. In a more simplistic view: that's what causes someone to want to spend their time or hard-earned money doing something else rather than going to a play or a recent release. No one wants to be fed inauthentic or cheap art, that's why the actors/artist themselves have to keep it pure and beautiful in the same way a priest is supposed to keep reverence for truth and God in it's purest form.
This week I did not go to the theater for my usual movie night because, quite simply, there were no movies I was overly interested in watching. I thought of watching another one that I'd seen already, but found none that I thought I'd want to spend more money to watch again. Which made me step back and think 'what does make a person want to spend hard earned money to go lose themselves to the cinemas a second or third time'?"
Part of that was answered when we started doing a deeper dive into Stanislavski's teachings, and it deals with authenticity. The group spent some time on the notion that an actor is "the priest of beauty and truth." Although some useful insights were provided into the meaning of what that may have meant, I had to read the quote in the context that Stanislavski wrote it to draw my own inference into what he wanted us to glean.
Before that phrase and after, he goes into a detailed explanation on how some "actors and actresses love stage and art as fish love water.' When taken in context, the reader/apprentice can infer that he had a peculiar dislike for people who did theater and acting strictly for financial gain, vain conceit, or superficial desires. That gets to the heart, in my observation, to the true measure of a successful artist.
From countless hours spent on set, as most people involved in film can attest to the hurry-up-and-wait nature of film/television projects, I've had a front row seat to exactly what Stanislavski wants to get across. Everyone is brought to the set for one reason or another, and usually it is in those hours-long conversations backstage or "off set" that you get a glimpse into motivations. I've only ever met ONE person that came right out and said: "I'm going to be a huge movie star, with my name up in lights, and have my own large trailer!!" To be completely honest, it was off-putting and as Stanislavski said "superficial people are enslaved by the temptations of the stage." Why is that important?
Whether it is on stage or in a film/tv show, you'd be amazed how easily that comes across to the audience, which in turn dilutes the intended stimulus. In a more simplistic view: that's what causes someone to want to spend their time or hard-earned money doing something else rather than going to a play or a recent release. No one wants to be fed inauthentic or cheap art, that's why the actors/artist themselves have to keep it pure and beautiful in the same way a priest is supposed to keep reverence for truth and God in it's purest form.
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