The Journey
"The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" ~Lao Tzu
Gacis Chassis [Gah'-seas Shas-ee] - The framework behind the drive
Not having been in an acting class or theater production since my sophomore year in college over a decade ago, I have to admit there was some trepidation over how this new adventure would fit into my daily schedule. To prepare, I started making it a habit to watch a new film every Sunday after church to start incorporating different acting styles and perspectives that I could bring to the group.
When I received the syllabus and saw we would need a book, flashbacks of expensive encyclopedia thick books from graduate school came to mind. Would I have to read the first five chapters before the first session!? When I found the Sonia Moore book on Amazon on Stanislavski's system at a very reasonable price AND size, I was at ease. While sitting there during jury duty, I tried reading as much as I could before the first meeting (again, graduate school fears coming back to the forefront of potentially being unprepared!). Amazingly, it was such an easy read that I was breezing through it.
One of the first discussions we had as a group tied in directly with the first points Stanislavski used extensively in his teaching: in order to connect with the intended audience, you have to become enthralled into the character you are portraying. Being in tune with their emotions, and reacting to the other people around you in the scene to create an atmosphere of genuineness. You won't be believable unless you became that character, better known as "method" acting. Part of being able to become a character ties in directly into your "type".
After discussing what type can be and how it is properly used to achieve acting authenticity, I immediately thought of a recent movie that I had seen a while back. The movie had been completely slammed by critics and before I had even stepped into the theater, I thought to myself "It can't be THAT bad?" But it was. Despite the fact that the cast were well known actors with extensive experience and resumes, the movie just did not connect. A large part of that was because most of the leading protagonists were playing a different type of character than they ever had before. It didn't fit their strengths or their image as artists, for lack of a better description.
Part of the discussion we had Monday was of being honest with yourself and knowing the characters you would be able to portray more openly based on your own skill sets. Clearly, most the actors in the film had tried to "stretch" their boundaries, not in itself a bad thing, but it in turn created a disconnect with audiences and critics. They just weren't able to bring life into their characters based on previous experience, and the story line suffered.
As this leads into being able to recognize which actors you could emulate and learn from based on style and type, I still can't really narrow it down. I do have some time to think about it more, but those that I respect and follow the most are those who have been known to successfully stretch their persona into different kinds of roles seamlessly. First and foremost are Denzel Washington and Harrison Ford, but also Matt Damon and more recently Leo DeCaprio. The breath of characters they've been able to portray successfully across different genres shows how well they were in tuned with their characters, in turn creating memorable experiences with their audiences. Having a type is paramount, but being able to embody the Stanislavski method into your character is what creates the illusion for the audience that they are in the moment with that character. The essence of creating art.
Gacis Chassis [Gah'-seas Shas-ee] - The framework behind the drive
Not having been in an acting class or theater production since my sophomore year in college over a decade ago, I have to admit there was some trepidation over how this new adventure would fit into my daily schedule. To prepare, I started making it a habit to watch a new film every Sunday after church to start incorporating different acting styles and perspectives that I could bring to the group.
When I received the syllabus and saw we would need a book, flashbacks of expensive encyclopedia thick books from graduate school came to mind. Would I have to read the first five chapters before the first session!? When I found the Sonia Moore book on Amazon on Stanislavski's system at a very reasonable price AND size, I was at ease. While sitting there during jury duty, I tried reading as much as I could before the first meeting (again, graduate school fears coming back to the forefront of potentially being unprepared!). Amazingly, it was such an easy read that I was breezing through it.
One of the first discussions we had as a group tied in directly with the first points Stanislavski used extensively in his teaching: in order to connect with the intended audience, you have to become enthralled into the character you are portraying. Being in tune with their emotions, and reacting to the other people around you in the scene to create an atmosphere of genuineness. You won't be believable unless you became that character, better known as "method" acting. Part of being able to become a character ties in directly into your "type".
After discussing what type can be and how it is properly used to achieve acting authenticity, I immediately thought of a recent movie that I had seen a while back. The movie had been completely slammed by critics and before I had even stepped into the theater, I thought to myself "It can't be THAT bad?" But it was. Despite the fact that the cast were well known actors with extensive experience and resumes, the movie just did not connect. A large part of that was because most of the leading protagonists were playing a different type of character than they ever had before. It didn't fit their strengths or their image as artists, for lack of a better description.
Part of the discussion we had Monday was of being honest with yourself and knowing the characters you would be able to portray more openly based on your own skill sets. Clearly, most the actors in the film had tried to "stretch" their boundaries, not in itself a bad thing, but it in turn created a disconnect with audiences and critics. They just weren't able to bring life into their characters based on previous experience, and the story line suffered.
As this leads into being able to recognize which actors you could emulate and learn from based on style and type, I still can't really narrow it down. I do have some time to think about it more, but those that I respect and follow the most are those who have been known to successfully stretch their persona into different kinds of roles seamlessly. First and foremost are Denzel Washington and Harrison Ford, but also Matt Damon and more recently Leo DeCaprio. The breath of characters they've been able to portray successfully across different genres shows how well they were in tuned with their characters, in turn creating memorable experiences with their audiences. Having a type is paramount, but being able to embody the Stanislavski method into your character is what creates the illusion for the audience that they are in the moment with that character. The essence of creating art.
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