Genuinely authentic....
"Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will get you the right ones." ~John Lennon
One of the biggest points we discussed during group before we broke off to do an on-camera testimonial on a specific shaping event in our lives, was the need for authenticity. More to the point, being comfortable with being vulnerable and open. From my perspective, that struck me as the need to be genuine with people and with the characters you are tasked with portraying.
Many times, whether it be theater, contemporary art, or film/television, an audience can always tell when you are "trying too hard" or "just don't have IT". Both are easy to spot, and from an acting perspective it becomes distracting in trying to follow to story line or plot. On one particular occasion, I remember discussing background work with a movie goer and his main take was "the background actor was overdoing their role so much, that it became distracting to the scene and quite honestly made me laugh during a very serious scene. They were so over the top that they completely ruined that shot. Cary Grant was in the scene, that's all you should have needed!"
Which brings me back to my approach to the task at hand, which is being genuine. The quote from Lennon is so on point even today because in a jaded environment and industry that at times borders on not-so-subtle cynicism, I've encountered many acclaimed actors and directors that HAVE to be on guard because they never really know when someone is interacting with them, if others see them as people....an actual human being, or just a pawn being used to further a career.
Knowing how you fit in the big picture is extremely important in situations where there are pressing deadlines, limited budgets, and thousands of moving parts/people that have to fluidly move in a common direction to get a project done on time and on budget. If they tell you to stand here, you stand here. If they tell you to move, you move. If they want you out of the shot completely, then let the producers, P.A.'s and Directors do their jobs and gracefully move to the side. That, to me, is being authentic in the moment and helping the scene itself be successful.
One of the most vivid and tragically funny times ever on set was a scene where we were told "it's fairly straight forward, should be 3-4 takes from two angles and then we will break for the day." I was happy as a clam since that meant maybe a 2-3 hour filming session, get paid for the whole day and then have the rest of the afternoon to go to a movie or a bookstore (hashtag nerd alert). If only......8-10 takes later, a frustrated director, and entire crew being pushed to the limit, and 5 hours later, one of the three principals on the scene STILL could not get his four lines down. FOUR. Turns out, he was trying too hard and there was nothing the director could do to get him to stop "acting" and start delivering the scene instead. He just couldn't be authentic.
One of the biggest points we discussed during group before we broke off to do an on-camera testimonial on a specific shaping event in our lives, was the need for authenticity. More to the point, being comfortable with being vulnerable and open. From my perspective, that struck me as the need to be genuine with people and with the characters you are tasked with portraying.
Many times, whether it be theater, contemporary art, or film/television, an audience can always tell when you are "trying too hard" or "just don't have IT". Both are easy to spot, and from an acting perspective it becomes distracting in trying to follow to story line or plot. On one particular occasion, I remember discussing background work with a movie goer and his main take was "the background actor was overdoing their role so much, that it became distracting to the scene and quite honestly made me laugh during a very serious scene. They were so over the top that they completely ruined that shot. Cary Grant was in the scene, that's all you should have needed!"
Which brings me back to my approach to the task at hand, which is being genuine. The quote from Lennon is so on point even today because in a jaded environment and industry that at times borders on not-so-subtle cynicism, I've encountered many acclaimed actors and directors that HAVE to be on guard because they never really know when someone is interacting with them, if others see them as people....an actual human being, or just a pawn being used to further a career.
Knowing how you fit in the big picture is extremely important in situations where there are pressing deadlines, limited budgets, and thousands of moving parts/people that have to fluidly move in a common direction to get a project done on time and on budget. If they tell you to stand here, you stand here. If they tell you to move, you move. If they want you out of the shot completely, then let the producers, P.A.'s and Directors do their jobs and gracefully move to the side. That, to me, is being authentic in the moment and helping the scene itself be successful.
One of the most vivid and tragically funny times ever on set was a scene where we were told "it's fairly straight forward, should be 3-4 takes from two angles and then we will break for the day." I was happy as a clam since that meant maybe a 2-3 hour filming session, get paid for the whole day and then have the rest of the afternoon to go to a movie or a bookstore (hashtag nerd alert). If only......8-10 takes later, a frustrated director, and entire crew being pushed to the limit, and 5 hours later, one of the three principals on the scene STILL could not get his four lines down. FOUR. Turns out, he was trying too hard and there was nothing the director could do to get him to stop "acting" and start delivering the scene instead. He just couldn't be authentic.
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