debor009

Acting is an ongoing education, not only in studying great actors in film and on stage but also in formal classes. We're always working on our craft. A little play I was in last month won its one-act competition, with nice comments from the judges about my performance. It was the first time on stage that I was free of stress about my lines and about performing in front of an audience. It was enjoyable....exhilarating. Now is the time to pump up my stage work with a class that pushes me back out of my comfort zone. I've been surveying local actors on which programs are likely to be the most challenging.  Here's what I'm hearing.... The Shakespeare Theatre Company : Accessible. Classes of 5-6 sessions. Great for the classics (and what actor doesn't need a firm foundation in the classics?). Learn at your own pace. Enunciate! Enunciate! The Studio Theatre Conservatory :  Demanding. Not for the faint-hearted, or the thin-skinned. A full 3-year program, which they encoura...

As I've often said in this journal, I'm a thinking actress, not a feeling actress, and I'm always looking for shortcuts to developing a character. Brits are known for an outside in approach, for example: get the walk and the talk first and then to let the character develop from there. Actor Michael Chekhov, nephew of playwright Anton Chekhov, developed a system that can help in capturing the walk and the talk. Chekhov said all characters fell into one of three archetypes, which he called Head-, Heart-, and Groin-centered. “Head” characters seem to draw their emotional energy from the head and all of their gestures seem to come from there. They slap or tap their head, scratch their head, make sweeping farewell gestures from the head. They also sit forward in chairs and walk forward on the balls of their feet. Head characters are perceptive. Consider Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, who frequently tips his hat, touches his moustache, and nods his...