Thursday. Up early and dropped off the munchkin at school. Then onto my next spoon river class. This week we had prepared another imaginary circumstance where we're all actors in Hollywood (convenient!), backstage at the opening night of a show having just discovered that our leading man has given up on LA and acting as a career. So we basically talked about that but mainly let it live as a circumstance and use it as a springboard to discuss what acting means to us and what we have to do to survive in LA whilst trying to follow our career. It was an incredibly emotional two hours for me and various others in the group. Everything came out and I mean everything. I found that several stories struck something deep inside me which triggered the reality of the life that I'm leading. I spoke about my circumstances from the heart and it really affected me, deeply. The point of today? To let things really affect me and to tell stories that have true and deep meaning to me. In a scene, letting the lines really affect me will ensure that not only me but what I'm saying will be compelling and will hold an audience. If you watch someone and they don't believe what they're saying or they don't have a true feeling about it, it's dull and uninteresting. BUT, speak from the heart and let EVERY line mean something to you personally and you'll be compelling.
In the group today, the meaningful stories, the ones which made people listen, and the people telling them had to be told, without interruption. The storytellers couldn't and wouldn't be interrupted because they wanted to tell their story and the others wanted to hear to the end, to the point of the story. The stories without real meaning, without a true focus, without being personal to the teller were easily interrupted by others, the storytellers allowing themselves to be interrupted.
Wow, totally draining. This job's difficult sometimes, you know! BUT, this is the work we have to do to become better actors.
Oh sure, go to a scene study class and do a scene without meaning, without making it personal and some people may tell you you can act but I bet it won't be many!
Printed up 50 resumes to take to my agent tomorrow in the hope that they'll seize them with vigor and send them out! Here's hoping!
Crashed out at 8pm! Woke up at 11 and finished the ident.