Acting Profile

What makes a good actor?

A good actor will:

• Make a performance seem, perfectly natural.

• They must not try too hard.

• Take their lines and make them their own.

• Make each performance personal.

• Be able to portray a specific personality type.

• Truly understand their role and own it.

• Live their character and their character’s life.

• Research and be willing to work hard.

• Become that character.

• Characterise physically and emotionally.

• Make their performance seem natural and not contrived.

• Make the audience believe in the character.

• Give the audience something to take away.

• Be realistic.

• Strive to make the character real.

• Understand a character’s motivations.

• Get behind the thoughts of the character.

• Turn their body over to the character.

• Make each move the character’s.

• Make the character memorable.

• Strive for an outstanding performance each time.

• Have a clear vision.

• Understand what they want to achieve.

• Be passionate about acting.

• Be good at timing. When to read your lines and when to interact with other characters.

• Don’t overact.

• Don’t try to act.

• Let the character make the decisions.

• Live in the moment and be the character.

• Don’t think too hard about acting, but just do it.

• Versatility and the ability to play different roles.

• Be willing to try new things.

• The correct role.

• A good charisma and compassion.

• Never get too big for your boots.

• Have an understanding of who they are and be comfortable in their skin.

• Observe other people well and study human behaviour.

• Learn as much as they can about the world around them.

• Read, study and appreciate the ascetic things around them.

• Be sensible, sensitive and vulnerable to others situations and emotions.

• Work hard and never take their talents for granted.

• Most of all enjoy to act and live to act.

If you truly want to become an actor then you should never give up your dreams and goals. Once you achieve your acting goals then you will feel much happier. Once you set goals for yourself then you can start achieving them. The whole point of obtaining your acting goals should be for your own fulfilment.

Once you achieve your goals and get the work that you want it should bring peace and happiness. If you do not find pleasure in acting then you are in the wrong job. Believe it or not some people run after acting just because they think it will make them famous. In fact, even if you do become a working actor doesn’t mean that you will get instant fame. Some actor’s work full time without ever getting famous. Some actor’s work behind scenes or work in the theatre. Whilst others work as extras or on commercials where they don’t become famous.

If acting is what you really want to do then you should go for it. Run after your acting dream and make it become a reality. Setting your goals will help you to fulfil your acting dream. Make your dreams come to life and don’t be constrained by other peoples influences. These are your dreams so make them as life like as possible taking you one step closer to achieving them.

Ask yourself questions about your dreams. When do you want to break into the acting world? How are you going to get your break? What acting awards do you want to win? When do you want to win them? Although this might seem silly and unrealistic don’t be afraid to be as dramatic as you want when writing your dreams and goals down. The only way you will achieve them is by being creative and thinking out of the box. You need to get a clear picture inside your head then go for it.

Working towards your dream will bring great happiness and a feeling of achievement. There is no point being born with an acting gift if you are not going to put it to use. If you cannot work with the gift you have been given then there is no point in being given it.

Acting is a creative skill that takes great imagination. Many of the great actor’s use their imagination to help them become their character. They build characters from observing those around them or from their dreams at night. Acting is hard work and a process that is recurrent every time you get a new part. Doing background work on the character you are playing can help, but so can your dreams if you let them. It is more important to be driven by instinct as an actor the moment you analyse your character too deeply then you lose the natural flow. When your head becomes too involved with acting to the point that you are reliant on researching your character to great depths then you have the wrong balance to succeed. Imagination is much more important than research although research is important. Working too hard is not good for your acting as it will interfere with the way your character functions.

Once you have set your acting goals you can start working on your creative skills to achieve your dreams. Just remember that acting is difficult and not as glamorous as it might look like.

With New Year on its way I thought we’d look at acting goals. Having acting goals is important in fulfilling your acting dreams. If you don’t have goals then you won’t have anything to work towards and fulfill. Below I have summarised some of the acting goals you could include in your list and work towards:

Christmas time is a time where you eat, drink and be merry. Tonight I will be putting my feet up and trying to relax a little whilst watching Connie Fisher in her drama called a , “Caught In A Trap” true story about a council worker who takes thousands of pounds in coins from car parking ticket machines and spends it on her Elvis Presley obsession. Sound of Music star Connie Fisher stars in it with a cast of karaoke stars. Connie Fisher who is well known for her singing voice has a scene where she sings an Elvis karaoke track. The character that Connie Fisher plays is obsessed with Elvis Presley. Everything in her life revolves around him, she would do anything and go to any lengths for Elvis.

This is a true story with good acting from start to finish. Connie Fisher plays a very convincing fan that you end up feeling sorry for. She actually has quite a good gift for acting and surprised me whilst watching her. In other areas of performing I have always found her very flat and dull. When she has ever presented anything I have never seen a personality. When I watched her presenting The National Lottery one time I wondered how she was given that job because she was just flat and then a few weeks ago at the Royal Variety Show she was also flat. However I was quite impressed with her performance in, “Caught In A Trap”. It was a good drama that was sad at times and also made you realise how far an obsession can go. All the actors were very realistic and I enjoyed watching it.

Directors and actors joined Pinter’s friends and wife, Lady Antonia Fraser. Harold Pinter dedicated his life to theatre writing contemporary pieces, acting, poetry and political activism. Even during his fight with cancer Harold Pinter continued to write, direct and campaign. Lady Antonia his wife was a distinguished writer and lived with him for over 33 years.

Michael Gambon was noticed in the 1970’s through performing in Pinter’s play Betrayal at the National Theatre. Gambon, is presently starring in Pinter’s No Man’s Land on the West End stage and many other actors will carry on to perform in Pinter’s plays. I know that I would feel priveledged to perform in some of Pinter’s plays. Pinter was not just a playwright he was a remarkable man of strength and courage who carried on despite his illness and fought to the end., Harold Pinter was a fantastic playwright who worked well with actors and took time to guide and support them. He had a natural feel for theatre and knew the intricacies that made theatre work.

It is a great shame to lose someone like this in the world of theatre. I am sure that actors everywhere will be sad today as the world is grieving a wonderful man who contributed greatly to the world of performing arts. We have some wonderful lessons that will carry on past Harold Pinter’s death. The world is a much more valuable place because Harold Pinter lived in it. Pinter wrote plays that were meaningful and each line had a reason. There are not many who can write like Harold Pinter did and he will be greatly missed.

It’s been a strange year for me. Starting my performing arts course has been a mix of emotions for me. Sometimes I felt happy other times sad and frustrated. Since I joined the course about 5 people have left and this was very frustrating in the beginning. We were getting used to working with certain people and then those people dropped out of the course which was difficult.

On the other hand I am delighted that I am doing something that I really enjoy. For a long time I put my dream on hold, but to actually be studying performing arts again is like a treat to me. I have an excellent tutor who is very supportive and the people on my course have now become friends. I am happy that I am doing something that fulfils me completely. I love acting and put it off for too long when I should have been studying it.

When I go back after the Christmas break we will be studying singing which I am looking forward to. I have always wanted to learn how to sing correctly and to get better at it. I am especially looking forward to learning musical theatre as getting into the characters and singing also fulfils my two deepest passions. It fulfils my acting dream and my singing dream at the same time. Musical theatre allows you to get into a character, but that character will also sing. Look at the musicals like Greece, Oliver, Wicked and other more popular musicals all involve the actors getting into characters.

Well… I am going to go to bed soon and just wanted to do a quick blog and say thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Lee Strasberg (1899-1982) was a tutor and theorist of acting and a leader of the Actors Studio. He made the suggestion that the most successful film actors were those who did not act. “They try not to act but to be themselves, to respond or react,” he said. Whilst on the stage they would react to stimulus in the same way that they always acted when they were not on the stage. The acting out would be a natural part of the actor’s personality. This would be difficult considering the factors influencing the actor such as studio publicity and genre roles. However it is this belief that forms a central part of the Stanislavsky Method.

Actors were encouraged to communicate in the way that they would to their friends or loved ones in their private life. Konstantin Stanislavsky, was the director at the Moscow Art Theatre, he wrote many of the books on acting, the first of which, An Actor Prepares, was published in English translation in 1936. Before this time a student of his, Richard Boleslawsky (1889-1937), opened an acting school in New York and started teaching Stanislavskian principles (Boleslavsky went on to Hollywood and directed a number of films in the 1930s)”

Method acting has also been called, The Method. It is a specialised technique that many actor’s use. Method acting is part of the reason that the acting world has developed to such an extent as it has today. It brings an actor to life and makes that woodenness disappear. Actors who use method acting are used to tapping into their own emotions and memories in order to bring a quality to the character they would not have been able to without the technique.

When I played a 90 year old lady in a play I put myself back to the time where I worked with the elderly. I remembered the way they were physically and how slow their movements had become. I felt like an old lady and could bring those characteristics out physically. I remembered the times when I watched those elderly people reliving their lives and brought those feelings into my acting. It was difficult at first but, as I practised it, it became second nature. I believe I was born to act, it has always been natural to me and even though I don’t have a lot of confidence in other areas of my life I have always had confidence in my acting. There are not many 21 year old s who would be able to characterise an old lady so well. I even frightened my friends dad in the audience because I was so realistic. I have to thank for all he has taught and brought into today’s world of acting. Without him Method Acting would not have developed in the way it has today.

Mal enters, Mel is sat on a bench with a quilt around her.

Mal looks at Mel without taking his eyes away.

Mel — What you looking at?

Mal — The Lord spoke to me, He told me you needed help.

Mel — Good for you. Sounds like you need the help mate.

Mal — O.k maybe I’m wrong.

Mel — Well, I can’t understand what you’re saying.

Mal — Look, can I just buy you a warm drink and something to eat?

Mel — Well actually I wouldn’t mind a 12 inch pizza, chips, garlic bread and a pint of lager.

Mal — Can I sit next to you?

(sitting next to Mel)

Mel — You can sit where you like. Why not. You’ve just spent your money on some food for me. Don’t expect me to speak to you though.

Mal — Look, I just want to share my faith with you.

Mel — And you want me to become a born again Christian right?

Mal — Oh, that was just a hope. Of course, you don’t have to become a born again Christian. You have a choice.

Mel — What happens if I decide to become one?

Mal — We can talk about that later.

Mel — (turns to exit) See ya.

Mal — (grabs Mel’s arm) Wait a minute! That doesn’t mean

you have to become one! You have free will.

Mel — What does God want me for?

Mal — He has a plan for your life. He’s going to save you and give you new life in Him.

Mel — (turns to exit) I’ve heard all this before. Those Christian friends of yours were here a couple of weeks back.

Mal — (grabs Mel’s arm) Get back here. Listen, if you don’t hear my words then…

Mel — Then I’ll die and go to hell right?

Mal Yes, but you have a choice. I’ve been on the other side too.

Mel What do you mean?

Mal I was homeless. People look down their nose at you. The only people who approach you are those who think they are all high and mighty.

Mel Like you, you mean?

Mal Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.

Mel At least they are pleasant.

Mal Look you are the same as I am.

Mel People never talk to me. They look the other way. Don’t want to know. Or they laugh at me.

Mal The Bible speaks plainly about homelessness: “If any of your Israelite relatives fall into poverty and cannot support themselves, support them as you would a resident foreigner and allow them to live with you. Do not demand an advance or charge interest on the money you lend them. Instead, show your fear of God by letting them live with you as your relatives” (Leviticus 25:35-36 ).“No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind” (Isaiah 58:6-8).