Because they are talking to themselves… Because they are on learned lines which is highly unnatural… Because they are embarrassed by the script… Because the new lines came under the hotel bedroom door at 3am Because THEY came in the hotel bedroom door at 3am… Because it’s a night shoot – the night after a […]
Category: ‘A Screen Acting Workshop + DVD’ pub. Nick Hern Books
In order to fly free, actors – probably all artists – have to let go of the controller. Shut down the monitor. Turn off the ‘decider’. Kick out the censor. If you put in the ‘ammunition’ – what you need – why you say those words – where you are – what has led to […]
We all look for beauty. Beauty in a flower; beauty in a mountain; beauty in a jewel. Beauty in a lover’s eye. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder – so we may not agree on our terms. But whether it is the beauty of life, work, relationships, soul or even death […]
It is a time of rituals. I have decorated my tree, brought in holly and sent cards. There are presents under the fairy lights and a wreath of green on my door. The larders are full and the candles are lit. The Winter Solstice has provoked rites since time began – predating any Christian beliefs. […]
(This was first published in ‘The Great Acting Blog 2011 but links were invalid..so updated.) Actors are often obsessed with sub-text and when they find it, they want to share it. But what is sub-text? Literally it is what lies beneath the words. But we deal in sub-text all the time, even when we are […]
When you are fighting to get auditions, change your agent, fix your showreel, cope with earning enough money in a job that lets you off for castings – it’s easy for the joy to go out of the work. ‘The world is too much with us…’ as Wordsworth put it. But there is a joy! […]
‘Subtext: Any meaning or set of meanings which is implied rather than explicitly stated in a literary work…’ (Oxford Reference) I did a blog a while back called Concealing and Revealing about what lies beneath words (what doesn’t! We’d all get arrested or ostracised from society if we couldn’t hide our thoughts…) and I’ve […]
Time for those resolutions… Instead – think of it as dusting off the cobwebs and letting in the sparkle… Some quick thoughts for basking in that sunshine that will grow brighter as the weeks go by: 1. Step out of your own shadow. Allow yourself to believe that you are worthy of doing what you […]
More and more of us are being asked to self-tape these days. It’s supposed to be greener – it certainly saves producers money – but it puts an extra burden on actors. On the plus side, it probably means you try for more opportunities overall. So look on the positive side – this is a […]
It’s really important to stay on relaxed breathing when nerves set in at the audition or performance – or for any public speaking. If you go into upper chest breathing, you get an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide which makes you feel dizzy, nervous, sound unconfident and stops you thinking clearly. That’s why it’s […]
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