Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome.
There’s really no way to teach you how to act, but there is a way to teach you how to teach yourself to act. That’s kind of what it is; once you learn the little tricks that work for you, pretty soon you find yourself doing that. ~ Clint Eastwood.
July 31: Have an imaginary conversation on your cell phone, in public today. Throw in an accent for good measure!
July 28: Could you play the opposite sex, not only for comic relief? Today is dress-up day! Be ready for that role.
July 26: An actors body is a vessel for communication. The healthier you are the more you can say. Take Yoga!
July 24: Listen to head-bobbing music on headphones on a train or subway, get super animated-observe reactions.
July 21: If it’s raining go out and play out a scene. No Umbrellas! Imagine camera crews all around you. Get wet.
July 20: Can you write a song for a musical? Try your hand at composing a song & melody for your made up show tune.
July 18: Would you be prepared to play a blind person? It takes time & skill. Practice with eyes closed & open.
(Not sure I could do this without a specific part to play)
July 16: Scope out how others perceive their own bodies on the beach. Makes for interesting observations.
(Been observing like that for years; does that mean I’ve been working all the time 
)
July 15: Today, let’s focus on mouths. Watch people’s smirks, smiles, grins, pouts, or laughs. Should be fun!
(Ditto)
July 14: Know who you are as an actor. Are you a Streep or a Jolie type? Play to your strengths & get more work.
July 13: Can you do accents? On the phone today, pick an accent and stay in character the entire time.
July 12: What facial expressions do you make when you’re on the phone? Watch yourself for an entire conversation.
(Would you really be natural if you’re watching yourself? I doubt it, I’d rather watch other people on the phone )
July 11: Act your age? Not today. Pick an age group 10 yrs +/-& do what they would do. Stay in character all day.
July 9: Scenes get broken up in Film yet U need to maintain the same mannerisms throughout. Practice staying in character.
(Or a non-method version: practice getting in and out of character quickly. Know your character. What’s your way in?)
July 8: Can you act dead? All actors eventually play a death scene. Practice being dead or dying with your whole body.
July 3: Barbecue Weekend! Observe gluttony & how people chew. Especially how they approach food before the kill!
July 1: Practice sitting in a comfy sofa. How do you sit, slump, & where do you put your legs? Observe yourself.
Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises category with the tag(s) challenges.
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Critics search for ages for the wrong word, which, to give them credit, they eventually find. ~ Peter Ustinov.
Part 3 of Paul, Audition Portal, Brighton’s Actor Challenges. These are, by no means, the complete list of his challenges. If you’re interested in seeing them all, head over to Twitter and start following him.
June 30: To be a good actor means to be simple & articulate. You must trust your instincts and the real thing will happen.
June 29: Auditioning? Expect the unexpected. Taking Improv classes will help with relaxing & adjusting at an audition.
June 25: Observe & learn things you’d never do. You never know when you’ll be asked to ride a bull or line dance!
June 24: Study mannerisms & accents. Add diversity to your CV.
June 22: Videotape your favorite monologue and show a fellow actor. Be open-minded for critique.
June 20: Today, sit in park or in town and talk to yourself, aloud! How do others react?
June 19: Study Children this weekend. Watch them laugh, cry, walk. Emulate their body movements & mannerisms.
June 18: What is your physical destination in a role. What is your body doing while you wait? Study yourself.
June 17: Does your character have a history? Why are they mad, happy, or confident? Imagine or create a past.
June 15: What if you were asked to act on green screen? Can you? Practice talking to a bottle of shampoo! Should be fun!
June 14: Watch a movie from your favorite actor. Pick a scene and play it as the opposite gender. Should be interesting!
June 12: Mood change. Start the day happy. At noon change your mood to quiet & pensive. Make sure others notice.
June 11: Prepare clothes for work tomorrow that are uncharacteristic.Treat it like a dress rehearsal. Play that role!
June 9: Write an original monologue about something you care about. Casting Directors will love it.
June 8: When making your bed, observe your body, your feet shuffling, & the order in which you do things. Take mental notes.
June 7: Observe people walking. How do they differ? Do they limp, swagger, strut or sway? Pay attention & ask why.
June 6: Walk & Talk. Uta says you have to move when you read lines. Involve your body. Let action happen naturally.
June 4: Memorize lines easily. Employ Sight, Sound & feeling. Re-write them, recite & record them.Think like the character.
June 3: Tell an exaggerated story. Something totally made up. Slow motion that moment. Study their faces.
Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises category with the tag(s) challenges.
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My approach to acting is that I am totally intuitive. I read the script and I get it. If I don’t get it, I can’t do it. ~ Morgan Freeman.
Part 2 of Paul Brighton, of Audition Portal marvellous Actor’s Challenges, that I’m attempting.
May 15: How good you get as an actor depends on how well you can recollect your life’s history. Study your past.
May 16: Know Thy Prop! How much does it weigh, does it make you position your body differently? Study that Chair!
May 16: Today’s Actor’s Challenge: Studying dialects & regions can help you do better accents.There are many UK accents. Know the differences.
May 18: Today’s Actor’s Challenge: How do you look & sound when you sneeze or cough? Can you recreate it authentically, right at this moment?
May 19: Recreate a physical sensation. Remember what sunburn feels like, what a chill feels like? Relive it right now.
May 20: Make sure you work, paying or non-paying. We must constantly work to improve our craft.
May 21: Buy a book on acting. Any book. You will learn something new because you never stop learning!
May 24: Observe your friends & family and how they interact & have fun. Put yourself in the scene, be yourself.
May 25: Think about how you act differently every time you answer the door depending on who’s there. Take note with guests today.
May 27: Acting is a combo of imagination & grasping reality, with a desire to share them.Understand the differences.
May 28: Find a character to play. Practice learning their Rhythm, Metering & Intonations. It’s like listening to music.
May 29: Think of someone in your past. A tender moment, a sad day, or someone that passed.What do you feel at this moment?
May 30: Get physical. Crawl around from room to room & pretend you’re escaping a bad situation. Act with intent.
Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises category with the tag(s) challenges.
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People who reach the top of the tree are only those who haven’t got the qualifications to detain them at the bottom. ~ Peter Ustinov.
My quest to hunt down useful online resources seems to be continuing apace. First the Guardian, now Paul Brighton of Audition Portal! He regularly suggests challenges to flex and tone the old performing muscles. I’ve only been using them for a few days so far but they’re certainly pushing me into more variety in my studies. Hopefully this is organically helping me to create a better curriculum (?!) and that can only be a good thing! Here are a few recent challenges I’ve been working on. I’ll keep coming back to them (probably with very tedious progress reports of the glaringly obvious) but for now, here’s a list.
May 14: Evaluate your use of “Sensory Recall” or visualization, in dramatizing fear, feeling cold or hot. Practice.
May 13: Practice “Sense Memory.” What makes you cry? Can you cry right now? Today, practice remembering something sad.
May 11: Take an acting class or workshop, if you don’t already. It’s never too late to learn something about your craft.
May 8: For today’s audition, eat well beforehand. No simple carbs, drink lots of water.Clear mind+Preparedness=Success!
May 6: Refine your Sense Memory skills. Be in the moment. Understand what you feel. Muscles have memory, so do emotions!
May 4: Take a scene from your favorite movie & videotape yourself acting that scene out. Observe and study it. What fun!
Plus this found this great tit-bit: “Camera Actors Tip: react to upcoming thoughts, not illustrate the outgoing one. Why? Editing.” from Chris Lutkin.
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Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises category with the tag(s) challenges.
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Acting is a very personal process. It has to do with expressing your own personality, and discovering the character you’re playing through your own experience – so we’re all different. ~ Sir Ian McKellen.
The Positive:
- Strong company member.
- When in a character, have confidence I know her and my inner ability to convey her.
- Ability to relax into a character on stage.
- Thorough. Enjoy delving into character’s world.
- Reliable. Both time-keeping wise and in terms of repetition, know it’ll be the same from night to night.
- Have experience of working in a variety of venues & period costumes.
- Can dance, pick up routines quickly and accurately.
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- Used to be good at accents, until I found out that in order to be good at accents you have to be good at singing and I’ve struggled to make an accent work since.
- Used to have a good memory. Not so good now.
- Can get into the zone, but not as consistant as it needs to be.
- Didn’t use to be able to cry on command. Think I can do that now (providing I can focus – see above).
- Can take direction. Like blocking. Well most of the time (see 4 below)
The Negative:
- Not a good singer.
- Gabbling. Have a tendancy to speak too quickly. Have to be conscious of my speed.
- Concentration. Not always been able to sustain focus.
- Inflexibility. Found it difficult to bend. Eg. to a director who insisted on arbitrary characterisations.
- Tendancy to go for the easy option. Need to always watch that.
- Don’t listen (react) as much as I would want. Certainly didn’t trust that my reactions were right.
- Improvisation. Find it very hard to relax, I tense up and can freeze.
- Stuggle to ‘let go’ in rehearsals, character only fully arrives at 1st performance/when the camera is turning.
- Posture not as good as it should be. Tend to slouch.
class action lawsuit on prednisone The now necessary confidence booster:
- Called a ‘natural’ by several directors, colleagues and 2 critics.
- Told I had potential.
Could possibly be more in all categories (bound to be something huge I’ve missed out too) but that’s all I can think of at the moment. Now all I’ve got to do is make all areas better 
Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises category with the tag(s) criticism, self-appraisal.
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I’ll always be there because I’m a skilled professional actor. Whether or not I’ve any talent is beside the point. ~ Michael Caine.
In her instructions for watching fellow actors, she says “Don’t be judgemental”. If you don’t believe in something, think that it’s what you’d do and look at how you correct it.
But if something convinces you, and you really identify with it, ask “Why? What are they doing that allows me to be convinced?”
I’m not sure if this is precisely how she meant it to be interpreted but using those statements I’m going to analyse some performances by great actors in depth. Not entirely sure if I have the tools to do this effectively but I’m going to give it a try anyway. So every so often, I plan on analysing a really famous performance that’s impressed me.
Not sure which I’m going to start with … hmmm … decisions, decisions.
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Spoken by Madame Arkadina in the Exercises, Technique category with the tag(s) performance study, Uta Hagen.
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