The following is an excerpt from an email to a student who was struggling to act from his instincts:
I can empathize with your concern that you’ll never be able to overcome the blocks you’ve described in your email, but you haven’t really been in the class long enough to know that. Remember, this a long-term process. It’s not instant. It takes most students at least a year or two to really be able to do it consistanly in their work.
What I see your real obstacle/problem is, is the wall you’ve built up around yourself which keeps all of your personal feelings hidden. We talked about this 2 weeks ago when you revealed that your mother died a couple years ago and you still haven’t dealt with those feelings. You told me that you have kept yourself emotionally insulated from others for a long time and that’s probalby why you are emotionally detached from your scene partner. At that time, I made suggestions about what each of us needs to do to get through our key blocks to being sensitive and expressive as actors. Perhaps you might look at that tape again and listen to my comments once again. Also, it’s probably a good time for you to watch and listen to your interview tape again.
If you’ve read the Meisner book, you now know that there is no “character;” that it’s YOU in the scene, reacting instinctively and revealing your most private, personal feelings. “Self-betrayal.”
That’s the core challenge for almost everyone. And few actors are willing to take it on. It’s too scary and uncomfortable. Most of us would rather do a performance that’s comfortable, controlled, and hide our true selves and true feelings, even though it’s not satisfying for the actor or the audience.
You must not rely on understanding the plot of the scene when you perform it in front of the class. Otherwise, you’ll be predictable in your acting work, as you are now, and not revealing anything really personal and interesting.
When actors don’t reveal their emotions on a regular basis, they resort to doing their idea of a scene, which doesn’t get them anywhere worthwhile in the profession.
Copyright David Kagen 2007
All rights reserved
Tags: Acting Classes Los Angeles, Los Angeles Acting, Los Angeles Acting School.