My Process

For those of you that don’t already know, I spend some of my free time doing theater. It was at one time a goal, a desire, a dream to be an actor. Or should I say, BE an actor. As a career, profession. Uhm, didn’t work out so well.

However, the effort did give me a passion and an outlet. Small, community and black box theater. More and more details of how has and what has and what might will follow as I find the time to tell those stories.

Process. One of the terms actor types use when they are really pompous and think everyone wants to know how they are good at it or used by little poseur types that want anyone to think they know what they are talking about. Sure, there are some standard techniques for developing a character. Ways to create a good back story without trying to live like a character. Method. Right.

This is my process. This is also probably why I act for free and have a dead end day job that just keeps me living in doors. (So spoiled.) Read the whole story. No surprises and knowing what your character is about to do helps to know why they, your character, is acting that way at that moment. (Oh yea, be in the moment too! I don’t know how to be anywhere else but, it’s an actor thing to say.) Say or deliver the line the way you think makes most sense. Then, wait for the director to tell you how and what they want for the same line. Listen to what and how the other actors are saying. Respond, reply to  that. Acting is bad, reacting is good. Listening is harder than you think.  Find something to like or love about your character.

And then, act. Do something the character would do and do it the way the director told you too. Viola! It’s fun, it can be exciting as soon as it stops being painfully dull and repetitive in the rehearsal process. It is scary when you look around only three days out and realize that you are more like thirteen days away from having it together. It is really sleep depriving when you have it together and feel like no one else does.

I need to learn to say no. It is ego boosting and flattering to be called to be in someones show. BUT – sometimes that because no one else showed up. AND that is for a reason. The Loan Ranger of low end entertainment! Yee-Ha.

Support you local, small and community theaters. Send your kids to classes. Try it yourself.

“All the worlds a stage!” Just know where it ends. Stumbling off the end in the dark hurts.

Ant-Knee