%50 Perfect!

My acting coach use to always say, "You are %50 perfect every time if you can just simply talk and listen."  Well, guess what?  Majority of people are not listening to you when you speak with them.  Majority of people are else where in their mind, or thinking about what they would like to say when you are finished yammering on.  Here is a read about Mindful Listening..

MINDFUL LISTENING

A great time to practice mindfulness is when listening to others.  By remaining completely present to what they are saying and avoiding the tendency to be distracted by our anticipated responses or judgements we can notice subtle cues we would normally miss.  Paying full attention to the person you’re talking with allows the best quality of communication to happen and also avoids what’s known as ‘communication anxiety’. The practice requires ‘on the go’ introspection to ascertain whether you have become distracted or preoccupied with thoughts and judgements.Similar to formal mindfulness training, simply bring your attention back to mindfully listening as soon as you discover you’ve been distracted, without any further internal dialogue about your distraction.As Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh suggests, “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like FLOWERS.

“When your attention moves into the Now, there is an alertness.It is as if you were waking up from a dream, the dream of thought, the dream of PAST and future.
Such clarity, such simplicity. No ROOM for problem-making. Just this moment as it is.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

It's not always what you left out, sometimes it's what was already there.

Character work.  It's not always what you left out... sometimes it's what was already there that is causing a separation.  Judgment can be our own worst enemy, but observation is our best.  Human beings are creatures of habit.

Understanding the primal need as a human being can take you to the truth.  Start there.  When your objective stems from a primal need it will be come stronger.

Every human being has a soul, an aura, an essence of who they are.  Don't leave out the soul or you have only created a character not a human being.   Find out what that human being breathes for, what makes him or her tic.  What feeling do you get when you step into the shoes? You have to make those shoes your own. Your choices have to be strong, but let me follow that by saying they have to stem from the truth!!  Don't make your character based on things you made up out of the blue.  Everything has a reason.  Find it.

What inside you is it that is stopping you?  That could be a number of things.  If you are working on a character that may be gay and you have some issue about being gay, then you can't find the truth. If you are taking on the part of a prostitute but you can't get past thinking prostitutes have to be sluty, then you will not create a human being.  If you create a human being based on one word like "slutty", "mean", "dumb" or anything that sheds a negative light on that character, then you are going to create a one-sided character.  Others can call you these names, but not many people call themselves those names.

Take your EGO out of the equation.

Acting will never be a dance

If you do not take the time to understand what you are saying and why you are saying it, then why do you think the lines should sound truthful?

I was reminded today how easy it is to learn the lines without ever knowing what you are saying.  It becomes what some people mistake acting as: a dance.  Acting can never be a dance.  Not if you want to truly live.  It must be seamless like life that is being lived for the first time every time.  It can't be choreographed or seem familiar.  Every time I see it, I should wonder what is going to happen next?

Are you a good liar?

Know this...  Being a good liar does not always mean you are a good actor.  Being a good actor means you can make anything the truth.  Over all, it is important that we, the audience, believe you.  We have to watch your body language, your natural human behavior, and see if it matches the human being that you are suppose to be.  Humans have an innate ability to pay attention to human behavior.  If you do something like lie or fake it on screen, it takes us out of the story because we feel cheated.    You didn't tell the truth.

NOW HERE IS THE KEY!!!  How you make the script the truth is not that important.  There is no one way to learn that.  We have to find out what it is that works for you.  What helps you make believe freely?

How should I say my line?

It should never have to be about how you should say it, or deliver it.  If you ask me as your coach, how should I say this line?  You will never hear me say something that I want you to repeat.  Then I would be teaching you how to take line reads.  I want to focus on the truth of the line.  We will talk about what it means to you.  When the lines mean something to you, then you don't have to figure out how to say it.  It will come out however you mean it.  It may come out a different way every time.  Is that wrong?  No, it's life.  We have free will and every human being has a different set of values.  You must allow yourself to live in them.  For example: My line, " I love you" may come out a thousand different ways.  It only matters to us if it comes out real..  It is up to you to make it real any way you can.

A visit by Glenn Morshower and talk on BEING PRESENT and Self worth.

In class tonight we had a wonderful guest speaker Mr. Glenn Morshower.  A man with more credits than he needs as an actor, and even more credit as a human being.  Glenn and I had never met but when we shook hands the first time I felt a familiarity.  I felt a comfort, an ease.   As I watched him met everyone he was present at all times.  His observation to the room and his awareness of everyone in the room was wonderful to watch.  We always say, "Man, I am so bad with remembering names," but in reality we aren't really listening.  We are either wondering what's for dinner, or how we are going to introduce ourselves.  His focus was so strong that he could probably name every student in my class before I can.

A Being state, we hear that all the time.  Being present doesn't come easy for many actors.  Now let me follow that by saying being present doesn't come easy for many human beings.  The reality of what we live in our every day modern society has caused many people to shut down so that their instrument isn't as capable of being present.  I don't mean in acting, I mean in just you, a regular everyday human being.  We don't take the time and use our observation to notice the colors, the sounds, the smells, the textures, the taste of the life we live.
Coffee drinkers, when is the last time you sat back and actually smelled your coffee?  I mean really enjoyed that sent that first drew you in.   Practice.  Start using your sences.  Get off your phone and listen to the world, talk to the person checking out your groceries, or go to dinner just to taste the dessert menu.  When you can find yourself being completely present in your everyday life, then it will be much easier to be present while working as an actor.
If you ever get the chance to listen to Glenn Morshower speak, take it.  Even if it is just an introduction, because he will meet you with the same respect he would greet the president.  Glenn and I share many philosophies, but one that I thought was wonderful was his reference to Auditions.  Which may seem like a jump in subject to you, but I completely link his "respect" to his advice for auditioning.  I will leave it to him to tell you his mind frame, and trust me it's worth it.   However, here is my version.  We do not have to seek approval to do something that we already know we are capable of.  As human beings we are all given the same amount of self worth and if you do not consider yourself an equal neither will anyone else.  Change that mind frame and no one can ever look down to see you.  Your objective as an actor may be "I want to book this job", but your action should never be to beg or plead for that job.  We, and producers want to work with people that are on our level, or above us.  No one wants to work with those who we have to pull along with us.  That slows us down.  Again, we are all given the same self worth when we are born.  You are all worth every bit as much as those producers, casting directors, and directors.  Respect them, but do not think they are any better than you are.  You can't play the game if you aren't on the same field.

If you would like to see and hear more about Mr. Glenn Morshower you can check out his website.
www.glennmorshower.com  You can also send me an email or leave a message here on my blog and he will be doing a seminar in New Orleans soon.

The Question: What is too much?

Let me start by saying this.  There is never too much for me.  Let me explain that by saying that if it's believable to us then it is never too much.  Many films don't make it because even if the star is great it only takes a few actors to take you out of the reality of the story.

THE MOVIE- it's 3010 and Aliens with asses for faces kiss people and turn them into the ass face aliens.  We are the only human's left.  They call us the whole people race.  We call them the ass-whole people race.  Can we stop the end of the world?

Think that's crazy? I have auditioned for much worse.  However if you are going to take the role it has to be real to you.  It has to be real to everyone.  Creating real life in imaginary circumstances.  That is what we do!

If I don't believe you and your being really big or screaming at me or crying with no emotional attachment then your doing what I call pushing.  It means you are straining your instrument to get an emotional reaction.  Emotions can't be chosen they must arise from the truth.  So, there is never too much unless it isn't real.

It's not about the Audience anymore.

When our venues were only the stage for actors we developed certain training techniques so that the audience could hear us, and see us and understand all of our complex emotions we human beings have.  As a modern day film and Tv actor many of the rules to make us perform are gone.  If we act as though we were on stage we look like fools on the camera. The camera will catch every little nuance in your life.  It is no longer important to worry about the audience.  They are not there, they do not have to hear you or see you.  As a matter of fact if your shooting something that in the script takes place with you and one other person then guess what, it is only important if that other human in the scene hears you.  The Gaffers, and the hair and make up don't care if they can hear you.  Guess what? Your not on set to entertain the people on set.  You are there to truly live in the circumstances they have given you.  If you ever questions yourself, "am I over acting or under acting", then start with the truth.  Do you believe that aliens are coming to get you to suck out your brain?  No?  Then, neither do we.  You have to find a way to make everything real to you.  If you don't know how, then get to an acting class.  Respect your career.  If you think your giving acting a shot by taking some photos and getting an agent to send you on auditions then your wrong.  Doctors don't just give it a shot and try to heal someone.  They go to school, they train, they perfect their craft.  They have respect for what they do.  Have respect for this craft and industry and be willing to learn.  Humble yourself and be like a sponge.  If you don't respect your career then don't expect others to take you serious or respect what you are doing.  In the end this is a job, a career.

What do you study? What is your method? Tooo many questions..

Every METHOD to me will work for someone. However, we have to let go of old ways of specific strict methods. Not all actors are a like there for not one method is perfect. I teach for tv and film, to name a method for madness would be like me telling you, "I can teach you exactly what women want"... If anyone ever tells you that. They are lying or ill... Women, replace women with men to get the full picture.

*******VOTE********

Actors, if you've been a studying and or working actor for more than 4 years ongoing, please put a comment below..

QUESTION:  
 If you had a choice, would you wish that your passion in life turned out to be something other than acting?   And, would you follow your dream if it changed from acting in the future?

I will share my answer after a few others step up.



I would like to do this so that new and or green actors can see the thoughts of "veterans. Tell us about career and or following your passion?  Actors should always know clearly what drives their career? WHY are you doing this?

The moment before.....

Home work for this industry. Making good choices aren't by luck.

When I say "homework", I mean it in so many ways.  Homework starts immediately after you decide to be an actor. This industry is, as I always say - "TOUGH".  As green or "new" people in the industry, you are a target for a way to make a lot of money.  If you don't know what a quality acting coach is, then you won't know if he or she is any good or not.  If you don't know what a quality head shot is, then you don't know who can take a GOOD head shot.  The same goes with agencies.  If you are the consumer, then you should always compare their prices to the industry standards (the average prices of class/headshot/etc).  Also, agents will not charge you to represent them.  They will get a percentage (usually 10% - 15%) of what money you make once you book your jobs while you are working with them.  

Do your homework and look up information on your acting coaches - google them or go to imdb.com and check to see what movies they were in that were speaking roles.  Also, you can maybe find their resume and/or reel online.  Most acting coaches should have a reel, or video clips of them acting online.  If they don't, then maybe they haven't been acting long enough to be coaching you.  Try to find bio's on the acting coach to see if he or she mentions how long they have been in the entertainment industry.  Ask other friends/actors what they have heard, seen, or experienced with them as well.  Most acting coaches will have a time that you can come sit in during class, which should be free, to see if you feel like it is a good learning environment for you.  Do you feel comfortable with the coach?  Is he/she someone you could listen to and learn from?  You should always walk away from class feeling like you got a little bit better and/or learned something.  If you have been with that coach for a more than a few weeks and do not feel like you have learned anything, then maybe you should try another coach.  Go to a few coaches and check out their classes before you settle on one specific coach.  Even some good acting coaches may not be a great fit for you.  Also, ask the acting teacher what type of acting he teaches.  If he says theatre then ask yourself - "Do I want to learn how to act for the theatre, or for film and TV?"  Make sure your dream is the same as what he or she teaches.  An acting coach is not going to get or promise you work.  He is not going to tell you that you will be a star, nor will he get you an agent; but maybe he can help you or give you advice.  However, you have to take the initiative to do that homework also.  

Headshot photography is one piece of the pie that looks a lot easier than it is.  A great photographer, may not be a great headshot photographer.  Go to someone that shoots almost only headshots - it is what they love to do, like you love acting.  Look up some of the best headshot photographers in Los Angeles or New York; and get to know a good headshot.  Check out some of the ones that you really like; and then look in your local market for someone that shoots similar headshots.  The headshots should all be about the person in the photo.  When I say that, (for example) I mean don't wear big earrings unless you are shooting head shots for a certain type of character.  Most of the time you are going to need a headshot that looks just like you do in person.  When a casting director brings you in to their office based on a headshot they saw; then that is who they expect to see.  A head shot shouldn't make you look a lot younger, older, skinner, or sexier.  It should look just like you; so put that in your notes for when you shoot - no big jewelry, loud shirts, or anything that could distract someone from looking at that photo and being drawn directly to your eyes.  

I know most actors think you need an agent as soon as you start - Not true!  Treat this industry with just as much respect as a doctor treated his when he decided to learn how to do what he loved.  An overnight success in this industry is, once again, between seven and nine years; so if you truly want to make it in this industry, then "getting discovered" isn't going to cut it.  Now, agents are going to help get you auditions; but you don't want to go on auditions until you know act or create real life in imaginary circumstances.  Therefore, take a step back; and start by looking for an acting coach.  I say "coach" because most schools don't focus on film and television acting.  If you want to learn how to act in the theatre; then again, focus on an agent that works for theatre actors.  When choosing an agent, check out their IMDB page.  Also, check to see if they have a website that may give you more information on the agency.  Ask anyone you know who is with that agency that can tell you anything more; or you can ask your acting coach which ones are the good ones.  Usually, acting coaches will be up to date and current with what is going on in the industry - at least they better!  This is what they are suppose to be teaching you, as this is what you are paying them for.  That is the business of acting.  If they don't know what is going on in the current industry, maybe they aren't the right coach for you.  Plus, if you are at the point in your career that your ready to go on auditions and show them your BEST, then you should already have a wonderful acting coach that can give you some advice in any and all directions of this industry.

Remind me later, or just come to class.  Then, we can talk about a whole other book.  It's about homework when it comes to all the training and knowledge it takes to become a great actor.  I hope you want to be a great actor - not just a good one.  I don't mean a star.  I just hope that you are in this industry because you love it.  To be completely honest, if it isn't your passion, I don't think you should be an actor.  Follow your passion and your life will be happy. 

A Professional Acting Resume

My resume is below and it is a great set up for a professional resume.  As professional actors we must keep everything up to par.  Our talent, and respect for our career is super important but understanding the business side of our industry is just as important.  I just want to cover extra work on our resume and imdb page for now.

I have nothing against extra work, however if you are wanting to be a professional actor that goes after principal speaking roles then you can not put your extra work on your resume or your imdb page.  Producers and directors do not think you are any better of an actor because you have done extra work, if extra work is on your resume then they think you are green in this industry.  Green is what we call anyone new to the industry.  It is more important to have a professional resume than it is to have a resume filled with extra work.  I also hate to bust any bubbles,  but featured extra work, is still extra work.  Having your training displayed is very important and working in small independent films to grow your resume is very important.  We can not jump a head of ourselves in this industry.  The work is still important.  Also find an acting coach that you like that you can learn from continuously.  Having a long list of workshops and coaches on your resume is not looked highly upon.  It just looks like you have a lot of mixed opinions coming at you to what acting really is.  Find one, learn, and continue learning.  On your resume next to that coach put (ongoing)  that way people know that you are always studying and getting better.  Every actor always has room to improve.  Don't let your ego stop your career from growing.    I hope this helps.

What does Living in the moment even mean?? What does that even mean?

Acting is what we call "creating real life in imaginary circumstances." When we say that, we mean that you must now understand what your life would be like if you grew up in the same circumstances of your character (life, love, beliefs, etc, etc, etc, list could go on forever if you focus on the details ... and you should). After understanding that, you should try to live at this point in time. The CURRENT. Living in the moment. Living in the circumstances that have been given to you by the script for each scene. Each scene being nothing more than a person living their life at that point and time. You should not have to act. You do not have to worry about anyone getting you on the sound system. Your job is not to make sure the light is hitting you right. You are not suppose to be acting at all. Because with a close up of a camera we can see if you are trying to act, or if you are just living and searching for that objective ... that thing you need or want. Stop worrying about learning your lines so much until you have understood what it is you want. If you sound like a broken record every time you re-do the scene with the same rhythm, the same pauses and stops; then you are not living in the moment, you are just re-enacting the scene you have directed in your head. Guess what? You are not the director; and that is not your job! Don't make emotional choices, and plot out your future. The future should always be able to be forgotten like you never read the script. The lines should come from you talking and listening to the other actor while you are in search of this need you have... So, stop acting. Acting will only get you to the stage. That is not where all actors want to go.

So, what does living in the moment even mean? Living in the moment is being able to forget all of the work and dedication you should have put into learning this character so that you do not have to think about being anyone else. You should live just like you are living now. While you read this, there was no acting. You were just reading at a computer or reading on the toilet. Whatever it is you do with your time is not my bag. The point is that you were not thinking of anything that is coming next in life because we should not know it.

A sense of time in this industry. .....HONESTY.....

Many actors never get to hear the truth about this industry until you have spent close to 7 years or so in it. I had an honest and wonderful coach. Lucky me. I agree with my coach, I like for my students and other actors to know the truth right when they decided this is the career they want.

Truth: Acting is not a dreamers industry anymore. The reality of this industry is that it is tuff, ruff, and full of NO's. Please don't take the No's personal, but get use to them so that you can move on and focus on learning what acting really is. If you have no respect for your career and you think it is suppose to move super fast, and you don't need class, and you don't need to work every day at perfecting your craft then you might as well quit now. I think I have served my students well if after a while of studying with me they either decide to work super hard for their career, or quit. If this is not your passion, and at any point you feel that your passion has changed, then follow it. In the long run just be happy. But please, have the respect for your career that a doctor has for his, or a pro athlete. He doesn't sign up and they throw him a scapulae and a liver. He studies for many years before he even gets a chance. Pro Athletes practice almost every day of their lives! They practice for a living!!!

You can not fail until you have given your self a chance.

And don't listen to all those damn groups, schools, and ads that say they will get you in Twilight or any of that bull shit. Just find an acting coach that you believe in and trust. Get to work! Learn what you want them to hire you for. Then hang on, because it's a long road. Know that I am not saying you can't make it shorter, but you do it by working harder. Not by waiting around, and not by someone discovering you. Sorry if there were any Bubbles that just got busted, but know you can make your decision knowing more honesty.

Older actors feel free to leave a comment on this one.