10 Things Every Actor Should NEVER Do
“The time is coming when we must all choose between doing what is right, and doing what is easy.”
-Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
To kick off a brand new category I like to call the “No-No’s” section I thought we’d present a list of tips from a slightly different point of view. In the past we’ve covered Ten Tips Every Actor Should Know and Ten MORE Tips Every Actor Should Know, but now we’re going to turn those on their ears and talk about Ten Things Every Actor Should NEVER Do.
Well, no point in sugarcoating anything, let’s just jump right in.
10. Never Say “NO” – It’s the first rule of improvisational theatre and should be the first rule theatre in general: Whatever happens on stage, don’t make choices that say “no.” So many times we hear actors complain that their partner isn’t giving them what they need, or worse, “they’re not giving me anything.” That’s flatly untrue, what they meant to say is, “they’re not giving me what I want.” See the difference? Your partner is never giving you “nothing,” they just may not be giving you what you wanted from them. If you say “no” to what is happening on stage, you’re stopping the action in its tracks and breaking the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief. You’re job as an actor isn’t to play exactly what you want; it’s to react to the situations at hand. Remember that acting is living truthfully in imaginary circumstances, not creating them in your own image.
9. Don’t Argue During Notes – So the rehearsal is over and everyone is sitting around waiting for their notes. The director goes around the cast and finally settles on you. He levels his gaze and flatly tells you that he hated that choice you’re so proud of. You get mad and start to tell him all your reasons for making your choice, hoping he’ll see that you were right and apologize. The best advice I can give you in this situation is: Don’t Argue. Arguing wastes people’s time, singles you out negatively and has the ability to really piss off a director. If you really feel that you’re right and they’re wrong, then talk to them after rehearsal and ask them for some advice on your choices. This method has a higher possibility that you’ll get the reaction you want from the director. Interrupting their notes to explain yourself will undoubtedly produce the exact opposite effect.
8. Don’t Take Easy Choices Without Questioning – Start believing that you’re too good an actor for that sort of thing. Easy choices are the difference between a brilliant performance and a performance. They are the difference between getting a laugh and asking for a laugh. So how can you identify these easy choices? They are usually your first choice, that’s what makes them easy. They tend to be flat and uninteresting so begin questioning every choice you make to make sure that you have a damn good reason for having it. Make sure that you’re first choice is the best choice you have before sticking to it. Easy choices are not bad choices, they are merely passive. Make sure that every choice you make is dynamic. The key question is “What is the most interesting choice?”
7. Don’t Steal Focus – This one should go without saying, though that doesn’t seem to be stopping me much now does it? Stealing focus includes upstaging, pulling faces and stepping on laughs. Remember when you’re onstage that the audience will look where you look, so make sure you’re looking at something important. Remember that the moving figure dominates the focus and that revenge is a dish best served cold. Not sure what I mean? Upstage an actor and find out.
6. Lose the Melodrama – This goes for onstage and offstage, leave melodrama at the door. Being melodramatic onstage means giving the audience too much of anything; too much crying, too much laughing, too much anger. Whatever the choice, too much can turn a play from realism to a kind of disturbing hyper-reality. The audience knows what it feels like and it makes us uncomfortable. As for melodrama offstage . . . I think we all know what that’s like. Don’t do that either.
5. Don’t Take Rejection Personally – Just because a director doesn’t cast you, or shoots down your choices doesn’t mean they don’t like you as a human being; it means they didn’t like you for the role, or your choices. Learn to take rejection in stride. If you don’t get a part after an audition allow for the possibility that maybe you just got flat-out beaten. Many actors take the rejection like a personal attack because they don’t think there could’ve been anyone else better than them in the audition. From time to time, allow for the possibility that you can be out-acted fair and square.
4. Don’t Make Excuses – Take this into your life outside the theatre as well as in it. No one wants to hear why you were late; all they want is for you never to do it again. Usually they don’t even want to hear that you’re sorry or that you won’t do it again—just don’t do it again. It’s a lot like the old saying that talk is cheap, but time is expensive. Don’t tell people how you’re going to do it differently next time, show them through your actions.
3. Don’t Be Angry Too Often – Anger is the easiest choice an actor can make and consequently many actors tend to use it as their default. They stay angry for long periods of time onstage and sometimes they never make another choice. Sticking with any choice for too long tends to make an audience tune out, but anger in particular quickly looses their attention. It’s just like when you were a kid and your parents started yelling at you. You listened to them when they spoke softly and dangerously, but you tuned right out when they were shouting. Too much yelling and they’ll never hear a word you said.
2. Don’t Bad Mouth – It will get around. Trust me, it will. If you bad mouth another actor, or the director or anyone working with you, they will find out about it. You will make enemies and that could kill your career. Show business is all about relationships and if word gets around it could make it very hard for you to get work. A director hears about you bad mouthing one of his friends and he may be very reticent to hire you in one of his productions. Worse than that, he’ll tell more of his director friends about you so now even they won’t want to hire you because of your reputation as a malcontent. Suffer in silence until you can find a safe place to vent your frustration. You’re an actor, smile and pretend you’re enjoying yourself.
1. Don’t Rest On Your Talent – Put another way: no going on auto-pilot. So many actors think that they’re talented enough that they don’t have to work as hard as everyone else. I’ve seen people walk into auditions and phone it in because they thought they were the shoe in; they thought the audition was some kind of formality. Needlesstosay they’ve all been quite surprised when they didn’t get their roles. You may be a fabulous actor and I’m sure that you are, but your talent is only the first leg up on your journey to a performance. The rest of the steps on that staircase are the work that you’ll put in. Anyone can read lines. Actors act.
I know this list is a bit out of the ordinary for this blog, but I think it will be helpful. Normally I don’t like to write or talk in negative terms, but I felt that it was important to take a look at our trade from a different perspective than I normally take. Discussing the correct way to hone your stagecraft is helpful, but there’s nothing so productive as defining what not to do. So read through this list again and honestly answer whether or not you have done some of these. If so, now is the time to take steps toward fixing it, if not then good for you. We all have our faults, but it’s whether or not we let them weigh us down that can make us great. So until next time, Sin Boldly!
Filed Under Articles, Survival, How To, No-No's
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3 Responses to “10 Things Every Actor Should NEVER Do”
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You’ve mentioned this sort of thing elsewhere but I would add, “Don’t Buy Into Your Own Importance.” Rephrased as a positive, “Always be a Professional.”
I’ve seen too many fellow performers, gifted performers, hamstring themselves by forgetting that acting is an art and a craft but also a profession and that the rules that apply to life in any other profession also apply to the theatre. Be on time. Be courteous. Respect your colleagues. Understand your place in the power structure. Be an active participant in everything you do while working.
“Sin Boldly.” I like that very much. Well put.
Thomas,
I couldn’t have put it any better than that. It’s spreading that outlook on acting that spurred me to create this site. Thanks for your wonderful comment.
Daniel
Interesting stuff mate. A lot of that advice holds true not only for acting but for other professions as well.