Think back to when you were a child and you’d gotten caught doing something you shouldn’t have. Think back to all those times your parents yelled at you for something you’d done and all those times you ignored them simply because they were yelling. As kids we tended to tune our parents out best when they were at the height of their fury and were becoming apoplectic with rage. We listened them best however when they became very quiet and very calm. There was a certain kind of terror that went with the calm voice and the controlled, quiet brand of rage. We listened closely, we didn’t dare look away. An actor on the stage is the same as an enraged parent; the audience, their child.

The actor who gestures wildly and shouts when they’re angry quickly looses the attention of the audience. They may still watch her, they may still be halfway listening to her, but they aren’t truly paying any attention because they know what will happen next: she’s yelled before, she’s yelling now, it’s a good bet she’s going to continue yelling. The actor they watch will be the one who speaks very coldly when angry and moves very little. Her figure is like a mountain onstage, her anger radiating like invisible waves. She doesn’t shout, she doesn’t flail, she stands her ground and becomes a force of nature. The audience is on the edge of their seats watching, hanging on her every word because they have no idea what she might do. Her anger is an unpredictable volcano; could go off and destroy Pompeii, could cool down and spare us all.

Certain characters must flail and yell, but to do so all the time is a weak and easy choice. Some characters never flail and yell, but to do so all the time is a weak and easy choice as well. The actor gains respect onstage by choosing the most powerful moments to stand perfectly still, to speak slowly and clearly so that there is no chance of being misunderstood by anyone.

Movement asks for an audience’s respect and attention; having the courage to stand still and do nothing commands that attention.

Thanks for Reading!

–Mia Hamm

If there is one thing the audience never knows about actors, it’s how tiring our job truly is. People have literally laughed at me when I told them how tired I was after a show. “Why?!” they would ask, as if to say “You said a few words onstage and you’re tired? What a wuss.” In my last post I talked about how tired my current show was making me and how surprised I was by it. I’ve always found myself fairly exhausted after long rehearsals or performances, but this time was nothing compared to past experiences. In light of my increasing exhaustion I began thinking about all of the ways that I could overcome it, knowing always that I was going to have to get up the next day and do it all over again.

So for my first update since recovering from the first weekend performances of said tiring show I thought I’d dedicate an article to all the other tired actors and everyone else in the world with a taxing and exhausting job. For all those folks, I present 5 Tips for Overcoming Exhaustion and Getting Back to Work.

1. Drink Water – is rule number one. The biggest part of your exhaustion probably has to do with being dehydrated and there’s only one way to fix that. Drink as much water as you can get your hands on before and after you find yourself sweating under the stage lights. Being that your body is made up of somewhere between 70-80% water, including your brain, you might want to start refueling it as often as possible.
   
   
2. Drink Gatorade Everyday – is an addendum to rule number one. Drinking water is great for overcoming exhaustion and replenishing the water that your body loses through perspiration, breathing and just generally being alive; too much water, however, can actually cause your exhaustion. I discovered this rule just recently and it helps immensely. Too much water can begin flushing nutrients out of your body and cause fatigue. Gatorade is designed to do the exact opposite by putting these nutrients back into your body. Drink a bottle a day if your find yourself working hard, otherwise it’s not necessary as too much Gatorade contains more sodium than the average person needs everyday.
   
   
3. Vitamin C Yourself – Vitamin C supplements are a god-send, I kid you not. Those little pills have saved me from the Flu in record time and kept it at bay more than once. When you’re working yourself harder than normal, say during the week before a show opening, make sure you have Vitamin C handy and plenty of it. Being tired lowers your defenses to illness and you getting sick means the rest of the cast could get sick as well. Dope yourself up good with Vitamin C and plenty of water and that cold won’t be able to touch you.
   
   
4. Sleep as Much as Possible – this one is really a “Duh!” kind of rule but it’s worth mentioning. So many times people overwork themselves, only to go home and get the same amount of sleep they would normally get on any other night. Sometimes it just can’t be helped, but whenever possible you should get more sleep than you think you need if you’ve been working harder than normal. If you can swing it, sleep for twelve hours. That’s more sleep than you should normally get, but recovery is the name of the game when exhaustion sets in. Sleep more than normal when you work more than normal.
   
   
5. Don’t Push It – If you don’t feel like you can tackle anything else today but your performance, then don’t. Sometimes we can’t avoid other commitments and tasks, but when they can be dodged, dodge them quickly. This is the whole reason I refrained from updating during the last week. I knew that I was just too exhausted to give it my best shot. I made a few vain attempts at articles, but they turned out to be very rambling and vague. Finally I gave up and said that if I couldn’t give it my best I would just have to not give it and wait anxiously for the day when I was coherent enough for a comeback.

So there you have it. I know that most of these sound pretty obvious, but you might be surprised at how easily we forget them when we find ourselves in these situations. We push ourselves so far that we finally crash and that’s never a good thing. Take care of yourself and know when to stop running; know when to sit back and do nothing or when to sleep past your alarm. Recovery is the name of the game and you’ve got to learn to keep yourself in tip-top shape because a broken actor is no good to anyone

Now go out and Sin Boldly! . . . just be sure to take a nap afterwards.

Thanks for Reading!

Tonight was opening night which went quite well, by the way, so I’m off to collapse until tomorrow.

Hope you like the photo,

Daniel

(I’m the Lieutenant on the far left)

Thanks for Reading!

–Earl Wilson

As an actor I have a hard and fast rule that I live by when it comes to other cast members: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I never give false compliments, I see no need for them, but neither do I criticize. Too many times we find ourselves in situations in which we are less than pleased with one person or another for one reason or another, and in those moments we are faced with a difficult decision; we could speak our minds or clam up tight. Certainly we’d feel better at the time if we just opened our mouths and let fly our displeasure, but later we may regret it for any number of reasons. So stick with the rule your mother taught you, speak kindly or speak not at all.

I have never seen the need for false compliments. I do not want them, and I do not give them. If someone has not done well, why tell them they have? We could lie to avoid hurting their feelings, but in these situations I usually just choose to find something nice to say that will act as padding while I tell them what I really think. It’s the candy-coated medicine theory, wrap your criticism in genuine compliments and they tend to go down better. The key here is that my “something nice to say” must be genuine or else there’s no point in it. But let’s be honest, compliments are usually not our problems when dealing with other cast members, our problems lie in our criticisms.

Most of the time, our mouths get us into trouble when we begin to criticize others. For whatever reason, someone in the cast has gotten on your nerves. They’ve annoyed you a few times before but you bit your tongue and decided to overlook it; no reason to start trouble, right? But now they’ve really done it, now they’ve really stepped over the line, what should you do? Should you say something? Well, it depends on the situation, but I’ll tell you what you shouldn’t do: don’t complain to another cast member. If your problem warrants talking to the problematic cast member in question, do that. If your problem warrants talking to the director or stage manager, do that. But don’t, I repeat, don’t talk to another cast member about it.

Actors are the biggest gossips in the world. We talk. A lot. With that in mind, always remember that anything you say in front of one cast mate will eventually be repeated to another cast mate. Thus never complain to anyone who has anything to do with your cast. Go home and throw a tantrum in front of your significant other, but wait till you get home. Most actors already know this, whether you’ve learned it from a teacher or through bitter experience. What most actors don’t realize, however, is that complaining about cast members can also become a crutch for their own laziness.

You go through your scene and it just doesn’t feel right. Something is off, every time you try it. You can’t put your finger on it, but there is just something wrong with your performance. Eventually you may decide that it’s something out of your control so you go to the director for help in fixing the problem. You tell him your problem: the other cast members aren’t picking up their cues, or they aren’t standing in the right places, or hitting their marks on time. Whatever the reason, you decide that this is what is wrong with the scene and implore him to make changes. While you may in fact be correct with all of your criticism, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made yourself look like a complete ass by making it seem as if you’re the only thing holding this scene together and the others are holding you back. You wouldn’t look a director in the eye and say that in those words, so why say it in any others?

It seems like such a valid reason at the time, but if you really stop and think about it you’ll realize that this is nothing more than an excuse. Never tell anyone that your difficulty lies with the performances of others because the truth is that it doesn’t. When asked about problematic scenes, say only that you will continue to work on it and that you welcome suggestions. Your problems do not lie with others and, if a few late cues throw your performance off, you haven’t prepared enough.

Remember that your preparation is not dictated by anyone else and neither is the finished product. If you can take credit for your success, you must be able to take credit as well for your failure. So ask yourself now if you do any of these. If you do you’d best start curbing these habits now. I know better than anyone how nice it is sometimes to just have a good bitch session. I absolutely love getting together with people who share my pain and letting fly every nasty thing I can think of about a given problem. When I’m upset, these sessions make me feel better because I can get my problems off my chest and put them behind me. I’m the last person to suggest that you should stop complaining, I’ll only say that you should rethink when, where, and why you do it.

Thanks for Reading!

I stumbled across singer/songwriter Christine Kane’s website about two weeks ago and was instantly hooked on her blog. She writes wonderful articles about creativity, personal development and what it is to be an artist, no matter what your art form. H’m, bettering art through bettering the artist . . . where have I heard that before? Anyway, as I devoured her articles, I found myself wondering what her music was like so it was off to iTunes I went. I downloaded Rain & Mud & Wild & Green, promptly got hooked on it and hooked my girlfriend Amanda as well (we especially enjoy the track [No Such Thing As] Girls Like That) .

Now I’m a Dar Williams fan, a Sheryl Crow fan and a Zig Ziglar fan and if Dar Williams, Sheryl Crow and Zig Ziglar all collided, they’d create Christine Kane . . . that sounded more appealing in my head, but trust me it’s a great combination. Anyway, I could rave about her website and her music all day, but I should probably talk about the something that’s remotely pertaining to acting.

In her update yesterday, Christine detailed 9 methods for overcoming stage fright, speaking from the point of view of a singer. I’m here to tell you that there is only one method on this list that doesn’t apply to being an actor and that’s Number Five: Get in the Audience. Other than that they are great methods for anyone who is planning on getting in front of large groups of people any time soon.

If you couldn’t tell by now, Christine Kane is quickly becoming a hero of mine and I can’t recommend her writings or her singing enough. If you get a chance, go check out her entire blog, paying special attention to those nine stage fright tips. And if you’re ever in the mood for the folksie/rockin’/incredibly well written music I suggest you run out and pick up one of Christine’s CDs or her new DVD which she is selling on her site and which will soon be finding its way into my collection.

Go check her out, if you’re a fan of the Alchemist you’ll soon become an even bigger fan of Christine Kane.

Thanks for Reading!

Today is the observed birthday for one of the greatest playwrights in theatre history. Born to a glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564 Shakespeare became famous in his own time as an actor, playwright, poet and part owner of the London theatre company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

Shakespeare’s body of work consists of approximately 38 plays and 154 sonnets and various poems. Though his works were not as innovative, dramaturgically speaking, as those of contemporaries like Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare is famous for his ability to elegantly wrap all of the human experience into rhyming couplets, with a keen understanding of the inner workings of his fellow man and the intellect to weave his knowledge into a witty and engaging tale.

Whether you consider him a hack or a genius, one person or many, or don’t care at all, today is a day of remembrance for every actor. We are all in debt to those who have come before us and Shakespeare is certainly one to be kept in high esteem.

So Happy Birthday (and ironically, Deathday) to William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon.

If you’re interested in Shakespeare’s life and works, I suggest the books below that can be found at either Amazon, any major bookstore or your local library.

Thanks for Reading!

–Sally Field

You may recall a while back when I wrote about my “Crisis of Confidence” as I’ve referred to it in Great Acting: Catching Lightning in a Bottle and The Actor Who Succeeded by Failure. It been a strange mode I’ve existed in as an actor for the last two months or so. I find myself not being happy with my work and not really understanding why. I know the cause is my lack of boldness, my lack of courage, but these are recently acquired shortages and I’m not sure what brought them on. Well, today the spell might’ve been broken . . . and it turns out I knew the answer all along.

I’ve said in the past that you cannot be a gentleman and an actor at the same time. I can’t remember when exactly I said that, but I think it was in Podcast number two. It was a lesson I learned a few years back that I resisted with all my might at the time. I liked being a gentleman. I’m a very amiable guy and I like doing nice things and being genuinely kind to people. I heard that I couldn’t be a gentleman and an actor and balked. “No!” I said. “Sure you can. You’re not just one or the other!” With every fiber of my being I strained against the idea. It just wasn’t right, it wasn’t true. It took me a little while to figure out that it was true. You can be one or the other, but never both at once.

I’m sure there are some readers out there who are balking the same way I did, but let me explain. Onstage, we are required to do things that we don’t necessarily want to do in our day to day lives. If you’ve playing Oedipus, you’ve got to “experience” some things that I hope you don’t experience in your everyday world. If you’re playing Eben Cabot you’ve got to go through some events that are so strange and tragic that sometimes we, as actors, don’t even want to attempt to comprehend them. It’s this distinction between onstage and offstage that also distinguishes the gentleman from the actor.

When you leave rehearsal for the night and head home, feel free to be as kind and thoughtful as you wish to be; be as gentlemanly as you can muster. When you’re onstage that default of courtesy must take a backseat to the adaptability of the moment. Playing Jessie Cates means that you have to explore the motives and meanings behind her ultimate suicide. Playing Oleanna’s Carol means that you have to come to grips with sexual harassment and ruining another person’s life. We’re actors and often times we’re called on to do and think dark and uncomfortable things and confusing ourselves with our characters can cause an emotional bifurcation of sorts.

Offstage we can be gentlemen and ladies, but onstage we must be whatever we are told to be. We must be adaptable to the life of the fictional circumstances that are given to us.

It’s this fact that has gone a long way in ridding me of my new-found timidity. During rehearsal just today the director pulled me aside. “I’m going to take you to task a little bit,” Thomas said. “And I’m going to do it in your own words. You want to be a gentleman in this scene and you can’t be.”

And there it was. My own words coming back to remind me of what I already knew, but had somehow forgotten

And suddenly I realized that he was right. I had let my desire to ruffle no feathers get in the way of my ruffling some feathers. I felt a little lighter as the rehearsal picked back up and suddenly everything started working better than it had been. It wasn’t perfect, it was just better. This may be just the first step in my ridding me of this “Crisis of Confidence” but it has taught me two valuable lessons: 1. The answers I need are the lessons that I have simply forgotten; I know them, now I just have to remember them. 2. You really can’t be an actor and a gentleman.

Thanks for Reading!