ACTING - Honest vs. Too Personal
FINDING THE POINTS OF CONNECTION
BRAINSTORMING SESSION
CREATING THE VIRTUAL SPACE
Exploring how to create the illusion that two or more actors are sharing the same physical space.
A brainstorm session for actors. directors and anyone interested in creating virtual theater, self-audition tapes or simply strengthening the connection with an imaginary partner in live auditions.
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Honest vs. Too Personal
FINDING THE POINTS OF CONNECTION
While living in Montreal I had the opportunity to assist - as a casting director - several general auditions hosted by The Quebec Drama Federation. I saw hundreds of actors audition for the many casting directors, agents and so forth. I had held and continue holding auditions for my own projects throughout the years but, I guess since I wasn’t there to really cast anybody but just to watch the auditions, I learned many valuable lessons which I was sure to pass on to my acting students. One thing that became evident to me from the start … actors usually mistake honesty and vulnerability with being too personal.
As an artist, I have always pursued honesty in my work and as I have grown and transcended creatively, I have become less concerned about social limitations and strived to be myself without excuses or self-imposed boundaries.
In my virtual play: Becoming a Rose, I shared a video of what I called my Sacred Secret Photo Sessions … a sample of a private ritual I often perform but that no one had ever seen. I suppose it doesn’t get any more personal than that but … the first word coming out of an old friend was … I appreciate the honesty in the work. As I contemplate sharing more of my secret and sacred world with you on the Absolute Creative Space, I remind myself and share with you the findings about honesty vs. too personal I gathered from my acting coaching sessions.
In simple words … the big difference between being too personal and being honest are what I called “the points of connection” or finding that in our work - monologue, scene, photographs, etc. - that is shared by others or that makes our “personal experience” into a “collective experience”. The most common mistake I found actors made was that they did exactly the opposite and … not to bash anyone … they actually enjoyed a little too much making it about them. So … what’s exactly the problem with doing so … that most people don’t want to intrude or pry into other people’s personal affairs or tragedies so … the casting director would “disconnect” him/herself from your monologue and the audience of your play would do the same as saying … that’s not my problem or my experience.
No … not everyone take private pictures of him/herself in secret or have lived whatever experience or situation you might present to them in your monologue, play, etc. but … there’s something in your intention, motivation or even the reason why you picked that particular piece that is part of a “collective experience” … a point of connection.
Jean Genet has always been a big influence and inspiration in my work. When I first discover his plays, I was immediately drawn by them. At that time I had no idea why the experience of a person who could not be more different from me and whose world I could not even conceive resonated so much with me. After reading most of his work through the years, working on some of his plays and “technique” and devising Becoming a Rose - which was inspired by his work - I finally grasped … and tried to share with the audience of my play … what is the “point of connection”. To put it in the words of another artist - “To create one’s own world takes courage” - Georgia O’Keeffe. It is also “courage” what connects my “honest” work with other people … they either admire it, appreciate it, wish they had it or see their own courage reflected … it has nothing to do with the actual work but the courage it takes to be myself in front of them.
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