In everyday life, it’s often good to say “I don’t know.” It is humble. It shows a beginner’s mind. It allows you to be open to an answer. Lately in class we have been looking at what saying “I don’t know” does when it comes out as a reflex and why, in some cases, it’s better not to say anything until you know! Continue reading →

There is a difference between over-acting and over-REacting. In every day life, we are trained to not react too strongly to things. We have a band of acceptable response levels, we mitigate our language to lessen the impact of our reactions. “You’re pissing me off” becomes “You’re making me a little annoyed”, “I really care about you” becomes “You’re ok”. Keeping within this band of responses allows us to stay safe and in control of the situation. It doesn’t require as much from your partner and it doesn’t require you to feel more than you’re used to. And it doesn’t do too much for your acting to stay in that band! Playing it safe by not fully expressing what’s going on inside is a form of politeness that won’t make you grow as an actor.

Last night, there were some comments that there was over-acting in an exercise. What does that mean? In my book, over-acting means letting out a response that you don’t actually have. Often over-acting won’t be in response to the other person. Often it’s what we think we SHOULD be feeling or what we think it would be GOOD to feel — either for the drama of the situation or in an effort to make their partner feel better.

On the other hand, because we want to stay in this band of “normal” or “every-day” behavior, it’s nearly impossible to fully let out our response to what the other person is doing. We all have a little voice in our head that whispers “what you’re doing is stupid” or “you shouldn’t be doing this” or “you’re not being fair to this guy”. By allowing ourselves to fully react to the other person we free up our internal monitor that checks on what kind of behavior is “ok”. And that, in turn, allows us to really be touched by the other person. By allowing ourselves to fully react, we open up the world of possibilities of reaction. Any reaction that is in reaction to the other person is “ok” and as it becomes more “normal” to have a response, it will be easier to have that response immediately and substantially. If we’re responding truthfully to what the other person is doing, then it will never be over-acted. It will always be exactly the right amount of response.

For students who are not used to or comfortable with their own true reactions, this full response will look abnormal. It may even look forced: after all, in a repetition exercise, nothing is at stake. Why should we get all worked up over nothing? I’d ask a different question: Why shouldn’t we get all worked up?

We are very excited to start working on a new class specifically designed for models who are feeling like they would like to start getting a handle on actor castings.

There are similarities between acting and modeling that the Studio is equipped to deal with. One main issue with a lot of models, especially those that are just starting out is that they feel that simply looking good is enough to take good pictures. This is not usually the case. The best models will not only look good, but also have something going on behind the eyes. In many cases, this something is an openness; an invitation to the viewer to come closer. If the model is smiling but internally feeling guarded about herself, then we will not feel welcomed by her and subsequently not form a connection to her and to what she is selling or modeling.

Many beginning actors have a similar problem, although it is more apparent because acting is often more dialog heavy and … dramatic… than modeling. What we want to connect to when watching an actor is their humanity and their vulnerability. This means that the actor needs to be able to connect in some way with their own vulnerability and human frailty. Obviously not every character is going to be incredibly open, but usually having a character arc means that we as an audience are going to be seeing some kind of change in the character, which is brought about by the character’s being touched or moved in some way.

This ability to be touched or moved is what we focus on at the Studio and it is exactly what models who are going to be successful especially in the acting field need to work on.

The Acting For Models class is a baby step towards this as well as practical feedback and practice in how to get through an audition for models who aren’t used to doing much more than smiling and posing. It starts January 22nd and runs for 3 intensive weekends (24 class hours total; 4 hours per day). At the end of the course, a casting director from either Vivid Casting or J.A.M. Casting will come and give feedback to the class participants and they will have a chance to ask questions.

Tomorrow we start a new quarter of acting classes at the Studio. There was a great deal of growth in students during the last quarter and we are looking to continue that progress through the winter.

It’s easy to get depressed in the winter months: there’s a lack of sunlight; it’s cold; we’re tired of being inside all the time. But winter is a great time to bear down and focus our energy on work. There are not as many distractions. We can spend an hour at rehearsal or working on finding truthful roots and that hour is not wasted on watching television or sitting in a dark, smelly pub wishing it was sunny.

The continuing students will be working on relationships and activities. This is a difficult time as the amount of homework goes up substantially and what is required of the students is not simply to be truthful and in the moment (though that too), but also to work hard on their imagination and digging into themselves to find what they care about. It is a challenge, but a great way to spend the winter!