When we first start out as actors, praise can seem important to us because we view it as validation, as evidence that we should continue. We draw confidence from it. However, nobody can rely on praise to fuel their entire career, or as a means...
Read MoreMany complain about their lot but do nothing to improve it. The conclusion here must be that, despite their protestations, they do not want change. As frustrating as it can be, there is comfort in a failing status quo. The fear is very often not of failure,...
Read MoreMany are chastened by the disappointments of the actor's life, so much so in fact, that in order to protect themselves from the pain, they no longer dare to dream. Know that safety today, will result in mediocrity tommorow. Subscribe to The Great Acting Blog...
Read MoreAs the Stoics said, nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so - in other words, we decide whether what happens to us, or whether what might happen to us, is good or bad. This need to judge, this need to affix a label...
Read MoreSanna Peden is currently Assistant Professor of European Studies at the University of Western Australia. Her key research interests are cinema, memory, nostalgia and place within the broad context of contemporary European identities. She has written extensively on the work of Aki Kaurismaki. Her essays: “Aki Kaurismäki”,...
Read MoreNever forget why you became an actor. That sense of play, the joy of creation, that longing to give expression to the art you felt within yourself. Never let the stresses and strains of the life grind you down so that you fall into a casual...
Read MoreMany start out on the path of the actor, but find out, along the way that it was not what they wanted after all. There comes a point where they no longer want the stresses which accompany the life, and do something else less challenging. Those...
Read MoreDon't think. Do. Our minds become flooded with images and voices and excuses and complications, all of which serve as a barrier to accomplishing all that we need to. This mental clutter can be dismissed in a moment though, if we so choose. Know that this clutter...
Read MoreActing always reveals the truth of who you are. And I'm not just talking about the performances, but the life itself. It's just too demanding, the challenges are unrelenting, eventually there can be no place to hide. Whatever you really want, whether that's fame, or...
Read MoreFocussing on emotions in the scene really only succeeds in making us feel self-conscious. If the desired emotion is not present, then we engage in neurotic efforts to "produce" it. And when the magic emotion does appear, we remain self-conscious while we try to maintain...
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