The Great Acting Blog

The Great Acting Blog: “Integrity Works”

29.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

In response to my post on first principles, it seems that some have complained that integrity is impossible to define, that it means different things to different people, that it changes, and so how can one truly act with it? Well, the whole point is...

The Great Acting Blog: “Why Actors Struggle With Big Projects”

28.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The life of an actor doesn't necessarily lend itself to long term thinking. It's not a structured lifestyle, and rarely is career progression linear. The actor's mentality then, becomes about not looking too far ahead - this is partly a protective mechanism against the disappointments...

The Great Acting Blog: “Choose Which Kind Of Actor You Are”

27.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The best people to work with are those who have taken the time to perfect their technique, who know how to behave in the professional arena. They have confidence because they know what they are doing. They display no affectations, they do not want anything...

The Great Acting Blog: “How Focus Banishes Fear”

26.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The concern for many actors about getting their own production off the ground or leading their own company is that their acting skills will suffer as a result, or their development will become stunted because their focus will be taken away from their acting. This...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Benefit Of Studying Our Heroes”

25.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

As we know, understanding what it is we're trying to do, understanding what our project is about, is crucial to making progress. Without that understanding we will be forever hamstrung in our efforts. One way of gaining this understanding, is by studying the work and careers...

The Great Acting Blog: “Work Shouldn’t Be Miserable”

23.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Focus on what you enjoy. This is especially true for actors, who are constantly being told things like; "yes, but you've got to do years of garbage work in order to get the chance to do the stuff you enjoy". Why exactly? Why must we continually...

The Great Acting Blog: “Complex And Meaningful – Alec Guinness In Last Holiday”

23.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Guinness plays downtrodden salesman, George Bird, who is given only a few weeks to live after being diagnosed with a rare condition called Lampington's Disease. He decides to enjoy what remaining time he has left, so he quits his job, withdraws all his money from...

The Great Acting Blog: “How Understanding Prevents Under-Performance”

22.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The better we understand our work, the more fun we can have with it. The number of expressive ideas available to us increases, and ultimately we become more excited about presenting our work to the world. That’s why basic script analysis is so important, it...

The Great Acting Blog: “Courageous Acting”

21.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The obsession with "doing emotions" in modern acting is little short of a disaster. It paints the character (and therefore the actor) as a victim, stripping him of dignity. Further, when an actor tries to squeeze emotion out of themselves, they turn inward rather than...

The Great Acting Blog: “Eliminate The Distractions, Be Great”

20.11.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Getting acting work, getting any acting work, is a tricky task, as we all know. The numbers just don't stack-up, there are far too many actors for the volume of work available. There are the gilded few of course, who are in demand and make...

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