The Great Acting Blog

The Great Acting Blog: “Pick From The Tree”

24.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Somebody once said that if all the apples in the barrel are rotten then you should pick from the tree. One of the hardest aspects of assembling a team for a production is finding people who share the same values as you do. I'm not talking...

The Great Acting Blog: “When Direction Is Futile”

23.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 6 Comments

On the few occasions I have had to direct other actors, I have found the most exhausting aspect to be the articulation of my ideas for how I think the scene should be approached. It requires absolute precision of articulation and must be said in...

The Great Acting Blog: “When A Project Ends”

22.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 1 Comment

The end of a production is naturally a time for reflection. Looking back, seeing what worked well, feeling bone crushing shame at glaring errors. Why did I lose focus at a certain time? Why did I think that shabby piece of work was acceptable? I...

“Pierre Etaix’s Rupture”

21.07.2013 , Drifting Clouds Cinema Blog, The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orX3qV2Bskw "Pierre Etaix is one of the few comic author-director-actor film-makers practicing today." - From Variety, April 1969 I recently discovered the work of actor-filmmaker Pierre Etaix, a clown and comedian who was dubbed the "French Buster Keaton". He had been a gag writer for Jacques Tati, and worked with...

The Great Acting Blog: “True Collaborators”

20.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 2 Comments

It is said that there is only a certain number of people who we can collaborate with successfully, and that that number is not high. The number of people we can collaborate with successfully is finite. Therefore, we need to be able to correctly identify...

The Great Acting Blog: “How Much Will That Lie Cost?”

19.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 1 Comment

It is often said that actors must do years of bad work before they can do anything good. As though they must give up their soul in order to enjoy some paradisal future. It's a dangerous game for the actor to play and requires him to...

The Great Acting Blog: “Question Popular Assumptions”

18.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

How much is it costing us to believe in sacred cows which are a lie? How much is that holding us back? To what extent does it hamper our ability to accomplish our career objectives? To use the smoking example, many smokers may not even begin...

The Great Acting Blog: “Slay Those Sacred Cows”

17.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 3 Comments

Quitting smoking, we are lead to believe, is so difficult as to be almost impossible. It's supposed to cause all sorts of nasty side effects, and require immense will power as well as professional medical assistance. This is complete nonsense. Quitting smoking causes no side effects whatsoever,...

The Great Acting Blog: “Where Our Power Resides”

16.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 2 Comments

I'm an advocate of actors establishing their own productions and taking control of their careers rather standing around in the dark hoping to be picked. One of the common complaints I here about self-production however, is that actors just want to be actors, they do...

The Great Acting Blog: “Simplify The Task With An End Date”

15.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 1 Comment

Putting an end date on a goal avoids overwhelm - it gives clarity and focus and enables us to relax and function better. Why? Because by the assigned date we will have accomplished our goal or not, there are no vagaries, if we do accomplish...

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