philosophy Archives

Be Comfortable Not Knowing | The Great Acting Blog

01.01.2020 , The Great Acting Blog , 1 Comment

"It is not a sign of ignorance not to know the answers. But there is great merit in facing the questions" - David Mamet, True and False Much of our lives as artists is not within our control. Often, we must wait for our imagination to...

The Great Acting Blog: “An Acting Manifesto In 7 David Mamet Phrases”

04.04.2019 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

David Mamet's writings on acting, film and theatre are always hugely insightful, and, more crucially, very practical. I extrapolated some key phrases containing technique and philosophy...

The Great Acting Blog: “Habits Help Us Cope With Pressure”

26.03.2014 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Knowing that we can hold up under pressure enables us to seek out greater challenges and accomplish more. It empowers us to be more creative because our attention is off ourself, we're not worried about ourselves and this lack of self-consciousness enables creativity to flourish. Whether...

The Great Acting Blog: “Contacting Powerful People”

24.08.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 2 Comments

"When you are going to any of those in great power, place before yourself that you will not find the man at home, that you will be excluded, that the door will not be opened to you, that the man will not care about you. And...

The Great Acting Blog: “Dedication Means Independence”

15.08.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 22 Comments

Whether your career will be brilliant or not is not under your control. Whether you will be rich and famous isn't either. But being dedicated to craft is. If you come to acting just to take, this dedication will seem incomprehensible to you. You will...

The Great Acting Blog: “Question Popular Assumptions”

18.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 26 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: “A Mysterious Gift”

22.05.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 4 Comments

I went to pay for my groceries at the store, and as the salesperson was bleeping my stuff through, she asked me if I wanted two bags or one. I was nonplussed. I didn't think the number of bags was determined by my preference, but...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Actor’s Life Should Be A Challenge”

12.09.2012 , The Great Acting Blog , 1 Comment

A challenge is a thing which is difficult but doable, it must be within your control to do it – ie; if you knuckle down and apply your skills and apply the tools at your disposal, then, mixed with a bit of hard graft, you...

The Future Of Acting | The Great Acting Blog

18.07.2012 , The Great Acting Blog , 174 Comments

“we have to be optimistic. The moment actors start thinking otherwise, they're dead. You simply have to believe you have a future.” - Peter O'Toole. Peter O'Toole is a god of acting, he is a great actor, his performance in Becket is one of my...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Independent Actor”

28.03.2012 , The Great Acting Blog , 16 Comments

Donald Wolfitt made a name for himself at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1936 as Hamlet, and he tried to persuade the management to bankroll him on a tour of the provinces. They declined the invitation, so he withdrew his savings and started ...

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