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The Great Acting Blog: “A Mysterious Gift”

The Great Acting Blog: “A Mysterious Gift”

22.05.2013 , James , The Great Acting Blog

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 by the volume of goods I was buying. I replied to the girl that I would use one bag if everything fitted in, but two if it didn’t (obviously) . I understand why the salesperson asked me what she did, she was trying to be “eco-friendly” (and no doubt she was acting on a policy enforced upon her by her superiors), but the true purpose of the bag had been  subverted in order to “do good”; the true purpose of a bag is to hold things, but here the purpose of the bag has become to “Save The World”. Saving The World is a noble cause indeed, but what if, in my desperate attempt to be seen as a “good citizen”, I said I only wanted one bag instead of the two that was actually needed,  and later, halfway down Hackney Road, the bag splits and my groceries spill all over the pavement. I would feel pretty silly then wouldn’t I, not to mention inordinately frustrated. This mess is what happens when we prioritise good intentions over accomplishing objectives. This mess is what happens when a theory is mistaken for a practical necessity. This mess is what happens when things are not employed in their true purpose.

Often there is a gap between acting theory and the exigencies of preparing an actor to give an actual performance. Let us remind ourselves that the work of the actor, his purpose, is to communicate the scene to the audience. Therefore, all efforts should be directed toward that end. And these efforts are not always polite, not always charming and cute, oftentimes, they are fiery and require brash individualism. Drama is about conflict, and that conflict takes place between the actors (as the protagonists in the story) within imaginary circumstances.

Most acting theory I have encountered is incomprehensible, or at least I found it little useful in terms of getting me ready for performance. Infact, I found the employment of these theories actually created a barrier between myself and the performance, which is to say that the moment when you are ready is constantly being deferred until the theories are mastered (which is never). Acting theories sprung up because of peoples’ good intentions, out of their desire to do good, but they don’t work, because the purpose of acting theory is not to help actors in their work, but to demonstrate that those who promulgate and participate in them are “good citizens”  who “work hard”, that they are polite members of society. Similar to self-concerned directors, acting theories do not serve the true purpose of the actor even though they profess to. If the actor mistakes the theory for the necessities of performance, then his only creation infront of the camera or upon the stage will be a mess, which is no creation at all.

Acting is not a theory, it is a mysterious gift.

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