The Great Acting Blog: “Independence Of Thought”

This week, I attended a short film event, and was struck by one the films, in the sense that it was technically very flashy, very clever, this filmmaker certainly knew how to use a computer. The problem with the film however, was that it was utterly utterly false, I felt as though I had seen the film hundreds of times before – every idea seemed to be borrowed from somewhere else, nothing seemed to be the filmmaker’s own creation. As I reflected upon the film, it occurred to me that such a savvy filmmaker must have known what he was doing – this film was the opposite of artistic intuition. I wondered why such a technically accomplished filmmaker decided to make a film that was such a rip-off. Then the answer hit me: this filmmaker is not interested in making a work of art, is not interested in creating, is not interested in delighting an audience, what they are interested in however, is self-promotion. The film exists merely to showcase the skills of the filmmaker (which were, let me stress, considerable) – the object of the film’s existence was to flatter potential financiers and employers.

Now, I have always had a problem with showcases, even having participated in them myself in my younger days. The reason I have a problem with them is because they are a subversion of intent. I have many times been involved in productions where an actor has subverted the truth of the scene at hand by making choices which they thought would help them make a sale. I remember being in a play and one of the actors was playing a homeless person, and was required to look rough and unshaven, but one night he decided to go on clean shaven, because he wanted to appeal to an agent who was in the audience. Admittedly, this is quite a blunt example, and the subversion to make oneself seem more “likable” or “cute” can take many more subtle forms. Further, much of this perversion takes place for economic reasons, as in the case of the filmmaker or the actor above, both are making work choices which they think will improve their financial position, or at least offer the potential to improve their financial position. In the case of actors generally, this is the influence of the audition process, a process which possesses a corrosive flaw: that the people who are doing the casting do not view the actors’ work in the same way that the audience does, namely that they are judging the actor, while the audience, in the main, does not judge the actor, but sees him as a bringer of delight. So, actors learn throughout their careers to appeal not to an audience, but to potential employers, and make their decisions accordingly. This can lead to a lack of engagement between actors and audiences, because actors are not trying to communicate something to the audience, but are trying to promote themselves – that’s two very different things – in effect, everything becomes a showcase. The spin off of this, are showreels, where past work is jammed together onto one track. Showreels have always seemed unsatisfactory to me, false, even when the work is good, because the scenes are placed into a context they were not intended for. Showreels are tinny. “Networking” is the cousin of all this stuff, whereby the actor turns even his social life into a sales convention, and friends are seen as prospects. When I walk in a room you don’t need to shove a business card in my hand – meaningful relationships in life, whether personal or professional, happen naturally, we naturally gravitate to the people we like, and the people we like energize us.

There is a taking-our-pigs-to-market aspect of almost any endevour – if you want an audience for your play then you have to let them know it’s on – but the work itself shouldn’t in effect become a sales pitch – I’ve always felt that the best way to promote myself is to put out great work, that’s the position I want to be in: if you want to know about me then read this blog, look at my past work, but I’m not going to betray my work to get you to like me: take it or leave it – herein lies self-respect. Further, for our work to carry any meaning, it must be anchored by principles. If you are not interested in your work being meaningful to you, and you want to play the numbers game, then this blog is irrelevant. But if you are out there, and you’ve got your own ideas, and you think for yourself (or maybe at this stage it’s just a feeling you have) then I say: keep working at it, strive to define those ideals, and vow to live by them. Fight to create the body of work you want, never shrug and just go with the flow, even if it would make your life considerably easier to do so. If you understand the true of value of your work then you will never need to pollute it by kissing somebody’s ass. Let your work speak for you, always remain true to it – people may come and go in your life, but the work will always remain. Some people will love what you do, others will hate it, be grateful for the former, and decline to concern yourself with the latter. Stick to your guns. There is a lot of talk these days about “independence”, but the most important kind of independence, is independence of thought.