The Great Acting Blog: “The 52nd Post”

Many of us become actors because we want to dedicate our lives to something that has a purpose, and so lead meaningful lives. However, the vast majority of actors find themselves under pressure because work is so hard to come by, and, as a result, we attend meetings more out of habit than desire, often for work that doesn’t particularly interest us, reading unactable scripts and miming ludicrous situations in strange rooms, life becomes a numbers game, but hey, we need a job – the search for meaning becomes a bewildering immersion in crass commercialism. And so the purpose is lost, and our lives inadvertently fold in on themselves and become the meaningless routine we sought to avoid in the first place. Is it worth it? That has to be the question. Contrary to the public’s perception, life for the vast majority of actors is tough: acting is a hopelessly oversubscribed profession, there is no security day-to-day, month-to-month or year-to-year, and this way of living requires enormous fortitude and constant self-improvement (I, for one, however, am grateful for the lessons life as an actor has taught me so far), it is an unending process of struggle, there is only a brief moment of rest once a work has been completed. Furthermore, the actor is rarely in the position to enjoy the routines of mainstream culture like the couple of weeks holiday every few months, weekends off, no, acting is twenty-four seven, it’s not a job but a way of life, and, to put the cherry on top, few people do jobs where they are regularly held up to public inspection in the way actors are (and I’m not just talking about performance here, where the audience generally loves actors despite our weaknesses – I’m talking about the endless job interviews indicated above) – I don’t care what anyone says – the life of an actor is an exacting one. Is it worth it? Well, some might ask: what’s the alternative? But then again why do so many actors quit? Why do so many turn against it, becoming hacks and holding contempt for the work? Why are so many actors dissatisfied with the work they are doing? Is what you’re aiming for worth the struggle?…. Perhaps we should turn the question around a little bit, and ask: what is worth the struggle? And: who do you want to be?

I only discovered blogging last year, and when I started The Great Acting Blog, I was told by those in the know that if ANYONE read it then I could consider it a success. I didn’t know what to expect, most of my thinking was taken up by the demands of delivering something worth reading each week, I didn’t give much thought to who would actually read it, I suppose in the back of my mind I thought if a few of my friends did, then I would be happy. Well, we’ve gone way beyond that, there is definitely an appetite out there for a more serious discussion about the art and craft of acting. Furthermore, I have won many wonderful new friends through the blog, and truly, without the responses from people – whether that is sharing it, or commenting on the blog directly or on the various platforms I post it, or sending me messages privately – it would have been much much harder to maintain my weekly output and find the will to try and improve it. And this has not only come from actors and directors and the like, but also cinephiles and enthusiasts (dare acting become hip again?), and this was always my intention by cross pollinating my acting work with my interest in cinema – I wanted it to be broader and more entertaining than an actors-only industrial blog. Some have even remarked (as indeed did film blogger Nuts4R2) that their understanding of acting has improved after reading The Great Acting Blog, and that they have a better appreciation of the actor’s work and contribution to a film. This kind of comment means an enormous amount to me, and is hugely satisfying because it has always been an important objective of the blog: to draw attention to great performances and the importance of actors beyond the hysterics of celebrity – actors are rarely seen as serious people (not even by actors themselves a lot of the time), and their contribution can be ignored (we live in an age where directors apparently “draw” performances from actors, a preposterous notion but nonetheless popular). I think The Great Acting Blog can become a real resource for, and conversation about the aesthetic, philosophical and ethical precepts of acting, an understanding of the actor as an artist, that his work is noble, and infact crucial to the well being of our society, and that it is indeed preferable strive to become an artist rather than be a jobsworth, to not be frightened but to have the courage to draw your own conclusations, and to develop the strength to act upon your perceptions, and do so to satisfy your own good opinion of yourself. My hope is that if there is a young actor out there, kicking his heels round town, confused and frustrated, and longing for more, then he may stumble upon this blog, and that it may aid him in his thinking about his himself and his work.

Over this next year, I am going to dig deeper, work harder, become more prolific in service of this blog. I want to broaden the conversation and push it further, so I’m going to be looking for guest posts, anyone with interesting ideas, or anyone who wants to share a technique, or perhaps shed some light on some aspect of the craft, or perhaps you have a review you want to offer, do get in touch (and it does not matter what clubs you belong to, or which brand names are on your CV, what does matter is that you’ve got something to say and you know how to say it). I plan also to link The Great Acting Blog into Drifting Clouds (a film society that promotes independent film and offers film screenings), so that combined they may become a platform for collaboration, and ultimately originate and present work. In the end, that’s what it’s all about: the work, the blessed work. All those hours of toil, of keeping as many facets of our personality alive as possible, the endless voice exercises, the hour upon hour of learning how to analyse a script correctly, the ignoring the cynics and the second guessers, battling the “when will I EVER work again” torment, all of it, all of it, is there to make sure that when the call comes, we are ready, we are ready to give everything. This is what those who have never truly felt the exhilaration of creation will never understand. And that it what this blog is all about: what is worth the struggle? Who do I want to be? What do I do to become the actor I saw in my dreams? How can I construct a body of work which I will look back on with pride in my old age?

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading.

James