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MIND THE GAP: How to avoid preconceptions, and bring truth, freshness and spontaneity to your work. Austin Pendleton, the wonderful actor, director, author, and teacher at New York’s HB Studio, was directing a reading of a new play. On a break during rehearsal, one of the other actors approached me with a question. “Do you know what this means?” she asked, pointing to one of her lines. “I’m not sure I understand what I’m talking about here.” “I’m sorry,” I said, so that Austin would hear me, “but I studied with Austin, and he . . . read more . . . |
AN ACTOR'S CREDO: Why what we do matters.
Ah, the holidays. The end of one year, the beginning of another. A time of joy and inspiration for many of us, of family pressure and craziness for others. A time of looking back and evaluating, of looking forward and committing to new goals and ideals. A time when our emotional pot can get stirred . . . read more . . . COFFEE GROUNDS, KALEIDOSCOPES, AND CHARACTER: How the past is used to shape character, both our own, and the ones we play. Six women are sitting on a bench at a playground. They are watching a three-year-old boy high up on the jungle gym, his balance precarious, his little hands tiring, his grip tenuous. He slips a little, catches himself, and pauses, looking back at his mother. He tries to read her face for an indication as to what he should do. Each of the women on the bench feels a different emotion as they look . . . read more . . . ACTING VERBATIM: Say the words, say all the words, say only the words. One day in a beginning scene study class, two young actors were working on Act II, Scene 7 from Angels In America: Louis and Joe sit on a park bench in front of the Hall of Justice, eating hot dogs. It's a wonderful scene, one which I often assign, and in the middle of the scene Joe has what might be termed a short monologue, interrupted only by an interjection . . . read more . . . |