“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
Malcolm Gladwell
ACTING.
The trick is not to lie isn't it?
To be so immersed in the world of the story that no one can see you act.
That's the goal isn't it-- to just be living moment to moment in the flow of story.
For me sometimes this takes place intuitively- sometimes you just know how to BE this person right?
But when it's not-- you need a tool box- a set of skills and ideas to help you find this place- as well as deepen your craft if you're already tapped in.
“Be the weirdo who dares to enjoy.”
Elizabeth Gilbert.
WHAT I TEACH
I teach you how to ask the right questions, and help you be awake in our body so you have the best chance of being completely present and free to access your creativity.
My teaching is based on Stanislavksi’s method but also includes a whole load of modalities from sensory to movement, to scene work, improvisation, Uta Hagen and animal work. There is no one way, there is just the way that works for you and that's what I will help you discover.
I will also help you discover YOU - because if you don't know who you are-- you can't be the best actor you want to me.
We will look at how you're limited in yourself, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally to help you come alive to yourself and the work.
Even the best actors have areas where they aren't available to the emotional range the role needs from them so this work is essential for your growth- and will also light you up.
So there will be a lot to take in and I have outlined more below BUT there is really only one goal- and that’s to help you connect truthfully and honestly into the work using every part of yourself and to have fun in the process.
We do all this so that once performance time happens, we can let it all go and just be in the moment so that instinct can take flight.
Trust me- this is fun and that’s the REAL goal isn’t it?
"The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do."
Unknown
WHAT YOU WILL EXPLORE IN CLASS.
YOU
To act well you have to know who you are—and how you actually behave in your own life so you can live this accurately. We will interrogate what is your range of emotions, and look at ways you can be larger and braver than you were before you walked in the room.
YOUR SENSES AND FOCUS
We need to be awake to our physical senses so much of our class work at the beginning is tuned into making sure this part of ourselves is alert and activated so we can serve the story and truly bring it to life. We also use sensory work to connect in with the past life of the character and align their memories with our own, so the work truly feels “lived”.
"You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it."
--
Oprah Winfrey
WATCHING REAL LIFE
So many times as actors we do the OPPOSITE of what people do in real life.
We yell and rant and ‘go for the emotion’ and wallow in the story having a wonderful time but affecting no one but ourselves. We generalise and push.
A key aspect of this work is to make sure you watch what happens ‘in real life’ by relentlessly observing ourselves and others.
If you don’t do this already- once you start you will notice how instead of bursting into emotions like many of us do when we act - going for the “feeling” in real life humans usually go out of their way to avoid feeling uncomfortable feelings like sadness or grief.
And we do all sort of things to avoid conflict – unlike on stage where people tend to shout and gesture— in real life we get very often do the opposite- like laugh or trivialise what’s happening, or use sarcasm.
Once you start putting these observations in your work— watch it grow.
Start now— watch all the subtle manipulations people employ so they can get what they want- and you will see that we rarely do things upfront- most often we deny how we feel when we are confronted, we deny, we diffuse, we charm – especially when the stakes are high- we rarely try and win in real life by yelling.
So by observing real-life obsessively we bring a newfound accuracy to our work which helps us concentrate on simply affecting and changing the other actor and thereby also the audience.
"The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same."
Colin R. Davis
YOU IN THE GROUP
We will look at how the group works together- and how to listen, how to respond how to support the whole. You will get a chance to be seen, and see others in a safe environment. We will help you extend your range so you move outside the ‘bubble’ of your own work parameters which might ‘feel’ good but ultimately renders you a boring actor. You will practice being BOLD and FREE and trust first instincts.
BEING WRONG.
A lot of our life and our creativity is blocked because we think there is a right way to do—in these classes, we deliberately do things “incorrectly” so you learn just how many great things come from the surprising and the unexpected.
We also learn that there is no “right way” just lots and lots of possibilities.
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
--
Thomas Jefferson
TECHNICAL TERMS
Stanislavksi believed that you don't put on a 'character' it's YOU but in different circumstances.
To do this he created a load of questions so that you can make this transformation very accurate.
WHO AM I?
WHERE AM I?
WHEN AM I?
WHAT DO I WANT?
WHY DO I WANT IT?
HOW AM I GOING TO GET IT?
and WHAT’S THE OBSTACLE?
His main idea was "What if..." – so for example what if I lived in NYC in 1968, was a single mother, and no education- how would I behave? What would I wear? How would I stand? Who would I know? How much money would I have and how would that make me feel about life?" And so on!
These questions are called the ‘Given Circumstances’ and they lead us into the most exciting world of research that will help our work grow exponentially.
He taught that by deeply asking and understanding "Who am I? Where am I? When am I? What do I want? How am I going to get it? What is the obstacle?" relentlessly you can truly INHABIT the role - and you won’t ACT you will truly BE.
“You have to believe in yourself, that’s the secret”
Charles Chaplin
OBJECTIVE – MOTIVATION - STAKES
To act we need to want something, to act well we need to want something badly! To know what we want we literally break down the script and analyse what we are fighting for/ what our objectives are ‘moment to moment’ so we can 'win' the scene as well as the whole story. It sounds tedious but it’s the key to great freedom. ACTION WORK
In acting – we need to affect someone – we need to get someone to do something feel something or understand something –this is called ‘playing an action’ and we learn how to do this line by line to this by working out what out action will be.
THE VOICE
Learning how to project, articulate enunciate but most importantly have fun with the voice and see how great a tool it is in performance.
UNDERSTANDING STORY
We learn to look at story and see how being very specific about the world of the story can help us use our imagination to transport us there as we begin to act with our new circumstances.
ANIMAL WORK
We spend time studying and then being animals and then “grow” these animals into characters who have stories to tell and real lives born from the imaginative process.
OTHER ACTORS
Your lifeline is the other actor and affecting them in some way-- that's really all you have to focus on to be good. To do this you need to stop affecting yourself and 'going for the emotion' and try and make that other person change in some way- or understand you, or do something.
Whether you believe you can or think you can’t, you’re right.
Henry Ford
.
PERSONAL WORK
This is where we explore where we are blocked emotionally. For some this comes up as unable to be vulnerable, or angry.
If this is you, the choices in your performance will be very limited until this gets released.
PLEASE NOTE acting is NOT therapy - my work is about getting you to safely step out of your usual range of reactions - but if this is traumatic - do not do it— instead take time out and get professional help — acting must always be fun- for you AND IMPORTANTLY the group.
However, if you are emotionally ready to change— then stretching yourself can be great fun, and can get addictive as you break through areas of yourself that were off-limits because they were ‘bad’ or ‘weak’ and you feel so much lighter and powerful.
You need to be ruthlessly honest about where you need to grow as a person so you can become a better actor. For an actor to thrive they need to love and accept all parts of themselves and be willing to show the world exactly who they are in a healthy way.
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
Albert Schweitzer
WHAT YOU BELIEVE
You will also be guided to look at your belief systems - and see if you might be affected by limited personal beliefs about who you are and what you deserve and I will always encourage you stretch you until you are in a range that feels good for you and let’s you have all the good things you desire. We also study ways to deal with anxiety and ways you might self-sabotage along with learning about your limiting beliefs and maybe even judgements you might have about your goal.
To succeed in this business you truly have to be your own cheer squad - or as Charles Chaplin said “You have to believe in yourself, that’s the secret”.
IN CONCLUSION
The real truth is - though I have some great tools that can help you grow and teach you to be more truthful- the most useful tool I have is offering you a place to practice— because that’s where the mastery happens.
And to help you to leave yourself alone and just have fun.
Because that really was the reason you feel in love with acting wasn’t it— because it made you feel alive— let’s make THAT the real goal hey?
x Sancia
If you would like to know more about how we could work together-- please email me here so I can tell you more.