When it comes to talking about acting, I openly admit to
being rather opinionated. Those who know me will agree that I have a very
strong point of view on the issue and I’m not afraid to share it.
Bluntly stated, our model of
actor training in this country is broken.
Acting education currently faces two main challenges – most
of the great master teachers are dying off, and the new generations of young
actors are changing at lightening-fast speed.
It seems that every school nowadays offers MFA and BFA
programs but students are graduating having never studied with what we would
consider “master teachers.” In fact, many teachers out there have no experience
on LORT stages, sound stages and film sets. I’ve been more fortunate than many
to have sat in class with titans like Bill Esper and Paul Sills. I’ve been blessed to watch Michael Kahn
put actors through their paces and hear him say one of my favorite quotes: “I don’t
care what you are feeling; I want to know what you are doing!”
I’ve been extremely lucky and blessed because most young
actors will never have these opportunities. Every year we lose more and more these titans. We are losing a generation of great
teachers, and those of us fortunate enough to have been there in their classrooms will carry on their
legacies.
But the truth is that we cannot teach this current generation
of actors or the next several generations the way that the titans taught. The
students are different and we are faced with new challenges.
They are a generation that likes
to feel things deeply but not actually connect.
At the school where I currently work we collect everyone’s mobile devices at the start of class
and place them in a container off to the side. Focus and concentration are the
first habits we must instill.
The craft of acting is a habit. It must be practiced again
and again and placed in the body. I have no apologies for my Meisner-based
point of view on the actor’s process. I spent three years (one year at the University of Iowa and three years at Rutgers working in,
around, and with the Meisner technique. Of course it’s going to color and
filter my work and language, and I make no apologies for it.
I equate the work that happens in the acting studio to that
of a football player on the practice field. Meisner isn’t acting, Uta’s work
isn’t acting, and Suzuki definitely isn’t acting – they’re all exercises no
different than a football player running sprints, putting in time in the weight
room and doing fumble recovery drills. It may feel like the game of football,
but it’s not. The same can be said of all of these acting techniques. They can
feel like acting, but they’re not.
It’s up to us as educators to teach the technique in the
studio and help them bridge the gap into rehearsal and performance. That’s
where mentoring comes in. We have to guide them and lead by example.
Some programs and teachers want to spend all of their time
working on scenes. There is a place for that. Actors must work on scenes, but
only when they are equipped with tools they can put to use. Let’s face it, most
of the people who are teaching script analysis don’t really know how to play an
action, objective, need or intent. They haven’t made that leap themselves yet.
They haven’t been able to make it a habit, physically synthesize it and put in
their own bodies.
I am going to point out that scene work, being directed in scenes in the studio, isn’t really acting
either. Actors need a combination of technique in the studio, scene work and
actually working on plays that are put up in front of an audience. All three
components must be in place or we are doing them a disservice.
We also cannot ignore the actor’s work in front of the
camera. The camera is an invaluable teaching tool. I call it “The Great
Barometer of Truth.” Not only does it force them to work more simply and take ownership
of themselves, but it is also where many of this next generation will make
their living. Commercials, television and film are where the majority of the
work is happening. And not just in New York or Los Angeles. Places as diverse as Pittsburgh and Baton Rouge are getting more and more attention from the
film and television world. The work an actor acquires through the newly minted
SAG-AFTRA will be how they buy a house, carry a mortgage and pay their student
loans. Not addressing and at the very least introducing them to this aspect of the
acting world is not addressing their futures. The regional theatre movement is
shrinking. Theatres are closing, co-productions are all the rage and theatres
are doing smaller and smaller cast shows. Call AEA and ask how many LORT D level
and higher contracts were issued this past year. The number will frighten you.
So what do I believe? What is my philosophy?
We have to build habits in this next generation of actors.
We have to teach them discipline. Teach them that sensual is different than
sexual, teach them how to connect to another human being physically in front of
them, and teach them the ability to play an action and put it into their
bodies. We must then take them from exercises to scene studies, and finally
into rehearsals and performances in front of a live audience. We must also enable
them to be comfortable in front of the camera – to work simply and truthfully
with no apologies and to take ownership of their work. We must also teach to
the individual. Cookie cutting teaching will never serve the artist. We must
teach to the level of each student and leave ourselves open to surprise.
