Ask Blair, March 1999

Hello, and welcome to actors at all stages and ages.

Question

Dear Blair!

First thank you on your excellent advice. I am a 44-year-old actor in SAG and am now after a several years leave (ageing and dying parent syndrome), I have spent an incredible time being present with my divorced parents during their flight to the other world. But alas five years have passed and I now resemble a cross between Connery and Swarzzenegger at 6'4" and 230 pounds. I am a big guy and seem to have a nordic warrior look. In contrast, I am very sweet and sensitive . . . actually now my quandary . . . Reentering the trade and marketing myself. I am temporarily in Ft. Lauderdale tying up loose ends. Then back to L.A.? Might you have any advise for this actor returning to the fray? In L.A. I was married to a prominent M.D. and had numerous connections. Now, after all this time I feel so removed and do not want to tread on contacts that are no longer part of my life? What to do?

Thank you,
Bill

Dear Bill,

Breaking back into the business can be difficult and feel very challenging. But you sound determined and after the long, hard journey you've been through away from it all, it will be refreshing for you to get your feet wet again.

It sounds like you have a marketable look, and if you like L.A. a lot, then it just might be a good life /career move to go there. Otherwise, there is a lot going on in Miami, and I would see what connections you could build in Florida before just packing up and going to L.A.. Sometimes L.A. can be a tough place to be if you don't have enough connections, opportunities, etc. to move out there. You may want to start doing some theater down there, (there are also more film opportunities with the new Universal Studios in Florida) so you have some recent credits to show for when you do make the coastal move. Find out what the actor trade paper is in FL., and you can also access audition info on Back Stage online at www.backstagecasting.com.

Anyway, wherever you are, make sure you have headshots you like and that look like you now, update your resume, and go for it. Go to all the auditions in the trade papers that appeal to you. Never apologize for being out of the loop, only explain if people ask. Although I totally understand your trepidation about using old contacts, you may want to drop your pride and ask for the help you need anyway. Write a letter to these people explaining the situation. Be honest and simple. Follow up with a phone call. You may not get any responses, but it is worth it. When you do get work, invite people, agents, etc. to come see you.

Do you have a reel? Make a good reel from your old film work if you don't already have one. Include it in any mailings you do to agents. Build a creative, supportive community. Join a good class or work with a coach so that you touch base with your acting process and begin to sense your strengths and what you can work on. You may discover that your recent experiences have made you a more sensitive actor!

It may be slow, but it will be fun and I really encourage you to go for it and stick with it as long as it makes sense for you to do so.

Best of luck.

Question

Dear Blair,

I love your responses and the integrity you have for the Art of Acting. I am 23 and a Dramatic Arts Major at a Private Women's College in the San Francisco Bay Area. About two years ago I decided to leave my job as an office admin. to pursue my passion for Acting. I started going to school to study Dramatic Art, which I felt was the right thing to do. Since I have been attending this college, the director of the department has verbally abused me beyond belief. He has told me that my waistline was not small enough (I'm a size 6), that I was a spoiled brat, that I "better shut up before I make a fool out of myself," and told me before the opening of our last show that I would mess up the entire show if I did not pick up my energy, after he only spent an hour rehearsing with me, and could not even remember what my monologue was about. Well, I'm leaving the school, and now I don't know what to do. I have a class outside of school, and my teacher, who is also from NY, has told me intuitively she feels I should apply to Yale, Julliard, RODA, etc. What do you think? Do I really need a B.A. to get into a professional program? I'll be 25 by the time I do get into one, and I would like to start acting professionally before I'm 30.

-Galina

Dear Galina,

Thanks for your kind words and the question.

First of all, I am really sorry about the abuse. From your story, it sounds like your teacher was a monster. This is one of the reasons that I am studying Drama Therapy; because I feel that acting teachers tread too often into personal territory and are abusive without knowing it. There are many ways of delivering important and useful information to actors without tearing into or exposing them.

Most graduate programs that I know of prefer an undergraduate degree. I think the opinions of teachers that are close to us are important, and your teacher may have a good hunch. On the other hand, I do not believe all actors need to go to graduate school. I agree with David Mamet that actors learn best by being in productions. You may want/need to start working now. Just start going on auditions. Milk your contacts. Get a few shows under your belt.

Work in the field for a few years, in all the non-Equity(and then hopefully Equity) stuff you can, and then see about a graduate program if you feel you need more structure and a boost, or you want to teach at a university level. Good luck, Galina. Good for you for getting out!

Question

Hi Blair,

Well I did a foolish thing. I'm in rehearsal for one play, (rehearsals are only about once a week) and now I accepted a role in The Music Man. It's the Mayor's wife, Mrs. Shinn. It's not a big role, but nevertheless I will have conflicts. I didn't expect to be chosen for Music Man and when

I was, I was so happy that I accepted. So, now there are times when I have to juggle. I don't know why I do this to myself. It must be my ego.

Jeanne

Dear Jeanne,

Congratulations! It is exciting that you got cast, in not one show -- but two! You are being quite hard on yourself for doing something most burgeoning actors do, which is to take all the opportunities to perform (auditions are opportunities to perform) that one can. At this stage in the game, you need all the experience you can get. Getting cast in two things that are slightly conflicting is only a problem if the juggling causes you a lot of guilt, worry and confusion. So you live and learn. Next time you'll make a different choice. Maybe.

Question

Ms. Blair Glaser,

The last year-and-a-half I have studied acting. I have made some great improvements over time. I am writing you because I would like to know about actions in a scene. I know some actions such as "To argue, To fight, To reveal" and there are some others that I know, but I also know that there are many more. If you could, please let me know of the other actions that I could use. I mean in some scenes I can never find the right way to phrase the action. So anyway, please let me know of some other actions that can be used in scenes. I hope this message made some sense to you and I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you, thanks again!

Mr. Mike,

Thanks for writing me with your great question which I think I understand. Picking the right action for each scene and being able to play the action is a skill that takes many actors some time. Some acting theories propose that there are only a limited number of actions, but I don't think so. I could spend all day writing actions down for you. You know them. You do them every day. See for yourself. When you are interacting with people, what are you doing underneath all that talking? Are you flirting with them? Pushing them away? Trying to get something from them? Sell them something? The first step is to isolate and put into simple language what actions you do in your life. This will help you begin to phrase your actions for scenework.

What makes acting different from life is that the stakes are generally higher. The first thing you want to do is pick an action that corresponds with the text. You must read the text over, sometimes several times, and really feel into what you think the character is doing. You do not want to just pick a random action that sounds cool. To say, "My character is begging in this scene," if what he's doing is closer to threatening the other character, it will not be an effective choice. When you feel you know what is happening in the scene, make your action SIMPLE and SPECIFIC. Some examples of simple, creative actions are spilling the beans; setting the record straight; trying to get the other actor in bed; etc.

Stay away from negative actions, such as "I'm trying not to look at her." They don't work. Instead, stick with the positive: "I'm avoiding her." It often helps to pick an action that could be acted out physically--but that doesn't mean you have to act it out physically in the scene. Phrasing your action with more physical language will bring more aliveness to your performance. For example, if your action is that you want to kill someone, you can kill them metaphorically with your words or looks-- you don't have to move or actually kill. But if your action is "to lie," your performance will be flatter than if your action is, "to hide the truth"-- a more physical way of phrasing it.

You also want to make the action specific to you, Mike. If a character is begging for forgiveness so that the other character will spare his life, you most likely have never had to do that. So instead of acting your idea of desperate, pick a situation in your life that would make you desperate enough to beg, for example, AS IF the person whom you love the most would leave if you didn't. It is important to find situations in your life that you can personally relate to and perform your action is if you were under those conditions.

Here's an exercise to help you experience connecting with a single action and being focused on it. Have a fellow actor (or anyone who you TRUST) hide your wallet very well in your room. Then look for it. Become engaged in simply looking. See if you can become absorbed in it. After a few minutes if you haven't found it, create some circumstances: i.e., You are on your way to an audition--you can't leave until you find your wallet. See what that does.

Remember that when you are onstage, your behavior, that is what you actually do, is informed by the other actor. You shouldn't plan HOW you are going to do your action. That will kill off your spontaneity. It is important to feel connected to your action, but not rigid. In order to be present in a scene you need to react to and off of the other actor.

When it comes to action--the Nike slogan is the best. Just do it. Don't think about it, don't argue in your mind whether or not the character would do it this way, don't sit on the fence about it, just do your action. And if the other actor is just doing his or hers, they will challenge you further to do yours. And that's drama! Go for it.

Question

Dear Blair,

am a University student in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I have been taking acting classes and voice lessons for five and three years now (respectively). I am very involved in theatre here, but I would like to get involved in the film industry. I've done only a little in this area (I did some extra work in a feature film shot here), and I absolutely fell in love with being on set. However, there isn't a lot of that type of work going on here, and most of the projects happening here are ACTRA jobs. I can't find a local agent, and I am currently unable to leave to pursue a film career. Any advice?

Also, would you be able to distinguish between an 'extra' and a 'silent on camera'?

Dear Newf,

To begin with, if you absolutely cannot move to a more film-centered town, I would suggest, while doing as much theatre as you can, hitting your friends and family up to borrow their video cams. Practice your monologues on film at home or better yet, take a screen acting class if you can find one.

Because if you love film, you'll want to become really comfortable in front of the camera. You should watch yourself on film a lot. And getting experience and exposure through theatre can help you make good contacts and get an agent who can help you get auditions for films. This way, you will be prepared for when you can move. Who knows? You may even want to make movies once you get to know the camera well.

As far as the term "silent on film"--this may be a Canadian phrase. I have not heard it used here. It is not a term in my glossary of film terms. Other words for "extras" are "atmosphere" or "background players."

There is something called a "stand in," which is a person who stands in for the lead players so that the lighting technicians can get the lighting right before the main actors come to the set.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Sincyberly to all,
Blair