tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8177899598425985108.post2087471000145745545..comments2024-02-23T04:19:46.127-05:00Comments on The Seeing Place Theater - Blog : Quick! Nobody's Looking!Erin Cronicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15913894629937435170noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8177899598425985108.post-66071154885128982032012-04-27T02:14:02.299-04:002012-04-27T02:14:02.299-04:00Thanks for your comment, David. I agree that we s...Thanks for your comment, David. I agree that we should aim for free and available. And this is one of the major misconceptions about organic work and "method acting" in specific. Many people seem to think that by really living through something onstage and giving into that reality, there is some strange psychosis that an actor falls into. And yet, one major thing Lee Strasberg taught actors is control over their acting instruments. We take from that in this company and set repeatable creative work in order to be able to freely live within the author's circumstances. I am not sure if we are always able to tell whether an actor is free and available or a "loose canon" from an audience's perspective. But I do know that as an audience member, I don't want to know what an actor is going to do before he does it. I want to discover it in the moment with that actor. It is also, however, necessary to be able to see the seams a little bit in a dangerous encounter (a fight scene is a good example) onstage. Otherwise, I worry for the actors, and that can throw an audience right out of the play. :O)Brandon Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11779715823310861242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8177899598425985108.post-50258727449458505172012-04-26T12:39:09.377-04:002012-04-26T12:39:09.377-04:00Very aptly put, David. All three points are right ...Very aptly put, David. All three points are right on the money! :)Erin Cronicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15913894629937435170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8177899598425985108.post-20618907781342169682012-04-25T15:30:40.764-04:002012-04-25T15:30:40.764-04:00Comments: #1) To get this out of the way- it'...Comments: #1) To get this out of the way- it's dire "straits," though we could have a heyday on the subliminal meaning re "straights" (heh heh heh). Ok, enough of that. #2) I too once went onstage in performance, leaving a crucial prop on the props table; incredibly, within character, I made a show of having 'misplaced' the prop, dashed offstage to fetch it, finished the scene, &tc. Afterward, an audience friend told me she thought it was part of the show. (!) And someday I'll tell you about the sound cue failure when the rooster didn't crow during "Granola! The Musical" -- but enough of that too. Moving on. #3) One of MY acting teachers warned us that an audience can tell when an actor is in or out of control. Videlicet, "Free and available" is one thing, "Loose cannon" is another, and audiences can tell the difference.David Arthur Bachrachhttp://www.davidarthurbachrach.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8177899598425985108.post-23082500713184552072012-04-22T16:17:25.567-04:002012-04-22T16:17:25.567-04:00I remember an acting teacher in college who stoppe...I remember an acting teacher in college who stopped me once in rehearsal: "Why did you pick up the teacup that way?" I answered, "That's how I felt like picking it up." He responded, "Was it *you* that felt like it? Or your character? Would your *character* pick it up that way? You're to leave yourself out of the situation - only bring your character's personality to the stage! That's the basics of acting - you should know that by now!" I was stunned, and embarrassed. And, so, for the next several years this is the way I approached theatrical roles - I did everything I could to leave my "self" out of it. <br /><br />That is, until I started doing film work. It seems as though, in film, actors are hired BECAUSE they bring themselves to a role -- so much so that actors tend to be typecast based on that very self. (And often, they leave their characters out of it entirely, which is subject for another blog...) How refreshing it was, then, to start working with The Seeing Place and find out that my "self" would be valued more highly than any affect I could put on. <br /><br />What Brandon talks about goes against much of what we learn in school. But I challenge you to give it a try - take a risk and see what happens in the moment. What you discover might be crap, but it also might be magical. Either way, it's alive and I think that's what audiences crave. <br /><br />And if you live in the NYC/Tri-State area, I invite you to see for yourself the results of this kind of risk taking: see one of our shows! Join our mailing list by clicking here: http://eepurl.com/eLgMsErin Cronicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15913894629937435170noreply@blogger.com