The 10 Most Common Problems of Acting

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The 10 Most Common Problems of Acting

Postby Regina on Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:57 pm

THE 10 MOST COMMON PROBLEMS OF ACTING

1. Inability of the Actor to stay out of the way of the Character.


This is the Ego wall. "Never let yourself get between you and your character." - Michael Caine "Your character will never come to life until you lose all awareness of the self." - James Caan

2. Creating a Back Story.

"Creating and Writing a Back Story is the most important element in Creating your Character." - Billy Bob Thornton

3. Lack of Research (Laziness).

"Many Actors are just too lazy to Research. I will sometimes spend months just researching, creating and studying my character." - Peter O'Toole

4. Too much effort and time spent analyzing the script and character.

Dramatic interpretation is a result, not a cause. For the actor who knows the story, interpretation will take care of itself. Analyzing a scene or a character is like disecting a frog; the frog always winds up dead. "Acting is not a murder trial, don't look for a motive. Create your character, know the story and then just do the scene." - Gene Hackman

5. Learning Dialogue.

Too many actors try to "Memorize" Dialogue instead of "Learning" it as they Learn the Story and this begets "Recitation". "I don't look for someone to recite dialogue when I cast, I look for someone who can bring something to the story I haven't thought of. I look for creativity." - Ron Howard

6. Deciding the outcome of a scene before you do it.

NEVER make Choices Before you do the scene. "The Worst thing an actor can do is to decide the outcome of a scene before you do it." - Jessica Lange

7. Listening.

"The most Important thing an actor can do during a scene is to Listen." - Meryl Streep "Never listen to the Words, listen to the Person." - Jack Lemmon "Listening is being able to be changed by the other person." - Alan Alda

8. Trusting the Instincts of the Character.

The Actor should trust the instincts of his character, by never negating an impulse of the character that is based on inflow. "Never feel your body, make your body feel the character." - Kevin Spacey "The body doesn't know it's acting. - Sigourney Weaver

9. Being concerned with your Performance.

Again, Ego. "...take care of the story and let genius take care of itself." - Sir Laurence Olivier

10. Duplicating your performance on call.

There is a plethora of actors today who are not sufficiently gifted for this trade, but a trained, ungifted actor is surely preferable to a gifted one with no training at all. "It is, I believe, safe to say that no actor ever produced a truly great effect in acting except as a result of long study, close thought, deliberate purpose and careful preparation". - David Belasco, "The Theatre Through Its Stage Door."
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Postby katey on Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:14 pm

hey wat are u tryin 2 tell us gina? R we just not good enough 4 u? j/k i'm just playin with ya. luv ya :iloveu:
WORDS OF WISDOM:
1.before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. that way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes!
2.when life hands you a lemon, say," Oh yeah, i like lemons. What else ya got?"
3.sometimes you're the windsheild. sometimes you're the bug.
4. live like you were diein. it rox out loud!
5.wish for wat you want. work for wat you need
6.life is so....... whatever!
LOVE ME AND MY MONKEY!!!!!!!!:monkey:
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Postby katey on Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:16 pm

p.s. this site is soooooooo nifty! (nobody better take my word, nifty)
WORDS OF WISDOM:
1.before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. that way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes!
2.when life hands you a lemon, say," Oh yeah, i like lemons. What else ya got?"
3.sometimes you're the windsheild. sometimes you're the bug.
4. live like you were diein. it rox out loud!
5.wish for wat you want. work for wat you need
6.life is so....... whatever!
LOVE ME AND MY MONKEY!!!!!!!!:monkey:
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Postby Tony on Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:59 pm

yea this is a nifty site
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Postby ocagchick_randi on Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:16 pm

lol thats realy cool gina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next Tuttle Idol...hopefuly
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Postby Britt on Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:52 pm

[/[color=cyan]


GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:-?
:-(
NOW I CAN'T SAY NIFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-? :-?

:-( :-D :-( :-D :-( :-D :-( :-D :-( :-D :-( :-D
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Postby adam on Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:22 pm

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wow
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Postby Marissa on Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:54 pm

katey wrote:p.s. this site is soooooooo nifty! (nobody better take my word, nifty)


Lindsey Phelps already took your word Katey. When she first saw how we turned her farm house around in Oklahoma! and it became Jud's smokehouse she said "that's nifty." So.....actually I guess YOU took if from HER.

Hmmmmmm.

8-)
Marissa 8-)

"We will go to the Moon...not because it is easy but because it is hard." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard, is what makes it great." - A League Of Their Own.

The natural condition of the theatre business is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. However, as strange and unbelievable as it sounds, it always turns out well. No one knows why this is. It’s a mystery.
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Postby the music man on Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:29 pm

i thought they were rather helpful.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villian. . . . . .
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Postby Randi's Mom - Rhonda on Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:16 am

I would guess that "listening" would be the most common problem here...... :lol: yak :lol: yak :lol: yak :lol: I wonder how many times in one night Marissa has to say "quiet"!!!!? (say...yell...scream...whatever)

:bumpbump:
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Postby Marissa on Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:05 pm

Randi's Mom - Rhonda wrote:I would guess that "listening" would be the most common problem here...... :lol: yak :lol: yak :lol: yak :lol: I wonder how many times in one night Marissa has to say "quiet"!!!!? (say...yell...scream...whatever)

:bumpbump:


shriek...cry...moan....beg...
Marissa 8-)

"We will go to the Moon...not because it is easy but because it is hard." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard, is what makes it great." - A League Of Their Own.

The natural condition of the theatre business is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. However, as strange and unbelievable as it sounds, it always turns out well. No one knows why this is. It’s a mystery.
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Postby ocagchick_randi on Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:19 pm

now you know why I say "what?" all the time!!!!! :lol:
Next Tuttle Idol...hopefuly
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Postby katey on Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:11 pm

Well I didn't know she used it! that was a lonnnng time ago. :spy:
WORDS OF WISDOM:
1.before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. that way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes!
2.when life hands you a lemon, say," Oh yeah, i like lemons. What else ya got?"
3.sometimes you're the windsheild. sometimes you're the bug.
4. live like you were diein. it rox out loud!
5.wish for wat you want. work for wat you need
6.life is so....... whatever!
LOVE ME AND MY MONKEY!!!!!!!!:monkey:
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Postby adam on Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:14 pm

i never knew she did use it well i guess alot counts on me not being here when she was still in ocag
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Postby VideoGamster on Sat Nov 05, 2005 3:49 pm

katey wrote:p.s. this site is soooooooo nifty! (nobody better take my word, nifty)
NIFTY,NIFTY,NIFTY,NIFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
It could be the RECIPE!!!!
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