Shia LaBeouf once commented on the fact that he felt he was a "lonely dude", a feeling that might not be shared by a large number in the acting community. The implication in this statement is that loneliness is a price that is paid by actors. In an interview for The Washington Post, he stated that a real actor must be, at least to a certain extent, "brokenhearted". It is likely that there were several actors who took offense to LaBeouf's statement. However, due to the popularized concept of the "suffering artist", there were probably others who took his statement to heart.
As any commercial acting workshop that provides quality commercial acting techniques will teach you, it is impossible to be a good actor and to not be in tune with the plight of the human condition. However, there is no reason for an actor to himself suffer in order to be able to succeed in an audition. Is there a way for an actor to truly embrace and succeed in a role without becoming overly invested in the emotional turmoil involved?
When discussing identity and stereotypes, the term that must be discussed is distortion. Regardless of whether the actor is learning commercial acting techniques or methods for other types of acting, distortion is a necessary talent. Every performance, from film to reality shows, requires that actors distort the truth. If a distortion of the truth is done particularly well, it can actually make the actor see himself more clearly. Essentially, this is the whole purpose of acting.
The Meisner method defines stereotypes as distorted views of people and their characteristics. They do play a large role when it comes to creating a character. Despite this, actors have to ensure that they do not allow the stereotype to dominate the character. Even the simplest character must be more complex than a basic stereotype. The most successful actors are able to create personalities that are opposites in many ways such as a comical character who has a tragic past.
Utilizing a character stereotype, particularly at the beginning of a performance, can allow your viewer to get a handle on the type of character that you are presenting. Any character that does not demonstrate complexity at some point in the performance will quickly be dismissed as boring by the audience. In some instances, the writer may have written a character to be a stereotype as a device and, if this is case, care must be used when developing the character.
A part of the actor's gift is his sensitivity to his surroundings. Actors are just like everyone else in that they can suffer from financial troubles, heartbreak, and other human occurrences. The danger is in actors believing that they need to seek out suffering to truly be great. Success comes, instead, from continued study, passion, and dedication.
As any commercial acting workshop that provides quality commercial acting techniques will teach you, it is impossible to be a good actor and to not be in tune with the plight of the human condition. However, there is no reason for an actor to himself suffer in order to be able to succeed in an audition. Is there a way for an actor to truly embrace and succeed in a role without becoming overly invested in the emotional turmoil involved?
When discussing identity and stereotypes, the term that must be discussed is distortion. Regardless of whether the actor is learning commercial acting techniques or methods for other types of acting, distortion is a necessary talent. Every performance, from film to reality shows, requires that actors distort the truth. If a distortion of the truth is done particularly well, it can actually make the actor see himself more clearly. Essentially, this is the whole purpose of acting.
The Meisner method defines stereotypes as distorted views of people and their characteristics. They do play a large role when it comes to creating a character. Despite this, actors have to ensure that they do not allow the stereotype to dominate the character. Even the simplest character must be more complex than a basic stereotype. The most successful actors are able to create personalities that are opposites in many ways such as a comical character who has a tragic past.
Utilizing a character stereotype, particularly at the beginning of a performance, can allow your viewer to get a handle on the type of character that you are presenting. Any character that does not demonstrate complexity at some point in the performance will quickly be dismissed as boring by the audience. In some instances, the writer may have written a character to be a stereotype as a device and, if this is case, care must be used when developing the character.
A part of the actor's gift is his sensitivity to his surroundings. Actors are just like everyone else in that they can suffer from financial troubles, heartbreak, and other human occurrences. The danger is in actors believing that they need to seek out suffering to truly be great. Success comes, instead, from continued study, passion, and dedication.
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The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides quality meisner acting instruction. Find out more about commercial acting class in nyc by visiting the studio website.
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