THE DIRECTOR-PROOF ACTOR

Not all directors know how to talk to actors. Very often their direction can be result-oriented.

Directions such as; “do it faster”, “be funnier”, “hold for a few beats”, can really put an actor in his head. It’s difficult to hear directions such as that and not suddenly be watching and controlling your own performance. It kicks in the “student/soldier” in us, who wants to “get it right”.

That is why it is important for an actor to become “director-proof”.

Please don’t think I am saying to disregard what a director says. In a casting situation, very often it is the actor who can take direction that books the job. Many times actors have lost the job by failing to “take a note”.

Once you book the gig, it is your job to take in what a director says, and make it work for you. However, when someone gives you result –oriented direction, you must translate it for yourself into “actor-speak”.

“Actor-speak” is a way of communicating that is “playable” for an actor. For instance the direction “do it faster” can be translated to “up the stakes”, or “you only have 3 minutes before your husband gets home”.

So when a director, or casting director gives you direction, you should not listen to it with your ear, because if you do, the direction will go right into your brain.

Let me explain. Have you ever been on the phone with someone who you don’t like, and held the receiver away from your ear a bit? It’s almost as though you didn’t want to let their words directly into your head.

And so it is with directors.

So how do you listen to a director, without letting it affect you adversely?

Imagine it this way: Pretend you have on a catcher’s mitt, and you are holding your hand up in the air, as if to catch a fly ball. When you get the direction, imagine it is going into your hand. That way it can be filtered through your entire arm before it reaches your head. By the time it arrives in your head, you have translated the direction into actor-speak. You have adjusted it into something that will be enjoyable for you to play.

For some actors, getting any direction at all kicks them into a “need-to-please” headspace. They hunker down and think “Okay, I’ve gotta get this right, to prove that I am a good actor”. Where’s the enjoyment in that? Try not to think of it that way.

Think of direction as a fun thing for you to try. “Oh good, I have something new to try, that will surprise me in it’s outcome, therefore allowing something real and in-the-moment to take place.” This creates the playful behavior that acting is intended to be.