As a working film and television director, I have to clean up the messes that outdated actor training creates on set. Here are some classroom practices that I firmly believe are harmful to the film actor. If you see any of this going on in your current acting class, I want you to run!
1. There’s no discussion of eyelines. Film editing is a dance of the eyes. The performer’s eyes guide us through the world of a film. They are the communicators. If you are allowed to hide in your class, it is time to bail. If you have never heard your instructor utter the phrase “points of focus,” beware.
2. Cold-reading happens every week. Cold-read classes offer fast food answers for actors who don’t want to rehearse. How often do you arrive unprepared to a real audition? Almost never. Proper text analysis and rehearsal technique are both essential for serious film actors.
The lazy actor might argue, “Well, Ryan, sometimes you don’t have time to rehearse on set.” And I would counter, “Well, hypothetical naysayer, paid actors sure as hell don’t have scripts in their hands either.”
An actor should build a strong foundation of fully realized performances in weekly classes. That
Leave a Reply