INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION

Where Am I Coming
From?

Acting for Film is a book about acting in motion pictures and the techniques that can be used to act in front of the camera. It’s written to the actor, which is what I am, and discloses some of the approaches to film acting that have been prevalent in American movies. Being an actor, I have a very practical, yet personal approach to things. Whatever the technique or philosophy is, it has to work for me in the field; it has to work when the camera is rolling. Every actor is a unique instrument that only he or she knows how to play, so my advice to you is, take everything in, keep what works for you, and leave the rest for later.

Many people think that film acting is simply a portrayal of a strong personality, that the actor, who possesses a strong ego and a love of performing, just memorizes the lines and jumps before the camera. People think that it takes a certain type of personality to do this, and it does, but what they don’t consider are the intricate techniques of craft that the actor practices and the depth of self-knowledge that she must strive for in developing her instrument. In today’s American entertainment industry of buff bodies and beautiful faces, it’s easy to see how the public could think that a couple of sit-ups and high cheekbones create a movie legend. This idea is so prevalent that it even exists among the acting community itself. In order to get jobs that will pay the rent, everyone hits the gym, has facials, does workshops on selling themselves, and studies comedy improv. The actor as commodity is a reality in our world, and although there’s nothing wrong with any of these activities, they won’t create a foundation of technique. What about the gymnasium of the soul? What about the quest for self-knowledge? Where does one learn to illuminate the actions of the character with greater truths that will touch an audience forever?

I believe that actors need to build a strong personal, private relationship between themselves and their creative instrument, which they can access for the characters they play regardless of the style or medium they are working in. This work has to accompany all of the other rules of acting, like finding the intentions and needs of the character, the actions and beats of the scene, and the analysis and memorization of the script. Film acting presents some special problems for those trained solely in the theater, and I will try, whenever possible, to discuss how one can adjust a theatrical technique for work in front of the camera. For many who dream of acting in film, the available education is too theatrically oriented to allow them to fully blossom as film actors. This book speaks to both those with theater training and those entering the field for the first time as film actors.

Strangely enough, although this is a book about acting in film, I was reluctant to employ the camera itself in my classes and workshops. Certainly, there are things that you can learn from watching yourself on camera, and I deal with what I think those things are in the last chapter of this book. Mostly, I feel that bringing the camera into the classroom creates a misleading image. First, the camera image will more than likely be primitive and simple. It won’t provide a true representation of what an actor will look and be like in a professional film. Using a camera in the classroom as an acting tool takes the focus away from watching the actor and brings the attention to the television monitor. Therefore, whenever I do use the camera, I do it without using a monitor to view the recording simultaneously. We view the footage separately, often on a different day. Second, since many of my students are young people who have spent their lives watching television and computer screens, I feel it is important to teach them to watch and observe themselves and one another, rather than relying on an image inside yet another box.

THE ACTORS STUDIO

I am a member of the Actors Studio, where I have had the privilege of working with and watching many of the great actors and acting teachers of the twentieth century. I originally learned this work—and it’s usually referred to as just that, “the work”—from Walter Lott, who was my teacher for many years. Walter was a prodigy of Lee Strasberg, and he worked with all of the other renowned teachers of that time, notably Sandy Meisner, Bobby Lewis, and Stella Adler. So, it is through Walter that I learned many of the things upon which I would then base my own teaching. Walter was a great and ominous presence in all of his student’s lives. He possessed a passion for “the work” that was unrelenting in his belief in the actor’s power to represent truth, not only personal truth in a specific moment, but a greater truth for mankind. Wherever he taught, and he taught all over the world, he instilled each and every student with the belief that his or her acting instrument, if connected to the truth, was a vehicle of expression that was very important to be seen and heard. Was it true? I don’t know, but I do know that it is the only way that an artist can work. It is certainly the only way that an actor can work in front of the camera. You have to work with the belief that what you are doing is important, you must be committed to a sense of your own personal truth, and you must engage in a practice that will bring these things to life in the script and character.

A NOTE TO TEACHERS

I think that the saying “Those who can do, those who can’t teach” is a great misrepresentation of teaching, especially in the arts, and perhaps in all fields. A better way of putting it would be “Those who do it the best have a responsibility to teach.” All acting teachers I know who are worth their salt are excellent actors in their own right, and therefore, this book is written for teachers, as well. If you are unfamiliar with the techniques, particularly in the first section of the book, then I would suggest only using them after you have explored them through the filters of your own acting technique. They can unleash a wave of creative power that you have to be prepared to guide your students through. The only way you’ll be able to do that is through your own personal experience.

I often teach a course called Acting for Film, on which this book is loosely based. Sometimes the students whom I teach are aspiring filmmakers and are required to study acting as part of their curriculum. They are often unwilling participants, having thought that opting for a career behind the camera would excuse them from experiencing what happens in front of it. It never ceases to amaze me that once they have been taught to be in contact with their own inner lives through the relaxation, they can be taught to express that inner life through the senses. Then, through a character and text, many of them discover a talent that they didn’t know they had, and they continue to study acting.

Acting in front of the camera has widened the field of people who could possibly be actors. You no longer need a large voice or gregarious personality to get out there on the stage to be seen and heard. The camera has privatized acting to enclose a much smaller circle that is concentrated closer to the person playing the part, rather than the part itself. I mention this to teachers, because there might be students in your class who desperately want to act but are too shy to project outward and perform. It’s possible that their voice is so soft that it cannot be heard, and although they do their best work sotto voce, they are still compelling to watch. These students can be very frustrating, but they shouldn’t be left by the wayside; they might have the makings of very good film actors.

THE BOOK

This book is divided into three parts. The first part, The Actor, deals with exercises of relaxation, concentration, and sense memory. It is by no means complete; such a book would have to be at least the size of the Bible, because like the Bible, many different people would have to contribute to the story. Sense memory, for example, is a very personal issue that works differently for each person who uses it. I have presented a framework that you can spring from through personal practice and further study. The material is presented directly to actors working on their own, although if you find that you would like to truly explore the possibilities of sense memory, you should find a class with an excellent teacher to complete the study.

The second part of the book, The Script and Character Development, begins to take the actor out into the world of working in films. I cover the audition and casting process by giving you the information that you need to function at your best. This section will help you use the screenplay format to glean clues to the character, as well as guide you in preparing for the shoot, once you have a part to play in a film.

In the last section of the book, The Shoot, I attempt to equip you with a knowledge of filmmaking and the processes that go into it that are important for the actor. The pros and cons of participating in the various levels of student films are also discussed in this section. I then create a hypothetical film shoot and your first day on the set and suggest ways of using “the work” to do what is expected of you. Last comes the suggestion to learn to be an objective observer of your work when you watch your own image on the screen and to learn how to grow from the experience.

I find myself asking myself many questions as I move through my life as an actor and an acting teacher. Does the dream of the movies as a powerful medium of change still exist beyond the popcorn and surround-sound of mindless entertainment? I enjoy the entertainment along with the millions at the movie theaters—I love movies of all kinds—but I keep searching for the films that expand the meaning in my life. I keep going back to the ones that have done it for me in the past, and I keep searching for the new ones that will do it for me now. I keep wondering, Can we, as actors, hold our human integrity and portray humanity in a way that gives meaning to our lives and to the lives of others? I believe that we can if we desire to do so. It’s a choice that every actor has to make, and every actor meets his or her decision differently through the pathways of life.

A few months into writing this book, I found out that Walter Lott had passed away at his home in Chicago. I hadn’t seen him for several years, and I‘d been thinking about calling to talk over my writing project. He had always wanted to write a book, often having me take notes at his workshops for him, notes that he would invariably leave on a café table somewhere in Berlin. With Walter, it was always about the further exploration of the moment, the deeper investigation of the feeling, moving forward, asking questions, teaching, observing, living. He just never found the time to put it all down on paper. So, here I sit, his pupil, writing, teaching, taking what I could from him, which was a great deal, and from all the other teachers of my life, and filtering it through my own acting instrument and experience. I have learned as much from my students as they have learned from me, and so it goes; it never ends.