Liam Neeson in Beckett's "Eh Joe"

Check out this article about Liam Neeson's perfomance in "Eh Joe", currently playing at Lincoln Center in NYC. Be sure to click on the link to the multi-media slide show....

Click here to read article.

Audition Technique

Many actors are confused about whether or not they should memorize their lines for their TV and Film auditions. One camp says to always be "off book" and another says to barely look at the material so that it stays "fresh". I believe that each audition is different. Sometimes I memorize the text completely, sometimes just sections. Sometimes at a reading I am asked to stay and read for another role so if I am married to the idea of always memorizing I am in big trouble.

I have had a lot of writers, producers, directors and casting people come out and speak to my class about auditioning and they all agree that they don't care at all if an actor has the lines memorized. In fact the writers, who are usually the executive producers on the shows we audition for, always prefer that actors use the script--they want to hear their lines read correctly! What all care deeply about is that the actor bring life to the role. The actor should be as memorized as necessary to accomplish this.

Here is a video I found on YouTube of Hugh Laurie auditioning for House MD. I think it is a great example of an actor using the script while still bringing a full realization of the character.

Click here to see the video.

Note when Mr. Laurie apologizes for his appearance at the beginning of the clip, saying that "things haven't been going well lately". I may be completely wrong here, but I suspect his choice of appearance was quite deliberate. Perfect for the role.

NYC Tango Dancers

One last NYC moment: I was in a clothing shop on 40th street killing time before heading out to see "In The Heights" when a flash of red caught my eye through a window into an adjacent building. I looked closer and saw what appeared to be some kind of kid's ballroom dancing competition. I grabbed a bit of video footage. Enjoy.

Click here to view clip

In The Heights

My last night in NYC I saw the Tony Award winning musical In The Heights. A joyous ending to a fabulous trip.

This play oozed with the guileless enthusiasm of its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. You could feel the energy walking into the theater. The audience broke out in cheers several times throughout the performance. An invigorating, splendid night of theater!

Click here to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's acceptance speech/rap when he received the Tony for best score. His genuine gratitude and humility is palpable. Inspiring.

New York City

 I am  in the final day of my NYC vacation. I came here to get inspired and this city never fails me. So far I have seen November by David Mamet, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts and The 39 Steps.  

Each play inspired me in it's own way: November was wonderfully well-executed. Nathan Lane dropped his "Broadway Baby" schtick and delivered an hilarious and smart performance. Laurie Metcalf is a force of nature when she does comedy. She always does some kind of  wacked-out utterly surprising physical movement that astounds me. The 39 Steps was fun and it was pure pleasure to witness the virtuosity of the actors. I love movement-based theatre and the original choreographer of this play was trained in the LeCoq method, something I have always been deeply interested in. But the real stand-out for me was August: Osage County. This play is should be up there with Death of a Salesman  and The Crucible. It is truly an American masterpiece. I can't stop thinking about it. The writing and the performances were sublime. Particularly Amy Morton. She was magnificent. I have no idea why she wasn't nominated for a Tony. She is an amazing actor.  But really everyone was fantastic. I wept at the end, not just because of the subject, but because of being reminded of what a moving experience live theatre can be. Those actors and that particular audience, of which I was a part, shared a few hours together in an intimate and focused way that will never be repeated. That is part of what I love so much about live theatre. It is a living thing. The show is a little different each performance: the audience changes, laughing in a new place, or not laughing at all. The actors change--they are a day or a week or a month older, an actor has had a fight with their spouse hours before the show, or has a cold. Live performance is ephemeral. And when the performance is over there is no record. It burns to ash.

A couple of great NY moments: 

1. On the subway on Monday heading uptown, I glance to my left and see that one of the actors from August is sitting right next to me. Frank Wood. He played Bill Fordham. A wild coincidence since I had seen the show only  the day before.  I struck up a conversation--told him how much I loved the play. Incredibly nice guy and a great actor.

2. At the Met with my good friend Michael Lally. We were walking in a crowd and I was goofing with him and said in a funny voice "Get off my back."  A guy to my right says "You don't want to hang out with me then!" I turned to see a young attractive blind guy smiling at me, one hand grasping a cane and the other on his friends back as he was being guided through the crowd.  We cracked up.

The Fall

Saw Tarsem Singh's magnificent film The Fall yesterday. Gorgeous images and exquisite performances from Lee Pace and Cantinca Untaru. Here is a link to the website: The Fall

Singh's direction of the young Ms. Untaru is masterful. He pulled such unguarded truthful moments out of her--in particular the scene where "Roy" asks her if she was lying about his being able to feel his big toe. Her performance was breathtaking. It never felt like she was acting. We, the audience, were watching her as she lived through the events of the film. All acting techniques are designed to bring us to this kind of performance--back to a childlike, simple, ability to, as Sanford Meisner so famously said: behave truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

See it!

The Real Deal

I was talking to a a student the other day and he was apologetic that he "still had a day job." This guy is a high-school teacher who is so devoted to bettering his craft that he takes the bus across the valley (during rush-hour) to my acting class in Sherman Oaks after teaching all day in Pasadena. The trip can take up to two hours. To me he has no reason to apologize--he is a champion! Given these tough economic times--the fall out from the writers strike, the glut of reality TV, the high prices of gas and food--isn't it about time that we all stopped equating our acting income with our artistic worth? I thought this was a good time to share an article I wrote awhile back....

The Real Deal

Recently I was at a party and overheard someone say in a derisive tone “he describes himself as an actor but he's only had one job in the last five years.” I had to join in, “That's interesting. How often would he need to work for you to consider him an actor?” The person looked uncomfortable and couldn't come up with an answer.

What is an actor? Is being an actor about how many jobs you book? Having representation? Making money? If so, how much do you need to make? And what if you haven't worked for a while? How long does one need to be out of work to no longer have the right to call himself an actor? Three months? Three years? And who gets to decide the length of time?

It's remarkable what people will say to actors. Once, when I was on the phone discussing rates with a car insurance salesman, he asked me what I did, and when I told him that I was an actor he said “Someone once told me that if someone says they're an actor you should ask them if they make their medical to find out if they're the real deal. So” he asked, “do you make your medical?” I was astounded at his rudeness—I replied “Well yes actually. Now tell me, did you meet your sales quota last month?”

I have the blessing of being an acting teacher as well as an actor and my students are a constant source of inspiration. Being in class with them every week keeps me connected to what being an actor really means. Dedication, determination and most important, the heart of a champion.

I am reminded of the Dodgers in that amazing game in 2006. It was the 9^th inning and the Padres were winning 9-5. Figuring that their team was beat, the Dodger fans had begun to leave the stadium. Then, at the bottom of the 9^th, the Dodgers came back and hit four consecutive home runs--only the fourth time that's happened in an inning in major league history. Then Garciaparra hit a two-run homer in the 10^th and the Dodgers ended up winning 11-10. Now, if the Dodgers had lost their heart in the 9^th—thought to themselves 'we're obviously losing—there's really no reason to keep trying since we don't have a chance'—they would never have won that game.

I have a student with Parkinson's disease. This guy is one of the best actors in my class—very talented, but what blows me away is his heart. He has a full-time job, his arm shakes like crazy when he's tired or nervous, and yet he shows up every week rehearsed, his lines cold, and plays full out every time he gets on the stage. When that arm really gets shaking we say he “wears his heart on his sleeve.” I don't think the deal gets anymore real than that.

I have another student who also works a full-time “straight” job and is tremendously talented. He is so driven by his desire for excellence that he almost always has two scenes going at any given time. He is always meticulous about every aspect of his craft. The other day I received this email from him:

“…after 9 years of busting my ass, doing drops on lunch breaks, class, workshops, mailings, student films, working survival jobs that suck the soul out of me,…I have had a grand total of about 3 auditions for paid gigs…If I could ever get in the damned room, I could do some damage.Then again, no one said it was going to be easy, did they?”

This actor has the heart of a champion.

I don't believe that being an actor has anything to do with how much money you make or what kind of recognition you get from the industry. When someone is lucky enough to make their living solely from acting that's wonderful. But what really impresses me is what an actor does when he is not working.

Do you have the heart of a champion? Do you keep playing full out when the fans are leaving the stadium and it looks like there's no hope? Are you an actor? The real deal? The answer is in your own heart.