All I would tell people is to hold onto what was individual about themselves, not to allow their ambition for success to cause them to try to imitate the success of others. You’ve got to find it on your own terms. – Harrison Ford
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Being Foolish…
It’s the actors who are prepared to make fools of themselves who are usually the ones who come to mean something to the audience.
Christian Bale
Impulses…
If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how it seems, follow the impulse. It might be something and if ain’t- take two!”
Jack Nicholson
Nothing “Extra” About It
Why do people lump so many of the things kids love into “extracurriculars”? This would be fine, except “extracurricular” too quickly turns into “extraneous” at the first sign of adversity. Sports, drama, music, dance, acting classes etc. is always seen as “something extra” to the SERIOUS study of math, history, science, and English.
Why is this? Unfortunately, the answer too often given is that the SERIOUS things lead to the THINGS THAT MATTER: college, profession, a bumper sticker with an Ivy League logo. The thinking goes “If my child’s grades suffer, then what about their future?” But let’s think of this in a different way “If my CHILD suffers, then what about their future?”
Some will think we’re being melo-dramatic- but sadly, that’s not the case. In our acting classes, teens constantly express to us the tremendous pressure they feel about THEIR FUTURE. This fixation on THE FUTURE leads to anxious, stressed out, overwhelmed kids. In short, unhappy ones.
So why possibly would we take away that which gives them joy? Which makes them passionate? Excited? We take this away under the hope it will lead to “HAPPY FUTURE”? Says who? A survey of Harvard students found that nearly half experienced depression at some point during college. Clearly, getting into the right school is not the miracle elixir to a young person’s sense of well-being.
We’re not saying that kids should forego school work. Not at all! But unfortunately, the scales have been tipped way too far on the side of THE FUTURE. A future that holds no guarantees, or promises. So let’s not forget the other side- which is real, that brings Joy. Passion. Comraderie. Compassion. Surely, that side is worth as much time as all that SAT studying. Right?
Keeping What’s Natural in an Acting Class
I read an article in New York Times recently in which Sofia Coppola discussed the casting of some fairly new teenage actors as lead roles in her latest film “Bling Ring”.
“I think with people that age, it’s exciting to find kids that are unknown. There’s sort of a naturalness, as opposed to having worked a lot, being kid actors.”- Sofia Coppola, in New York Times article.
This raises the question: do “kid actors” lose a sense of naturalness? It certainly doesn’t have to be this way. There are great examples of “kid actors” who’ve gone on to very successful careers ( for e.g. Jodi Foster). But there are also countless stories of “child actors” who have struggled to make the transition from a hit t.v. show to feature films into adulthood. The problem can happen when actors get into a certain “pattern” for a particular t.v. show, and subsequently have a very hard time breaking this pattern once the show is over. This can be particularly problematic for kids as they can equate a specific “style” of a t.v. show as being the “right” way to act.
One of the big things we stress at the studio is that there is no one “right” way to act. It’s important to be flexible, and to always maintain your own sense of perspective. The actor’s own unique history, sense of imagination, and personality is critical to a healthy, long-term career as an actor. If an actor’s identity gets solely wrapped up in a particular t.v. role, or in selling products, then they can lose that “naturalness” so important to filmmakers.
Not to self-promote too much, but this is why acting classes for kids, and teens, are incredibly valuable. Acting classes are a great way to keep presenting new roles, characters, situations to an actor who is doing “more of the same” on a particular t.v. show. Continual growth for an actor can only occur with new challenges, and working with a wide range of personalities. Patterns start to get cemented when we get stuck in an insulated environment of the same people, writing, stories, and experiences. It’s for this reason that our studio is perpetually changing so that our actors are constantly growing, and discovering their own unique talent.
Young Actors Blog 