Acting Class, a breakthrough of sorts. Another Dr Phil video too.

So last night in acting class I had a bit of a breakthrough.  I put up my "Breaking Bad" monologue again, loyal readers will know which one I am talking about here.  It went pretty well, better than last time even.  But Steve told me that he could tell that I was still acting.  He could see the technique being applied and he could tell that I was processing information and putting it to work etc.  Normally this is a good thing, it shows that I am applying my craft, that I am doing my homework so to speak.  For someone at my level, it's not really that good of a thing.  I need to get past that threshold and enter the realm where no one...not even me, knows where I am going next.

Got it?

Think about it for a second, when you talk to your friends you don't know where the conversation will lead or what your reaction will be, your friend's reactions will be etc.  You just talk.  It's so natural, its the most natural.  Ubernatural.  Au Naturale.  It's almost like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix when he finally sees how he can manipulate the system, and he sees nothing but code.  The  breakthrough is equally dramatic.

In many ways I am very close to acting in the matrix, to put it crudely.  We did a simple exercise where I performed my monologue but played with a pen and studied the pen and put all of my focus on the pen.  The trick here, is getting the focus off of yourself.  By doing so, I was completely surprised by where I went vocally and physically.....and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't even thinking about doing those things.  Like the first kiss in a romantic comedy starring Freddie Prinze Jr, it just happened. 

But how can I achieve this?  How?  All actors want to get to this level.  The only way is through technique.  Steve tells us that there are only 16 ways to say a line.  You just have to work on those ways.  It's practice.  Do you think that Michael Jordan practiced dribbling and free throws?  You bet your ass he did.  Do you think that Nadal practices his serve?  Damn straight he does.  Do you think that the guy from Bravo's "Flipping Out" practices being sassy and botoxed out of his grill?  Yes, he does.  Without question.

This is a a good thing.  In many ways, I.AM.RIGHT.THERE.  And I also have a lot of work to do, but each time that you practice working on technique, the session time gets shorter and shorter because it's deeper into your bones.

End piece.