Dr. Diane Howard
Ken Farmer's PAG, Dallas, TX
Acting and Auditioning Notes
PAG (Professional Actor Group)
PAG NOTES -AUDITIONING
Here are a few things you need to know when you are ready to audition:
1. If they want a truck driver or a waitress don't go in a three
piece suit or a ball gown, with a British
accent. But do try to dress the part or at least give the general impression.
2. There will be a sign-in sheet. Typically when you walk into
the audition location, there will either be
an assistant, who will give you "the copy" for commercials or "sides"
for film, or they will be on
the table with the sign-in sheet. Sign in, but do NOT put down your Social Security # (PAG
Notes - Feb,2003) .
Look around or ask if there is a "story board," (a cartoon
depiction of the commercial) look
at it to get a general idea of the action to be depicted.
3. I mentioned earlier, that if you didn't get the copy or sides in advance, be there as early as possible.
4. Now you look over the copy and familiarize yourself with this
Character. And it is a Character. First and
foremost, consider the given circumstances. Is this Character upscale or downscale, white
collar/money or
blue collar/working to get by? You can tell this very quickly by the way the character
speaks and by by the
description given in the breakdown. Okay, so you've read it over a few times. You've got
an idea as to the
character type, and you've got a handle on the material and on the story. Now create your
Back Story
(abbreviated, of course, you don't have the luxury of time).
5. When I say read it over, I mean read it aloud. Find a
bathroom, a doorway, anything to let you get away
from the other actors, if possible. Read it aloud and visualize. Think the thought, see
the picture, say the words.
6. Have your picture/resume in your hand if you didn't already
give it to the assistant. You don't want to
start your audition by stupidly fumbling around in your case or portfolio for a picture
and resume. This
is a first read, so you will probably find only the casting director and a video camera
waiting for you.
The second you walk in that door (in Character), try to look confident. Look the casting
director in the
right eye (that denotes confidence). Nervous people make others uncomfortable. Always
remember they want
you to be good. They will be very happy if you solve their problem, which is finding the
best person to do this role.
7. Remember, nobody is interested in what they can do for you.
The casting director isn't concerned if you
need the job or not. If they don't cast this right, they might be needing a job. All they
want to know is
whether you're the best person for the job. By the way, a casting director doesn't
actually cast. They
look at many possible actors and select the best ones to present to the producer, director
and or client.
That's why the camera is there. But they are very important people in an actor's life. You
might not get
this job today, but two weeks or two months from now the casting director may remember
that you did a good
job and call you in for a part you will get. Remember, they can do great damage to your
career if you piss
them off in some way. Being rude, not professional, not prepared, offensive, etc.
**Side Note: DO NOT wear perfume or cologne to an audition. They
may be seeing over a hundred people
that day and the mix of perfumes/colognes can become overpowering. I personally know
several casting
directors that get upset when actors come into their casting room reeking of
perfume/cologne; and then you
wonder why you are never requested again.
8. Be at your best: big smile, lots of energy, friendly and
PROFESSIONAL. The first time you meet the
casting director is when you come through that door, so be at your best. They may spot
something on your
resume, a show they know or a teacher you worked with, and ask you about them. Be honest
but don't go
overboard. They may ask a question as simple as. "What have you been doing
lately?" This is not an invitation
to chat. They usually mean what have you been doing professionally, however, they may
specifically ask you
about something personal, hobbies, etc. again, be honest, but concise.
9. Now, get on your mark. (a piece of tape on the floor in front
of the camera shaped like a "T "). It's
very important that you get on and stay on that mark while you're reading. That spot keeps
you in the
frame, in the light and in focus. So once you're on it, stay on it. Don't shuffle about or
sway your body.
Now comes a very big moment, THE SLATE.
10. The casting director will normally tell you if you are going
to be given one or two cues. You may get
two, one "action" cue to slate, and then another "action" cue to begin
the scene. If it's one cue, it
means you slate, pause briefly and begin the read. Either way you do your slate, which
simply means you
look at the camera and say your name and agency (if required) or any other information
they may ask for.
Some will do a straight-on shot and then each profile or even a 360. It's done in a few
seconds but they are
the most important few seconds of your audition. Be unique. Don't just say, "Tudy
Lipschitz, The Melvin
Agency". Make them remember you, "Hi! I'm Tudy Lipschitz... today,... and that's
with a "z", or
whatever you are creative enough to come up with.
11. Squeeze all the charm, warmth and professionalism and
creativity you've got into saying your slate. Just
as you first meet the casting director when you come through that door, the slate is the
first time you
meet the almighty producer and director or client, the people who have the real power, the
ones who decide
who gets the job. If your slate is sloppy, lazy or unimpressive in any way, they will
probably fast
forward right through your reading. They may never see how cool or good you were. They go
till they hit a
good slate. You must bring maximum internal energy to this part of the audition.
12. Be sure you have given your character a secret, something
only the character knows (Chapter 2 of
"Acting is Storytelling ©''). Now just go give it your best shot.
Hopefully, you have used the Instant Line Learning Technique©
from "ACTING IS STORYTELLING©"
and know the story, and you shine. Remember, the
most important thing you can wear... is your expression.
Most of the above was excerpted from Ken Farmer's book,
"Acting is Storytelling©",
available from Ken
through his website: http://acting.freeservers.com.
Just click on the "Order" button or come by Ken's PAG
(Professional Actor Group) group studies held at 3906 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, Texas 75219,
suite #222 on
Tues. and Thurs. nights from 7 to 10. Additional information at: http://acting.freeservers.com/Group.htm
or call Ken at 214-533-4964 or email pagact@yahoo.com
First session/audit is free.
http://acting.freeservers.com/Group.htm
PAG rates are:
4 Sessions - $100, 10 Sessions - $200
Ken's book, "Acting is Storytelling" is $28.00
PAG Sessions are held at 3906 Lemmon Ave. Suite #222 Dallas, 75219
KEN FARMER, 30 years as a professional actor, degreed in
Speech and Drama, with 12 major features;
including "THE NEWTON BOYS", "ROCKETMAN", "SLIVERADO" and
"UNCOMMON VALOR",
50 plus episodic TV and MOW's, over 260 commercials; including Wolf Brand Chili, Goodyear
Tires, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Compaq Computers, Play Station, Church's Chicken, only God
knows how many
Industrials and author of "ACTING IS STORYTELLING© ".
Ken has been coaching acting for over 5 years and is the founder of PAG (Professional
Actor Group).
See websites at bottom. Ken's full bio at:
http://kenfarmer.actorsite.com/Bio.htm
and acting
resume at: http://kenfarmer.actorsite.com/KEN.htm
"GOOD ACTING IS NEVER OBSERVED, IT IS EXPERIENCED." -KF
PAG (Professional Actor Group)
TECHNIQUES OF ACTING
IN MASTERING THE TECHNIQUES OF ACTING:
(1) The actor must learn that the single most important ingredient in acting is PASSION!
(2) He must always focus on the STORY and never the dialogue.
(3) He must be trained in habitualizing responses of his
character so
that they become automatic and instinctive reaction patterns; called "grooving the
channels of the
mind" or learning to direct each thought into its proper expressional activity for
purposes of outpicturing.
(4) The actor must train his memory to absorb observed
experience,
record it and recall it when needed for a character's BACK STORY,
(5) He must constantly practice and develop his powers of
Imagination,
Creativity and Concentration (Focus),
(6) He needs the ability to Visualize with Power (VP) the
character he
creates; he must SEE the character before he can BE the character,
(7) He must practice daily, reading with imagery. (Seeing what he says.)
(8) He must learn how to create an original and unique character
in his BACK STORY out of all the
factors of his experience in observing character types and sometimes creating characters
out of "whole cloth."
(9) He must acquire, through practice, the ability to Create, be
the
Creation and Observe his creation at the same time.
(10) He must learn how to absorb the character he has created
and inject
it smoothly into his understanding of the STORY,
(11) He must study, with a vengeance, the Emotions, for they are
the
very colors he must use to "paint" (tell) his story.
(12) He must never memorize dialogue, but rather learn it as he learns the story.
(13) He must SEEwhat he SAYS in telling the story.
(14) He must perfect the art of Listening and to allow his
character to
be changed by the other characters.
(15) He must never listen to the words, but listen to the person.
(16) He must realize that the more he learns the more he needs to learn.
(17) He must be completely self disciplined/controlled at all times.
(18) He must never allow his own personality or personal
memories to get
between himself and his character.
(19) He must NEVER make choices for the character BEFORE the scene takes place.
(20) He should NEVER decide the outcome of a scene BEFORE he does it.
(21) The actor must realize that he knows the dialogue,
but the character DOESN'T.
The actor must stay out of the way and allow the character to CREATE the dialogue as it
happens.
(22) The actor must realize that he doesn't tell the story
to the audience;
he brings the audience into the story.
(23) The actor must always be sure that the Charactor's eyes and mouth match.
The above is excerpted from Chapter 10 of Ken Farmer's
book, "Acting is
Storytelling©" and is a focus area of the PAG Group Studies held each Tues. and
Thurs. nights
from 7:00pm to 10:00pm at 3906 Lemmon Ave., Suite #222, Dallas 75219.
For information on FREE audit/first session, call Ken at
214-533-4964 or
email pagact@yahoo.com
Ken's book, "Acting is Storytelling©" is $28.00.
Ken's Bio: http://kenfarmer.actorsite.com/Bio.htm
Ken's Resume: http://kenfarmer.actorsite.com/KEN.htm
If the
Heart is empty, then what's in the Head doesn't matter.
- KF -
PAG NATURAL ORGANIC ACTING
"ACTING IS STORYTELLING©" by Ken Farmer
"The Truth is in the Story, not the Words." - KF
HOW DOES THE ACTOR TELL THE STORY?
The actor must first know the story; in fact, under The Millennium System©, knowing the
story is the New
Age Actor's first responsibility. [Notice I did not say "plot"; there is a great
difference between story and
plot.] He must know each event down to the tiniest detail in proper sequence (all stories
have a sequence of
events; one thing happenend first, one thing happened second, etc.). He then must create
his character.
Stories are told by and through the characters by visualization and by coloring the events
with emotions.
Acting, (Storytelling) as an art form, is evolving and freeing itself from the dogmas,
rituals, routines and
authorities of the past. Stanislaviski's Method, Meisner's Technique, Chekhov's Approach
and the other
psycho-intellectual (psyco-babble) forms of acting have become antiquated, limiting,
cumbersome, ponderous,
clumsy, stiff, dangerous to the actor, confusing, basically ineffectual and stifling to
creativity. (Other than
these problems, the old methods are probably all right.)
In these old methods, (which were based on audience tastes and preferences at the time;
theater has always
been an extension of a culture's attempt at self analysis) things were done according to
formula, the
"guideposts", or "gote sheet" (gag... puke), even to the archaic
planning of gestures or movements and the
choreographing of choices and emotions. Choreographing of actions, gestures, choices
and/or emotions, to me,
is like painting a picture "by the numbers", it is not "creating" and
playing the moment. I was originally trained
in the "Method", in college, but soon abandoned it for Meisner and eventually
trying or experimenting with most
of the other so-called psyco-intellectual forms that evolved from the "Method"
in my thirty year
career (so far) as a professional actor; I like to say,
"been there, done that, got the 'T' shirt and now I wash my horse with
it."
Today, the actor or creative artist, must work out his own uninhibited organic patterns of
expression, get out of
his head (if you have to think about it, you are already in trouble), create his
character, play and stay in the
moment. He should never negate or resist an impulse of the character; all lines (or the
emotional content
thereof) of dialogue will cause the character to (a) stand still; (b) move back; or (c)
move toward and the
movements (toward or back) may be half an inch or half a mile; even if it is
infinitesimal, especially on film, it is
a byproduct of listening and responding to the other character's dialogue/action or your
own character's.
"Listening is the single most important thing an actor can do during a
performance." - (Meryl Streep)
"Don't listen to the words, listen to the person." - (Jack Lemmon)
CREATING CHARACTERS:
The actor, after learning and knowing the story, starts to create his character beginning
with the given
circumstances as supplied by the writer, inserting his own given circumstances, (visible
physical characteristics
he cannot change; height, weight, race, etc.; notice I did not say "gender", we
have men playing women and
women playing men, makeup does wonders) then creating a comprehensive BACK STORY (in
writing) of the
character. Second only to knowing the story, the BACK STORY is the most important
responsibility of the
actor. Repeating: the BACK STORY is the second most important responsibility of the actor.
With it, he creates
a character that is anyone but himself, it is always a fantasy character from a creative
imagination that is
based on someone else. You can shape your character to anything your imagination can
deliver. (The Mind is
Everything, what We Think, We Become." - Budda)
"Dramatic interpretation is a byproduct of knowing. For this reason, interpretation
is a result, not a cause."
When the actor knows the story and has created his character, interpretation will always
take care of
itself. Again: interpretation is a byproduct of knowing. The actor must read and reread
the script (preferably
aloud), many times as an observer, an Observer, not as a participant, paying no more
attention to one
character than another, to fully understand and know the story and its sequence of events;
all stories have a
sequence of events with a beginning, middle and an end. (Anthony Hopkins has stated that
he reads a script up
to 500 times Before beginning to work on his character.) Once the story and the sequence
of events is
understood, and only then, can the actor begin the work on the character's BACK STORY.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTORS
Back in 1985, when I was shooting "Silverado", I was told by Mark Kasdan,
co-writer of the screen play and
brother of director Lawrence Kasdan, that "Writers create opportunities for actors,
we supply the bones
or frame of the character and it is up to the actor to create the flesh, blood, skin,
hair, eyes and
teeth and to breathe life into the character and make him unique. Writers have neither the
time,
inclination nor the space to lay out a character for the actor. If we did, a normal movie
script (120
to 140 pages) would be longer than "War and Peace". That's why we cast actors
who can create their
character based upon their understanding of the story." "Don't ask me what I
meant to express with
my stories, ask yourself what they mean to you." - Eugene O'Neill. The BACK
STORY initiates the
creative process of the actor. (Excerpted from Ken's book, "Acting is
Storytelling©" -
http://acting.freeservers.com/Order.htm)
"We can shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that
holds whatever we want." - Lao Tzu -
PAG Organic Group Studies are held each Tues. and Thurs. nights in
Dallas from 7 to 10. The group studies are on-going and have been for over 5 years.
You may audit and participate in the first session for free. Should you chose to join our
merry band of passionate and dedicated actors,
membership is: 4 sessions - $100, 10 sessions - $200
You may attend one session per week or both, your choice.
More info about the sessions at:
http://acting.freeservers.com/Group.htm
The on-going group sessions are held at
3906 Lemmon Ave. in Dallas, Ssuite #222. Membership is limited.
Call or email Ken Farmer for reservations. Ph.- 214-533-4964 or email
pagact@yahoo.com
"Volumn Comes From the Heart, Not the Voice." - Denton Blane Everett
SEE KEN'S WEB SITES:
http://kenfarmer.actorsite.com
http://acting.freeservers.com
KEN FARMER'S PAG
(Professional Actor Group)
DIALOGUE - MEMORIZE IT OR LEARN IT?
Having trouble with Dialogue? Do you 'freeze up'?
Do you have to look down at the 'sides/copy' for every lineduring an audition?
(every time you look down at the
'copy', you will break character). Do you know everyone's dialogue in a scene?
Do you 'think' about the 'words' during a scene?
PAG actors have the industry wide reputation of 'being able to be off-book' in a
matter of a few minutes. Why? Because
they don't 'Memorize' dialogue, they 'Learn' it. And they are able to 'Learn' it
at the rate of 5 to 10 minutes per page.
It's all part of 'Storytelling'
KNOW the Story and have already created your Character.
KNOW THE STORY -The story only happened one way. Only one thing happened first,
then one thing happened
second, etc. Break each scene into French scenes or Natural breaks and break
those into 3 equal parts:
BEGINNING, MIDDLE and END. (A French scene is the entrance or exit of an energy
or life force) This is
done to help the brain absorb the information faster. The brain retrieves top
down and bottom up. By making more
tops and more bottoms, it is easier for the mind to retrieve the middles. Never
highlight only your dialogue; that very
act forces the focus on only one set of lines at the expense of the story and
takes you out of the moment.
Highlight or underline only the IMPORTANT WORDS (TO YOU) in each line of
dialogue (for ALL characters). These words
are the IDEAS or EVENTS of the line, focus on them only. Sequence these events
or ideas in order of occurrence
by writing them on a separate page. This procedure ensures that the actor is
focusing on and learning the
sequence of events of the story. Write only the underlined/highligh
"dashes" (the dashes should be the approximate length of the words they are
replacing).
Work only one section at a time. Then read aloud from the page you have just
written, but, focus on the
story, filling in the "dashes" orally without looking at the copy.You should be
able to fill in 95 to 100% of the dashes.
Continue rereading the page until you can fill in all dashes correctly and
without hesitation. Then turn the
page over, you will find that you probably will know all the dialogue for ALL
the characters. You will work
with each section (beginning, middle and end) separately until the sequence of
events is clear.
THEN JUST TELL THE STORY.
WITH PRACTICE, THIS ENTIRE PROCESS SHOULD TAKE LESS THAN
10 MINUTES PER PAGE OF DIALOGUE!!
REMEMBER, YOU KNOW THE DIALOGUE,... YOUR CHARACTER
DOESN'T. NOR DOES HE KNOW WHAT THE OTHER CHARACTERS
ARE GOING TO SAY. YOU MUST GET OUT OF THE WAY AND
LET HIM CREATE IT AS HE LISTENS.
If you are interested in joining one of the Top groups of
Actors in the area, call or email Ken Farmer at
214-533-4964 or email at pagact@yahoo.
Your first session/audit is always FREE. We meet at
Toni Cobb Brock's casting facility, 1350 Manufacturing St.,
suite #200 each Thursday evening from 7 to 10.
MEMBERSHIP RATES:
4 SESSIONS $100
10 SESSIONS $200
"SHAKE THE DIALOGUE UNTIL ALL THE WORDS FALL AWAY,
WHAT IS LEFT IS TRUE ACTING." - KF
6/2007
KEN FARMER'S
PAG (Professional Actor Group) ONGOING GROUP STUDY
THE ART OF NOTHING:
I know that sounds contradictory, but it is an art. It seems, especially with a
lot of stage actors, that they
think they have to have some type of "business" going on to be interesting.
Well, guess what Magee, you can and should
be interesting just sitting or standing there. There is never a movement or
action on stage or set without a
purpose. So, when you are thinking about some type of 'business' during a scene,
you are committing a cardinal
sin; thinking. ("Lets see, should I be examining this vase while she's talking
or should I be looking at a spot on my
shirt?") The more you think, the less you are in the scene (fence post acting).
And if you have thought of some
movement, action or emotion ahead of time, a PRECONCEIVED CHOICE, that's also a
cardinal sin. The circumstances
(causal factor) on which you based that choice when you studied the scene may
not exist when you actually do the
scene with another actor because you don't know what the other actor is actually
going to do.
(Just work with James Woods sometime.) Acting a scene and creating
preconceived
choices and emotions in your head, requires the cooperation of the other actor.
An actor's greatest fear is (or should be) Audience Apathy. If they don't love
your character,
hate your character or at least find your character interesting, then you have
failed as an actor. So, how do
you make your character interesting? First, by creating a great BACK STORY in
writing, with all the emotional,
physical, knowledge and anticipatory memories and thoughts of a fantasy
character. Second, by LISTENING. The other
actor(s) in a given scene are always the most important. (Hopefully you are
working with other professionals and
they think the same thing about your character.... Third, always give your
character a secret that only you
know. Forth, give your character a secret about the other character (s) that
they don't know your character knows.
Film acting always starts and ends in the EYES. You can't hide your eyes from
the camera. If you are thinking,
"what's my next line", or "should I be doing some business", the camera and the
audience will see just that.
Fifth, get ...out of the way and let the character tell the story. You, the
actor, will know all the dialogue,
(or should) but, the character doesn't. You must get out and stay out of the way
and let the character create the
dialogue as it happens. "A person is not an actor until he commands a technique
which enables him to get an impression
across into the heart of an audience without reference or relation to his own
individuality (personality)
the actor, the more completely is he able to eliminate the personal equation."
John Barrymore - And I have added; the
poorer the actor, the more he must rely on his own personality (personal
equation) in his attempt to tell the
story. And if your character is listening in the scene, do just that, LISTEN! If
you start thinking; what, what if,
what is, how should, if, how does, etc., then you are not Listening and have
sterilized the scene and have just made
your character very uninteresting!
Come and audit one of Ken's PAG sessions (actually you don't audit, you
participate for free) and decide if this
new Organic style is for you. Ken is a working veteran (over 34 years) actor and
author of "Acting is
Storytelling©
(Toni Cobb Brock's Casting Facility) Should you decide to join,
membership fees are:
4 Sessions- $100
10 Sessions- $200.
Email Ken at pagact@yahoo.
"The worst thing an actor can do is to decide the outcome of a scene before you
do it." - Jessica Lange
1/2007
2/07- EVERY ACTOR WILL GET HIS CHANCE, IT'S A PITY SO FEW ARE
READY FOR IT. - KF
KEN FARMER’S PAG CRAFT NOTES - SOAP BOX TIME... AGAIN
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS
... When you go in for an audition, there is usually a slot on the sign-in sheet
asking for your social security number.
Do not, I repeat, do not, that's NOT, N-O-T, write down your social security
number on that sheet!!!
By law, only your employer or a governmental agency has the right to see your
SS# and you aren't hired yet.
I don't know when this started, but putting down your SS# where ANYONE looking
at that sheet can see it...
SAG recommends your SAG ID number or the last four digits of your SS#.
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U. S. and all they need is
your name and SS#...
It seem like there is an absolute plethora... of low/no budget digital movies
being made today. Most are pro bono (... 'no pay') for cast and crew.
Just a word of caution; if the feature/short ever sells and there is a demand
for product out there, even schlock product, you, the actor, should be paid.
This can be set up on a 'percentage of profits' (that means after pay out for
the cost of making the film) for the actor.
The production company will, most likely, have you sign a 'Release' for the
right to use your likeness, (don't sign your life away)
you should add to the release an addendum requiring that you be paid either a
set amount or,
preferably, an ongoing percentage of the revenue, after break even. If it is a
SAG ultra low budget or limited exhibition (festivals only),
SAG requires that you be paid full rate if and/or when the film is sold.
.. Remember, someone is going to make money on the film, if it sells. We all
need experience, but if you're willing to continually give your talents away,
why should they pay!
...If films are non-union, there are no controls for safety, hours worked, pay,
residuals, food, travel, use of or recutting of the footage
(this can be real scary depending on what they might add to it...)
NOW, CRAFT NOTES
AFFECTED MEMORY:
I congratulate Michael Chekhov's deviation from Stanislaviski'
to create his "Faculty of Imagination" which was to become the foundation to his
acting approach.
Some of Chekhov's other approaches I no longer agree with because of the
changing audience preferences.
(Audiences always dictate acting styles) Sanford Meisner also falls into this
category of evolution from Stanislaviski;
he recognized the overwhelming danger to the actor's own psyche and his
creativity by using his own emotional memories
and created a system that led actors away from that minefield and into their
imagination to create fantasy emotional memories.
The major problem with both the Chekhov approach and the Meisner technique (as
well as other Stanislaviski decendents like, Adler, Chubbuck, Strasburg and
Shurtleff) is that, other than being very dangerous to the actor, they are also
very clumsy, involving entirely too much
intellectualism or analysis (psychobabble)
rather than the character, creating the epitome of what I call, fence post
acting. They tend to make the actor a craftsman rather than an artisan. Other
than these problems, they are probably alright. Most actors analyze too much and
create too little.
ANALYZING CHARACTERS:
Analyzing a character, or a scene, is like dissecting a frog,... the frog always
winds up dead.
Dramatic interpretation is a result, not a cause. The more effort you put into
analyzing, the stiffer you become,
your mind gets so clouded with trying to peek into the writer's mind that your
own creativity is smothered.
Gene Hackman once told me when we worked together back in '82, "Kenny, acting is
not a murder trial,
stop looking for a motive, don't think about it, just create your character and
let’s just go do the ...scene."
NO CONSEQUENCES:
This is one of the great joys of acting; no matter how vile, evil or morally
destitute the character the actor is called upon to create and play,
there are no consequences, no one gets hurt. The character can be as "bad",
"evil" or "mean" as the actor chooses to make him and the actor can still walk
away leaving his character on the set when the Director says, "Cut", feeling
good about himself. Acting is, after all, only "pretend or play like", it is
never "real", it is illusionary, a mirror image of life, and it is this illusion
we use to create the effects of reality. Remember, the Character is never You,
it is an Assumed Fantasy Personality.
"You will forget what I teach you, but you will never forget what you learn and
you learn by doing." - Ken Farmer
"Never let yourself get between you and your Character." - Michael Caine
"Your Character will Never come to Life until you lose all Awarness of the
Self." - Jamas Caan
Since Acting is Storytelling, the Actor has 4 basic responsibilities:
1. KNOW THE STORY!!!
Don't confuse Story with Plot, A Story is "What" the Plot is "Why". A Story is a
Sequence of Events. Know them.
2. CREATE THE CHARACTER
Didn't say 'Analyze', didn't say 'Interpret', said CREATE!
We are Creative Artists, not analytical artists or interpretive artists, but
CREATIVE ARTISTS!
Get that one fact right and you might make it in this business.
3. LEND THE CHARACTER YOUR EQUIPMENT
Your equipment is your Mind, Body and Voice
4. GET ...OUT OF THE WAY AND LET THE CHARACTER TELL THE STORY
That's Acting in it's simplest terms, the concept is very simple, the problem is
learning the skills and learning the skills requires
WORK AND PRACTICE! If you don't want to WORK and learn your skills,
I suggest you do something else with your life. "Imagination and creativity are
guests that do not like to visit lazy people." - Tchaikowski
MOST ACTORS ANALYZE TOO MUCH AND CREATE TOO LITTLE. - KF
PAG group studies are held each Thursday night from 7 to 10.
The group studies are on-going and have been for over 9 years.
You may audit and participate in the first session for free.
Should you chose to join our merry band of passionate and dedicated actors,
membership is:
4 sessions - $100
10 sessions - $200
For reservations email Ken at pagact@yahoo.
"STEP BACK FROM THE WORDS; WORDS ARE THE LEAST RELIABLE PURVEYOR OF THE TRUTH."
- KF
Contact Dr. Howard
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