Break a Leg

Hey, all.

So, since Tahko, our local blogging actor, just got a leading role in a show in Carmel (a really nice little town a couple of hours away from San Francisc) I figured I'd take over his Blogging Actor blog for today.

I started as an actor. My first role was in 7th grade where my drama teacher convinced me to audition for Aladdin. This was for two reasons -- one, I was in her drama class (I had to take it, it was one of those) and was one of the only people who could read a sentence without losing my place on the page, and two, because I kind of looked like a baby Aladdin when I was in 7th grade.

The show really got me into acting, though. I started acting in plays in high school and only got into writing in college, where I got into the habit of putting on my own shows and then casting myself in them. It's just so much easier that way. 

One of the best experiences I had, as an actor, was in an acting class at my college with a teacher who was asked to take over for a semester because the original teacher couldn't teach that year. The woman they got was a serious method actor and director. Let me quickly explain method acting for those not sure what it is:

Method acting is a type of acting where you really try and get into your character -- really feel the emotions they're feeling. You've all heard of actors staying in character for months before a shoot, or gaining weight for a part or pretending to not have legs for a few weeks -- that's method acting. And a little crazy.

Anyway, the semester was divided into two classes -- the first quarter was Acting I, the second quarter was Acting II. She taught both. The problem was that Acting I was a class that regular people took to fulfill a requirement and Acting II was for actual actors.

So, Acting I had around 50 people in it and our teacher was ruthless. You'd go up and do a monologue, and she'd stop you two lines in, "Why are you saying that? Are you mad? How would you react? Why are you mad? Really feel it. You don't look like you're feeling it." So, she would do this with regular, non-acting people who wanted a free ride. She'd make someone cry, literally, daily. There was a girl who was a playing a hooker, and it was like a 15 minute conversation of, "Yes, but WHY are you a hooker? What would make you be a hooker?" to which the girl responded, "I'm not a hooker! I've never been a hooker!"

In short, it was comedy gold.

She gave me two compliments in that class, and they made me feel like I was the King of the damn world. I learned more than I ever did in that class and, while I, myself, have a more moderate view of method acting (yes, you should feel the emotions, etc. but if you starve yourself for a month to play a starving man -- you're not really acting anymore, are you? You're actually starving. I'd think it'd be harder to really figure out how to play that when you're not dying of starvation.) -- it's what really improved my ability.

Still, acting is one of those things (like most arts and, really everything) that you never stop learning. As far as experience and practice goes, I need so much more it's hard to explain. I intend to start diving into other parts (if I ever have any time) and really challenge myself. 

So, have any of you tried acting or are interested in pursuing it? Have any questions about it, or auditioning or anything? Let us know, I'm sure we can help you out at least a little bit.

Have a good weekend, everyone. And stay tuned for monday's episode -- it'll be the last of this arc and we'll be back to conversations for a little while.

Hope you've been enjoying the eps!

-Yuri