Acting(acting blog)
How to become a good actor….practice, practice…
So, when I was in acting class it was kind of an interesting time for me. The teacher that I had at the time taught us how to read a script (script analysis) and memorize our lines. We had to do this because it was part of the lessons of course, but we also had to prepare for the performances coming up a bit later on. In the beginning we used contemporary monologues, and later on we had learned about method acting exercises and sense memory. There were going to be at least three plays that we would all be a part of and performing to the public as “student shows.”
Even though, the teacher kept on saying….”don’t worry about the lines so much..” That’s what we were all worried about. This is what every actor is worried about. We don’t want to mess up the lines and look stupid in front of others. We want to be perfect.
So let’s talk about it.
What is the best way to memorize lines?
There are a few ways that you can memorize lines. So what you can do is read this all the way through, try each technique and see which one works better for you.
The first recommended way for memorizing lines would be to write all of your lines down. Keep on doing this over and over until they end up getting stuck in your head. There is something about writing with your hand and paper that allows for your brain to remember easily.
The second way remembering lines is to say them out loud over and over again until you have them memorized. I remember doing this for a few hours each day when I was in class, and at home too. It became a little bit exhausting but it was worth it.
Another way that helps to memorize lines is to record yourself speaking into a voice recorder saying all your lines, and then listen to it over and over again. Nowadays, you can just do it with your phone.
I always found that combining all these methods worked best for me. When I was preparing for a play I would walk around the classroom saying the lines out loud over and over until it became second nature. So the teacher was right. Don’t worry about the lines, you will get it he used to say. But, before I had gotten to the point of reading my lines out loud in the classroom, I had also written them down many times. So I had combined those two method’s and eventually I didn’t need to look at the paper anymore.
As a result, one thing that I’m proud of is when I performed a monologue play (as a school assignment) and I only missed one or two words. Nobody noticed. This monologue was about forty minutes long and I was really natural. I wasn’t nervous.
Another cool thing that happened before I left that particular school was that the teacher there provided me with a few basic actor headshots for free.
You might want to check out some of the Stanislavsky books for more information.
Acting Work
One of the commercials that I was happy to be a part of was the one about finding your luggage and tracking your luggage at the airport. You can have a look at it in the COMMERCIAL WORK section of this website. I’m pretty sure that I got this one just based on my look, but anyway, I was glad to be there and it was a pretty easy day.
This commercial was shot at the airport (of course) and I was in and out within an hour!
Another project that I was a part of some years ago was a short film that I don’t even remember the name of at this point. There were about ten of us actors involved and some had smaller roles than others. I had one of the co-starring roles in this one so it was pretty cool. If I remember the name I’ll include it in this blog post. Anyway, that one is out there somewhere and we all had a good time working on that film.
Another project that I was in was a pretty successful web-series. This one had one office location and the pay was pretty good at $25/hr. I had a fair amount of lines with these as I had three roles, a hitman, a detective and a businessman. It was interesting because I got to use fake blood for the first time when I was pretending to kill people lol. It was acting of course, not real.
The Borat film that I was in, if you have seen it. See the VIDEO section of this website if you haven’t already watched it. Those of you reading this out there may be wondering how that came about. Well, that happened through meeting Sean; who runs The Sean Ward Show on youtube, a few years ago. And then from there I had met Chris. And one day, a few years later we decided to get together to make a short film. I think it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. Read more about that in my next blog coming up about who you know.
Another short film that I was in was about a well known female serial killer. Well anyway, besides the subject matter the film turned out to be like a short documentary as it was pretty accurate. I got this role through a guy named Rick, which I’m pretty sure I had met at one of the background gigs. My role in this film was a guy picking up a hooker on the street and then he gets robbed. I played Richard Mallory in the film about you know who, and so I was shot at a few times until I was on the ground dead. That was a pretty good film.
And lastly, there was a short film called Denial and in that one I had the husband/father role.
Anyway, I’m hoping that some of my blog posts (like this one) might help someone when I share some of my experiences and advice about acting. Check out my next blog coming up soon, and go all the way back to the beginning if you’d like.
Thanks, Steve
Incase you might be interested, this is my online store (T-shirts & accessories).
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