Shia LaBeouf once said that, as an actor, he was a "lonely dude" but there is little evidence that many other actors share this feeling. The implication in this statement is that loneliness is a price that is paid by actors. In an interview for The Washington Post, he stated that a real actor must be, at least to a certain extent, "brokenhearted". It is likely that there were several actors who took offense to LaBeouf's statement. There are, however, probably many individuals who took hold of his statement and adopted it as their own due to the common "suffering artist" stereotype.
As any commercial acting workshop that provides quality commercial acting techniques will teach you, it is impossible to be a good actor and to not be in tune with the plight of the human condition. However, there is no reason for an actor to himself suffer in order to be able to succeed in an audition. Is there a way for an actor to truly embrace and succeed in a role without becoming overly invested in the emotional turmoil involved?
When discussing identity and stereotypes, the term that must be discussed is distortion. Meisner training, along with other acting methods, consider distortion to be a necessary skill. Not only is this needed in dramatic films but in reality shows as well. Distortion, if well executed, is actually able to reveal truths previously undiscovered by the actor about himself. This is the crux of an actor's job.
The Meisner technique teaches that stereotypes are personalities that have been distorted. They are, in fact, essential to creating characters. They cannot, however, be allowed to take over the entire personality. Even a seemingly "cartoon-like" character who appears to be the definition of a stereotype must have layers of personality that add complexity. For example, a good actor will be able to create a character who has a tragic aspect but also maintains a comical exterior.
Some stereotypical aspects of a character may be helpful in a performance as it will allow your audience to quickly gain at least a partial understanding of your character. Any character that does not demonstrate complexity at some point in the performance will quickly be dismissed as boring by the audience. If the writer has written a particular character as a stereotype for a reason, this must be followed carefully in order to create a genuine performance.
A part of the actor's gift is his sensitivity to his surroundings. Actors are people just like everyone else and can suffer just like we can. It becomes dangerous, however, when an actor believes that suffering is essential for true success. In order to succeed, instead, an actor must remain focused, stay passionate, and continually improve on his skills.
As any commercial acting workshop that provides quality commercial acting techniques will teach you, it is impossible to be a good actor and to not be in tune with the plight of the human condition. However, there is no reason for an actor to himself suffer in order to be able to succeed in an audition. Is there a way for an actor to truly embrace and succeed in a role without becoming overly invested in the emotional turmoil involved?
When discussing identity and stereotypes, the term that must be discussed is distortion. Meisner training, along with other acting methods, consider distortion to be a necessary skill. Not only is this needed in dramatic films but in reality shows as well. Distortion, if well executed, is actually able to reveal truths previously undiscovered by the actor about himself. This is the crux of an actor's job.
The Meisner technique teaches that stereotypes are personalities that have been distorted. They are, in fact, essential to creating characters. They cannot, however, be allowed to take over the entire personality. Even a seemingly "cartoon-like" character who appears to be the definition of a stereotype must have layers of personality that add complexity. For example, a good actor will be able to create a character who has a tragic aspect but also maintains a comical exterior.
Some stereotypical aspects of a character may be helpful in a performance as it will allow your audience to quickly gain at least a partial understanding of your character. Any character that does not demonstrate complexity at some point in the performance will quickly be dismissed as boring by the audience. If the writer has written a particular character as a stereotype for a reason, this must be followed carefully in order to create a genuine performance.
A part of the actor's gift is his sensitivity to his surroundings. Actors are people just like everyone else and can suffer just like we can. It becomes dangerous, however, when an actor believes that suffering is essential for true success. In order to succeed, instead, an actor must remain focused, stay passionate, and continually improve on his skills.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides quality meisner instruction. Find out more about commercial acting classes by visiting the studio website.
