Students in my acting classes know that when they do scene work the expectation is that they will rehearse and plan their work carefully to demonstrate that they can make and repeat good choices and give the impression that it is all happening for the first time.  I don’t want students improvising their scene work in front of us tdespite that I thinkthat improvisation classes and workshops are good training for actors andvisation I don’t necessarily mean comic improvisation. .  If you believe as I do that acting is reacting—improvisation teaches you to listen and watch carefully so you respond and react to what your acting partners are giving .    Improvisation sharpens your mind and body.  And teaches the most important lesson , which is to say yes to whatever other actors give you. saying yes to what you are given is a great life lesson as well as a great acting lesson–  as so many actinglessons are—in life you must deal with where you are andwhat you are given.  Pretending life is different than it is does little good and it certainly doesn’t change the reality.  You are better off saying yes to what is, acknowledging it and .   onstage or on filmto be in the moment you must respond to what you acting partner is giving you.  Pretending that he or she gave you something different doesn’t eliminate what they did–  it only points up that you are ignoring them and not in the moment.  And what your acting partner gives you is going to fuel your performance.  So say yes to it and live off of it. listen to podcast

Students in my acting classes know that when they do scene work the expectation is that they will rehearse and plan their work carefully to demonstrate that they can make and repeat good choices and give the impression that it is all happening for the first time.  I don’t want students improvising their scene work in front of us tdespite that I thinkthat improvisation classes and workshops are good training for actors andvisation I don’t necessarily mean comic improvisation. .  If you believe as I do that acting is reacting—improvisation teaches you to listen and watch carefully so you respond and react to what your acting partners are giving .    Improvisation sharpens your mind and body.  And teaches the most important lesson , which is to say yes to whatever other actors give you. saying yes to what you are given is a great life lesson as well as a great acting lesson–  as so many actinglessons are—in life you must deal with where you are andwhat you are given.  Pretending life is different than it is does little good and it certainly doesn’t change the reality.  You are better off saying yes to what is, acknowledging it and .   onstage or on filmto be in the moment you must respond to what you acting partner is giving you.  Pretending that he or she gave you something different doesn’t eliminate what they did–  it only points up that you are ignoring them and not in the moment.  And what your acting partner gives you is going to fuel your performance.  So say yes to it and live off of it. <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/improv_classes.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">listen to podcast</a>

improv classes

Victor Chi

Victor Chi, this week’s Notes on Acting guest, is an actor based in Los Angeles, California. In this podcast, Victor shares his thoughts on taking acting classes once you arrive in Los Angeles or New York.  He looks at the different types of classes, explains why you should take them, and how to find the best ones for you. Victor works in theatre, film, and television and recently did a show with the Young Vic in London, which also played at A.R.T. at Harvard. Listen to full podcast. For podcasts and more follow on Twitter @NotesOnActing. Listen to podcasts on iTunes or Stitcher On Demand Radio   Links:  Victor Chi IMDBVictor Chi website

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Classes_Victor_Chi.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Victor Chi, this week’s Notes on Acting guest, is an actor based in Los Angeles, California. In this podcast, Victor shares his thoughts on taking acting classes once you arrive in Los Angeles or New York.  He looks at the different types of classes, explains why you should take them, and how to find the best ones for you. Victor works in theatre, film, and television and recently did a show with the Young Vic in London, which also played at A.R.T. at Harvard. <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Classes_Victor_Chi.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Listen to full podcast.</a> For podcasts and more <a href="https://twitter.com/NotesOnActing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow on Twitter @NotesOnActing.</a> Listen to podcasts on iTunes or <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32489/details" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher On Demand Radio</a> Links:  <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2051186/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Victor Chi IMDB</a><a href="http://victorschi.wix.com/victorchi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Victor Chi website</a>

Acting Classes with Guest Victor Chi

You can create a character by building it from the ‘outside in’ by finding your walk, posture, and rhythms.  Or you can build it from the ‘inside out’ by determining how the character thinks and responds to people, places, and things. Or you can figure out what your character wants and carefully determine how he or she goes about getting it.  By knowing your character’s objectives, actions, and adjustments you will end up defining your character. Remember, the objective is what the character needs.  The actions are what the character does to get what he wants.  And the adjustments are how the character does the things he does to get what he wants.  And it is in the “how” that characterization resides. Clearly, the distinction between two characters that have similar objectives and actions is in how they approach their actions.  So thinking about characterization in this way should help you to play any character. As you get ready to take on a new role, think carefully about how your character pursues their objectives.  You may know what they want…but it is the “how” they behave that defines their personality.  By discovering interesting approaches to how they do things, you’ll be able to play any type of character. For more on this, listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing. You can also follow the podcasts on iTunes or Stitcher on Demand Radio.   © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Character_is_Behavior.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>You can create a character by building it from the ‘outside in’ by finding your walk, posture, and rhythms.  Or you can build it from the ‘inside out’ by determining how the character thinks and responds to people, places, and things. Or you can figure out what your character wants and carefully determine how he or she goes about getting it.  By knowing your character’s objectives, actions, and adjustments you will end up defining your character. Remember, the objective is what the character needs.  The actions are what the character does to get what he wants.  And the adjustments are how the character does the things he does to get what he wants.  And it is in the “how” that characterization resides. Clearly, the distinction between two characters that have similar objectives and actions is in how they approach their actions.  So thinking about characterization in this way should help you to play any character. As you get ready to take on a new role, think carefully about how your character pursues their objectives.  You may know what they want…but it is the “how” they behave that defines their personality.  By discovering interesting approaches to how they do things, you’ll be able to play any type of character. For more on this, <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Character_is_Behavior.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">listen to the full podcast</a>. For podcasts and more please <a href="https://twitter.com/notesonacting" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing.</a> You can also follow the podcasts on iTunes or <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32489/details" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher on Demand Radio</a>. © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

Character is Behavior

To get inside a script, you need to read, brainstorm, research, and visualize. But sometimes you need more.  Since professions define who we are, you need to understand your character’s profession and learn as much about it as you can.  The best way to do that is to watch people doing that job and interview them about their work and careers. People love talking to actors; so don’t hesitate to talk to people about their work and how they do it. Show them your script and ask if they have any suggestions for activities or behavior for you While you might not be able to duplicate every experience your character has, try to experience as many as you can so you can do them honestly.  If you can’t experience them because they are dangerous or illegal go back to Google and YouTube and watch interviews and clips of people doing those things. With a little effort, you can find almost anything you are looking for online. So read the script carefully, brainstorm, do your research, and use your imagination to make the information your own.  Then, meet people who do the same kind of work as your character and explore the activities that your character does in the course of the story.  This research approach, which uses every part of you, will blend your intellect, imagination, and experiences to help you get inside the script and to help get the script inside of you. For more listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing. You can access the podcasts at Stitcher on Demand Radio and on iTunes.   © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/More_Acting_Research.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>To get inside a script, you need to read, brainstorm, research, and visualize. But sometimes you need more.  Since professions define who we are, you need to understand your character’s profession and learn as much about it as you can.  The best way to do that is to watch people doing that job and interview them about their work and careers. People love talking to actors; so don’t hesitate to talk to people about their work and how they do it. Show them your script and ask if they have any suggestions for activities or behavior for you While you might not be able to duplicate every experience your character has, try to experience as many as you can so you can do them honestly.  If you can’t experience them because they are dangerous or illegal go back to Google and YouTube and watch interviews and clips of people doing those things. With a little effort, you can find almost anything you are looking for online. So read the script carefully, brainstorm, do your research, and use your imagination to make the information your own.  Then, meet people who do the same kind of work as your character and explore the activities that your character does in the course of the story.  This research approach, which uses every part of you, will blend your intellect, imagination, and experiences to help you get inside the script and to help get the script inside of you. For more <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/More_Acting_Research.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">listen to the full podcast.</a> For podcasts and more please <a href="https://twitter.com/NotesOnActing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing</a>. You can access the podcasts at <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32489/details" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher on Demand Radio</a> and on iTunes. © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013

More on Actor’s Research

Before the internet existed, actors actually had to go to the library to do research.  They had to stand in line for the reference librarian and wait to make copies of articles and essays. As valuable as it was, just getting access to information put a lot of actors off the important task of doing their creative research. But that has all changed.  With Google, other search engines and online information sites, actors can now do most of their research from home or from a coffee shop. Despite that many actors still don’t do research because they don’t recognize its value or don’t know how to do it. In this first podcast on acting in the age of Google, you’ll be introduced to some easy guidelines on how to do creative research that will help your next performance soar.  We’ll look at making notes, searching for clues, and using your imagination. Great scripts and great acting demand that you get inside the world of a script and live there comfortably–and the only way to do that is to understand the world of the script by digging into it and discovering the elements that make it function. For more information on this, listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter@NotesOnActing. You can listen to the podcasts on iTunes or at Stitcher on Demand Radio. © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Google_Acting.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Before the internet existed, actors actually had to go to the library to do research.  They had to stand in line for the reference librarian and wait to make copies of articles and essays. As valuable as it was, just getting access to information put a lot of actors off the important task of doing their creative research. But that has all changed.  With Google, other search engines and online information sites, actors can now do most of their research from home or from a coffee shop. Despite that many actors still don’t do research because they don’t recognize its value or don’t know how to do it. In this first podcast on acting in the age of Google, you’ll be introduced to some easy guidelines on how to do creative research that will help your next performance soar.  We’ll look at making notes, searching for clues, and using your imagination. Great scripts and great acting demand that you get inside the world of a script and live there comfortably–and the only way to do that is to understand the world of the script by digging into it and discovering the elements that make it function. For more information on this, <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Google_Acting.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">listen to the full podcast.</a> For podcasts and more please <a href="https://twitter.com/NotesOnActing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow me on Twitter@NotesOnActing</a>. You can listen to the podcasts on iTunes or at <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/mystations/13603141/32489/details" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher on Demand Radio.</a> © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013

Acting in the Age of Google

Music is composed of notes and rests and has a clear beginning, middle, and end.  During the rests there is no sound but the piece doesn’t stop. The music unspools a beat at a time and the silences compliment the sounds and make them all the more effective by creating rhythmic shifts and contrasts. Speech is composed of sounds and silences and the silences are required to make the words understandable. There is an unbroken line that holds an idea together and the silences don’t end the idea, in fact they make it comprehensible. When you perform in a play or movie you speak and you pause, you enter and exit.  The material has a clear beginning, middle, and end and none of your silences or exits should stop the flow of the story or the life of your character.  It is your job to insure that throughout the performance, both unspool like continuous threads even when your character is not speaking or not in a scene.  This way, as Stanislavski says, your character “flows from the past, through the present, into the future.” So make sure that your performance unspools and never comes to a stop.  On stage, listening and responding will keep that unbroken line going for you.  When you are off stage you must have a clear understanding of where your character has gone, what they are doing, and how they feel about things.  This way, like a living person, they will continue to exist even when they are not seen or heard. For more on this topic, listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more, please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing You can listen to podcasts at Stitcher On Demand Radio   © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Unbroken_Line.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Music is composed of notes and rests and has a clear beginning, middle, and end.  During the rests there is no sound but the piece doesn’t stop. The music unspools a beat at a time and the silences compliment the sounds and make them all the more effective by creating rhythmic shifts and contrasts. Speech is composed of sounds and silences and the silences are required to make the words understandable. There is an unbroken line that holds an idea together and the silences don’t end the idea, in fact they make it comprehensible. When you perform in a play or movie you speak and you pause, you enter and exit.  The material has a clear beginning, middle, and end and none of your silences or exits should stop the flow of the story or the life of your character.  It is your job to insure that throughout the performance, both unspool like continuous threads even when your character is not speaking or not in a scene.  This way, as Stanislavski says, your character “flows from the past, through the present, into the future.” So make sure that your performance unspools and never comes to a stop.  On stage, listening and responding will keep that unbroken line going for you.  When you are off stage you must have a clear understanding of where your character has gone, what they are doing, and how they feel about things.  This way, like a living person, they will continue to exist even when they are not seen or heard. <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Unbroken_Line.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For more on this topic, listen to the full podcast.</a> For podcasts and more, please <a href="https://twitter.com/NotesOnActing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing</a> You can<a href="http://app.stitcher.com/mystations/13603141/32489/details" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> listen to podcasts at Stitcher On Demand Radio</a> © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

The Unbroken Line

Watching Daniel Day-Lewis play Abraham Lincoln, audiences felt like they were seeing the real man.  They felt that the actor had somehow turned the monument into flesh and blood. But the truth is that we don’t really know what Lincoln was like.  There are many books that describe him, his relationships, and his presidency but we still don’t know the man.  So what did Day-Lewis do?  He captured the spirit of Lincoln and his sensitivities.  He played the actions that Lincoln might have used in the situations presented and pursued his goals through many means.  He played the inner life of a man, a husband, a father, a president, and a politician.  And he created a physicality and voice that seemed to evoke the man. The acting lesson to take from Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is not how to become an exact replica of a person but rather how to combine research with imagination, analysis, and intuition to create an honest, living character who is appropriate for the story. Remember, you can never really be someone else.  You can only be a different you.  So to build a character, whether it is based on a real person or not, you have to shape it out of your flesh and bone, out of your mind and imagination, and out of your heart and soul. For more on this topic, listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing. You can also hear the Notes On Acting podcasts on Stitcher On Demand Radio. © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

<a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cannot_Be_Someone_Else.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Watching Daniel Day-Lewis play Abraham Lincoln, audiences felt like they were seeing the real man.  They felt that the actor had somehow turned the monument into flesh and blood. But the truth is that we don’t really know what Lincoln was like.  There are many books that describe him, his relationships, and his presidency but we still don’t know the man.  So what did Day-Lewis do?  He captured the spirit of Lincoln and his sensitivities.  He played the actions that Lincoln might have used in the situations presented and pursued his goals through many means.  He played the inner life of a man, a husband, a father, a president, and a politician.  And he created a physicality and voice that seemed to evoke the man. The acting lesson to take from Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is not how to become an exact replica of a person but rather how to combine research with imagination, analysis, and intuition to create an honest, living character who is appropriate for the story. Remember, you can never really be someone else.  You can only be a different you.  So to build a character, whether it is based on a real person or not, you have to shape it out of your flesh and bone, out of your mind and imagination, and out of your heart and soul. <a href="http://www.actingis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cannot_Be_Someone_Else.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For more on this topic, listen to the full podcast.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NotesOnActing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing</a>. <a href="http://stitcher.com/s?fid=32489&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You can also hear the Notes On Acting podcasts on Stitcher On Demand Radio.</a> © Eric Barr.  All rights reserved.  2013.

You Can’t Become Someone Else

The Actor's Online ResourceWeekly practical and motivational podcasts of importance to actors.  Supplement your acting classes, private study, or your reading with clear and concise talks about acting techniques and approaches that will make your work more interesting for you, your acting partners, and audiences.  Subscribe here or via iTunes.

Very helpful

I&#39;ve been listening to Eric Barr for a couple years now. Can finally listen to him over my phone. After taking his classes, I regularly found myself listening to his podcast. He gives great sage advice and tips for acting. A must for all actors.

Best everyday acting tips

The Actor's Online Resource Weekly practical and motivational podcasts of importance to actors. Supplement your acting classes, private study, or your reading with clear and concise talks about acting techniques and approaches that will make your work more interesting for you, your acting partners, and audiences. Subscribe here or via iTunes.

Acting Is... » Notes on Acting

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