SIMON FURNESS: ON BEING AN ACTING TEACHER - The Actors' Temple - 7th Feb 2012
Most acting training is a short gap solution, an attempt to fill the void created by the fact that very few actors today have the opportunity to be taught their craft 'live' on the job by experienced professionals either in film, on television or in the theatre. In a society obsessed with ratings and tests, it is quite natural therefore that a training market for actors should gain prominence. Drama schools are a comparatively new phenomenon, belonging to the first quarter of the 20th century. There have always been good actors who can teach but equally there are actors who have no talent for teaching at all. Rarely are the two talents combined in one person. But if a teacher of acting can't act, cannot answer the challenge 'Show me' , hasn't acted in a while, or has no genuine, quantifiable track record in this area, it presents the acting student with a real problem: how do I know who is good and who is simply a charlatan? The acting industry has always had its fair share of these.
I was fortunate enough to train with Tom Radcliffe, who, like myself, is today one of the tutors at The Actors' Temple. He is a fine actor who is also a gifted teacher, that is, someone who can promote genuine growth in his students. There are very few of these. His teacher was Sanford Meisner. Listen to any interview with Meisner's former students, Robert Duvall, Philip Seymour Hoffmann and Steve McQueen, to name only three and it is likely that they will refer to his legendary abilities. Like my teacher, Sanford Meisner was an actor and he acted until quite late in his life, whilst continuing to teach.
He had no 'technique', 'formula' or 'method': he had, in his words, ' a way of getting at the actor' and like any genuinely creative artist, as opposed to a hack or mere imitator, he evolved these 'ways of getting at the actor' over his working life. His approach changed in the 50 odd years in which he taught. It is not Meisner's fault that what he taught has in some cases become hardened into a 'technique' - which, incidentally, can then be packaged, marketed and sold, sometimes by people who have limited experience of teaching and less still of acting itself. Once upon a time, directors used to be actors, for reasons which I hope are now evident. Today, there are very few of them.
Ballets are choreographed by dancers not by people who have read a textbook on ballet teaching. Equally, I wouldn't let a plumber into my house whose attested abilities couldn't be proved, regardless of his certificates. I have recently finished acting in a production of The Actors' Temple production of Hamlet. It was directed by Tom, an actor too, remember, and on occasion, he did in his own way what he wanted the actor to do. He is a director who can act. In a martial arts dojo, the master excels his students but a great teacher encourages his students to excel him in the discipline they both study.
This is startlingly unorthodox in other art forms, including acting, and would be derided as 'old-fashioned' but I have often wanted to say to a director, 'Show me what you mean' and were I a ballet dancer asking a choreographer this question, I'm sure I would be gratified by a demonstration. I suspect my question to many directors would be met with blank refusal followed by dismissal. Those who can act should eventually teach. Such was the case in the Moscow Art Theatre and to an extent, this still applies in the East. But here, at least where training is concerned, we fly after the short-term solutions (weekend acting courses and the like) and lay ourselves open to being fleeced. The path from practise of an art form to the teaching of it seems to me a natural and honourable progression.
At The Actors' Temple, we are pleased to continue this tradition. All of our teachers act regularly, often in productions created by the company itself. The latest of these, following Hamlet in December last year, is a 100 minute feature film entitled 'Luck'. The film, directed by Liviu Tipurita, a successful BBC documentary film maker, has an improvised script and is being filmed entirely on location in London this month, utilising the talents of more than 40 actors, all of whom were trained at The Actors' Temple.
The first port of call for joining the The Actors' Temple is completing an Introduction Week
Next dates are: 13 - 17th Feb, 6 - 10pm 26 - 30th March, 1.45 - 5.45pm
THE IMPORTANCE OF A SHOWREEL FOR AN ACTOR - Silvertip Films - 5th Jan 2012
Every single actor should have a showreel. It’s as simple as that. It’s your calling card, your introduction to casting agents, managers and talent scouts. Without one…how will anyone know you’re out there as an actor?
A showreel really needs to be short, snappy and to the point to capture peoples attention immediately and showcase you the best way possible.
Opening with your name on a title card, followed by a montage is a good start – a number of short soundbites of you, in different looks, from different productions to grab people’s attention. Backed with some music that suits your personality of course!
Then, move into a number of short clips from your work, where you feature predominantly on screen. Three to four clips should suffice here. End the reel with your name, contact details and best headshot. Bring it all in under 5 minutes for the best results.
A showreel should feature your best work and showcase you in a range of styles, to show your versatility but without veering too wildly from one extreme to another. If it looks like you can do everything from Taxi Driver type roles to Ace Ventura slapstick, it might make it hard to cast you initially as people won’t know what they’re getting with you. Excel at comedic roles? Focus on that in your reel and drop in something more serious to show your range. Is drama your strong point? Showcase your best dramatic roles and lighten it up with some comedy if you have it.
A showreel like this can be edited either sitting with the editor and working through the footage or remotely, by sending your DVDs etc to the editor alongside the timecodes for your scenes. You might ask here, what is a timecode?! This is the time IN and time OUT of the scene you want used on the reel. Having as clear an idea of what you want in your reel, before submitting to or sitting with, the editor is invaluable. It means the process is quicker and more efficient and gets what you want on screen. A montage can be edited with or by the editor, using your pre-chosen selections, if you don’t want to specify a running order for it.
Another option for a showreel is the filming of special scenes for inclusion in the reel. This is a good idea if you want to show yourself in a specific style but haven’t yet had the chance to take a role like that or if you need to add more to the reel if you are short on material.
For example, you might be performing in a number of plays but if you want to move into TV or Film, you will need a showreel to promote yourself as not every acting agent will be able to get out and see you and a list of stage credit’s, however impressive, won’t cut it the same way a reel will with an agent.
Also if you are just starting out on your acting career, a specially shot and edited reel could be just what you need if your other featured roles are limited and won’t be enough to comprise a reel.
Silver Tip Films offer a number of options for the editing or shoot and edit of your new showreel, so get in touch to talk further with us.
We are offering a 10% discount to To Be Seen members.
INTRODUCTION
We have set up this blog to offer advice about working in the entertainment industry & to help connect you with relevant people & companies.
Every month starting from January 2012 we are going to cover a topic that we hope you will find useful & enjoy reading.
We welcome suggestions from companies involved in the industry. Do you have a photography studio? Would you like to write a piece about actor headshots? Do you manage acting courses? Interested in providing some audition tips? Do you produce showreels? Any advice to give?
If your company would like to write a guest blog on any topic related to the entertainment industry please get in touch.
Or if you are an actor and would like to be a 'guest blogger' for us, we'd love to hear from you too.
