You Define Me

I'm in my second semester at Art's Sake. This semester is all about scene study. Most of the older students refer to this semester as their favorite. We work on new scenes every week. This week I have two scenes, one from "The Butterfly Effect" and another from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," both pretty dramatic. My favorite part about scene work (as opposed to monologues), is that you really get to be surprised during the performance about what will come up emotionally. You do all the preparation homework for the scene, but you really don't want to make any decisions about how you will deliver any of the lines. This is because you want to be emotionally free during the scene to work off your partner and the offers they are giving you. Which brings me to an "aha" moment I had in class this week. Yvonne used the phrase "you define me" to explain working off our partners in the scene. Which I thought was such a perfect way to think about it. Everything about how I am going to play my scene depends on the other person. And if it doesn't, then I'm not being "in the moment" with my scene partner. Because in acting (and life), we are completely different depending on who we are talking to. And I love how true this is in reality as well. None of us have a definitive truth. Depending on who you ask, I could be described as anything from smart to an air-head, friendly to stand-offish, introverted to extroverted. And they can all be true based on who I'm with. Because different people bring out different sides who we are. This is why, in acting it's important not to "play an emotion" but to focus on the other person. Because then we can allow ourselves to truly be affected by what they are saying, and the emotions can be real and honest.

Good luck to all my Art's Sake friends on their scenes next week. I can't wait to see the characters you bring to life. 

-British

"The unlived life is not worth examining"

“We've all heard that the unexamined life is not worth living, but consider too that the unlived life is not worth examining.” 
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

I haven't written in a while. I've been struggling with what to say, mostly because there has been so much going on in my mind that it is difficult to untangle the webs to form a single unified message. So this post might sound a lot like rambling. But for the purpose of fighting the perfectionist inside me that only wants to write nice, clean focused posts, I'm choosing to write anyway, just for the sake of unblocking my creativity.

Acting very much feels like this journey that I have been on since I was a kid. I don't know where it is leading me, but I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and trusting that the path will continue to reveal itself. This is a very scary process for me. I start to get this voice in my head telling me how ridiculous and silly I am for chasing this dream. It goes something like this, "Stop kidding yourself. You are going to waste your life on this silly dream. Grow up. You're being selfish." But I keep going because there is something in my gut that tells me that I am supposed to be doing this. And everyday I am faced with the choice of listening to my critic or my gut. This past year has been about letting my gut run things. I cannot tell you how terrifying it is. And my inner critic hardly ever shuts up. But as a creative person and a spiritual person, I truly believe that I am doing the right thing. I've mustered up all my inner courage to follow this path and there's no guarantee that I will not end up a failure. But I intend to live my life without regretting the things I was too scared to do. So I would like to wish all my other creative friends out there a fearless, free, and productive 2013. Let's make it the best year yet, and not let our inner critics get the best of us!

Light and Love,

BritIsh

P.S.
I would like to give a special shout out to my friend Kirk Bonacci, a comedian who is making the big move to LA soon. Keep an eye out for him!

Julia, Julia, Julia

If I could credit one actor as my inspiration, it would be Julia Roberts hands down. She was the first actor that I ever took notice of. I believe I was the ripe old age of 10 when I decided she was my hero. That's around the time "My Best Friend's Wedding" came out. I couldn't verbalize it then, I just knew she had that spark that I was drawn to. I had to go back and watch "Pretty Woman" and "Steel Magnolias." Then "Stepmom" came out. When I watched her in this movie I decided that she was the greatest person that ever lived. I still love watching that movie. Especially, since her and Susan Sarandon are such a powerful combination. And then there was "Notting Hill" and "Runaway Bride." I was in 6th grade when those came out. I had the game "Sims" at the time on my PC and I kept naming my girl "Anna Scott" after Julia's character in "Notting Hill." But nothing comes close to how much I worshiped her after I saw "Erin Brockovich."... "Well, um, seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise, and Ed here was losing all faith in the system, am I right?  I just went out there and performed sexual favors. Six hundred and thirty-four blow jobs in five days... I'm really quite tired." One of my favorite lines of all time (along with all her other quotes in this movie). I guess I was in middle school when this came out. Too young? Probably, but I didn't exactly come  from a sheltered up bringing so I didn't really notice. Naturally, when I was in high school the first film monologue I worked on was from "Erin Brockovich." I used that one for a while, however, I have no idea why any of my acting teachers allowed me to keep doing this  monologue. Not only was it completely not age appropriate, you don't really want to do a well-known, Oscar winning monologue... ever. But I loved that monologue and did it for years, until I figured out that it wasn't really my market. Anyway, there's something about her that sparked something in me. She's plays a lot of strong female roles, but she does it in a way that you can still connect to her vulnerability. You're always rooting for her, even when she's playing the bad guy. She's got charm, charisma, and elegance. She's the epitome of  a movie star. And even though I've grown up and found other favorite actors to follow, she will always be the one that had the greatest impact. So, if you don't like her, please don't tell me... I don't know if our friendship could survive something like that ;)

And here's a little something you guys might enjoy:

This link just has some fun quotes from "Erin Brockovich"-   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/quotes

And this is the monologue that I did from the movie-   http://www.whysanity.net/monos/erin2.html

The Perks of Being a Movie Lover

I just would like to take this moment to express my love for the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." It was a beautiful world to spend time in. I'm a little obsessed with Emma Watson, and this movie just sealed the deal. Logan Lerman as Charlie, was a perfect fit. He took me right back to freshman year. Ezra Miller, who gave a haunting performance in "We Need to Talk About Kevin" was so magnetic in "Perks." I will definitely be following his career in the future. What an amazing cast! If you haven't seen it, you really need to. It's a must watch.

Why Act?

We were asked this question after our first class at Art's Sake Acting Studios. It's seems simple enough of a question to answer, but there is a lot hanging on the answer. Why? Why would anyone want to subject themselves to the scrutiny, frustration, and constant disappointment of pursuing an acting career? It's definitely not financially rewarding, at least not for the vast majority. Auditions can be absolutely humiliating. The nerves, the stress, the eye-rolls... the hyper awareness of physical flaws. It can all really get to you. And it does really get to me. Which is why it is important to step back and remember why I wanted to do this in the first place.  And then I think back to when I was a kid how much I was impacted by movies. Their worlds would be so real to me.  As long as I've known that the people in the movies were actors, I've known that's what I wanted to do. I want to be a part of these creations, these worlds that other people can lose themselves in. It just feels like my calling. I feel the most alive when I'm getting to act. It's like I don't just have this life to live, but I get to live many lives, in all these different worlds. I get to explore myself against several different backdrops. I honestly can't think of anything more beautiful and exciting. So in the grand scheme of things, none of the other stuff really matters. I'll take it all; all the stress, all the uncertainty, all the eye-rolls.  Because having this passion makes me feel like one of the luckiest people in the world. I get to do something I love more than anything else. I hope everyone has something that makes them feel this alive. And if you do, then you know why there isn't a choice, you must go after it.