Tag: Artistic team

What makes the best…?(Part 9)

Actor…?

actors

“What I really want to be… is an Actor.”

Really? Are you sure?

No really? Are you? Cause here’s the deal. It’s a tough job. Sure it can be fun, rewarding and at times even lucrative, but acting is one of the toughest gigs in the whole business of show. Here’s why…

You have to be ready for rejection. Lots of it. Daily. You not only have to be ready for it, you have to almost crave it. You have to be prepared to seek out criticism so that you can grow from it and improve. Not everyone has the guts for that. It’s tough to get rejected at your work on a regular basis and still want to do it each day.

You have to know how to act. And no, people are not just born with “it”. I don’t believe that. You can learn it. Sure, some folks have an innate quality that draws us to their performances, but if you want to be good, and I mean really good, then you’ve got to practice and learn and study and get rejected. And then start all over again. That is the only way to get really good.

You have to do it all – especially these days as film, television and stage demands are so much greater. You have to act, sing, dance, tumble, do voices, fight, crochet, whatever! You’ve got to be able to do it. And not just SAY you can do it, you’ve got to be skilled at it, or don’t say that you are.

You’ve got to be ready to take risks. No everyone was born with a voice ‘like buttah…’ but if you want to act, you’ve got to sing. No actor made a good living staying away from singing. Get some lessons. Learn some repetoire, develop a taste for musicals and Gilbert & Sullivan and all the rest. Know the material and know your strengths and then keep practicing them. Ditto for dance. And whatever other skill you want to put on the bottom of that resume.

When you do get a part, be fun to work with – for heaven’s sake! You want to work again, don’t you? Be on time, be organised, take notes, be prepared and learn your part. Come with ideas and be willing to play, but be ready for a vision that you weren’t expecting and go with it! Nothing pleases an artistic team more than a flexible actor who is willing to grow.

So, if out of all these roles in the 9 parts of this series, if THIS one still stands out for you above all else, then go for it. With gusto. Cause that’s the only way you are going to have any success!

Break a leg!

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What makes the best…?(Part 5)

Lighting Designer????

lightingdesign

Seriously? What does make the best Lighting Designer? I don’t know, exactly… even though I may have tried my hand at some Lighting Design, I still don’t know what makes the BEST Lighting Designer because this can be a really elusive section of the entire design process – and yet, so VERY integral.

For example, when great stage design ends, great lighting design should take over. Lighting can create and add so much to every production. Lighting, in theatre is the CGI of live entertainment. That sounds like a really loaded statement, and it is… but it is also true. Ask any really experienced Lighting Designer if the theatre they are working in has enough equipment and they’ll tell you – “there’s never enough equipment”. Another lamp, another dimmer pack, a hazer… there’s always room for more and it will give you more – almost exponentially more, especially in the hands of a pro-lighting designer. More than CGI would, I wager.

A pro will read the script. And read it again, and again, and probably again. Their medium is very, very visual and ephemerally so… Mood, sense, time, place – lighting design will give you all of these things. Lighting can scare you, inspire you or feel barely noticeable at all, but it will totally affect your sense of appreciation of the production! Totally!

Once they’ve read it… they’ll probably make a few strong decisions and then come to the director for some vision. Lighting Designers know how to interpret the strange language that Directors speak and they’ll translate that into colour and make it fit with the palate of the Stage Designer and the Costume Designer and they’ll use their skills and talents to make other people’s work look extra good.

They will also spend countless hours above the stage with heavy objects arranging them to face in just the right area with just the right colour and texture to create some ephemeral existence for us to enjoy. And then… they’ll go home, very, very, very late at night. They create entirely in the dark and they disappear once the work is done. Often, if you notice their work… they are sad that attention was brought away from the action on stage. But for me.. the beauty of light is something worth noting. I certainly take time to note it. Do you? Take note at your next production. I think it’s worth it.

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