Michael Coleman on Better than You Were Yesterday
Be Better than You Were Yesterday
The greatest gift of acting can also be seen as one of the greatest frustrations. You can ever perfect acting. There is always more to learn. There are always new layers of yourself and the craft to explore and reveal.
Arthur Ashe Jr. once said, “Success is a journey, not a destination.”
This is undeniably true about the pursuit of being a professional actor. There is never a magical day where you “just get it” or receive validation or a credential that clearly defines you as successful. Actors should never seek to perfect the craft or learn enough so they can stop learning and start doing. We learn and we do in a never ending, perpetual state for our entire careers.
Don’t worry about making it or when you can use the phrase “professional actor” when describing what you do. Only worry about being better today than you were yesterday.
You will find a parallel mindset with athletes who achieve high levels of physical conditioning. There is never one workout where all the muscles pop up out of nowhere. It is always the result of consistent, dedicated work.
Have you completed a tiring or extreme workout only to look in the mirror to see no change? Acting is the same thing. If you want elite level results, you need to consistently work hard, and for extended lengths of time. If you do this, incredible results are inevitable. And not unlike our physical fitness friends, if we choose to stop “working out” we inevitably lose the results we’ve acquired.
Serve the Story
Be careful not to learn just your lines, or the events of a scene only from your character’s perspective. A story is about numerous characters and ideas and each one of them has a specific role in the thematic premise of the story being told.
An actor has one job.
It is not to simply learn your lines.
It is not to try to behave with authentic emotions.
It is not to make people feel.
It is not to become the character.
While your job may include many, or all, of the things listed above, an actor has only
one job… Serve the story.
How does your character contribute to the thematic premise in each scene and throughout the entire script?
Before learning your lines or finding a personalization to create authentic emotions, you first need to determine how your character serves the story.