“You have to be very honest with yourself to do my job well. And you’re not going to like everything about yourself. If you start hiding what you don’t like, you’re not going to be in the best position to do your job.” Jack Nicholson
In my acting classes in Toronto, I teach the importance of not letting your acting work rest in a superficial place. Have the courage as an actor to be a deep sea diver of the psyche! One of the deeper layers I teach in my drama school in Toronto is Shadow. As an actor be sure to spend time exploring your shadow side – yours and your character’s. In my acting classes and with my safe guidance, you’re encouraged to go into the shadow through an archetype or sub personality and courageously explore. This allows you to think thoughts and allow behaviours and words to come out of your mouth and body that you might not otherwise want to acknowledge exist inside of you – yet – which on the other hand can set you free. The actual time exploring will open up that “shadow channel” and it will begin to feed your subconscious mind and your creativity as an actor in acting classes.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ACTOR REPRESSES THE SHADOW IN THEIR ACTING?
“ I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The Darkside of one’s nature. Have fun with it and you know, accept everything about ourselves.” Anthony Hopkins
Photo by Alex Tanas
Carl Jung brought the shadow into the light and made it known to us – in theory at least. But many of us have repressed our shadow. We hide our negative qualities from others and even from ourselves in acting classes. We repress sexual and aggressive impulses so that we can fit into society.
When the shadow remains underground, it becomes darker and more demon-like. It drives our lives and our characters lives, causing problems such as addictions to alcohol, to sex and to drugs. We become self destructive and act out from it – all the while not even knowing of its existence. There is an inner conflict between the opposite parts of us. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When Mr. Hyde is not brought into the light, he takes possession and runs our lives.
WHAT IS THE HIDDEN POTENTIAL OF THE ACTORS SHADOW?
“The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.” Carl Jung
Photo by Alex Tanas
WE BECOME WHO WE TRULY ARE BY INTEGRATING THE LIGHT AND THE DARK
In our families growing up, many of us were told not to act on certain feelings and desires, impulses and instincts. We were not allowed to become whole. Therefore, there were talents, abilities and powerful creative energies that went uncultivated as well. The shadow is a potent source of creativity.
As actors in acting classes we can learn to own these disowned energies. It takes time to get to know the shadow in the actors class because there are many parts of us that don’t want to let it be known. We want to be known and to think of ourselves as good, virtuous and moral. We don’t want to think of ourselves as greedy, driven towards power and destructive. In my drama school in Toronto I have developed an acting approach to finding and revealing the shadow to actors for their character work. This acting technique is safe and healthy and consciousness raising and can be done in online acting classes or in person acting classes.
“The meeting with oneself is, at first, the meeting with one’s own shadow. The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well. But one must learn to know oneself in order to know who one is.” (Carl Jung)
Before we can gain access to the shadow in our psyches, we must first get to know the parts of us that are protecting us from the shadow. These protective parts create blocks in your acting. And this is the subject of another article coming soon!
Cindy Tanas’ Character Model = wound / deep life need / persona / shadow
Watch this clip of Heath Ledger as the Joker on YouTube (a wonderful portrayal of shadow in character work):
Cindy Tanas Actors Studio teaches acting classes for Theatre and Film in Toronto and the GTA, Collingwood and Southern Georgian Bay.
Connect with Cindy for a free consultation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Acting Teacher / Mentor / Life Coach Cindy Tanas, has run a highly reputable and successful Toronto acting school for over 25 years. She teaches Acting Classes for beginners and experienced actors. Cindy is a member of ACTRA, former Chair and member of TAAS (Toronto Association of Acting Studios) and member of Theatre Ontario.
Cindy Tanas Actors Studio offers a holistic approach to acting in Toronto since 1995. Both in person and online acting classes are available.
www.torontoactingstudios.com
www.actratoronto.com
www.theatreontario.org