CHARACTER ACTING
Lately there have been many questions and new ways of looking at character. I find that when actors hear the word character they begin to imagine something outside of themselves. The character is not outside of you. You contain everything inside of you and you must go within for the gold, the truth. Some teachers are now saying: “There is no character, there is only you adjusted”. There is credibility to this statement but only if it does not limit the actor to using their own superficial personality aspects in every role. Perhaps we could say “There are many characters and they are inside of you.” You are something much greater than your own personality and as an actor you are an open vessel for all characters. Actors don’t really know “who” they are until they get the role.“If you’re an actor, always be true to your character. If you are not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself.” – Robert DeNiro
USING YOURSELF IN THE ACTING ROLE
“Who are you?” As an actor I use my deepest self, my soul, as the starting point for the creation of a character. The Ground and Centre Awareness state of being is the portal into the soul. The soul is the deeper you. This ‘you’ helps you gain access to your own subconscious and to the collective unconscious.
An actor in our Toronto acting class prepares for character work by dropping into her body to use herself in the role
ACTING AND THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
We have everything inside of us because of this connection to the collective. Archetypes, emotions, energies, past lives, future lives, whatever you can imagine already exists within us. By tapping the reservoirs of this deep pool the actor can learn to channel and create richer, fuller, larger and truly human characters that we can all relate to. You are no longer limited to the sphere of the persona. Using yourself in the creation of a character is important in that your own unique life experiences, fantasies, imagination and observations are rolled over into the role. We must bring more of ourselves to our roles by personalizing everything. This places your own unique stamp on the character. Actors must be in touch with life and death, love and hate, light and shadow, on a personal level. This takes courage. You must be willing to ‘go there’ as actors. Otherwise we have no truth in our art.When we act from the soul, we act from within a creative space that is filled with infinite possibility.
Begin by reading ‘Building a Character’, ‘An Actor Prepares’ or ‘Creating a Role’, all by Constantin Stanislavsky.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