Most Acting is average at best - so keep exploring!
Let’s be honest for a moment, here. Most of the acting that takes place in the great life-stealer of popular entertainment is forgettably average, or as the Londoner in me would more prosaically put it, s**t. How often, in the majority of stage, TV, film, or videogames, do you see a truly bone shaking, goose-pimple inducing performance, you will remember and revisit for years to come?
I know its rare, not just because I watch the same stuff you do, but because like many actors who have been lucky enough to have a career as an Actor, I can count the proportionately smaller number of times I myself delivered a performance that was truly transcendent.
Most “high turnover” performances are suited to the purpose of the money driven dealers of endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline, who design products that function in a similar way to how scientists reward rats (Or writers Save the Cat - which is rather fun) Except there is no grand scientific theory to prove or cure to be invented. Most acting is average simply because it is dominated by the demands of a voracious appetite for content that naturally lends itself to the actor as a brand - brand as the projection of a short form cultural super ego, that’s “good enough”. And like any creative act in today’s world, a certain kind of AI will deliver “Good enough” at a fraction of the cost of employing a human. Just like the AI generated image I used for this blog!
So, transcendent, for me, remains the lofty goal. (Thankfully this has improved over the years!) Lawrence Olivier was reported as saying, after coming off stage from a rapturous curtain call - “I wish I knew what I did!” Who reading this hasn’t had that disturbing awakening?
Answering that question continues to be my life’s pursuit, and building a community of cross discipline creator-actor-craftspeople to join me is a call to a kind of revolution -a revolution of how we think about acting, how we value it, and how we approach the fundamental challenge of becoming someone else.
What is Psycho-Physical acting?
My Psycho-Physical acting technique bridges the perceptual gap between psychology and physicality. The goal is to achieve an “Embodied” performance. As actors and teachers we always stand on the shoulders of giants, trying to solve the same problems. It shouldn’t surprise you that it has certain things in common with the Psychophysical Gestures of Michael Chekov, and the “Colors” and “Sound and Movement” exercises of Joseph Chaikin. Because I developed the technique “in-vitro”, before I learned of their work, my approach came from practical experimentation with other actors, and self observation - so came to similar conclusions without direct influence. This is a similar approach to many teachers who see the development of acting technique as an ongoing vocation. As Chaikin pointed out, if Stanislavski had still been alive , he would “Still be exploring” (1972, The presence of the Actor. New York: Atheneum)
During the Covid Lockdown in Canada, I was stunned to read, in Bessel Van deKolk’s “The Body Keeps the score”, of the effectiveness of the Pesso Boyden Psycho Motor Technique in trauma therapy. This technique developed by Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden, (both of whom were dancers) works from the same foundational principles as my approach to actor transformation. This started me back on the journey of sharing and continuing to develop the technique through zoom, and soon, in-person classes.
I often consider how odd it is that an integrated physical and psychological character performance should be considered something revolutionary. For me, acting is about aiming for total emotional, physical and psychological transformation into other people or creatures. It isn’t about fame, nor is it useful for building an actor “brand”. Instead it has always been about the craft of telling stories in the hope of increasing human connection and understanding - Acting as a service. An act of love.
This means I serve whatever role I play, to the utmost of my abilities - whether or not I am “polishing a turd”. It also makes me a sucker for the seemingly impossible. As a result I am either often working on exercises, or engaged on jobs that require physical, psychological, emotional and vocal transformation:
embodying Cate Blanchett from one movie whilst speaking the lines of William Dafoe from another movie.
Studying another actor’s performance and how they perform the character to become their performance of the character in the mocap studio.
Changing my facial habits to become those of another actor for facial “reverse ADR”, to make up for lost or corrupted data.
In many storytelling cultures, the Hero/Heroine has to learn what it’s like to walk in the “other’s” shoes - one of the most powerful aspects of narrative video games, such as Heavy Rain or The Last of Us. So when working on all these things, I notice how with each successful embodiment I am struck by deep revelations of what it’s like to be someone, or something, else. This is what makes embodied acting a pursuit that goes beyond the industry: makes actors true explorers of the human condition resulting in the most compelling performances.
I cannot think of many human experiences that are so rewarding and mind-expanding.
If you want to learn more, and join the growing number of actors who are “still exploring” head over to the classes page and see what upcoming online or in person classes you can join, including a free intro to GAP class!
