Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Don't speak till I've got a camera on you.
Contacting my wish list has been very successful so far. And the list has grown a bit, mainly from the subjects I've already chosen suggesting other people to me.
But, boy, do they get fired up.
I am convinced . now, that I've found a real gap in the system of training actors. The first hurdle is that the people I have mentioned the project to get going at the subject so fast and with a great deal of zeal!
I tried a simple question, "From your point if view ,what do you need the actors fresh out of drama school to know "?
It prompts a flood of words...
The First Assistant Director -
I wish they had some kind of idea who everyone on set was. Who are all those people and what are they doing ? Then I could be certain that the 2nd had asked them questions like 'Have you met with the director today?' Sometimes they get caught in a kind of bubble and are too scared to find out for themselves and I don't have time to do it for them.....
The Director-
The actors walk into the screen test and it takes about fifteen minutes to try to undo the preparation they've made to get to what they are . It's a delicate process and sometimes you wish they'd done nothing at all, and come in open....
The Casting Director-
I wish that the actors would realise that I need them to be their lovely selves first and foremost. Stop all that acting.....
The Actor/ Director/Teacher
It's a massive problem finding a balance between all that technique that they have learned and are so desperate to use and getting a real take on what they are capable of ....
etc etc etc
Each conversation I had to call a halt to because the camera wasn't there yet.
One of the most important things I learned in the nine years on the road interviewing folks for lifestyle TV is to NEVER talk about the interview before the interview. The subject gets all fired up and the best thoughts on the subject lose their punch when repeated. That spontaneity of the response is all important.
I'm ready for it now. I jump in with the hand up and "Don't speak till I've got a camera on you ' after about thirty seconds.
The next step is a more official invitation via email.
Then, I think I will begin shooting sooner than I thought , starting with some individual interviews. I'm sure that those initial interviews will present more new directions to take the idea than I have thought of so far.
What I envisage is then researching the topics/ people/ methods brought forward in those initial interviews and then planning to shoot additional material relating to those topics.
I'll plan a forum with several people in conversation later , probably for Sept / Oct 2011.
So far, so very interesting.
But, boy, do they get fired up.
I am convinced . now, that I've found a real gap in the system of training actors. The first hurdle is that the people I have mentioned the project to get going at the subject so fast and with a great deal of zeal!
I tried a simple question, "From your point if view ,what do you need the actors fresh out of drama school to know "?
It prompts a flood of words...
The First Assistant Director -
I wish they had some kind of idea who everyone on set was. Who are all those people and what are they doing ? Then I could be certain that the 2nd had asked them questions like 'Have you met with the director today?' Sometimes they get caught in a kind of bubble and are too scared to find out for themselves and I don't have time to do it for them.....
The Director-
The actors walk into the screen test and it takes about fifteen minutes to try to undo the preparation they've made to get to what they are . It's a delicate process and sometimes you wish they'd done nothing at all, and come in open....
The Casting Director-
I wish that the actors would realise that I need them to be their lovely selves first and foremost. Stop all that acting.....
The Actor/ Director/Teacher
It's a massive problem finding a balance between all that technique that they have learned and are so desperate to use and getting a real take on what they are capable of ....
etc etc etc
Each conversation I had to call a halt to because the camera wasn't there yet.
One of the most important things I learned in the nine years on the road interviewing folks for lifestyle TV is to NEVER talk about the interview before the interview. The subject gets all fired up and the best thoughts on the subject lose their punch when repeated. That spontaneity of the response is all important.
I'm ready for it now. I jump in with the hand up and "Don't speak till I've got a camera on you ' after about thirty seconds.
The next step is a more official invitation via email.
Then, I think I will begin shooting sooner than I thought , starting with some individual interviews. I'm sure that those initial interviews will present more new directions to take the idea than I have thought of so far.
What I envisage is then researching the topics/ people/ methods brought forward in those initial interviews and then planning to shoot additional material relating to those topics.
I'll plan a forum with several people in conversation later , probably for Sept / Oct 2011.
So far, so very interesting.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wish List
To make a documentary examining the needs of practitioners of film and TV seems to be a good idea.
It may answer some of my questions.
It might even be useful.
To interview directors, producers, casting agents and crew to find out what they require of the actor on set must shed light on how to teach the craft. As well, to talk about teaching screen with teachers who have been practitioners .
It may answer some of my questions.
It might even be useful.
To interview directors, producers, casting agents and crew to find out what they require of the actor on set must shed light on how to teach the craft. As well, to talk about teaching screen with teachers who have been practitioners .
At present, this is my wish list-
Peter Andrikidis Director , http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0029014/
Miranda Otto Actor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_Otto
Rachel Perkins Director / Producer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Perkins
Steven Vidler Actor/ Director / Teacher www.actorscentre.com.au/page/z_steve_vidler.html
Marty Murphy Actor/writer/ teacher http://www.actorscentre.com.au/page/z_marty_murphy.html
Julia Peters Producer Essential Media
Peter Duncan Writer Producer http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc_tv/2010/10/rake.html
Denise Roberts Actor. teacher http://www.deniseroberts.com/
Di Drew Director/producer/teacher NIDA
Luke Shanahan Writer/ Director www.lukeshanahan.com.au/
Grant Scicluna Director http://www.nfsa.gov.au/blog/authors/GrantScicluna/
Antonia Murphy Casting Director/ Actor
Nico Lathouris Teacher / Actor
Lewis Fitzgerald Actor / Director/ Teacher
Yure Kovich Actor / Teacher
Storey Walton Teacher
Al Flower Actor/ teacher
Paul Barry Actor/ Teacher
http://eighthoursadayatleast.blogspot.com/2010/06/7-clues-that-your-acting-teacher-sucks.html
Tony Knight Teacher NIDA
George Whaley Actor/ Director/ Teacher
Dean Carey CEO Actors Centre Australia.
Some of the above I have already approached and have been good enough to agree to be interviewed.
http://eighthoursadayatleast.blogspot.com/2010/06/7-clues-that-your-acting-teacher-sucks.html
Tony Knight Teacher NIDA
George Whaley Actor/ Director/ Teacher
Dean Carey CEO Actors Centre Australia.
Some of the above I have already approached and have been good enough to agree to be interviewed.
As well, I am setting about finding what may exist already in the area, starting with Paul Thompson's "Lessons in Visual Language" a series of documentaries made around 1979. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/6282818
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Learning on the Job
When I began in the film and television industry in 1978 ,having graduated NIDA, the norm for actors was to learn on the job .
When I began teaching screen skills in 2003 it was the same.
It's a lovely irony.
The extent of our TV training at NIDA was two weeks at the ABC at the end of 2nd year and then again in 3rd year . We were given scenes from a production entitled "My Pot Plant's Turning Blue " in 2nd year and some from the play "Don's Party" in 3rd year . Fortunately we were working with directors of the calibre of Peter Fisk, Paul Thompson and Michael Carson. There was even a day out on the old location set from "Rush" with an armourer, guns and real blanks. The highlight for me was firing an Owen gun (couldn't handle the shotguns, they had too much kick).
Then, we were released onto the unsuspecting sets of the productions of the times. Crawfords dramas in Melbourne, Grundy's in Sydney, ABC mini series, films funded under the 10 BA tax concession and the soaps.
I do clearly remember the occasional slur 'Oh yes, that's right, you're Naida trained' . Seems it may have been more a hindrance rather than a help. I began to wonder even then where else it was possible to learn about the screen.
It was easy to learn on the job because there was a lot of work to be had. The multi camera TV studio was widely used and there was time for rehearsal even for the smaller roles on the dramas. Sitcoms like 'Kingswood Country' and 'Hey Dad!' allowed a guest actor to spend a week with the cast , director and writer in church hall in Balmain before recording in front of a studio audience,
I can remember my first encounter with a television camera in studio. I had a small part in 'The Oracle' , an ABC drama with John Gregg as a radio personality. We had rehearsed (in a hall or rehearsal room ) but this was my first day on a set. As I stood waiting , this large creature on a hydraulic pedestal swished silently towards me, reared up and the head bounced a bit at my eye level as it looked straight at me with one large eye. It was a living, breathing alien. And I realised that I needed to make very good friends with it.
On the job was the way everyone learned and experience is the best teacher.
These days , though, the opportunities are fewer and the budgets are tighter. The norm (for a guest role ) is to arrive on set , have a camera rehearsal and then shoot it. Even the main cast are lucky to get a read through at some stage before the shoot ,with everyone present and engaged and uninterrupted by wardrobe calls , publicity or pick ups. Time is tight and the stress in the air even tighter.
So, given that NIDA got it's TV studio up and running for the very first time three weeks ago, how do we need to be teaching our actors to prepare for a career on screen?
When I began teaching screen skills in 2003 it was the same.
It's a lovely irony.
 |
| NIDA 2nd Year ABC TV excersise 1977 FRONT ROW L TO R: Michael Carson. Lewis Fitzgerald. Katrina Foster,Linda Cropper,Di Smith, Robert Giltinan, Stephen Doric,Peter Fisk BACK ROW L TO R:John Howard,robert Grubb,Therese Kirk, Phillip Abdullah,Andrew James,Tony Mahood,Penny Cook,Bill McCluskey, Peter Cousens , Martin Sharman. |
Then, we were released onto the unsuspecting sets of the productions of the times. Crawfords dramas in Melbourne, Grundy's in Sydney, ABC mini series, films funded under the 10 BA tax concession and the soaps.
I do clearly remember the occasional slur 'Oh yes, that's right, you're Naida trained' . Seems it may have been more a hindrance rather than a help. I began to wonder even then where else it was possible to learn about the screen.
It was easy to learn on the job because there was a lot of work to be had. The multi camera TV studio was widely used and there was time for rehearsal even for the smaller roles on the dramas. Sitcoms like 'Kingswood Country' and 'Hey Dad!' allowed a guest actor to spend a week with the cast , director and writer in church hall in Balmain before recording in front of a studio audience,
I can remember my first encounter with a television camera in studio. I had a small part in 'The Oracle' , an ABC drama with John Gregg as a radio personality. We had rehearsed (in a hall or rehearsal room ) but this was my first day on a set. As I stood waiting , this large creature on a hydraulic pedestal swished silently towards me, reared up and the head bounced a bit at my eye level as it looked straight at me with one large eye. It was a living, breathing alien. And I realised that I needed to make very good friends with it.
On the job was the way everyone learned and experience is the best teacher.
These days , though, the opportunities are fewer and the budgets are tighter. The norm (for a guest role ) is to arrive on set , have a camera rehearsal and then shoot it. Even the main cast are lucky to get a read through at some stage before the shoot ,with everyone present and engaged and uninterrupted by wardrobe calls , publicity or pick ups. Time is tight and the stress in the air even tighter.
So, given that NIDA got it's TV studio up and running for the very first time three weeks ago, how do we need to be teaching our actors to prepare for a career on screen?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Master of Arts Practice at CSU
After spending time over the past seven years teaching myself how to translate +30 years of experience into something that is possible to communicate to students wanting to take the performance path, I want to take it further.
Deconstructing my own process has been fascinating. I hear the voices of my own teachers, and the actors and directors I have worked with, in my head all the time.
This is what I have discovered so far-
- I believe you cannot teach a person how to act.
- You can teach techniques to use when instinct fails.
- You can teach how to be a better communicator.
- The indefinable joy in performance is inextricably linked to the success of that performance.
- If you want to work and it is not flowing freely to you, create a project.
The idea of further study comes from the fifth element in that list. And I began thinking about making a documentary around teaching screen acting. I have access to many experienced people -actors, directors, casting directors, crew members- and have begun to get them to agree to being interviewed about their take on screen acting.
Kim Hardwick, who is a lecturer at CSU currently, directed me in "Love Song" by John Kolvenbach at the Darlinghurst theatre in 2009. It was her suggestion to look at this course with a definite intention to make myself more employable as a teacher of screen skills.
To be perfectly honest, the role of teacher is not one that has ever sat particularly easily with me. I have had a long career as a performer and have found the rigors of teaching a room full of students of varying degrees of intelligence and talent exhausting and frustrating at times. And boring. I was so used to the exhilaration of performance being it's immediate reward that enjoyment in teaching seemed a rare thing.
It was Denise Roberts , who runs Screenwise (a screen acting school in Sydney), who first asked me to put together a course around presenting for TV. Then asked me to take screen acting classes at short notice . When I asked what I should teach , the reply was as loose as 'Oh, take them through some scripts and get them to hit marks and stuff'.
What actually happened in the room was a revelation. The students concept of what acting on camera requires varied so much it took a lot of time to work out what they understood.
Where to start?
I asked other teachers at that school. And those I knew of at other schools- the Actor's Centre , ACTT, NIDA.
Most seemed to work at several schools, like me, on a casual basis.The most common answer was " You just get them to do scripts and you'll know what to do." Or "Tell them 'That's okay but I don't believe you. Do it again'" The latter is actually useful. The former less so.
The biggest problem for me initially was trying to give the non talented students something to go away with that they could use in life. It was painfully clear that they would not be employed as actors. It was not in my employer's interest for me to be blunt. These days I raise the bar - I set excersises which expose the students on camera. They can clearly see that they fail. There is no need to tell them so, I can compliment whatever is watchable and leave the rest for them to acknowledge themselves. Again, probably not good for business but I could go home feeling that I has not misled my students.
The value of using actors still involved in the industry as tutors is obvious but the lack of teacher training in my case was a problem for me. Accustomed to performing I would wear myself out after a three hour class .
To make matters worse , I took some casual work at The Ann Macdonald High School for the Performing Arts. Year 5 and 6 and 7, 8and 9, for Voice and Improvisation , Screen and Repertoire.
Two hours a, a bare room and fifteen adolescents. They ate me for lunch.
So , here I am, still teaching and learning , embarking on an organised way of discovering more about how to pass on what I know. Is that what teaching is?
So , here I am, still teaching and learning , embarking on an organised way of discovering more about how to pass on what I know. Is that what teaching is?
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