sufferingisnotoptional

[sufferingisnotoptional]

Explaining acting to an alien

Terry spent most of this lesson explaining to us the philosophy behind the Meisner technique and the importance of training in general.

Hitting the mark consistently. Far too many people in the acting world accept that when taking on a role, they might not hit the mark 100% of the time. Wouldn't it suck if plumbers had this same attitude towards plumbing? Imagine what the world (and our pipes) would be like if it was normal to call a plumber to fix a leak, and be told that there is a 20% chance that they won't succeed. Actors should aim to be at a skill level where they can deliver 100% of the time.

Perfectionism - we're not born with it. There is this weirdly common myth that people who can act are just born with everything they need to put on flawless performances. In reality, learning to act is like learning anything else. You have to fail to get better. We've all done it before, this learning from zero thing. We've had to do it to learn how to walk and talk.