¡Hola! Reader,
Thanks so much for your feedback last week.
The cast has been set.
This email is a big deal for me, and I hope it will be for you. The book ... no ... the reference guide for The Off-Booked Method is on its way.
This won't be a codex about the spiritual meaning beneath the art of acting. Expression of pain & emotion is not the aim of this text (though I believe sincere emotion will be a by product).
This guide is to help you truly be a practicer of the craft of acting.
This is not academics or mental gymnastics.
This is pragmatic, practical guide to you acting better sooner rather than later by focusing on the things I have found to be essential elements to performance (especially for the stage).
After years of training, I have discovered that so much of what is taught in acting classes is not relevant to the real time work of acting in front of people or a camera. While I enjoy a good acting game or two, it's important to keep in mind that most of them are designed to relieve tension, build ensemble, and of course have a little fun. Most other exercises ... are self-indulgent and feel like you are "acting" but are just really make noise in front of strangers.
A Roadmap
My hope is that every time you are provided a new script, you will be able to reference many of the things I teach in these weekly emails in a manageable easy to follow way.
I want to help you through the process of getting off-book without delay and before your first rehearsal.
You deserve to have a means to build a reputation not just a resume. Because the truth is a resume isn't really going to get you meaningful work ... relationships and word of mouth will.
This is the book I wish I had when I started acting seriously as a teenager. A legit process to get the words off the page and uploaded into your brain.
We want your lines to be second nature, not a primary cause of frustration.
We want muscle memory to be your friend.
The words of the playwright/screenwriter should feel as familiar as saying your name, birthday, or favorite song - you don't have to think about things they are just a part of you.
Lines stop being lines when you can just say them, they become an active thing and no longer a source of worry.
I want theatre to be fun for you sooooooo bad!
I know what it feels like when you hit that miraculously state of Flow on stage. And the way I see it, the more actors I can get to experience that, the better plays will be, and the better plays get the more theatre people will want to see said plays and the more theatre people see the closer our communities will be and the closer our communities become the safer this country becomes for everyone because we are more unified.
So you see, this book is my duty as a citizen of Planet Earth to make the world a mo' better place.
You are the one to make it happen.
But like anything worth while ... it must be earned.
Let's earn our play, and save the world together.
Deuces.
