Good Acting Instincts Make a Scene Rock

Today we had another rehearsal/read of King Lear, but this time, instead of being in my Rec Room, it was on an outdoor stage at the home of the director we hope to mount this when he gets theaters sorted out. The one he had when this project started with Don playing the title role got sold out from under him, but that is another story.

Aside from being out in the fresh air on a lovely sunny day, this had the added advantage of feeling like we really were acting out the play. But this post is about following instincts.

I'm still learning about being an actor. In a scene where Goneril has been trying to convince her father that his men are being disruptive in her castle and she wants him to dismiss half of his retinue, which King Lear doesn't want to hear, and where Lear's Fool is subtly berating him for giving his kingdom to his daughters, Lear has a line which made me instinctively feel that Goneril enters and comes over to her dad. Since it was pointed out that Goneril was already in the scene, even though she had been an inactive player for a while, I figured I just made an error of forgetfulness.

But Don thought it was a great idea and said come to me when he asked who I was. So I did and as I began my speech about what I wanted him to do and my reasons why it was necessary, he proceeded to ignore me, this time by keeping his back to me. Since I feel Goneril is a strong woman and very much her father's daughter in feeling that her position means she should have her way, I kept trying to get to his front to hammer my points in with eye contact. Since Lear doesn't want to do what I want, he kept denying me the face-to-face I wanted. I'd scoot around to his left and he'd turn to the right so his back would still be towards me. Then I'd scoot around to his right and he'd turn to the left. No matter how hard I tried to get around him while delivering the lines, he denied me. This cat and mouse game gave the scene so much life and felt so real that I think we were both right in our choices.

Finally I was getting so frustrated; I realized that Goneril wouldn't put up with this. I felt I knew here well enough, understood how strong she was, that I knew she would walk away and stop trying like she was begging. So I did and that felt so right, the scene was just so much fun.

Don has been very generous in teaching me the process of acting... helping me learn about making decisions about the character, finding my way into the character by using my own experiences and then just substituting Shakespeare's words, making the character real from the inside, and in following my instincts. As he keeps saying, you can't do better than learn from Shakespeare because it's all there in the words.

I also learned another valuable lesson from him -- that actors are only responsible for their own characters and they do not think about the motivations or character creations of other actors. That is not their place to do so. In a way, that is very freeing for me, because as someone new to this, there's a part of me that always worries whether the others are thinking I'm playing the character right or whether I should be making other choices. It was freeing to learn that they are not thinking anything along those lines, just going with the interpretation I create and reacting to it... not judging it.

He's making it so much fun and I'm learning so much about acting doing this. I'm so glad I said yes to doing this.

TEACH WHAT YOU KNOW: Filming an Online Class on Script Coordinating

Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a great Script Coordinator and I do the job very well.

It bothers me when people think that anyone who can type a script can do the job, without taking time to learn it, and yet it isn't rocket science, or should I say, biochemistry, which is where I started my working life. Nevertheless, it isn't like someone who wants to be script coordinator can take classes in how to do it, because as far as I know, there aren't any classes out there to take. The best one can do is what I did, which is start out as a writers assistant and bug the script coordinator with a zillion questions. While you are volunteering to help them of course!

Hopefully, that changes today. An opportunity fell into my lap to teach an online class on the nitty gritty of script coordinating through the Learning Annex. I've been very excited about it. And nervous. Haven't done a lot in front of the camera yet, although my experience is growing as I continue to be the 'try new things' girl.

So today I went down to a studio in Santa Monica to film me talking about the ins and outs, the details and the nitty gritty of Script Coordinating -- all the things I've learned in my years of doing it on various shows. Studio time was booked from 2pm to 4:30 pm. I think I finally got out of there at 6pm after doing 30-60 sec promos for their site. I felt a kinship with all those actors I've seen doing on air promos for their TV shows.

The director wanted me to do one starting off with my name and then going into the hook and a second one with the hook first and ending with my name. Luckily on the latter one, the director agreed with my humor because I signed off with my name and "I'm a script coordinator and I approved this message." Been watching too much election coverage.

Honestly, these promos were the hardest part because nobody from the Learning Annex told us ahead of time we were doing them. I didn't mind doing them, but I would have preferred to have prepared them in advance rather than trying to get my brain, tired after filming a solid two hour class, to think of something nifty to say on the spot. You'll have to let me know if I did okay on them.

The class itself was great fun to do. The fact that I know the subject inside and out from working as a script coordinator for so long helped make it easy and undaunting. In addition, I had prepared a detailed outline of everything I wanted to say, so that kept me focused. I think that anyone who listens to my class will get a lot out of it. At least the director was kind enough to say he found it interesting because he was learning a lot of new stuff.

There's one thing I do have to work on improving... that is being always aware of what I look like, because the camera sees everything. I'm used to putting on makeup in the morning and then going off to do whatever. Although I try to remember to touch up makeup during the day, I don't worry about it when I'm really busy.

So it never occurred to me to carry all my makeup with me. The room was hot until they turned on the air conditioning and the next thing I knew, the camera man was saying, "Got something to take the shine off your face?" And I was like, me? duh...

Luckily I did have something I could use, but it was just pure luck, not preparation. As I improvised, I reminded myself that if I'm going to continue to do things in front of the camera, I need to think like a performer and carry all the tools of the trade with me.

So stay tuned and I'll let you know when the big unveiling is.