5 Things Actors Should Know About Learning the Job Itself
Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to
spend the 5:20 watching it.
An actor's job is not to audition
People say it constantly and she rejects it. The job is to create life, to produce believable behavior inside the imaginary world of the script. Auditioning is something you do once you can already do that, not a substitute for being able to.
Everyone goes through the foundation, regardless of credits. The argument is that technique is the thing you keep for the rest of your career, and that no amount of employment replaces having built it deliberately.
The most concrete note in the video. Given text, the instinct is to start memorizing immediately, and that locks the scene before anybody has worked out what is happening in it.
The sequence she teaches goes character work, then an improvisation of the scene, then the scene itself, then reworking it on notes. The improv is what tells you how this person would actually say it, which is what the lines are then hung on.
Set etiquette is something you learn, not something you intuit
What to do when you arrive, who to talk to, how to turn up ready to work. Treated here as a taught subject alongside the acting, because being good in the room is not the same as knowing how to behave on a set.
How to prepare for set. [Music] So, at our studio, our final goal is to have you out in the world working. I joke that I and it's not a joke that I want you to thank me in your Academy Awards, Emmy, Golden Globe acceptance speeches, National Critics Award. I want to be thanked because I want you to be successful. I want you to get rewarded for your amazing acting. I've heard people say, "An actor's job is to audition." That is not an actor's job to me. To me, an actor's job is to create life, to create believable behavior in the imaginary world of the script. That's your job. Auditioning all of those other things that that what you do after you already understand and know your job. When you know how to act, we are going to start with teaching you how to act. That's my main goal. I will help you get auditions, get management, all of those things, but first and foremost, how do you act?
So, we've got a foundation course technique. Everybody takes it. You're a working actor, you're still going to go through our technique class. It really helps to build an amazing foundation that you will have for the rest of your life. I've seen my studio binder in pictures of some really working actors, which has been really exciting. like big huge celebrities that you know I've seen it on their Instagram. So that's fun. That's where we're going to start you. Then if you are a beginning actor, we have a progression where we've got a scene study one where I like to say we slow your role. Done all this amazing work in our technique class. Now we give you text. We're going to slow it down.
We're going to break it down into components with the text. What is your character? Doing your character work. doing an improv of the scene. A lot of times beginning actors put the lines on too soon. They don't know. They're just memorizing lines. No, no. Do an improv of the scene. Understand what's going on with your character, how you would say it and put it together. Then you're doing the scene and then you're reworking the scene with notes from your teacher. That's the progression that we have.
So that then you know what you're doing when you're on set. You know what you're doing as an actor. We have business of acting privates and classes as well as just hit me up with a question whether it's on the YouTube or if it's at the studio. I'm always here to help as are my other teachers. What is it like to be on set? What are the things that you need to do when you show up on set? Who do you talk to? Siquette, if you will, set etiquette. how to to show up to set ready to work. These are our building blocks. When you say that you studied at Spiser Sturgis, I want to make sure that everybody knows that means you have had an amazing foundation that you are ready for anything and you're going to bring that excitement, that quality, that excellence. Isn't that what we're all striving for?
excellence to really be an actor who cares about their craft, has fun, and is engaging in thinking about those things. What attracts you to certain actors? It's usually this commitment to excellence. Sometimes you can't put your finger on it. I can because I do this for a living. You understand when somebody has worked hard and they are giving you an amazing performance. My favorite thing is when I see students that I've worked with succeed and have a great career. When I have somebody send me that text saying, "I booked it. I'm on a plane to London. I booked it. I'm on my way to Albuquerque." I am so excited. Thank you.
Thank you. It is nice when they say thank you. But they did it. You did it. I am so privileged to be able to help students reach their dreams. What a remarkable job I have and I take it seriously. And when you show up on set as somebody who's trained with Shannon Sturgis, I want to make sure that that person knows that, oh, that actor is going to come to set prepared, professional, creative, and fun. And when you are ready to do what you came here for, I hope you take a class with me, whether it's in person or online. And I will see you next week. And like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you next week. I think you can cut some of that. [Music]
0 comments