Creative Expression Through Character Development
I used to live in NYC, pursuing an acting career with a modicum of success. When I moved to New Mexico I pretty much gave it up. As luck and good fortune would have it the film and television moved out here to Albuquerque. To sharpen my tools, I have been taking an class with Greg Serano (Wildfire, In the Valley of Elah, To Live and Die, The War Boys). He is a gifted actor and a tremendously generous coach. He and his wife, actress Carmen have his and hers Studios, for actors and for make-up and modeling consultations. In class, one of our bits of homework was to play with characters that are polar opposites from ourselves. I have been having a blast playing with the different personalities, and expressed one in a scene that I was given to work on for class. It was a raving boss taking down a worker. Not that I have never expressed anger, righteous indignation, sarcasm, displeasure or pure unadulterated rage before, but this was different and in terms of my creative expression, I was traveling in very different territory.
I have a Masters degree in Acting from a reputable school. I’ve done a lot of plays and some television. I’ve taught many many classes in acting technique. Yet, it has not been until recently that I have been able to truly release into the psyche of an extreme character. For me it has taken years of personal work to shed the outer concerns that I think plague many performers…worrying about whether or not I am doing it right. Whether or not I am being convincing. Will I remember the next line… scores of other issues that create all this negative mind chatter that pulls me so far out of the experience of being in the scene, that it becomes impossible to enjoy the work that I truly love doing. The largest, most paralysis inducing fear for me has been…”Will I be able to get back from this other character’s mind?” This fear has made it daunting to move very far from what I would consider the outer reaches of acceptable behaviors. I could never quite see the life line back to the safety of my boat so I wouldn’t dive in the deep, dark end of the character.
Every master teacher, spiritual director, guru, or coach will tell us, Be In The Moment. It is where the truth of everything lives. So, armed with a renewed sense of being in the moment, bolstered by the safe environment in the Studio, I gave up on worry. I released my need to be concerned with… anything really. I allowed myself to go on the ride of the experience. And guess what I found? The life line I was looking for has been woven of my own personal Love of the Craft and the Joy that I feel when I am expressing myself through characters.
This leads me to know that, as Jonatha Brooke so profoundly put it… Creativity is about Passion! If you love what you do you will find your way!