It’s one of life’s truisms that we are each talented in our own way; we have our own stories, and we live a life mixed with success and failure, some more successful than others.

Why is that? Why do some folks do better than others, particularly in the craft of performance?

We all know Meryl Streep is a successful actor, as we also know Guy Pearce provides substance to his performance; yet, what is it that makes these folks stand out from others? Surely it is not just their natural talent which can be attributed to their success; but rather, could it be the dedication to their work?

With any skill, no matter if it is in science, medicine, sport or the arts, there are fundamentals.

1. Practice

A brain surgeon doesn’t just operate on a patient without first going through years and years of practice, why then do actors, think they can perform on a moment’s notice providing a performance of quality? Sure we can rehearse a part, but to get ahead of the other talented folks who are competing for your part, we must practice the craft … every day.

Practice, practice, practice, and when you are done and have had enough of practice, step up and continue to practice the craft, because we learn and improve when we do.

2. Read scripts

If we read for as little as 15 minutes a day, we could read a book in two weeks; that’s 26 books a year. How much more advanced would we be if we took the time to read 26 books a year? If we did read we could become an expert on that subject within 5 years, if we could dedicate just 15 minutes a day to reading.

So it is with actors; we must be on the constant lookout for new scripts. We must do it, not just to enjoy the writer’s gift from their words, rather to analyse the words and lines to understand how an actor can craft meaning and emotion from the writer’s work.
We should commit to reading and analysing scripts everyday. We can then practice and develop our expertise at embodying character.

3. Play the action

There remains substantial discussion on the craft of acting. Clark Gable, once said he always played himself and could not relate to Montgomery Cliff, and his acting methods whilst working with him on the Misfits, such an apt title for his last film.

There are many descriptors to define acting, ‘brilliant’ is one, but ‘wooden’ is another; how then to act? We should know, right?

Active intention is a phrase which has significant meaning to many actors, as does ‘play the action, not the emotion’.

This is a challenge for an actor, and the difference between good and great characterisation; an actor needs to understand the emotion of the line and respond with action to allow their acting partner to respond to the moment. This is the the most difficult skill of the craft for many, and the most precious to understand and practice. We live emotions and therefore our characterisations are shown through action; we cannot play emotion, we must play action.

To improve our characterisation comes from practice and script analysis, and like an interlinking chain, the perfection of the craft cannot progress unless we are willing to work upon the first two recommendations of practice and reading, which allow us to respond to the essence of character.
Champions train; professionals practice; we live our lives through learning from our mistakes.

A question to reflect upon –

What are you doing today, to improve your craft?