I'll be foolish and take your bait. It seems that following ones creative inclinations and passions conditions the mind. The result would be a deepened, more personal relationship between the artist and their work. Is the why universal?
The why would seem subjective to me, since why implies an origin and each of us have our own. It is possible that we might be able to distill enough examples to give "facts" for the why, but it might always be a mystery. The how I can only really speak from my own experience, which is osmosis. If you're a reader, read- you'll always learn something from a text or work, and the truly gifted minds can take theory and put it into practice. Books make a great reference as well- I read one of Barba's books and was inspired to find out what his approach was all about. Become a jack-of-all trades for a while, gain a basic foundation, and then settle on a singular technique or system to distill your inclinations and efforts into. This gives you comprehensiveness and depth. I would say I have also benefited greatly from learning other disciplines and thinking of the ways it connects to acting. Taking martial arts and reading the books (especially Tao of Jeet Kune Do and The Demon's Sermon), exploring cooking, a love of science (Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow), travel and even a little philosophy (Robert Greene's Mastery is bang-on). New actors should never be afraid to ask for help, either. My opportunities with Odin, Bogdanov and the Noh all came from me contacting people and asking for help, both financial and otherwise. For all the no's you get you get some yes's that open deep and worthwhile doors. I am encouraged when Meisner said it takes 20 years to become an actor. This gives you enough time to learn the steps of the dance between your ongoing development as an artist and the work you apply it to. That's my best answer to your question, David, but it's an open-ended conversation for me that I'm still finding answers to.
Thank you for these thoughts and ideas! You are a great example of someone who cares deeply about life and work and meaning. You have taken a large scope in answering the question and have showed many possibilities. I'm going to try and write a post that narrows the scope and see what I can come up with.
I'll be foolish and take your bait. It seems that following ones creative inclinations and passions conditions the mind. The result would be a deepened, more personal relationship between the artist and their work. Is the why universal?
ReplyDeleteSpeak up. I need your ideas. I want to make it lesson number one of a class im going to lead.
ReplyDeleteThe why would seem subjective to me, since why implies an origin and each of us have our own. It is possible that we might be able to distill enough examples to give "facts" for the why, but it might always be a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThe how I can only really speak from my own experience, which is osmosis. If you're a reader, read- you'll always learn something from a text or work, and the truly gifted minds can take theory and put it into practice. Books make a great reference as well- I read one of Barba's books and was inspired to find out what his approach was all about. Become a jack-of-all trades for a while, gain a basic foundation, and then settle on a singular technique or system to distill your inclinations and efforts into. This gives you comprehensiveness and depth.
I would say I have also benefited greatly from learning other disciplines and thinking of the ways it connects to acting. Taking martial arts and reading the books (especially Tao of Jeet Kune Do and The Demon's Sermon), exploring cooking, a love of science (Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow), travel and even a little philosophy (Robert Greene's Mastery is bang-on).
New actors should never be afraid to ask for help, either. My opportunities with Odin, Bogdanov and the Noh all came from me contacting people and asking for help, both financial and otherwise. For all the no's you get you get some yes's that open deep and worthwhile doors.
I am encouraged when Meisner said it takes 20 years to become an actor. This gives you enough time to learn the steps of the dance between your ongoing development as an artist and the work you apply it to.
That's my best answer to your question, David, but it's an open-ended conversation for me that I'm still finding answers to.
Thank you for these thoughts and ideas! You are a great example of someone who cares deeply about life and work and meaning. You have taken a large scope in answering the question and have showed many possibilities. I'm going to try and write a post that narrows the scope and see what I can come up with.
ReplyDelete