This weeks pick of the week is for the actor. Since I get very passionate about acting, writing, fitness, and self-improvement, my picks are going to alternate between these 4 areas. I think this will help keep this segment of my blog well-rounded.
I actually got the idea for this segment from my pick for this week.
The Inside Acting Podcast features LA actors Trevor Algatt and AJ Meijer, and in their podcast they interview actors, writers, directors, producers, casting agents, and a variety of other industry professionals.
Each episode opens with a candid chat between the two hosts. This gives you a chance to catch up on what they’re actively doing to move their own careers forward. I love this section – it really motivates me in the work that I’m doing.
My favourite guest so far has been Blake Robbins. He is an actor, writer, director, and producer who has appeared most notably in Oz, the Office, and Flash Forward. This guy has A LOT of gems when it comes to the craft of acting.
Here are some of my favourite excerpts from the episode:
“[Auditions are an opportunity] to go up there and say ‘this is what it feels like to be this human being.’ We all have gotten those auditions where the material take us to that place. Where the material says to us ‘ this is bigger than my fears, my concerns, my shit (for lack of a better word), and we kind of elevate – we go to a place – and we usually walk out of those auditions not caring if they cast us or not. That can happen with every single audition. In fact, if you want to get somewhere in this business, it needs to happen more often than not. You’ve got to put snow on top of the mountain. You don’t know when there’s going to be an avalanche, but there’s got to be a lot of snow up there. So just keep putting snow up there and eventually there will be an avalanche. “
“Every time you go into the room, you have to go in with that approach. Let me show them what it means for this stuff and this material to happen to me.”
“Do your version of the material”
“You don’t have to justify your existence in the audition room.”
(these quotes comes somewhere between minutes 43-48 in Episode 2 of the Blake Robbins Interview ).
There’s A LOT going on in this excerpt, but the bolded part is what really sort of slapped me in the face in an Oprah-style “aha” moment. It’s not interesting to watch a “representation” of what you imagine to be a “realistic” response to an event. In a weird way, the more specific you can be (ie. the more authentically you) the more relatable you are going to be. Of course with every character you play, you are going to be emphasizing different qualities of you, but I think ‘you’ always have to be there. If you’re absent from the work, then everything falls flat.
I also love the avalanche metaphor from this excerpt. I believe that snow is related to training and life experience. You pile snow onto your mountain (onto the instrument that is you) by exercising your instrument, by challenging yourself and trying new things, by exploring the many facets of your personality, and by getting out there and living your life. As I progress on my journey, I’m really beginning to appreciate that a workaholic does not a great actor make. There are many types of snow that you can pile onto that mountain, and if you favour one type over another, it will never collapse. Training yourself to be well-rounded, and finding the confidence to be unapologetically you: that’s the name of the game.
I’ll tell you one thins: I’m keeping this podcast on my phone so that I can listen to it again and again.
The Blake Robbin’s interview comes in 3 sections and, although I think you should listen to all 3 parts, I am highly recommending that you check out episode two.