Sears and Switzer
Creating, Training, Producing since 1978
theatre, film, television, presentations
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Sears and Switzer Creating, Training, Producing since 1978 theatre, film, television, presentations
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A quick guide to growing as an actor: The performing artist's growth is a living thing. You develop in stages, with different needs at different times. Some of this chaos is thrilling and natural and highly creative. We do however understand your fears that your artistic goals are not being met, YOUR creative skills are slipping, audition techniques are sloppy or you're not as energized and excited about your career as you once were. As a Performer you can't be discovered after you're dead! Get at it! Your BODY OF WORK needs feeding now. In this article we look at some patterns of growth and the sources you need to keep fuelling them.
Creative under-STANDING comes in many ways. You may have gone to a theatre school or have a degree in drama education. You may have been a camera operator for six years. Maybe you're a graduate of a T.V. series as a young performer. Maybe you got into the biz as a host on a how-to-show. You may have a strong theatre resume or perhaps you have done many film roles because you are on a highly trained martial arts expert. [We've seen all of these types and more this year.] On stage or screen, whether you're a comic, a clown, or a contralto... any kind of performance gives you a BACKground. Your HUNGER to express yourself deserves an outlet. Get into a show. Even if it's a play reading with three friends over a beer on the first Tuesday of every month. Perform. Perform. Perform. The obsessed director of that student film you're in could be the next Atom Egoyan or David Cronenberg. Actors get a much needed chance to practice their craft in class. You learn... You also meet each other, check out the biz, exchange agent info, hear about the hot contacts.... find out who's auditioning what. You need to understand the basics of the world of the actor. That's why we created our ACTING FUNDAMENTALS class... so that you could be sure you understood the essentials. You need to practice those essentials in longer classes like Focus on Film, Advancing the Camera Relationship or SCENE STUDY. Acting classes are not a kind of badge or a vaccination! One session does not do you for the rest of your life. And over your life as an actor you need to re-nourish, re-vitalize your roots... Use all the resources within the Toronto theatre, film and television community as a source of inspiration and a learning opportunity. From Film Festival to Fringe get back in touch with the sources that will RENEW you. Why are you a performing artist? As Theresa often asks her class.. "If you were hit by a Mack Truck tomorrow what would the artist in you be glad you said today?" Try working in some more challenging situations... put that show into the Fringe or get something ready for Summerworks. Write something... create something... generate something you love. As G.B. Shaw said "there is nothing on earth as tireless as a happy actor." More advanced texts will get your heart pounding again! Make poetry a part of your daily work... we know one actor in her 70's who still learns a poem a day to keep her memory sharp and her heart open. Come back to the ee cummings exercise... book a private session with Theresa on your responsiveness to text work. Find poems, words, song lyrics, that your heart responds TO.. Read more challenging texts. Actually work your way through some Howard Barker, Eugene O'Neil, some George Walker or Judith Thompson, some Michel Tremblay or some Pinter, some Caryl Churchill or some Chekhov. We always hand out the most challenging stuff in our SCENE STUDY classes. Brush up your Shakespeare! Do some sonnet work. Check out a classical monologue. One student of ours said "why bother I'll never end up at Stratford..." He was right... he ended up at the Shaw Festival instead. Read some work about being an artist.
Take a class in Clown work or physical theatre. [We don't offer this work at our studio... Call TAAS or ask us for suggestions.] Go to a music or dance performance. Go to the Art Gallery. Try a film you wouldn't normally choose. And of course go to plays, go to plays, go to plays... Your heart has to be in your work. It's very easy as an actor to become "down-hearted". Not only is that a painful place to be, and an unhealthy place to be, it's also a disastrous career move. Joy-filled actors make people want to play with them... and that means work! Realize that it's part of your training to find the best ways to get your pulse racing like it was the first time all over again. If our studio can do that for you we will be joy-filled too. KEEPING YOUR HEAD ABOUT YOU: You can't get ahead without using yours. Information won't help you become an actor... but it may help you EAT! Being well-informed and up to date about the business is an essential. Your career needs some thoughtful direction. Are you working in partnership with your agent? Are you doing your share of the RUNNING around to make sure you're seen by those who can further your ambitions? ARE YOU WINNING YOUR FAIR SHARE OF THE COMMERCIAL WORK OUT THERE? Try the TV Commercial weekend, or do it again if it's been a while. This class will pay for itself very quickly... and like all our classes it's tax deductible from your income as a performer. [Wouldn't it be GREAT to have to worry about taxes! Keep your head and your book-keeping straight... check out your tax situation with somebody who knows something about performers and our special tax implications.] Get some new information sources going for you. Join Canadian Actors Online adn read the HUGE FAQ file. Visit the bulletin boards at Equity, Theatre Ontario, ACTRA, and Equity Showcase. Try the AACTION-line. See our auditions list page on this site for ideas! Visit the Metro Library and TheatreBooks more often. Buy and read the trades like PlayBack, Variety, Premiere, and the Hollywood Reporter. Read the daily newspaper entertainment sections in Toronto, Eye, and NOW. Every once in while read the New York and LA papers... or better yet take an exploration trip there when you can to watch some shows, get a feel for the scene and just hang out. Contact all those directors and producers that you've worked with. They may have loved your work but "out of sight is out of mind." It's your job to keep yourself active in the market-place. You can't just "do it" when you realize that you're out of work. Get those new pictures done. Update your resume. Analyse your "look" from make-up to physical condition. This won't make you an actor but it's part of keeping you head about you.... see yourself the way others do. Ask for feedback from people who know you, or don't know you! Work out those "why am I not getting more work" issues with your agent... or if you're a beginner stop waiting, put your NOSE to the grindstone, start making the rounds to get that first agent. Buy your Theatre Ontario membership and go to their seminars and career sessions. Network, talk to each other, ask questions! Go up on the Internet and check out the many resources building here. Book a "business chat" with David, or just drop by to ask a question before class. Leave a specific query on the voice-mail and we'll get back to you! Or send us an E-mail... we’ll try to help.
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