Be Ready When Opportunity Knocks
The transition into professional acting can be overwhelming. The world professional actors live in is a form of controlled chaos. Actors often go from a world of support, with lots of rehearsal time, to “just do it now!” In my 50 years of acting, I can only think of a handful of times where I felt completely rehearsed and ready for opening night.
Be ready for anything any time. Mastering your technique and keeping it sharp is the surest way to do your best work in the fast paced world of professional acting. A firm grasp of the actor’s craft enables us to nail that last minute big audition or the sudden call to go on. To keep the work consistent and avoid hit or miss days, every actor should have a daily workout to keep their skills sharp – just like dancers, singers and other performing artists do every day.
Just do it! One of our actors, Bret Shuford, flew back to Chicago from a wedding and was asked to go on that night in the lead of the Broadway bound show AMAZING GRACE – with no rehearsal. Another of our actors, Vincent Bagnall, went to see a show in NY. While he was waiting in line for a ticket, the show’s director approached him and said, “We lost our lead actor and you look perfect for the part. Could you do the show tonight?” Vincent said yes and was immediately taken backstage, handed a script, and told that the other actors would adjust their blocking around him. Then the curtain went up. As a trained actor, he took the risk and jumped in. The fun really began in act II when his character had to be blindfolded. After hearing the story of his “walk the plank” performance, Penny made him promise he would turn the experience into a comedic One-Act play.
My Off-Broadway debut is a great example. At the time, I was running the follow spot for the hit show YOUR OWN THING. One afternoon, about 4PM, I received a message to call the theater right away. The first words out of the producer’s mouth were, “You’re an actor also, aren’t you?” “Yes,” I replied. “Can you sing?” “Yes.” “Great! Could you go on tonight as the Captain and the Purser?” (A duel role) “You Bet!”
I raced to the theater to prepare. I had no script and there was a big production number for the finale. With no rehearsal, I went on, did the lines and blocking from memory and faked my way through the closing number – all from having run the spot light. I wound up staying with the show and then joined the National tour, understudying all 6 male roles. Because of our grueling schedule, there was no time for understudy rehearsals. Over the coming 9 months, I played all 6 male roles without one day of rehearsal. Controlled Chaos. It was my job to be ready. I just did it. I was an actor.
The Show Must Go On. My teachers and mentors instilled in me the importance of learning my craft and always being ready for anything. Penny and I pass that knowledge to actors every day. “Acting Lions treat challenges as opportunities.”
* In November and December, Penny’s Master Class will concentrate on auditions for leading roles in Pilots.
Acting Lion Tips are co-written by Penny Templeton and Hank Schob.
Hank Schob A graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a 50-year acting industry veteran, Hank teaches the Camera Class, Beginning Class, Scene Study and Script Analysis Class.
Penny Templeton is the founder of The Penny Templeton Studio and the author of ACTING LIONS, the go-to book for actors in the 21st century. She teaches 2 Master Classes on the craft of acting and also individually coaches actors on technique for auditions and on preparing roles for Broadway, Television and feature films.
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Stay Tuned. Penny is in the process of preparing a Monthly Feature to be called RAISING the BAR. It will feature in-depth articles by Penny & Hank on the state of the Industry and Craft and offer ideas on what all of us can do to raise the bar and keep the craft of acting moving forward.
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