Thursday, March 11, 2010

Actors Above the Fray

The college or university setting can often seem like 
a Rumor Breeding Ground.  There is every opportunity 
to dish, to eavesdrop, to jab, to tear down...

Although it can get your blood going when you hear that 
so-and-so did something, or did NOT do something, blah, 
blah, blah... challenge yourself to stand above. Notice 
that even though there are some in your class who are 
above or below you in certain skill areas... 

...classmates who don't seem to 'deserve' to be there
 
...those who don't seem to work as hard as you

...some very talented people who treat you like dirt

...and though you might even encounter acting, voice, 
and dance professors who treat some students unfairly...

Stand above the fray, and recognize the tremendous 
variety of resources around you. And you can learn 
from every one of them.

Unless there is an issue for which you need to stand up, 
best to act as an observer, and focus on what's important. 
You'll have your own built-in daily reality show that be 
very comical most of the time, if you're able to detach 
and survey the behavior.

I was somehow always able to turn a deaf ear to the 
drama that was forever unfolding off stage.  I certainly 
would have gained nothing by being involved, and 
would have lost focus on studying the thing I loved 
best: Acting.

I transferred to Wright State University's Professional
Actor Training Program after my freshman year at 
Hofstra University. The WSU faculty went back and 
forth on whether to accept me as a 1st or 2nd year 
student, but I was accepted as a freshman.

No big reaction on the Gossip Meter there...just 
another transfer student, right?

But I happened to audition for Private Lives within 
a few days of classes starting. Only I didn't realize 
that although freshmen could audition, they could 
not be cast in the 1st quarter production. Knowing 
that would not have changed my audition, anyway. 
It was a long night of call-backs for this 2-male, 2-
female cast show.  I remember hanging around the 
call board until near midnight, awaiting director 
Bruce Matley's decision.  It was the next morning 
when the cast list was posted and I got the role of 
Victor.  And, uh, subsequently became a sophomore. 

Well, gee, the Gossip Meter took a spike... Here was 
this TRANSFER student who was just a freshman 
YESTERDAY and now, not only did he get a role in the 
first show of the year, he's now a SOPHOMORE.

I avoided plugging in to the gossip. The Theater 
History class with Professor Bob Hetherington was 
a large class, a mix of freshmen and sophomore 
students.  Although I knew there was a little bit of  
Who Does He Think He Is kind of energy, it wasn't 
really that bad, and I'll tell you why.

I didn't play.  I could have been a snot. I could have 
been a Poor Me whiner with a Why Doesn't Everybody 
Like Me kind of attitude.  I could have contributed to 
that energy any number of ways -- but I chose not to. 
I just...did my work. I was there to learn how to be 
a better actor all around.
 
The week of opening, one of my new friends, Brad, was 
sitting beside me in Theater History. He scrawled a note 
on my paper (we usually traded silly cartoons and 
comments back and forth)...It was in reference to  
Private Lives.  He wrote, "You'd better be good." I 
laughed, but that half-joking note made me realize just 
how unaware I was at the degree to which both the 
freshmen and sophomore classes were watching me.

Still, I had too much to think about, with exams 
coming up, and the play opening and all.

Then, the Big Night, the Toughest Audience: Preview. 
The whole of the Acting Student body would be attending.

The show went well -- I think.  I truly don't remember 
anything specific, except being delighted that the 
audience was responding so well, thinking, opening 
night will never be this good...they're theatre 
people...so of course they're supportive.

Well, the next day, I slept in. Well, over-slept is more 
accurate...don't even remember turning off the alarm. 
But I woke up with the sinking feeling that I was late for 
my Theater History exam.

I bolted out of bed, ran down the path from my 
apartment, ran down the hall, paused for a minute 
before going in the door--didn't want to be breathing 
TOO hard, right?

The room was set up sort of arena style, the five or six 
long rows of seats curved to focus on the professor's area
...with the door to one side of that. No way to really 
sneak into class. Face red, I opened the door as quietly 
as I could.

They all looked up from their exams.

Then they began to spontaneously applaud.

For a moment, I was confused. Then I got it: They 
approved.  I passed the test. (Or as Sally Field might 
say, "They liked me! They really liked me!")

But to me, it was more than that.  I had stayed above 
the fray; I didn't play any game I didn't want to.  I had 
a single-minded focus during my time at WSU. (Well...
most of the time.)

I don't remember what I got on my exam.  I did well 
enough, but it doesn't really matter, does it?

Here's to Your Empowerment!

--Tom
Copyright © 2006, 2007, 2010 Tom Brooks and The Empowered Actor Initiative
All Rights Reserved

3 comments:

  1. A PLUS A PLUS!!! I personally need to work on turning that deaf ear to gossip and I find that hearing other people talking about me can get me much more upset than I should let it. Sometimes the sheer negativity in a room with so many other acting majors can just be petrifying! I'm going to do my best to ignore the things people say about others/myself and focus on my goals, afterall that's the only way they will get accomplished! :)

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  2. I loved this blog. There are so many days where I come and just decide to "do the work." I see and hear so many things, some very uplifting, and some so extremely shocking that it makes me feel like I'm being kicked over and over again. I enjoyed the experience that you shared and how you described how you stayed in control in the situation. You didn't "play" - excellent advice. Obviously, we can't control or determine what others are going to say or how they're going to treat us, but we can control what we let bother us and how we respond to it.

    I realize that the future is going to hold so many situations where I will be knocked off my feet, but I also realize that those who have found success are not those that have never been kicked or knocked over, but are those who got up again - over and over again. I just hope to continue to have the strength to just keep getting up. I always remember the quote, "Art wouldn't be art without its critics" (author unknown). I don't believe I'm the most talented person I've ever met, or the smartest, or the most creative, but I do feel I have something that needs to be shared. If I keep working hard on it and growing, one day I'll be able to reach deep enough to truly know what it is and stand up in the face of criticism and hurt and just let it out. That would be my greatest dream come true.

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