Be

I read parts of Uta Hagen's A Challenge For The Actor today, in hopes that previously unattainable ideas would formulate in my head regarding the numbing duty in filmmaking known as directing the actors. I'm starting to believe that seventy-five percent of the work is done in casting, which is why I'm approaching these auditions with the same effort and seriousness as production. Yes, I've heard that in school. I have to believe it myself to believe it though, and I'm finally achieving that through practice.

Last week was surprisingly draining for me. We only went through seven actresses, but each one required attention, my opinion, and some sort of cooperation on my part to ensure I was getting the best possible performance given the circumstance. Tomorrow, I will be seeing eighteen.

See, it's one thing when an actress shows up and immediately, she doesn't look the part. The pressure is slightly off and I just have to sit and go through the motions, knowing she doesn't have a chance. It sucks for her, but it's fair. It's what she signed up by being an actress. However, when one comes in and her looks don't disqualify her, then the pressure is on. I immediately visualize her in the role, and before she utters her first line, I see it in my head already-- how she should sound, how she should behave, everything. Obviously thus far, no one has auditioned and matched what was playing in my head on the first go around, so from there, I have to figure out if it's her talent or her interpretation that's causing this. Most of the time, I give the benefit of the doubt that it's her interpretation, but most of the time, we're just off. Maybe she isn't a bad actress, but she isn't the right one for the role.

Uta mentions that one needs to be aware of "vain and egocentric actors who enjoy displaying themselves, trading on those characteristics that they believe would appeal to the audience, regardless of the role and the circumstances of the play". This was definitely something I saw last week, but couldn't put it in words. There is performing, and then there's being. I need someone who can be Cecilia, not play Cecilia. It always felt like she was trying to communicate to me rather than to Jeff, or Gilbert. Immediately, I become aware of this, and it isn't believable. If she forgot every person in the room other than Jeff, and spoke to him in a tone and a volume that made Jeff believe she wasn't thinking about anyone else other than him and what she was saying to him, automatically, it'll communicate to the audience. It's a movie. We're eavesdropping, that's the whole point. All the actresses didn't achieve this, but I didn't understand this concept well enough to communicate it to them.

I hope tomorrow I will be more prepared, and with a little luck, we can start this thing.