Ah! Perfectionism, Perfectionism

"Doug, it doesn't have to be perfect!" I hear the sentence at least twice a week as I navigate the world. It tends to sneak up on me as I act, sing, shoot films, and complete projects. I'm not sure how my ideal perspective on getting things done came to be. I believe it was the competition that used to drive my frustration when I was younger. The competition would cause me to nit-pick all of my techniques/talents and find ways to improve them (sometimes when they didn't need improvement). Honestly, perfectionism hasn't been a problem for me since ninth grade; however, the three day film project brought that side of me back out. When I heard about the first film project, my mind was geared towards the direction of making a film that was worth watching. The project automatically turned into competition, rather then a learning experience. It was fascinating how my frustration with the time constraint fought against my perfectionism as I was completing the project and geared me towards a new outlook on future assignments. Perhaps, the perfectionism causes my brain to judge my techniques in a way that creates a closed mind, petrified of constructive criticism. The project has taught me to think spontaneously with ideas, to not put down any decisions I have unless they are terrible, and to concentrate on my feelings towards the actual project. These perspectives can now apply to my performance career where my ideas on how a character should be played (or what he's thinking) can flow more effectively. A large barrier between competition and my skills should also be set up in order to navigate the world in this way.

Ideas for the Magazine

1. Unleashing your holiday spirit in the city for a day. Talk about the top destinations that people should hit when visiting the city during the holidays. The lighting of the Christmas tree, FAO schwarts, A musical, etc.

2. The rights and wrongs of open-cast calls/auditions. I'll mention where to look for the actual auditions, how to prepare, what specifically the directors will look for, etc.

3. The New Iphone or Ipod touch applications available for purchase in the Itunes Appstore. The upcoming applications or apple products that everyone seems to adore during the holiday season. I'm a huge supporter for Apple products and I know most of the school invests in atleast one thing produced by the company.

Unique Actor of the Week: Daniel Day Lewis

Daniel Day Lewis: born in April 1957. Raised in London, England by his mother (an actress) and his father (a poet)

I've recently watched There Will Be Blood featuring Daniel Day Lewis taking on a character that blew my mind. Taking place in the early 1900's, Lewis plays a power-hungry oil prospector willing to overcome any obstacle preventing him from obtaining his dominance and his obsession with the suffering of his competitors. Although this is the only film I've watched featuring this phenomenal actor, I've developed such a respect for his talent. The film alone is exceptional, my eyes were drawn to the cinematography, the minor plot, and most importantly the characterization.

All of Lewis' acting is portrayed through his facial expressions and mannerisms. From start to finish, the plot is extremely minor. What makes this whole movie is the style in which Lewis displays the effect that the events had on his role. It takes a lot of dedication and determination to succeed in this type of character. His role interpretation is not only unique, it follows a path of connecting the actors pessimistic view on the world with the build up of hatred and anger through the actual dialogue. As I look back on the movie, I cannot help but to remember this mans ability to feed off of his supporting actors, use them to form a specific meaning and purpose behind every line. It is obvious that behind every bit of dialogue, Lewis developed a mindset of frustration and anger taken from past experiences. My past acting coaches have stressed this technique on me because it helps the audience feel what you feel, not what they are intended to feel.

Just like the repeating exercise, Lewis would sometimes take a question or a statement and repeat it two times to bounce it off the opposing actor and obtain different reactions. The second time, his emotion would reach its highest point or sometimes contrast with the original tone it portrays. "I am the third revelation, I am the third revelation." Overall, Daniel Day Lewis' purpose throughout the movie is to inform viewers not to let their ego or superiority guide them through life, it is passion and open-minded determination that helps an individual succeed. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. Hopefully, you can get as much out of it as I did.

Expressionists/ Expressionism

Expressionism is the term used to describe works of art and literature in which the representation distorts reality and conveys an inner vision or meaning. "The expressionist transforms nature rather than imitates it." Unlike Impressionism (style of painting that portrays a general impression and accurate meaning), expressionism art portrays spontaneous emotions, self-expression, inner meaning, and an abstract visual that allows a viewer to interpret whatever he or she wants in the art.

Expressionism originated in mostly Germany, in 1910. The international movement has been thought of as evolving from certain medieval artforms and mostly occured during times of social change or spiritual crisis. Expressionists that brought about this movement are said to be Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and German groups: Die Brucke and Der blaue Reiter. Expressionism can also be seen in Germanic and Nordic art from the European Middle Ages. Expressionism is common amongst modern artists. The main goal of these expressionists is to surround themselves with art that achieves the highest amount of unrealistic portrayal possible. They accomplish this goal by providing exaggeration, distortion, violence, fantasy, etc. in their art.

Trust: More For the Eye to Catch

I find that the word trust has a lot of depth to it. The word not only has an extensive amount of meanings and definitions, but it has the capability to transform individuals, dig into their minds and pull out their real inner personality/traits. It helps people to focus and develop a secure mindset. Now, I didn't just sit down one day and decide this random philosophy of trust meaning much more then its actual definition (firm belief in the truth).

As an actor, I've grasped the fact that in order to improve, I must first surround myself with the essence of this philosophy. Whether it'd be onstage or in my normal lifestyle, I was taught by STAC workshops and other experienced actors or directors that the key to true acting is the ability to feed off another characters emotions or words. To trust that character and really listen to every word he/she says. As I train in my profession, there seems to always be a way to incorporate that idea into my acting. When I first was told of this technique, I found myself listening much more to what people said to me. I began to absorb information in ways I couldn't even imagine. I would sometimes watch a person as they speak and determine their state of mind. I would attempt to analyze a person and their background with just the way they would speak to me. Their subtle movements or change in tone. No matter what, I could not escape my fascination of people and relationships. This is why when Luke would have us do the repetition exercise, I would become so involved with my partners facial structures, the emotion conveyed through his or her words, etc.

So, how does this all tie into my trust philosophy? Well, I believe that in order to trust an individual enough to give you guidance, one must analyze that individual, stay around him/her and pay close attention to the emotions that are emitted off of that person. Once the individual trusts the other in this way, both of the individuals can be more aware of their surroundings. Be able to recognize when a person is wearing a mask and hiding his/her real personality, when a person is in another state of mind as he/she has a conversation with you, etc. When I was with Kalli in the blindfold exercise, it was hard to trust her without seeing her and meeting her (absorbing her mindset). I found myself very scared at some points because not only did I not know her, I was not in the right mindset without my eyes. The exercise was helpful because I am confronted with this obstacle in acting. The blindfold is a metaphor for the fact that I block out opposing characters on stage and subtract the trust, just say the lines. I've been working on growing out of this fake way of acting and my philosophy of trust has certainly boosted my growth as both an individual and an actor.

A new take on the poem "Music"

Music

Grasp my ears...

Distant angels await...

Vacant roads captured by heartbeat

Pitter Patter, Clash, Clump

Sing! You've paved my phobia

And I'm still petrified

Honestly, I'm not used to these rhythmic habits

I'm not settled

So they abandon me

rewind what's left unharmed

they won't abandon me

if I'm still vacantly well-armed

I noticed way after I wrote this one down that it has a lot to do with my last blog post. Check it out and enjoy!

Craving A New Passion

As most of you know, I took on a challenge the other day as I entertained a copious amount of accepting classmates in STAC with a legendary song. An acoustic guitar in one hand, a powdery old pick in the other, I sang "Hide Your Love Away," by the one and only Beatles. I'll be honest, I was scared out of my mind (as you all probably observed from my shaking leg), but that didn't stop me from wanting to go through with it. Since I'm an actor, this wasn't my first time performing or singing in front of an audience; however, it was my first time bringing my guitar along for the spine-chilling journey. As I think back on this 2 minute performance, the question comes to my mind of why was I so intimidated by a class of supporting artists? I don't think I was as nervous about the song as I was with the fact that actual spectators were going to hear me produce sound out of this fascinating instrument. It was pretty awesome to hear feedback after I ended the performance because pretty much, the only critics I've had for guitar in the past year are me, myself, and I. I honestly practice with this instrument atleast one hour a day, not only because I want to impress my guitar teacher the next lesson. I do it because when my fingers touch the frets, I can't judge myself, my mind enters another sound wave, and I tend to crave the chills on my arms when I hear those dissonant chords erupt from the instrument. Quoting from Oasis, I can "slip inside the eye of my mind" and focus on making music more than anything else. After singing the Beatles tune for everyone, I'm struck by a new passion that I will continue to work at without hesitation. I want to perform more with my guitar as I expand my knowledge and build on my techniques. I can honestly conclude that enjoying something is one thing, but holding a passion for something is totally different. What I'm saying is that I strongly encourage everyone to get up sometime during your years in STAC and have the thrill of displaying your art in front of the most appreciative people you'll ever meet. Who knows, maybe you'll find out what the artsy side of you is really craving.