A lesson in acting...god I am an asshole

[Alyrium Denryle]

Who Are You? What do you Want?

Disclaimer, this may be a bit offensive to some people. I tried to make it informative and yet entertaining, so I picked on southern evangelicals and zombie movies.

The first of these questions is easily answered. Who are you? The simple question is that you, are you. How does this apply to acting? You may be asking.

This applies to acting, in that, while acting, you are not pretending to be anything. You are being yourself. Not the full you, but you are revealing…unmasking…if you will, a different part of your personality.

Ex 1.

While playing a southern evangelical Pentecostal, it is quite obvious that you are not a southern evangelical Pentecostal. But you have no doubt have an expansionist missionary streak in you don’t you? You have a deep-rooted psychological urge to spread you opinions, regardless of what time of day it is don’t you. Now, while playing a similar evangelist, you can let this missionary spirit come out on stage. When you knock on your troupe mates stage door and ask “Have you found Jesus?” In that annoying southern accent. That is you.

You are simply emphasizing those aspects of your personality and taking them to the ultimate extreme for the sake of your art. This will make your acting more real to you, and the audience. Now, I want you to all get up, and do this exercise. Unmask the missionary inside you and repeat after me “Have you found Jesus” and “Have you accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as your personally lord and savior” and finally “May I tell you a bit about the gospel of Jesus Christ” Now do this until you have fully unmasked the ultra conservative southerner in all of you.


Ex 2.

Now imagine that you are a zombie. Now, I know ALL of you have acted like a brainless undead monster at some point. But all you have to do is unmask the part of your personality that has a craving to strangle your friends and rip out their Grey matter. I know it is there…somewhere…

Repeat after me…”Brains” “Brains!” Good job.

The Second question. What do you want? If you can get the motivation behind your character you can play anything. This motivation, is always the same…hunger. Maybe not literal “I need food” Hunger. But a deep-seated craving or desire type hunger.

Now lets use our Pentecostal again. Now e will give him a name…Jerry Phelps…yes Jerry Phelps. Now Jerry has a deep hunger to spread his fundamentalist viewpoint. But why? He does it to save poor an atheistic soul like mine from an eternity of torment, and he is starving, so is he going to take no for an answer? No. So when he knocks on the door, add a little of this hunger into his character and shove the door open as it is opened, and hold your bible (only King James Version need apply) in front of you. Remember that this is someone’s soul you are trying to save. Now demonstrate this all-consuming hunger for soul saving. Repeat after me, and put this hunger into your acting “THIS I ONE NATION UNDER GOD, SAY IT SAY IT! SAY YOU LOVE JESUS!”

Now, with the Zombie, well you do have hunger. You have a hunger for human flesh. This hunger drives your character. It makes you feel alive(snicker snicker). Naturally, you are not going to take no for an answer, probabl because you are not sentient and don’t know what “No Stop” means. Now repeat after me “BRAINS!” and take a swipe wth your forearm “BRAINS!!!!”

Good Job.